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Volume
I, Number 3 |
January
21, 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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NEWS
FROM THE STATES: |
Children's
Health: |
Saving
Wildlands: |
Safe
Air and Water: |
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Clean
Energy: |
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Saving
Wildlife: |
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Resources: |
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Conferences/Workshops: |
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Ballast
Water Invasive Species
In 1991, the waters of Mobile, Alabama were contaminated with a deadly
bacteria. In 1988, residents of Monroe, Michigan turned on their faucets
to find that they had no water because mollusks had completely clogged
up the water system. The cause? Invasive species that quietly sneaked
into this country in a ship's ballast water. Experts believe that every
minute 40,000 gallons of foreign ballast water contaminates U.S. waters
-- likely the single largest source of foreign species invading America's
ecosystem. While, on the surface, these species may seem harmless, they
reek havoc on local ecosystems. Like a prizefighter trying to box a lion,
the natural balance and controls of an ecosystem are usually not equipped
to deal with these invasive species. The result of a successful foreign
species invasion on an ecosystem can be devastating to local economies
and, because large volumes of dangerous bacteria and viruses have been
found in ballast water, it also can be a serious threat to human health.
SERC's web site offers the tools necessary for you to introduce and pass
legislation to prevent foreign species invasions in your state, including
a sample bill, talking points, press clips, a fact pack, research, and
other background information. This information is located at http://www.serconline.org/ballast/index.html. |
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Bush
Rolls Back Wetlands Protections
The Bush administration has given the Army Corps of Engineers the go ahead
to streamline the approval of certain development projects on the nation's
wetlands by issuing "general nationwide permits." Under the roll back,
developers are no longer required to provide one-for-one replacement of
wetlands; rules on dumping toxic mine waste in perennial streams and flood-plain
development are also being relaxed. However, although the Army Corps of
Engineers has the authority to grant or deny a wetlands development permit,
states do retain some authority over the Corps' decisions. The Clean Water
Act requires that, when a federal agency proposes to grant a permit, it
seek approval from the state to ensure that the activity will comply with
state water quality standards. |
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Phony
Health Argument Being Used to Kill Iowa's Bottle Bill
The Bottle Bill -- Iowa's nickel deposit recycling program -- is in danger
of being repealed because the Iowa Grocery Association is charging that
bottles and cans returned to grocery stores for deposit foster bacterial
diseases that could contaminate food being sold at grocery stores. However,
Dr. Cort Lohff, an epidemiologist with the Iowa Department of Public Health,
has refuted the grocery industry health claims, saying the disease-causing
organisms tend to die quickly in the environment. In addition, the grocery
association cites a link between redeemed containers and the risk of e-coli,
salmonella, listeria, and other deadly bacterial diseases, but neither
the Iowa Department of Public Health nor the Iowa Environmental Health
Association have any record of anyone becoming sick because of a bacterial
disease contracted as a result of redeemed beverage containers. "The truth
is that grocery stores use many food handling and preparation methods,
all of which pose a far greater public health risk than bottles and cans,"
said DNR program planner Jeff Geerts. This latest attack follows a nationwide
trend of the grocery industry attempting to repeal bottle bills in order
to rid themselves of the hassle of being involved in recycling programs. |
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Policy
Director Sought
SERC is hiring a policy director. This position has responsibility for
legislative research, policy formation, and outreach to state environmental
groups. He or she will regularly identify progressive and harmful pieces
of state legislation, track those environmental bills, and disseminate
that information to state environmental groups throughout the nation.
SERC is collaborative project of Defenders of Wildlife and the Natural
Resources Defense Council. For a more detailed job description, please
go to www.defenders.org/about/regionaljobs/serc1.html.
