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In this Edition:
Issue Spotlight: Closing The Dirty Air Loophole
Headliner: EPA Allows Dirty Air Power Plants to Expand Production
Watchdog: ALEC's Strategy to Kill "4-Pollutants" Bills 
News Important to the States:
Protecting Wildlife
*Oregon's State ESA Law Will Soon Come Into Play for Wolves 
Protecting Wildlands
*Study: Isolated Wetlands Play Crucial Ecological Role
Safe Air & Water
*Groups Seek Ban on Arsenic Laden Fertilizer
*New Rules in Delaware Target Repeat Polluters
Clean Energy
*NC House Passes Bill to Clean Up Old Power Plants
Recycling & Waste Disposal
*NY Bill Bans Disposable Cell Phones
Land & Water Use
*NRDC: Smart Urban Design Reduces Auto Use
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Issue Spotlight: Using 4 Pollutant Bills to Close The Dirty Air Loophole
When the federal Clean Air Act was enacted over 30 years ago, big utility companies successfully lobbied against stringent controls by saying the oldest, dirtiest power plants would soon be replaced by new state-of-the-art facilities. Many of those out-dated facilities -- which were already old in 1970 -- are still in use. In some cases, power plants from 1922 are still in operation and do not meet the environmental requirements that every new facility must follow. Because of this 1970 loophole in the law, dirty plants have been "grandfathered" from following the air pollution controls required by the Clean Air Act for new power plants. These old plants "legally" pollute the air at rates of 2 to 13 times higher than new plants with modern emissions controls. It is now up to the states to plug this loophole. SERC's web site Power Plant's Dirty Air Loophole gives you the tools to eliminate this loophole in your state and drastically cut power plant emissions of the four major pollutants by 2007.

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Headliner: EPA Allows Dirty Air Power Plants to Expand Production
The EPA released recommendation for alleged improvements to the New Source Review, a Clean Air Act Program, last week. These supposed improvements are detriments to the Clean Air Act that will allow power plants to expand their production without installing additional emissions controls. The EPA is
proposing relaxing Clean Air Act standards which require utilities to install additional pollution controls when they expand or modernize their facilities. Ironically, these are the same standards the EPA has been attempting to enforce through lawsuits and heavy fines. The EPA and utility industry lobbyists claim that the new source rule was deterring power plants from implementing needed pollution controls and expanding facilities. But these changes will loosen federal air pollution regulations and will shift the burden of cleaning up air pollution away from the industry. If enacted, the new rules would "basically mean that no existing power plants would ever have to get cleaned up," said David Hawkins at the Natural Resources Defense Council. The oldest plants could be "rebuilt piece by piece for hundreds of years," he said. 

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Watchdog: ALEC's Strategy to Kill "4-Pollutants" Bills 
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) released a report recently attacking four pollutant bills. ALEC’s report targets “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 about this and other harmful actions, visit SERC's Watchdog page.
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News Important to the States:

Protecting Wildlife
Oregon's State ESA Law Will Soon Come Into Play for Wolves 
The 6/11 Oregonian reported that, n preparation for the transfer   of wolf management to the states, both conservationists and agribusiness interests are paying increased attention to  Oregon's state endangered species act (ESA), a law that has long gone unnoticed. The Oregon Cattlemen's Association and Farm Bureau want wolves removed from the state's list while conservationists are pushing the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission to take the first steps mandated by the state ESA to return wolves to Oregon.  The  "ultimate showdown" may come next year in the Oregon legislature,  where wolf opponents are mobilizing to revise or repeal the state ESA. To learn how to create a similar state an ESA in your state, visit SERC's Protecting Endangered Species page.

Protecting Wildlands
Study: Isolated Wetlands Play Crucial Ecological Role
A new report by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says isolated wetlands are both exceptionally important and exceptionally vulnerable to destruction. The report lends urgency to calls for conserving isolated wetlands that lost their federal protection in a January 2001 Supreme Court decision. To learn how your state can protect isolated wetlands, click here.

Safe Air & Water
Groups Seek Ban on Arsenic Laden Fertilizer
Public health and environmental advocates are calling on home improvement stores to stop selling a fertilizer made from mining waste that is contaminated with arsenic. Last week 23 groups sent a letter to Home Depot, Lowes and Target asking them to put the safety of their customers first, and stop selling a product called Ironite.  Ironite is a fertilizer produced from the mine tailings of a proposed Superfund site in Humboldt, Arizona and sold to consumers as a lawn and garden fertilizer. Testing by government agencies has found levels of  arsenic high enough to classify the fertilizer as a hazardous waste. Although federal law requires that hazardous waste be disposed of in regulated landfills, a legal loophole called the Bevill Exemption excludes the mining industry. Several states, including Maine, have moved to ban the fertilizer at the state level.

Delaware: New Rules Target Repeat Polluters
AP reported last week that a state panel is set to vote this week on draft rules for branding repeat polluters as chronic violators subject to tougher sanctions and closer oversight. Delaware lawmakers ordered development of the regulations last year. Under the regulations, chronic violators would face administrative fines of up to $10,000 per violation per day. To learn what other states are doing to hold polluters accountable, visit SERC's Environmental Enforcement State Info page.

Clean Energy
NC House Passes Bill to Clean Up Old Power Plants
NCEL reported last week that the North Carolina House passed The Clean Smokestacks Bill                         (S1078/H1015). The bill requires old power plants to meet the same emission control standards required of new plants. The bill cuts power plant emissions of sulfur dioxide 70 percent from 2001 levels by 2013, and nitrogen oxides would drop 33 percent beyond federally mandated reductions by 2007. Mercury emissions would also be reduced. To learn how your state can clean up old power plants, visit SERC's web site: Power Plant's Dirty Air Loophole.

Recycling & Waste Disposal
NY Bill Bans Disposable Cell Phones
Environmental Advocates of NY is strongly supporting A10259, which would prohibit the sale of                          disposable cellular telephones. The group says many companies plan to introduce disposable phones, a move that would serve to greatly encourage the toxic explosion of electronic waste. By prohibiting this bad idea, this bill puts manufacturers, and consumers on notice, that New York plans to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. To learn more about what other states are doing to prevent the hazardous materials in electronic waste from being re-circulated into the environment, visit SERC's Electronic Waste State Info page. 

Land & Water Use
NRDC: Smart Urban Design Reduces Auto Use 
A new study suggests that better urban design can reduce auto use and relieve the traffic congestion and pollution that come with it.  The researchers' analysis of the San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago metropolitan areas found a direct  link between the amount people drive and city attributes like neighborhood density, transit access, and pedestrian and bicycle friendliness. According to the authors, those attributes measure an area's "location efficiency" - the more efficient the location, the less people drive.  "We now have empirical evidence that smart growth works," said David Goldstein, a coauthor of the study and director of the energy program at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). "This study shows that people who live in more convenient communities are less dependent on cars. These communities are not only more convenient, they're also more livable because they tend to have cleaner air and water and more protected open space." The study, "Location Efficiency: Neighborhood and Socio-Economic Characteristics Determine Auto Ownership and Use," appeared in the March 2002 issue  of the journal "Transportation Planning and Technology."  For related information about this issue, visit SERC's Traffic Congestion Relief.

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