Clean Water Network
Board of Directors call
May 5, 2010
By Keith Dimoff, Secretary, CWN

Attendees:
Vicki Deisner
Keith Dimoff
Renee Victoria Hoyos
Joan Mulhern
Katherine Baer
Gershon Cohen
Albert Ettinger
Gayle Killam
Martha Noble
Rachel Conn
Jon Devine
Arthur Feinstein
Cynthia Sarthou
Paul Schwartz
Christy Leavitt (Piper Crowell?)
Ed Hopkins
Marion Hilliard

Not present:
Brian Moore
Scott Edwards
Jeff Crane
Derek Grigsby
Dereth Glance
Hasan Nazar

Staff present: Natalie Roy

Meeting called to order; Renee Victoria Hoyos presiding.

Motion to add Vicki Deisner, National Wildlife Federation (Dimoff/Killam); passed (unanimously).

Report and discussion on Gulf oil spill led by Cyn Sarthou.

Motion: Staff should develop a public statement calling to increase regulation of the oil industry work with board members and other experts by May 7 (Feinstein/Sarthou). Passed (none opposed; one abstention).

ACCWA discussion; motion to adopt the following position (Mulhern; Feinstein); passed (none opposed; one abstention):

• “It is critically important that Congress fix judicially-created loopholes in the CleanWater Act and ensure that the nation's waters are again fully protected against unregulated pollution and destruction. With the recent introduction of the House bill called America's Commitment to Clean Water Act (and the earlier passage of a companion bill, the Clean Water Restoration Act, by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee), this year presents the best opportunity to fix this issue that we have had. The CleanWater Network (CWN) supports the House and Senate compromise legislation and will work to strengthen it as the process goes forward. In particular, we support restoring CleanWater Act protections to those waters that were protected prior to Supreme Court intervention in 2001, and we are fully committed to passage of the strongest possible bill that achieves that result.”

Motion (Mulhern/Cohen): The CWN supports EPA's veto of the Clean Water Act section 404 permit for the Spruce No. 1 surface mine and urge EPA to finalize its proposed determination of March 26, 2010. Passed (unanimously).

Board member survey regarding CWN Board consensus process proposed by Executive Committee presented by Martha Noble.

Next Brown Bag items discussed.

Report on ACCWA meeting with administration.

Grants (Park, Turner, Packard) and membership update by Natalie Roy.

Adjourn (Hoyos, Feinstein)

CWN minutes; Electronic Vote, final tally April 26, 2010; motion by Hoyos, seconded by Sarthou.

Motion: CWN to conditionally support the bill (ACCWA) in the interim acknowledging that it is a compromise bill and that the organization will create a more nuanced position soon. The board will direct staff to work with the interested work groups on that position and that one will be voted on at the next board meeting.

Failed (17 aye; 3 nay; one abstention).

Related Downloads: 

Board_Minutes_5_5_2010.pdf