Cumberland River Swim

If you were at River Front Park in downtown Nashville yesterday you might have heard it.

(sound of water splashing)

That’s the sound of nearly two dozen politicians and environmentalists jumping into the Cumberland River.

Metro Council Member Emily Evans said it was to prove the river is clean, or at least a lot cleaner than it was.

“In 1989, we leaked 2.4 billion gallons of sewage into the Cumberland River. Last year we got it down to 16 million. So we’re not there yet…but we’ve done a lot to get there.”

Wearing life jackets, Evans and her allies made it across in about five minutes.

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Council Member Evans recruited a mix of environmentalists to plunge into the Cumberland.

“Ah, we got about twenty-five on the swim team. And representatives from environmental groups like the Cumberland River Compact, and Team Green, and representatives from the state, Paul Davis, from water pollution control for TDEC [Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation] is here, Justin Wilson, former TDEC commissioner, is here, Scott Potter, director of Water Services for Metro, and then we have several council members and representatives of several Metro departments.

Evans urged folks at home to use life jackets if they brave the Cumberland – and mind the currents. The swimmers had four powerboats acting as safety backup, including a Nashville Fire Department towboat.

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean attended to encourage the swimmers, but he stayed dry.

“The river is a central part of our city. It’s a river we’ve made a lot of progress on, in the past few years, cleaning it up. We’re at a point now where we really ought to be celebrating the river, turning the city toward the river more, and taking advantage of using it. And it’s something we have to be stewards of. This is a precious resource. You know, one of the things we don’t think about enough is that Nashville has been blessed by having an ample water supply, and unlike other cities in the Southeast, a lack of water, or water issues, will never be a hindrance to our growth and prosperity. So this is a great thing.”

Dean yesterday announced a new “green ribbon” committee to map out environmental strategies for the city.

“I’ve appointed a committee by executive order to help advise me on how we can make Nashville the most environmentally sound city in the Southeast. I mean what we need to do is … is make sure we have innovative programs going forward and have some good suggestions. So it’s a collection of people who are environmentalists, everybody’s got interest in the environment. Some are business leaders, so it’s a real balanced group. Hopefully, they’ll get some really good work done here.”

Dean said recommendations from the committee should show up by March of 2009.

“You know, one of the things innovative we’re doing here is, we’ve got a web site up, on the Metro web home page, where a person can go and make suggestions, recommendations to the group…so that you can go to this web site and complete a survey, which will help the task force get started on its work. And we want to have as much community and public involvement as we can with this task force.”

Former mayor Bill Purcell stopped by the swim meet. He is the most recent of three mayors who have struggled to raise the river’s quality, including making expensive investments in water and sewage cleanup capacity.

“Well, we really have made a lot of progress as a whole city, and this is something that literally the whole city can feel proud of, and feel involved in. It took a lot of capital, it took a lot of will power, it took a hardworking water department, and the result is obvious. This is a place where people want to be.”

Dean’s new environmental initiativeIn addition to the “green ribbon” committee, Mayor Dean named an environmental sustainability manager for Metro Government, long-time Metro worker Jenna Smith.

She will work with the co-chairs of the new task force, Lipscomb University President Randy Lowry and John Ingram, chair of Ingram Industries Inc.

Lipscomb President Lowry is also an “annual visiting professor” at Vermont Law Schools’ Environmental Law Center.

Members of the Green Ribbon Committee

Co-chairs:

John Ingram, Chairman of Ingram Industries Inc.

Randy Lowry, President of Lipscomb University

Members:

Alicia Batson, M.D., Owner and Market Grower of Hungry Gnome Farm

Michael Blosser, Vice President of Environmental Health and Safety for

Louisiana Pacific

Linda Breggin, Senior Attorney and Director of Southeast Environmental

Programs for the Environmental Law Institute

Laurel Creech, Director of Team Green

Anne Davis, Chair of the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Environment

Gary Gaston, Associate Design Director of Nashville Civic Design Center

Tom Hardin, Retired, Resident of Historic Edgefield

Doug Hausken, Executive Director of Cumberland River Compact

Jennifer Hagan-Dier, Assistant Commissioner of the State Department of

Revenue

Lawrence Jackson, Retired, President and CEO of Global Procurement for Wal-

Mart

Ellen Jacobson, Dermatologist, Skin MD

Decosta Jenkins, President and CEO of Nashville Electric Service

Skip Lawrence, Chief Managing Officer of Lawrence Bros LLC

Bert Mathews, President of The Mathews Co.

Diane Miller Mulloy, President of Milagro Biofuels

Diane Neighbors, Vice Mayor of Metropolitan Government of Nashville and

Davidson County

Jean Nelson, President and Executive Director of Land Trust for Tennessee

Mike Pearigen, Attorney with Farmer and Luna PLLC

Dave Pelton, President of Trust for the Future

Greer Tidwell, Director of Environmental Management for Bridgestone North

America

Steve Turner, Principal of MarketStreet Enterprises

David Williams, Vice Chancellor for University Affairs and Athletics, General

Counsel, Secretary of the University and Professor of Law for Vanderbilt niversity

Tiffany Wilmot, President of Wilmot Inc.