Image 9 E1750875560755 — Cahaba River (Cahaba Environmental Center)

The Alabama Environmental Management Commission (AEMC) recently approved a petition from seven state environmental groups, updating the standards for keeping toxic + carcinogenic substances out of waterways.

The standards will be put in place to help protect anyone who swims or fishes in Alabama rivers.

According to an Inside Climate News article, the environmental groups petitioned the board to make stricter guidelines for how much toxic substances could legally be discharged into Alabama waterways.

Keep reading to find out more about these guidelines + how they make your days on the river safer.

Environmentalists’ petition

During a June 13 meeting of ADEM’s Environmental Management Commission, the private environmental groups brought up their petition to get Alabama’s standards closer to the new Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

David Ludder spoke on behalf of the groups which included:

Alabama Rivers Alliance
Black Warrior Riverkeeper
Cahaba Riverkeeper
Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper
Coosa Riverkeeper
Environmental Defense Alliance
Mobile Baykeeper

In their petition, the groups noted the EPA published its new standards in 2015, but the state never updated its thresholds to match.

“The petition process is recognized by Alabama law, and it’s designed specifically to move agencies to do something, to reconsider what their rules say. We’re asking you to do that and not defer to another triennial review.”
David Ludder during the EMC meeting

The commission eventually voted 6-1 in favor of the petition. So what happens next?

According to Inside Climate News, ADEM will now be required to update its standards for 12 chemical pollutants including: