Clean Water Act

Emerson Eisele's two-acre pond gets nasty. Sediments from upstream make it shallow. Manure creates high levels of fecal coliform bacteria. And thick algae often kill the fish. He has complained to local authorities, who complained to county officials, who said the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection was responsible. The department in response inspected the problem and concluded last year that landowners upstream were complying with land-use laws. Eisele, who lives in Upper Pittsgrove, Salem County, does not know where to turn.

The British & Mumia This is in response to Kevin Patrick Muldowney's letter (July 13) on the Mumia Abu-Jamal situation in relation to members of the British Parliament filing a plea on Mumia's behalf. Muldowney's letter makes it seem as if the Parliament is evil and unjust, while our own judicial system is sound and forthright. There is no difference between the British Parliament's treatment of Northern Ireland, and our own government's use of the death penalty against the lower classes.

Setting the stage for a major election-season environmental battle, the Clinton administration adopted requirements yesterday cracking down on urban and farm runoff that pollutes waterways. In doing so, the administration defied an act of Congress and practically dared Republicans to shoot down the regulation. In the past, pollution controls have been aimed mainly at sewage treatment plants, factories and other facilities piping pollutants directly into rivers and streams.

The nastiness of the U.S. Senate race in New Jersey is starting to raise bad memories of the Senate mudfight between Robert Torricelli and Dick Zimmer in '96. And this is still the primary season. Already, voters have been bombarded by tens of millions of dollars in TV advertising - most of it bought by a wealthy political rookie, Democrat Jon S. Corzine. On Tuesday, voters will make the first cut in the record-setting Democratic duel and in the overshadowed battle among four Republicans.

From the look of the sprawling acres of abandoned farmland overgrown with trees and vegetation, it is difficult to imagine their worth. But an acre of this property is selling for an average of $100,000, and some experts consider that a bargain. The site, which was once used by the Army Corps of Engineers as a dump for waste from dredging and lies next to land being developed for West Deptford's Delaware riverfront project, is being converted into wetlands. The idea is to create an area that compensates for other wetlands destroyed by construction projects.

Philadelphia drinking water meets or exceeds all federal standards, according to a new report mandated by the 1996 Clean Water Act. About 3 percent of homes tested showed elevated levels of lead in tap water, and some samples of water supplied to homes in South and West Philadelphia showed elevated levels of disinfectant by-products. But none of the tests showed overall contamination beyond the range permitted by the Environmental Protection Agency. The Philadelphia Water Department will release a detailed, six-page report in advertisements in local weekly newspapers later this month and will mail copies of the 1998 version of the report to all customers with billing statements by next June, said Joanne Dahme, general manager of public affairs for the department.

The principal shareholder of a 61-year-old, family-owned beverage dispensing business and two managers have been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly flushing large quantities of highly acidic syrup wastes into public sewers and streams. Bernard A. Gottlieb, the majority owner of Multi-Flow Dispensers, of Huntingdon Valley; general manager Nicholas Scairato, and warehouse manager David Haigh were charged with conspiracy and violations of the federal Clean Water Act in an alleged scheme that lasted from 1984 until April 1992 and involved sewers and streams in Philadelphia, Huntingdon Valley and Carteret in North Jersey.

Lakes turn into swamps. Humans, though, often accelerate that natural process when they erect buildings, pave roads, install septic tanks or create landfills near lakes. If you've been awake in South Jersey over the last several decades, you've probably noticed a lot of those changes in the landscape. Many area lakes are showing the effects. But several groups of activists have been working to counter the impacts of development and to reclaim bodies of water such as Alcyon Lake in Pitman, Blackwood Lake in Gloucester Township and Strawbridge Lake in Moorestown.

Joe Greco was painting a river scene behind the Philadelphia Art Museum yesterday afternoon. And he was not happy. "To me, this has always been like a little Athens," he said of the several small buildings that make up the historic site known as the Fairmount Water Works. But, he said, "I'm shocked at the state of it. " The crumbling balustrades and peeling colonnades looked far better on the canvas on Greco's easel than in the unkind light of reality. Nearby, a noontime ceremony had just ended, marking the 25th anniversary of the federal Clean Water Act. The river that Greco was painting had been rescued from the decay of pollution, the speakers said.