To apply for the Policy
Director Position, send a one-page resume and one-page cover letter
by January 25 to:
Policy
Director Search
State Environmental Resource Center
P.O. Box 2356
Madison WI 53701
Fax: 608/252-9828
Email: [email protected] |
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| Children's
Health: |
Alaska:
Pesticide Right to Know Bill Progressing
State Rep. Sharon Cissna's bill, HB 66, a pesticide right to know
bill, has been scheduled for a hearing this week in the House Labor
and Commerce Committee. Her legislation would require commercial
pesticide applicators to report their pesticide use to the Dept.
of Environmental Conservation. This information would be contained
within a database that could be accessed by the public. In this
time of impending fiscal crisis for the state, this bill would actually
generate enough money to fund itself, via charging pesticide manufacturers
to register their product with the state and charging commercial
applicators a modest registration fee. In addition, as more and
more of the health effects of pesticides are uncovered, it is prudent
to give citizens the tools they need to track exposure to these
chemicals. |
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| Saving
Wildlands: |
Delaware:
Ducks Unlimited to Help States Restore Delaware Bay
On 1/8, Ducks Unlimited signed an agreement with the states of New
Jersey and Delaware to restore wetland habitats in the Delaware
Bay estuary. The identification of numerous threatened and endangered
shorebirds in the area has added momentum to the plan to restore
15,000 acres of wetlands and associated uplands. The two states
and the conservation group will work together to identify and address
water quality and habitat issues in selected watersheds, which support
close to 3,000 species of plants and animals. |
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| Safe
Air and Water: |
Michigan:
State Makes Big CAFOs Get Clean Water Permits (Detroit
News 1/17)
With pressure from environmentalists and the federal government,
Michigan has agreed to require some large livestock farms to obtain
clean water permits. Michigan Farm Bureau had resisted a permit
system, contending that the existing program, based on voluntary
compliance with anti-pollution standards, was working well. But
the Department of Environmental Quality said Monday it would order
large farms to seek a permit if the agency determined they had discharged
pollution into the state's waterways. "This is a major victory
for people in communities that have had their air and water poisoned
as the result of the animal-factory pollution and state failure
to uphold the law," said Michigan Sierra Club Director Anne
Woiwode. |
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Ohio:
Invasive Species Suspected in Botulism Outbreak (Cleveland
Plain Dealer 1/20)
As thousands of birds and fish continue to wash up on the shores
of eastern Lake Erie, the prime suspect for the botulism outbreak
is the round goby. The goby is a non-native species prolific throughout
Lake Erie and a popular food of the dead birds and fish. Within
hours of ingesting the goby, many loons, mergansers, and other fish-eating
birds, along with sheepshead, smallmouth bass, and other fish, are
dying, said Bill Culligan, fisheries scientist with the New York
Department of Environmental Conservation. Gobies primarily feed
on zebra and quagga mussels, which are also invasive species and
are often full of contaminants. There have been no reports that
the contamination has entered the food chain or that people or pets
have become ill from this botulism. |
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| Clean
Energy: |
Minnesota:
Voluntary Mercury Reductions Haven't Worked (St. Paul Pioneer-Press
1/14)
A three-year voluntary approach to reducing mercury emissions in
Minnesota shows no substantive reductions in pollution. Environmentalists
who argued against the voluntary approach say that they're disappointed
and that the lack of progress was all too predictable. "What
the report shows is there have been few real reductions in Minnesota,
the voluntary approach raises significant fairness problems, and
it has done nothing to solve the problems in the state," said
Drake Hamilton, science policy director for Minnesotans for an Energy-Efficient
Economy. |
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Utah:
Brewery is Powered by 100% Wind Energy (Environment Network
News 1/16)
A Utah company that brews award-winning beers such as Cutthroat
Pale Ale and Kings Peak Porter is now powered completely by wind
energy. Uinta Brewing Company of Salt Lake City is the first in
Utah to be run on 100 percent pollution-free wind power from Utah
Power's Blue Sky Program. The Blue Sky program offers customers
the opportunity to buy renewable energy in 100-kilowatt-block increments
for an additional $2.95 per block per month on their electricity
bills. |
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| Saving
Wildlife: |
Arkansas:
Mysterious Brain Lesions Killing Bald Eagles (Memphis Commercial-Appeal
1/14)
Over the last seven years, hundreds of bald eagles have been found
dead in Central Arkansas from microscopic brain lesions. Experts
are mystified at to what is causing the lesions. Scientists call
the disease Avian Vacuolar Myelinopathy or AVM. It attacks eagles
