| Wildlines Archive
Most Recent Issue:
March 25, 2002
A publication of the State Environmental Resource Center (SERC) bringing
you the most important news on state environmental issues from across the
country.
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In this Edition:
Headliner: Handful of Utility Companies Responsible for
Dirty Air Emissions
Issue Spotlight: Electronic Waste
Watchdog: Smart Growth Programs Being Cut Nationwide
News From the States:
Equal Justice
*FL: "Environmental Straight Jacket" Bill
Passes House
Protecting Wildlife
*WA: Lack of Streamflow Pushing Fish to "Brink
of Extinction"
Safe Air & Water
*CA: Senate Debates Landfilling Radioactive Waste
*VT: Friends of Energizer Batteries Stall Mercury
Bill
*ME: House Votes to Ban Arsenic Fertilizers
Anti-Terrorism
*CT: State Doling Out Anti-Radiation Pills
Land & Water Use
*IA: "Monumental" CAFO Bill Unveiled
*KY: Smart Growth Bill Gets Out of Committee
*NY: Bill Puts State Liens on Clean-Up Sites
Clean Energy
*CA: Gov Backs Bill that Doubles RPS
*WI: DNR Campaign Urges Cleaner Engines
Funding
*TN: DNR Threatens to Close Popular State Parks
Recycling & Waste Disposal
*NY: Bill Bans Yard Waste in Landfills & Incinerators
*VA: Gov Declares State of Emergency For Waste Tire
Fire
Other News:
*Coalition Wants ALL Toxic Wood Preservatives Banned
*New Snowmobile Engine Cuts Pollution by 99%
*Lakes Didn't Freeze for the First Time in Recorded
History
*NAS Calls for Bottom Trawling Ban
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Headliner: Handful of Utility Companies Responsible for Dirty
Air Emissions
A new report from a coalition of environmental and public interest
groups reveals that just 20 electric utilities in the United States
are responsible for half the carbon dioxide, mercury, nitrogen
oxides and sulfur dioxide pollution emitted by the 100 largest
power generating companies in the nation. Further, between four
and six companies account for 25 percent of the emissions of each
pollutant. The report's authors say the study highlights the financial
and political stakes in the current debate over reducing power
plant emissions. The report, "Benchmarking Air Emissions of the
100 Largest Electric Generation Owners in the U.S. - 2000," was
released by the NRDC, the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible
Economies (CERES), and the Public Service Enterprise Group Inc.
(PSEG) and can be read at: http://www.ceres.org/reports/issue_reports.htm#utility.
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Issue Spotlight: Electronic Waste
NCEL reports that eighteen states have introduced over twenty
pieces of legislation relating to electronic waste, or e-waste,
during the 2001 and 2002 legislative sessions. From prohibiting
the disposal of cathode ray tubes to funding recycling programs,
these bills attempt to limit the amounts of electronic equipment
that end up in landfills. According to the U.S. EPA, electronic
equipment accounts for roughly one percent of the total municipal
waste stream. Read a list of states, links to the legislation,
and bill descriptions compiled by NCEL at http://www.ncel.net/base.cgim?template=bulletins_archive,
or see SERC's Electronic Waste Policy Issues Pacage at http://www.serconline.org/ewaste/pkg_frameset.html.
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Watchdog: Smart Growth Programs Being Cut Nationwide
A report released last week by the Natural Resources Defense Council,
Sprawl Watch Clearinghouse and Smart Growth America says that
more than a dozen states have made or are considering massive
cuts to smart growth programs to address budget shortfalls. The
report warned that cutting these vital programs eventually will
threaten local economies, the environment and public health, and
called on state legislators to defend them. Some state officials,
who apparently realize the long-term benefits of smart growth
initiatives, are expanding these programs or starting new ones.
Report authors say these officials are responding to their constituents:
"While our national priorities clearly have changed since the
tragic events of September 11, Americans have a different set
of local priorities, and sprawl is one of their top concerns,"
said Allison Smiley, director of the Sprawl Watch Clearinghouse.
"Even in last November's election, voters passed 73 percent of
the open space protection ballot measures in 14 states." View
the report at: http://www.nrdc.org/cities/smartgrowth/pstatebgts.asp.
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News From the States:
Equal Justice
Florida: "Environmental Group Straight Jacket" Bill
Passes House
The 3/21 St. Petersburg Times reported that the House passed a
HB 819, 71-46, to prevent people not directly affected by a development
from challenging it. "You're telling the people to 'shut up. You
no longer have a right to speak,'" complained state Rep.
Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa. Under the bill, established nonprofit
environmental groups registered in Florida could only challenge
a development if the group had at least 25 members in the county
where the development is proposed.
Protecting Wildlife
Washington: Lack of Streamflow Pushing Fish to "Brink
of Extinction"
A recent report by the Washington Environmental Council and Center
for Environmental Law and Policy is highly critical of the state's
Department of Ecology for not stopping illegal water use and for
failing to "manage water supplies to help pull endangered fish
back from the brink of extinction." View the report at: http://www.wecprotects.org/streams/waterreport.cfm.
Safe Air & Water
California: Senate Debates Landfilling Radioactive Waste
The Environmental News Service reported last week that a battle
over the disposal of low level radioactive waste in municipal
landfills has erupted in the California Senate. Senator Gloria
Romero has introduced SB 1623, a bill to prohibit the landfilling
and recycling of radioactive waste. Both the Sierra Club and Committee
to Bridge the Gap, a nuclear policy group, are backing Romero's
bill and contending that the radioactive material exposes nearby
communities and landfill workers to the risk of cancer.
Vermont: Friends of Energizer Batteries Stall Mercury Bill
S 91, a bill that would eventually ban the sale of many products
containing the toxic substance mercury survived one crucial test
in the Vermont Senate last week, but was held up by opponents
on a procedural move. Fearful of the potential impact on one of
their largest employers -- Eveready's Energizer battery plant
in Bennington -- Bennington County's delegation helped stall the
wide-ranging mercury bill. The bill would ban the sale of certain
products containing mercury after one year and ban the sale of
any product containing more than 100 milligrams of mercury starting
in four years.
Maine: House Votes to Ban Arsenic Fertilizers
By a vote of 76-66, the House has voted in support of an amended
version of LD 1944, introduced by Rep. Scott Cowger. The version
of the bill adopted by the House, which still faces a Senate vote,
would prohibit the sale of fertilizers containing more than 500ppm
of arsenic. If enacted, the bill would have the effect of banning
the sale of the fertilizer Ironite, which contains 4,000 parts
per million (ppm) of arsenic and 3,000 ppm of lead.
Anti-Terrorism
Connecticut: State Doling Out Anti-Radiation Pills Near Nuclear
Power Plants
The state's emergency management director reiterated last week
his agency's plan to give anti-radiation pills to residents living
within 10 miles of the Millstone nuclear power plant. After the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the government expedited its previous
plan to distribute the pills. According to the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, potassium iodide, if taken in time, blocks the thyroid
gland's intake of radioactive iodine and helps prevent thyroid
cancers and other thyroid diseases that might be caused by exposure
in the event of a severe nuclear accident.
Land & Water Use
Iowa: "Monumental" CAFO Bill Unveiled
The 3/24 Des Moines Register reported that last week a bipartisan
task force of Iowa lawmakers unveiled SF 2293, their long-awaited
plan to limit water and air pollution from livestock confinements,
setting the framework for one of the most significant environmental
initiatives in state history. Richard Kelley of the University
of Iowa Hygienic Laboratory said fulfillment of the proposal would
amount to a monumental improvement. The legislation is full of
firsts for the state: air-pollution limits on livestock confinements,
ban on building livestock operations in floodplains; fees charged
to producers to help pay for state environmental inspectors' work,
and limits on manure applications based on how much algae- feeding
phosphorus the material contains. The bill also includes a new
checklist to rate the social and environmental risks of a proposed
confinement and a fresh set of stiffer fines for spill-related
environmental damage, to be set by state environmental commissions.
Kentucky: Smart Growth Bill Gets Out of Committee
The House Appropriations and Revenue Committee voted in favor
of a scaled-down version of HB 600, which establishes a state
planning assistance office that will help city and county governments
manage their growth and development. The office will also encourage
-- but not mandate -- that all 120 Kentucky counties adopt countywide
planning. Only 26 counties now have such planning.
New York: Bill Puts State Liens on Clean-Up Sites
Reps Brodsky and Luster have introduced A 1051, a bill that would
place state liens on hazardous waste sites the state has paid
to clean-up. The intent of the bill is to prevent those who have
a legal obligation to clean up hazardous waste sites from benefiting
financially from a government clean up.
Clean Energy
California: Gov Backs Bill that Doubles RPS
Governor Gray Davis has backed legislation that would almost double
the amount of electricity produced from renewable energy sources
in California in eight years. Speaking at the solar powered Potrero
Hill Neighborhood House in San Francisco, Davis voiced his support
for the Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (SB 532), introduced
by state senator Byron Sher. The bill would require the state's
three investor owned utilities to increase the percentage of energy
they generate from renewable sources to 20 percent by 2010. Currently,
energy from the wind, sun, geothermal sources, biomass, and water
now provides about 12 percent of the state's electricity supply
- more than any other state.
