This was an interview with Fred Tutman, Patuxent Riverkeeper,

cameras used;
nikon d7000, panasonic tm700.

title sequence: motion 4
editing: fcp

Questions discussed:

Please talk about your upbringing, experiences leading to your Riverkeeping position, and the history of the area.

You are also the Patuxent River Commisioner. What is that?

You were President of the Conservation Federation of Maryland. What did they do?

Are you also an Appalachian Trail volunteer?

Do you know Charlie Graf?

You were president of the Patuxent River Civic Association. What did they do?

Can you talk about the Bernie Fowler Award you won?

Can you talk about the Patuxent River, generally? For example, how long is it?

What do the boundaries of the Patuxent River look like? Is it mostly trees, like we have here?

Of course, it just rained, but this water behind looks very brown. Is
there a sedimentation problem in the Patuxent River?

You mentioned that large ships-of-the-line once sailed on the Patuxent River. How is it that so much sedimentation can occur?

Some people call sediment a form of pollution. Why is that?

Q12: What are some of the quantities you measure to understand
pollution on the Patuxent River?

From a post on, dated 2011-05-04

Using the online EPA database ECCO, legal intern Martin Saunders found these "most chronic" violators:

Arcal Chemicals, Dorsey Run Advanced WWTP, Fort Meade WWTP, Harwood
Landfill Inc., Maryland Manor Mobile Homes, MD & VA Milk Producers
Coop Association, Mirant Chalk Point LLC, Parkway WWTP, Patuxent Wildlife Research, Piney Orchard WWTP, Western Branch WWTP.

What percentage of the Patuxent River's pollution is coming from wastewater treatment plants?

How does that 75% non-point source pollution break down?

For example, is some of it due to animal waste from farms?

What is a CAFO?

You mentioned environmental laws. Are they effective in preventing pollution?

You mentioned that the Patuxent River was given a D-. What does that mean in terms of the pollution levels?

Does the Riverkeeper do the measurements of nitrogen and phosphorus levels? Or does the EPA do them?

Your website is You are saying that there is
another website with this pollution measurement information. Is there
a link on your site to the other site?

What do you think should be done? You mentioned litigation. It's difficult to sue, isn't it?

Can you talk about your opinion of some technologies such as biogas digesters, and about nutrient trading programs?

You sound sceptical about how new technologies might contribute to a solution to the pollution problem. Is that a correct interpretation?

Speaking of chemicals, do you fish on the Patuxent River?

I've heard about fish being caught with cancer growths. Can you comment?

Can you talk a little about the Patuxent River's contribution (in terms of flow) to the Chesapeake Bay?

Can you talk about the Waterkeeper Flotilla event in Annapolis last week?

Was there symbolism in the way you organized the waterkeepers to arrive in Annapolis by water as a boat flotilla?


Thanks to

* Fred Tutman and the Patuxent Riverkeeper Organization for the video of the Patuxent River.

* Wikipedia for maps of the Patuxent River watershed and the image of the HMS Victory.

* Two of the Flotilla photos are from Fred Tutman's site,, and taken by Jamie B.
All remaining video and photos are by me, and licensed under cc-by-sa,

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