MANAGEMENT OF FRESHWATER INFLOW TO ESTUARIES: A LAWYER'S PERSPECTIVE 



James B. Tripp 



Environmental Defense Fund, Inc. 

 New York, New York 



Rivers and their associated 

 floodplains are integrally related 

 to the estuaries into which they 

 discharge. The chemical, physical, 

 and biological conditions of any es- 

 tuary are significantly influenced 

 by those same characteristics of 

 surface and ground freshwater in- 

 flow. The condition of surface and 

 ground water inflows is therefore 

 of critical importance where the 

 maintenance or restoration of the 

 chemical, physical, and biological 

 functioning of an estuary is a rec- 

 ognized objective. 



Maintenance of freshwater inflow 

 systems as part of an estuarine 

 management program is hampered by 

 three factors-- (1) Federal statutory 

 programs which fail to recognize the 

 interrelationships between riverine 

 and estuarine systems; (2) inadequate 

 scientific knowledge of these rela- 

 tionships; and (3) Federal water re- 

 source development programs that 

 continue to promote massive altera- 

 tion of riverine systems, including 

 floodplain vegetation. Although 

 existing statutory programs can be 

 effective in controlling discharges 

 of some pollutants into surface or 

 ground waters entering estuaries, 

 they are not so effective at con- 

 trolling major alterations of fresh- 

 water inflows, such as hydrologic 

 modifications, alterations in sedi- 

 ment patterns, and loss of riverine 

 wetland floodplain vegetation, which 

 affect estuaries. These legal con- 

 straints are also a reflection of 

 the state of scientific knowledge 



about riverine-estuarine relation- 

 ships. Increased scientific know- 

 ledge about these relationships will 

 be useful in strengthening the ef- 

 fectiveness of existing programs to 

 combat degradation of freshwater 

 flows to estuaries. 



MAJOR FEDERAL STATUTES AFFECTING 

 FRESH WATER FLOWS ENTERING 

 ESTUARIES 



Several Federal statutes ad- 

 dress the subject of freshwater aq- 

 uatic systems and estuaries. Key 

 statutes include the Clean Water Act, 

 the National Environmental Policy 

 Act, the Costal Zone Management Act, 

 as amended by the Coastal Zone Ma- 

 nagement Improvement Act of 1980, 

 and the Fish Conservation Policy 

 Act. However, in significant re- 

 spects these statutes do not and have 

 not been administered effectively to 

 maintain or restore the quality and 

 quantity of freshwater flows to es- 

 tuaries as part of a concerned pro- 

 gram to protect those estuaries. 



The objective of the Clean Wa- 

 ter Act, 33 U.S.C. S1251(a), is the 

 maintenance and restoration of the 

 chemical, physical, and biological 

 integrity of the Nation's waters. 

 These waters clearly encompass es- 

 tuaries and freshwater flows to those 

 estuaries. The National Environ- 

 mental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. S4221, 



The Federal Clean Water Act 

 describes programs affecting ground 



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