Most Recent Issue:

April 15, 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 Issue:
Issue Spotlight: Mercury Poisoning Reduction
Headliner: Invasive Water Species Target of National Campaign
Watchdog: ALEC Report Rips Four-Pollutants Bill
News From the States:
Protecting Wildlife
*CA: San Miguel Island’s Last Wild Fox Feared to be Dead
*MT: Entire Wolf Pack Killed
Children's Health
*NH: Landlord Sentenced to 15 Months in Lead Poisoning Case
Land & Water Use
*MA: Senate Passes Anti-Sprawl Measure
*CA: Governor’s Sprawl Legislation Drawing Opposition
Clean Energy
*NH: Senate Approves Emissions Plan
Drought Management
*NY: Wildlife Hurt by Drought’s Effect on Vernal Pools
*CT: State Introduces Special Drought Website
Protecting Wildlands
*NH: Senate Passes Bill to Fight Invasive Plants
Safe Air & Water
*IA: CAFO Bill Passes Senate Without Local Control
*CA: Bill Would Require Mercury Testing Around Oil Rigs
*OR: Funds Sought to Track Pesticides
*NC: State Considers Weakening Crop Dusting Rules
Recycling & Waste Disposal
*HI: State Poised to Adopt Bottle Bill
*NY: Bill Bans Solid Waste Bad Actors from Public Contracts
Other News
Rising Seas Threaten Chesapeake Bay Marshes
Report Calls For Coastal Area Strategy for Nitrogen and Phosphorus Pollution
New Handbook Helps "At Risk" Communities Achieve Environmental Justice

Issue Spotlight: Mercury Poisoning Reduction
Mercury really is the poison that's right under our nose, twofold: It's everywhere and few are aware of its toxic properties. This dangerous combination leads to thousands of Americans unnecessarily exposing themselves and others to this dangerous poison. In addition, people usually throw away products containing mercury, which eventually finds its way into our air and waters and leads to additional poisoning. SERC’s Mercury Poisoning Reduction web page, which can be found at http://www.serconline.org/mercury/pkg_frameset.html, offers the tools necessary for you to reduce mercury poisoning in your state, including sample bills, talking points, a press release, a fact pack, research, and other background information.

Headliner: Invasive Water Species Target of National Campaign
Hoping to slow the spread of invasive species in U.S. waters, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has unveiled a new national program called "Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers!" The campaign is designed to elevate awareness about the spread of aquatic nuisance species throughout the United States. The long term educational and outreach effort will offer advice, help and voluntary guidelines for aquatic recreation users. A web site, at http://www.protectyourwaters.net, has been designed for recreational users interested in helping to stop the spread of aquatic nuisance species. On a related note, SERC has created a web page to deal with invasive species transported in ship’s ballast water at http://www.serconline.org/ballast/index.html.

Watchdog: ALEC Report Rips Four-Pollutants Bill
Power plants from 1922 are still in operation, but they are not required to meet the environmental regulations every new facility must follow. Because of this 1970 loophole in the law, dirty plants have been "grandfathered" in from following the Clean Air Act. Senator Jeffords' "Clean Power Act" (S.556) and Rep. Henry Waxman's "Clean Smokestack Act" (H.R. 1256) plug this loophole in the law, stopping old plants from "legally" polluting the at rates up to 13 times higher than new plants with modern emissions controls. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) released a new report this week criticizing federal four pollutant bills. ALEC’s report targets federal “4P” legislation that requires substantial reductions in power plant emissions of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, mercury, and carbon dioxide, the principle "greenhouse" gas targeted by the Kyoto Protocol. ALEC called the reduction of fossil fuels to reduce air pollution a “false premise.” ALEC also opposes integrated air quality management, and stated that four pollutant bills are “horrendously wasteful” and “totally useless.” For more information on 4P bills, visit http://www.serconline.org/clean/index.html.

News From the States:

Protecting Wildlife
CA: San Miguel Island’s Last Wild Fox Feared to be Dead
The San Francisco Gate reported last week that wildlife officials believe the last wild island fox on San Miguel Island may be dead. The loss, which is the latest in a series of about a dozen deaths to wild island foxes in the Santa Cruz and Catalina islands area, is troubling to biologists who say the island foxes are teetering on the brink of extinction. Visit SERC’s endangered species webpage to learn about what can be done at the state level to protect endangered species.