of all ages and causes the protective sheath around the nerves to
separate. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is funding an additional
study to see if researchers can isolate the toxin. Arkansas and
the other states where eagles have been dying have formed the Southeast
Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study to coordinate the investigation,
but there seems to be a lack of interest at the federal level in
funding more research. |
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Hawaii:
State Hopes to Mate World's Last Male Poouli Bird (Honolulu
Star-Bulletin 1/17)
State biologists will attempt to pair two Hawaiian forest birds
called poouli to save the species from extinction. According to
the state Department of Land & Natural Resources, only three
poouli, a male and two females, are known to exist in a remote rain
forest in Maui. |
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Colorado:
Judge Rules State Negligent in Protecting Species (Denver
Post 1/15)
In a ruling released last week, Boulder County Judge Frank Dubofsky
found that the state wildlife agency had failed to enforce existing
laws, educate its law enforcement officers, or police the nuisance-wildlife
control companies that gas prairie dog burrows. The lawsuit, brought
by Rocky Mountain Animal Defense against the wildlife agency, the
Agriculture Department, and Gov. Bill Owens, claimed the state allowed
the indiscriminate killing of species protected by the 1996 citizen
initiative known as Amendment 14. While Dubofsky sided with the
group on nearly every point, he declined to order the agency to
make specific changes in its operations. Jennifer Melton, one of
RMAD's attorneys, said the judge's failure to ban prairie dog poisonings
effectively guts Amendment 14. The group is strongly considering
an appeal. |
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| Resources: |
New
Impact Study Released on ORVs
Last week, Georgia Forest Watch released a study documenting the
damage wrought by ORVs in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests.
In the national forest, there are 131 legal miles of trail set aside
for ORVs in 15 different systems. The study found that the problem
is that many ORV users don't stay in the designated areas. A grant
to Georgia Forest Watch from the Natural Trails and Waters Coalition
allowed a botanist to spend 12 weeks, last fall, surveying woods
and waterways in North Georgia. Of the 59 routes he surveyed in
the Chattahoochee, he found illegal ORV use on 67 percent, including
designated wilderness and trails restricted to pedestrians. The
study estimates that the forests' 865,000 acres have more than 550
miles of illegal trails, with a rehabilitation price tag of $1 million.
The report includes several recommendations: employing more officers
to patrol and enforce park rules; designing better closings so ORVs
can't go under gates; identifying areas where enough trees can be
felled so that ORVs can't pass around them; and, addressing the
extreme damage to some areas, including power line rights of way
and legal ORV areas, and deciding whether to end the use or repair
the damage. For more information about the study, visit Georgia
Forestwatch's web site at http://www.gafw.org/
or Natural Trails and Waters Coalition's web site at http://www.naturaltrails.org/. |
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WWF
Study Predicts Big Potential for Clean Energy Jobs
A World Wildlife Fund study released recently indicates that energy
efficiency policies and development of renewable energy resources
could result in 750,000 new jobs nationwide over the next nine years
and 1.3 million new jobs by 2020. According to the study "Clean
Energy: Jobs for America's Future," the U.S. gross domestic
product (GDP) would also increase by $23 billion by 2010 and continue
to grow under such conditions. The net increase in U.S. GDP would
be $43.9 billion by 2020. Copies of the World Wildlife Fund study
"Clean Energy: Jobs for America's Future" are available
at http://www.worldwildlifefund.org/climate. |
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| Conferences/Workshops: |
Healthy
Schools Summit - February 4 - DePaul University, Chicago
This summit is provided by the Illinois Healthy Schools Campaign,
which is a statewide coalition working to heighten awareness on
the need for environmentally safe schools. Speakers include Rabbi
Daniel Swartz, Director of the Children's Environmental Health Network.
To attend the summit, contact Rachel Bredfelt at [email protected]. |
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The
Cougar in Michigan - February 14 - Bath, Michigan
The Friends of the Bengel Wildlife Center and the Michigan Wildlife
Habitat Foundation will sponsor a presentation on the cougar by
Dr. Patrick Rusz, Director of Wildlife Programs for the Foundation,
on Thursday, February 14th. The 7:00 p.m. presentation will be held
at the Bengel Wildlife Center on Drumheller Rd., in Bath. |
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For
more information about SERC, or to use our services, contact our national
headquarters at: |
State
Environmental Resource Center
106 East Doty Street, Suite 200 § Madison, Wisconsin 53703
Phone: 608-252-9800 § Fax: 608-252-9828
Email: [email protected] |
