Most Recent Issue:

Watchdog: Coors / ALEC Audit Privilege Bill
The so-called "Environmental Audit Privilege" bill, which was originally written by the Coors corporation and circulated by the American Legislative Exchange Council, is turning up in state legislatures across the country. This bill has been aptly named the "polluter protection act" because state penalties are waived and records are sealed when polluters conduct "self-audits" and report their own violations of environmental laws. This bill puts the
public's right-to-know about environmental, workplace, and industrial hazards far behind protecting the secrecy of polluters and other corporate wrongdoers. As a high-ranking EPA enforcement official put it: "This is coming from big companies that have been targets of enforcement action." To find out more about this and other harmful legislation being circulated in the states, please visit SERC's Watchdog page.

News from the States

Protecting Wildlands
Pennsylvania: For Now, Forests Saved from Drilling
The 4/26 Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the DNR has suspended a plan to allow energy companies to drill for gas in the wilderness of northern Pennsylvania, bowing to protests that the public was shut out of a deal that environmentalists say would destroy one of the largest swaths of forest in the eastern United States. The DNR said it would postpone its auction next month of drilling rights on 500,000 acres - or one quarter - of state forest lands.  The plan was made known earlier this month after an environmental group saw an advertisement for bids
printed in a local newspaper. A bipartisan group of critics, including legislators, environmental groups and gubernatorial candidates, condemned the agency for orchestrating the deal behind closed doors. State Rep. Camille "Bud" George called for legislation (HB 2458) requiring state agencies to produce an environmental-impact statement before allowing drilling and also requiring public notification of oil and gas lease offerings 90 days before the sale.

Children's Health
Rhode Island: Gov Calls for Smoking Ban in Child-Serving Restaurants
The 4/25 Providence Journal reported that Governor Almond has called on the House Finance Committee to support H 6957, which phases in a ban on smoking in restaurants that serve children.  The bill would prohibit smoking in restaurants, except for those with bar areas that are enclosed from the dining area and have separate ventilation systems.  State Health Department Director Patricia A. Nolan told the committee statistics show
secondhand smoke is the third-leading cause of preventable death in the country and that in children it leads to respiratory infections, ear infections and asthma.

Funding
Florida: 100 Million May Be Cut From Preservation Fund
The 4/26 St. Petersburg Times reported that environmental activists have sounded the alarm over what they called the theft of land conservation dollars that helped cement a budget deal. The $49-billion budget deal that lawmakers will consider in a special session next week includes a plan to take $100-million from land conservation programs. When the idea to use environmental money for other purposes first surfaced last year, 89 members of the House signed a petition opposing it, and environmental groups are asking all House members to sign it again.

Pennsylvania: Poll Shows 78% Oppose Environmental Budget Cuts
A coalition of conservation, sporting, and economic development groups are proposing a dedicated environmental funding source for Pennsylvania. A poll commissioned by The Trust for Public Land shows that 78% of voters support the measure and oppose scaling back the state's current environmental programs.

Minnesota: Sales Tax for Natural Resources Gaining Support
The 4/28 Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that four Dem and two GOP candidates for governor said last week that they support constitutionally dedicating a percentage of the state sales tax to fund natural resources. A bill that would dedicate three-sixteenths of 1 percent of the state sales tax was introduced last year, but failed to advance. Outdoors groups are hoping to push during next year's session.

Clean Energy
Connecticut: New Deal Tightens Rules for 'Sooty Six'
The Hartford Courant reported last week that after five years of disputes and defeats, lawmakers and environmentalists have reached a bipartisan agreement with Gov. John G. Rowland to tighten emission standards at six of Connecticut's oldest and dirtiest power plants. Within three hours of the announcement, the state House of Representatives passed the bill, 134-15, that is intended to reduce the amount of sulfur dioxide emitted from the so-called Sooty Six plants by 2005. The agreement contains provisions the governor has strongly
opposed in the past, including ending "credit trading." The proposed legislation would require the plants to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions by January 2005 to a so-called 0.3 standard - about half of the 1999 average for the plants. Environmental activists say the new proposal would clean the air in the immediate vicinity of the plants, where sulfur dioxide is believed to cause health problems for residents. To learn about what your state can do reduce power plant emissions, visit SERC's Power Plant's Dirty Air Loophole page.