MT: Entire Wolf Pack Killed
The Billings Gazette reported last week that the entire 10-member Whitehawk Mountain wolf pack was killed after non-lethal harassment techniques failed to prevent repeated attacks on livestock. According to wildlife officials the pack was responsible for killing 16 sheep, one guard dog and one calf. Before the latest depredations, the Nez Perce Tribe and Defenders of Wildlife had recruited volunteers to monitor the pack and try to deter them from further killings. Meanwhile, the Alliance for the Wild Rockies says the destruction of the Whitehawk Mountain wolf pack marked the second time that an entire wolf pack was eliminated in Idaho's Sawtooth National Recreation Area -- prime wolf habitat that is designated for wildlife and wilderness protection. Further, they say that other wolves will move into the slain wolves’ territory and that the best solution is preventing livestock producers from assuming ownership and rights in this wolf habitat area.

Children’s Health
NH: Landlord Sentenced to 15 Months in Lead Poisoning Case
In the first case ever in which a rental property manager was prosecuted for failing to notify a tenant about a lead-based paint hazard, James T. Aneckstein of Manchester, N.H., has been sentenced to 15 months imprisonment. Aneckstein failed to warn the mother of a two year-old about the lead hazards in her Manchester apartment and the child subsequently died of lead intoxication on April 21, 2000.

Land & Water Use
MA: Senate Passes Anti-Sprawl Measure
A 4/12 AP article reported that the approved a bill last week designed to curb sprawl by encouraging communities to manage expansion and conserve open space. The bill sets aside $50 million for the development of regional and local ''sustainable development'' plans that would include environmental conservation, economic development, and housing. Communities that use the money to produce growth plans would boost their ranking in state grant programs for open space, transportation, housing, and other projects. At the state level, the bill requires more coordination among agencies responsible for construction, transportation, housing, and environmental protection.

CA: Governor Pushing Sprawl Legislation, Drawing Opposition
AP reported last week that Gov. Gray Davis is pushing SB1521 that would give state government significant new power within two years over how and where its cities grow – and drawing significant resistance from business. The bill would produce a model California zoning ordinance by January 2004, and reward cities and counties that incorporate a new state vision of land-use planning. Supporters call it the governor's most significant move toward smart growth and a step toward reassuming California's national leadership role in growth management. While many states have model ordinances to guide how their cities and counties grow, California would be the first to link state goals to financial rewards, says American Planning Association senior researcher Stuart Meck.

Protecting Wildlands
NH: Senate Passes Bill to Fight Invasive Plants
Last week the Senate gave preliminary approval to a House-passed bill that would raise $295,000 annually for prevention, control and research of milfoil and other aquatic plants. Variable milfoil is a non-native plant that grows rapidly and is spread easily from lake to lake. It forms dense beds that deplete oxygen and alter the natural environment. The weeds are entangled easily on boats and boat trailers that spread it to other lakes.

Clean Energy
NH: Senate Approves Cap & Trade Emissions Plan
AP reported last week that the Senate gave preliminary approval to a plan to cap emissions from three old fossil fuel-burning power plants is moving forward. If the bill becomes law, New Hampshire would be the first state legislatively regulating emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide. Under the measure, Public Service Company of New Hampshire could clean up the plants or buy credits from utilities that own newer, cleaner plants. Critics like the emission caps, calling them aggressive for regulating carbon dioxide. But they don’t like the credits, which they argue make caps meaningless if Public Service Company can use them to avoid cleaning up New Hampshire plants. The plan already has passed the House and next goes to the Senate Finance Committee. For more information visit SERC’s Closing the Dirty Air Loophole.

Drought Management
NY: Wildlife Hurt by Drought’s Effect on Vernal Pools
Scientists and environmentalists are concerned about effects of the winter drought in southern New England, especially the state of vernal pools and all the woodland life that depends on them. The pools, which generally appear in wooded areas in late winter and dry up in the heat of summer, are critical to the reproduction of amphibians in the region. Today's situation is unprecedented in modern time – droughts are normally associated with hot, dry summers, but the current drought started last year and intensified over the winter. The winter, in fact, was the warmest in southern New England in more than a century of record keeping.

CT: State Introduces Special Drought Website
The departments of Public Health, Environmental Protection and Public Utility Control have launched a website to keep the public informed on drought conditions and to provide tips on conserving water. The site can be found at www.drought.state.ct.us

Safe Air & Water
IA: CAFO Bill Passes, But Without Local Control
In the final hours of the 2002 Legislature, state lawmakers agreed to new regulations (SF 2293) for livestock confinements that many rural Iowans have sought for years. It calls for county and state officials to use a scoring system, taking into account environmental and community factors, to evaluate proposed confinement sites. The state Department of Natural Resources would decide whether to approve a site. The Iowa Environmental Council has endorsed the legislation, but Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, was opposed to the bill unless lawmakers agreed to strengthen it by giving county’s control over livestock confinement site. Governor Vilsack has said he will sign the bill.