Wisconsin: DNR Campaign Urges Cleaner Marine Engines
A new DNR campaign is encouraging Wisconsin boaters to consider
environmentally friendly options if they are planning to purchase
a new boat or motor this spring. While new federal emissions standards
for marine engines will not kick in until 2006, some boat manufacturers
are already switching to cleaner engines. However, inefficient
machines are still available, and are often less expensive than
more advanced two and four stroke fuel injected motors. Manufacturers
of these new motors claim emission reductions of up to 75 percent
over their carbureted models with fuel efficiency increased by
as much as 40 percent.
Funding
Tennessee: DNR Threatens to Close Popular State Parks
The 3/22 Tennessean reported the Commissioner of the Department
of Environment and Conservation testified before the House Finance
Committee that if funding cuts take place, it will force more
state parks to be closed. Similar budget cuts took place last
year and resulted in the department closing 14 state parks. Some
committee members charged that the commissioner is playing politics
by making popular state parks the first to go to the chopping
block, to which the commissioner replied, "Two years ago
we were one of the top parks systems in the United States. Management
hasn't changed. Only the shortage of money has changed."
Recycling & Waste Disposal
New York: Bill Bans Yard Waste in Landfills & Incinerators
The group Environmental Advocates is strongly supporting A 7201,
a bill that would prohibit the disposal of yard waste in a landfill
or the burning of it in an incinerator. The group points out that
there are many benefits to such a ban: localities will reduce
the waste flow to landfill by up to 18 percent, facilities that
burn this waste will reduce their smog and acid raid producing
nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions, and a ban would likely encourage
people to use mulching mowers, a measure that greatly helps retain
water in lawns and reduces lawn-watering consumption.
Virginia: Gov Declares State of Emergency For Waste Tire Fire
Today's Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that Gov. Mark R. Warner has
declared a state of emergency in Roanoke County as the state's largest
illegal tire dump burned for a second day. County officials have decided
to let the tires, up to 4 million of them, burn themselves out - a course
that could take months. Officials said they have decided to let the tires
burn because pouring water on burning rubber creates an oily residue that
often leaks into groundwater.
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Other News:
Coalition Wants ALL Toxic Wood Preservatives Banned
Last month, the EPA announced an agreement with the wood preserving
industry in which, after December 31, 2003, wood treaters will no longer
be able to use chromated copper arsenate (CCA) to treat wood. However,
a coalition of environmental and public health groups say the ban is not
sufficient and should also include two other toxic wood preservatives -
pentachlorophenol (penta) and creosote.
New Snowmobile Engine Cuts Pollution by 99%
Colorado State University engineering students have designed a snowmobile
that decreases pollution by more than 99 percent, cuts fuel consumption
35 percent, reduces noise to conversational levels and matches the power
of today's top performing commercial machines. A typical snowmobile engine
is so inefficient it can produce as much air pollution as 100 cars. The
engine design developed by the CSU students has the potential to reduce
the environmental impact of snowmobiling and decrease pollution in developing
countries. "A major part of the air pollution in Asian and African cities
is generated by vehicles with traditional two-stroke engines such as those
used in snowmobiles. Our new cost effective, two stroke technology has
the potential to significantly reduce pollution throughout the developing
world," said Bryan Willson, associate professor of mechanical engineering.
Lakes Didn't Freeze for the First Time in Recorded History
With the end of winter last week, Dr. Kenton Stewart reported that
in his 30 years of studying freeze-thaw cycles of lakes in New York state,
he has never seen some lakes in his lake ice network stay unfrozen for
an entire winter - until this winter. In September 2000, Stewart and other
lake ice scientists from around the world published a paper in the journal
"Science" in which they drew the first global picture of trends in the
formation and dissolution of ice on lakes and rivers in the Northern Hemisphere
during the past 150 years. Stewart and his coauthors hypothesize that changes
in lake ice dates can warn of climate change.
NAS Calls for Bottom Trawling Ban
The 3/19 LA Times reported that the National Academy of Sciences has
released a report condemning the "devastation to sea life" caused by hauling
large nets across the ocean floor. The practice was "likened to 'clear
cutting' the oceans" and the NAS recommended that bottom trawling be banned
in fragile marine habitats and sharply reduced in other areas with requirements
to modify gear to do less damage. The recommendations have widespread support
in Congress, among marine conservationists and within the commercial and
recreational fishing industries.
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