North Carolina: Gov Announces Plan To Cut Emissions Without Higher Rates
The 4/26 Winston-Salem Journal reported that Governor Mike Easley has announced a plan to reduce pollution by modernizing 14 of the state's coal-fired power plants.  The plan - unlike an earlier proposal - would not bring bigger electricity bills for residential and industrial customers. Last year, a proposal that called for passing the cost of the $2.3 billion cleanup plan on to customers unraveled in the House after it met bitter resistance from big
electricity users, including manufacturers and farmers, who said that the extra cost could cripple their industries. The plan brokered by Easley would impose a five-year freeze on electricity rates for customers of Duke Power and CP&L, a subsidiary of Progress Energy. Officials with both companies said they do not expect to raise rates after that to comply with the plan.  It would require the plants to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide - which causes acid rain - by about 78 percent from 1998 levels by 2009. And it would cut smog-forming nitrogen oxides about 74 percent - again, from 1998 levels - by 2013. "We're getting a high level of emissions reductions and people's utility bills won't change," said Michael Shore of Environmental Defense. "This is a totally different proposal and it's innovative and it's out of the box, and I think the governor forced it to happen." Legislative leaders expect the proposal to pass the House and Senate.

Protecting Wildlife
New York: Senate Passes Lead Sinker Ban
AP reported that last week the state legislature prohibited the sale of most lead fishing sinkers in an effort to protect wildlife and rid the food chain of the potentially lethal poison. "Loons, swans, herons and a couple of dozen other birds are poisoned when they eat the sinkers, thinking they are small stones that aid their digestion," said William Cooke of Audubon New York. The measure (A 8683) also seeks to end the hazardous practice of biting down on lead "split-shot'' weights to affix the sinker on a fishing line.  The measure has been approved by
the Assembly and now goes to Gov. George Pataki.

Connecticut: House Overrides Veto of Power Line Moratorium
Last week the House of Representatives overrode Gov. John G. Rowland's veto of a moratorium on the installation of new energy lines under Long Island Sound.  The idea of a moratorium on energy cable projects was prompted by the recent proliferation of proposals for power lines and natural gas pipelines in Long Island Sound. Proponents say their chief concern is the ecology, including the effect on shellfish beds and the threat of churning up toxins that have settled to the Sound's floor.

Colorado: New Facility Reintroduces First Batch of  Endangered Fish
Biologists in Colorado working toward the recovery of native fish species released 300 Arkansas darters and 300 southern redbelly dace in springs at the Hugo State Wildlife Area last week. The 600 fish from the John W. Mumma Native Aquatic Species Restoration Facility (NASRF) are the first ones raised in captivity at the Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) facility. There are 54 fish species, 13 amphibians and 37 mollusks native to
Colorado. Of these, over half of the fish, 100 percent of the amphibians, and three percent of the mollusks are listed as endangered, threatened, or as species of special concern. For related information about what you can do to protect endangered species in your state, visit SERC's Protecting Endangered Species page.

Garbage & Waste Disposal
Hawaii: Conferees Approve Bottle Bill
Long-awaited approval of a nickel deposit / return bottle bill (HB 1256) by House and Senate conferees occurred last week -- despite strong last minute lobbying by the beverage industry. "You're doing your job right when the special interests are screaming and angry at the end of the session," said House Majority Whip Brian Schatz. To learn more about what other state's bottle bills, visit our state info page. 

Kentucky: Gov Signs 'Historic' Clean-Up Bill
The 4/24 Lexington Herald-Leader reported that Governor Paul Patton signed HB 174, a bill aimed at sealing abandoned landfills and cleaning up litter and illegal roadside dumps. Calling it the most significant piece of legislation passed by the 2002 General Assembly, HB 174 imposes a fee of $1.75 on each ton of solid waste dumped at state landfills or transferred out of state. The state would use half of the $9 million collected annually to assess the dangers from abandoned landfills, and half to finance $25 million in bonds to begin sealing them. Up to $1 million in interest from the fund would pay for environmental education in schools. The rest of the fund would help counties clean up illegal dumps, provided they met certain rules, including hiring of a solid-waste coordinator and making every effort to collect delinquent trash-pickup fees. The signing of the bill is a "historic step" for Kentucky, said the measure's sponsor, House Majority Floor Leader Greg Stumbo.

Drought Management
Colorado: Bill Protects Streamflow Thru Purchase of Water Rights
The 4/26 Denver Post reported that with drought on its mind, the House gave preliminary approval to SB 156, which would increase the Colorado Water Conservation Board's authority to protect so-called instream flows by accepting donations of water rights or buying them to improve fisheries habitat.  The bill now has to pass a third reading before it goes back to the Senate for a review.

New Jersey: Gov Orders New Rules for Building Near State Waters
The 4/23 Star-Ledger reported that in response to the drought, Governor James E. McGreevey has ordered new rules to protect the quality of water at a series of sites across the state, including reservoirs that provide drinking water for 3.5 million New Jerseyans. The rules will allow the state Department of Environmental Protection to deny new or modified proposals for sewer systems or building developments that would harm the water quality in
portions of six streams and in nine reservoirs.  Those seeking approval for development would have to prove their projects do not pose any negative "measurable" change to water quality to these waterways. "Governor McGreevey has given us a lot to celebrate this Earth Day," said Dena Mottola, acting director of the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group.

New Mexico: Santa Fe Buys 10,000 Low-Flow Toilets & Shower Heads
A 4/24 AP report said that the Santa Fe City Council  has voted in favor of spending $1 million on 10,000 low-flow toilets and showerheads to reduce water usage. The toilets will be given away free to city residents. City officials say they hope to save about 300,000 gallons a day once the toilets and showerheads are installed.

Safe Air & Water
Delaware: Governor Calls For Tracking Cancer
AP reported last week that Gov. Ruth Ann Minner has said she plans to propose legislation next week to require doctors and hospitals to provide information from cancer patients to a statewide data collection system run by the Department of Public Health.  Minner's comments came after a statewide task force released a report with 26 recommendations to help reduce the state's cancer mortality rate, which is the highest in the nation.  The
environmental community views tracking of health problems the best first step in identifying previously unknown air and water risks.

Alaska: Pesticide Right-To-Know Bill Gets out of Committee
The Alaska Conservation Alliance reported last week that Rep. Sharon Cissna's HB 66 pesticides right-to-know bill has been voted out of the Health, Labor and Commerce Committee. The Alliance says the bill contains provisions to essentially fund itself and would result in information that could be used by researchers and policy makers to determine the best ways to regulate the use of these chemicals to limit public exposure and to protect  water and subsistence food from contamination.

Nevada: House Committee Votes to Override Yucca Veto
ENS reported last week that the House Energy and Commerce Committee has voted 41-6 to override Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn's veto of the Yucca Mountain nuclear dump. Earlier this month, Guinn used his authority under a special federal law to veto the Bush administration's approval of Yucca Mountain. The vote sends the resolution to the full House, which is expected to approve the measure. Opponents of the Yucca Mountain site hope that the Democratically controlled Senate will opt to let Guinn's veto stand.

Other News

Report Says One-Fourth of States in Danger of Losing Species
Almost one quarter of U.S. states are facing the possibility of losing at least 10 percent of their native species, finds a new report from The Nature Conservancy. The report examines the status of more than 21,000 wild plants and animals and ranks each state by both its biodiversity, and the risks to that biological wealth. "This report holds both hope and peril," said Steve McCormick, president of The Nature Conservancy. "As an important snapshot of the biological health of our nation, it shows the extraordinary richness of the flora and fauna across all 50 states. But it also serves as a stark reminder that too many of se species are at risk of vanishing forever." The report ranks all 50 states on several key biological characteristics including diversity of species, distinctiveness of the animals and plants, levels of rarity and risk, and species already lost to extinction. A copy of the report is available at http://nature.org/earthday/files/states_of_the_union_report.pdf 

__________________________________________________________________________