Abstract
This paper explores how watershed organizations in Appalachia have persisted in addressing water quality issues in areas with a history of coal mining. We identified two watershed groups that have taken responsibility for restoring local creeks that were previously highly degraded and sporadically managed. These watershed groups represent cases of self-organized commons governance in resource-rich, economically poor Appalachian communities. We describe the extent and characteristics of links between watershed group volunteers and watershed residents who are not group members. Through surveys, participant observation, and key-informant consultation, we found that neighbors – group members as well as non-group-members – supported the group's function through informal neighboring acts. Past research has shown that local commons governance institutions benefit from being nested in supportive external structures. We found that the persistence and success of community watershed organizations depends on the informal participation of local residents, affirming the necessity of looking beyond formal, organized groups to understand the resources, expertise, and information needed to address complex water pollution at the watershed level. Our findings augment the concept of nestedness in commons governance to include that of a formal organization acting as a neighbor that exchanges informal neighboring acts with local residents. In this way, we extend the concept of neighboring to include interactions between individuals and a group operating in the same geographic area.
Highlights
It was around March 2008 – and I just started getting calls on my phone where the creek had changed colors and it started turning red
The region suffers from class divisions and low community-level social capital (Duncan 2001). This history of coal mining and resource dependence provides the backdrop for this research. Within this Appalachian context, we investigated the following research questions: (1) What are the extent and characteristics of links between and within geographic communities and formal watershed organizations? (2) How might these links affect a watershed group’s success, in terms of persistence and performance? many local residents (“non-group-member residents”) did not identify as watershed group members, we found that these residents still supported the watershed groups in ways similar to what the literature describes as “neighboring acts.”
We describe the extent and characteristics of the links between and within geographic communities and watershed groups, as revealed through data collected related to neighboring acts (See Figure 1)
Summary
It was around March 2008 – and I just started getting calls on my phone where the creek had changed colors and it started turning red. Protection Agency considers the two primary sources of pollution – acid mine drainage from coal mines abandoned prior to 19773 and untreated household sewerage “straight piped” directly into streams – to be “nonpoint source pollution” (U.S Environmental Protection Agency 2013) This designation means that residents lack legal recourse to systematically address the pollution; discharge permits are not required; and effluent limits do not apply to nonpoint sources. Not legally stream owners, watershed groups are part of a movement to reduce pollution from the resource system and create institutions to govern the de facto commons at the local level where governance is lacking or intermittent.4 Both groups in this study were 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, had clearly defined internal roles, and were working toward clean water in waterways Not legally stream owners, watershed groups are part of a movement to reduce pollution from the resource system and create institutions to govern the de facto commons at the local level where governance is lacking or intermittent. Both groups in this study were 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, had clearly defined internal roles, and were working toward clean water in waterways
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