CA: Bill Would Require Mercury Testing Around Oil Rigs
The 4/11 Sacramento Bee reported that a bill introduced by Rep. Virginia Strom-Martin, would set up a task force to assess the concentration of mercury and other heavy metals around oil rigs that are a magnet for many species of fish - and the anglers who catch them. The bill was introduced after a recent series of reports in the Mobile (AL) Register drew attention to mercury contamination in the drilling fluids that oil and gas operations dump into the Gulf of Mexico.

OR: Funds Sought to Track Pesticides
AP reported last week that Gov. John Kitzhaber will ask lawmakers to provide more than $500,000 to implement a pesticide reporting law that’s supposed to inform people about when, where and in what amounts the toxic chemicals are being used around Oregon. The reporting law first was approved by the 1999 Legislature, but lawmakers have been reluctant to fund it largely because of objections raised by farmers and the pesticide industry. “What we are missing is information about pesticide use in nonagricultural settings, such as schools, roadsides, parks and golf courses,” spokeswoman Laura Weiss said. “The main reason to collect this information is to protect human health and the environment.”

NC: State Considers Weakening Crop Dusting Rules
AP reported last week that crop-dusters are asking the N.C. Pesticide Board to eliminate mandatory no-spray zones around homes and replace them with a regulation allowing small amounts of pesticides to drift onto yards and roofs. The state forbids aerial spraying of pesticides within 100 feet of homes and 300 feet of schools, hospitals, churches and nursing homes. The current regulations were put in place in 1984 after a Chatham County community was accidentally doused with herbicides.

Recycling & Waste Disposal
HI: State Poised to Adopt Bottle Bill
The Container Recycling Institute reports that conference committee action between April 11 and 26 is the last major hurdle before final passage of the deposit-return bottle bill SB2266 HD1 (http://www.opala.org/Complete_Bill_Language.htm). Last week the group Bottle Bill Hawaii held a rally at the state house in hopes of preventing a watered-down version from emerging out of the committee. For more information visit SERC’s Deposit-Return Recycling state info page.

NY: Bill Bars Solid Waste Bad Actors from Public Contracts
Environmental Advocates is advocating S6207, a bill that bars individuals and companies that have violated solid waste laws from obtaining public contracts or sitting on waste-related boards and policy-making panels. The length of the ban would vary according to the seriousness of the violation. The group says the solid waste industry is an excellent and obvious starting place for establishing a strong bad actor policy, because the collection, transportation, storage and disposal of waste has historically been rife with individuals who have helped define the environmental bad actor.

Other News

Rising Seas Threaten Chesapeake Bay Marshes
The latest of edition of “Eos,” a publication of the American Geophysical Union reported that new research by the University of Maryland indicates that the two largest estuaries on the east coast of the U.S. are losing marshland to rising sea levels caused by greenhouse warming. Almost all coastal marshes along the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays could disappear before 2100, if the sea level continues to rise at present rates or the higher rates predicted by climate models, the new study suggests. Loss of these marshes would be devastating, the researchers say, due to its effect on the food chain, water quality, and the amount of carbon that would be released into the oceans and atmosphere. Marshes act as carbon sinks, holding it in soils and vegetation and preventing the release of carbon dioxide gas.

New Handbook Helps "At Risk" Communities Achieve Environmental Justice
The Environmental Law Institute (ELI) has just published a new handbook, A Citizen's Guide to Using Federal Environmental Laws to Secure Environmental Justice. The report illustrates how citizens can use existing authorities to help ensure that communities of color and low-income communities do not bear a disproportionate share of pollution. The handbook is designed to introduce citizens to some of the ways in which environmental protection laws can be used to secure environmental justice. For more information, visit ELI’s website at http://www.eli.org

Report Calls For Coastal Area Strategy for Nitrogen and Phosphorus Pollution
The federal government -- together with state and local agencies -- should develop a comprehensive national strategy to combat nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in coastal waters, says a new report by the National Research Council of the National Academies. The overabundance of these nutrients -- especially nitrogen – is causing serious environmental damage on all of the nation's coasts, said the committee that wrote the report. Nitrogen makes its way to coastal waters from the atmosphere and upstream watersheds, via rivers that have been polluted by agricultural runoff, waste-water treatment plants, and the burning of fossil fuels. Coastal environmental quality could be significantly improved if local and state agencies focused on identifying sources of excess nutrients and reducing their release, the committee said. The report can be found at http://books.nap.edu/catalog/9812.html?onpi_newsdoc040400