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October 28, 2002
Wildlines Report #43

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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Headliner: E.U. to Plan Hydrogen Economy. (Foundation on Economic Trends 10/25) 
Romano Prodi, the President of the European Commission, the governing body of the European Union, announced, last week, a coordinated long-term plan for Europe to make the transition from fossil-fuel dependency to become the first Hydrogen Economy superpower of the 21st century. The plan includes a $2 billion dollar E.U. commitment, over the course of the next several years, to bring industry, the research community, and government together in pursuit of a common road map toward a Hydrogen Economy future. With increased public concern over global warming, Third World debt, and rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East - all of which are deeply connected to oil - the E.U. initiative is timely and critical. An American author, consultant, and professor, Jeremy Rifkin, served as an advisor to President Prodi, and prepared the initial white paper that led to the current E.U. energy initiative. Mr. Rifkin’s new book, The Hydrogen Economy, was published this fall. For more on clean energy, visit http://www.serconline.org/cleanenergypage.html. 

Watchdog: Battle Resumes Over WV Drinking Water Rule (Charleston Gazette 10/24)
Industry lobbyists, environmentalists and state regulators resumed their battle last week over a plan to keep all West Virginia streams drinkable. At the heart of the debate is the state Environmental Quality Board’s proposal to write into state law a longtime WV Dept. of Environmental Protection reading of rules governing the designated uses of state rivers and streams. Under the federal Clean Water Act, states must designate the uses for all waterways within their borders. Streams that are designated for drinking water are subject to the most stringent pollution limits, in order to protect public health. Historically, WV DEP has mandated that all streams be designated as drinking water sources, even if no one was using them as such. Since 1997, the board has been trying to write the DEP practice into state law. Several times, lawmakers have rejected the idea, in large part because of industry opposition. Now, the board is trying to quell industry opposition by proposing to streamline the process for removing the drinking water use from specific streams. While industry opposes the formal designation of all streams statewide as drinking water sources, some conservationists favor not streamlining the exemption process to make polluting easier. For more watchdogs, visit http://www.serconline.org/watchdogpage.htm. 

NJ Governor Promises Reforms for Sprawl (Star-Ledger 10/23)
At an unprecedented state summit on “smart growth”, New Jersey’s Gov. McGreevey vowed to put an end to state programs and spending that encourage sprawl. Anti-sprawl activists were heartened by the Governor's forceful words, spoken at an unprecedented summit on "smart growth." But builders, also invited guests at the table, said they were gratified by McGreevey's pledge to make it easier to develop in places the state deems appropriate. The summit featured 200 leaders from all sides of the issue, including seven Cabinet members, who in similarly forceful tones pledged to ferret out programs and policies from their departments that have encouraged bad development. Transportation Commissioner Jamie Fox, whose department is a frequent target of anti-sprawl activists who argue new roads, bypasses and expansions have fueled booming residential growth, pledged a new attitude. Builders said there were key unanswered questions, chief among them whether the state will be able to lobby some towns to accept much more growth in order to keep other areas pristine. The U.S. Census estimates another 1 million residents will move into New Jersey in the next 20 years. During the summit, Cabinet members unveiled an array of programs such as a proposal by the Board of Public Utilities to force developers to pay the full expense of utility expansions into rural or otherwise environmentally sensitive areas, and a pilot program that will attempt to use new schools as anchors for urban redevelopment. Dubbed Renaissance Zones, the program will provide tax breaks and other incentives to draw private residential development in areas around new schools. For more on sprawl, visit http://www.serconline.org/sprawl/. 

U.S. Bird Species Declining, says Audubon Society (ENN 10/24)
More than one in four U.S. bird species is in decline or at risk of disappearing, according to a new report from the National Audubon Society. The bird conservation group estimates that 201 species in the continental U.S., Hawaii, and Alaska are menaced by habitat destruction, pollution, diseases, and other threats. The birds' conditions, worrisome on their own, should be taken as a broader indication of the health of the country's ecosystem, despite successes such as the recoveries of the bald eagle and peregrine falcon, the group said. For more on species protection, visit www.serconline.org/esa/index.htm.

Study finds Blacks Hurt more by Power Plant Pollution (ENN 10/24)
Blacks are more likely than whites to live near areas polluted by power plants and to suffer adverse health consequences as a result, civil rights and environmental activists said last week. Several groups, including the Atlanta-based Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda and Washington-based Black Leadership Forum, released a study showing that 68 percent of blacks lived within 30 miles of a coal-fired power plant, compared with 56 percent of U.S. whites. Thirty miles is the distance within which people experience the maximum effects of smokestack emissions. Nationwide, 71 percent of blacks live in counties that don't meet federal air pollution standards, compared with 58 percent of whites, the study said. While a variety of factors influence housing trends, a leading reason that blacks, who have higher poverty rates, tend to live closer to coal-fired power plants and in areas with poor-quality air is that housing there tends to be cheaper. Yvonne Scruggs-Leftwich, executive director of the Black Leadership Forum, said the pollution in black communities helped explain why asthma hospitalization rates for blacks, at 35.6 admissions per 10,000 people, were three times the white hospitalization rate of 10.6 admissions per 10,000 people. The death rate from asthma among blacks of 38.7 deaths per 1 million people was twice that for whites, which was 14.2 deaths per 1 million people, the study found. For state legislation limiting power plant emissions, visit www.serconline.org/clean/index.html. 

Study: New Energy Sources could replace Dams in NW (Idaho Statesman 10/22)
The Northwest must wean itself from hydroelectric dams as a major source of power, according to the author of a study that suggested the region’s economy would not suffer if four Snake River dams were removed. Conservation and renewable resources such as wind can be as economical as new natural gas-fired turbines, said Mark Bernstein, senior policy analyst for the Rand Corp. Alternative energy also provides a hedge against rises in gas prices that drive up the cost of electricity from gas turbines, Bernstein told members of the Northwest Power Planning Council recently. Council members faulted the study for failing to acknowledge conservation efforts already made in the Northwest and questioned the economics of some of Rand’s proposed conservation measures. A response to the Rand report prepared by council economic analyst Terry Morlan noted the region has developed 1,600 megawatts in conservation in the past 20 years. The region also receives about 500 megawatts from wind generation, he said. The council, with two representatives each from Washington, Idaho, Montana and Oregon, helps determine the region’s future energy needs. Its estimates call for 7,000 megawatts of new power by 2020. For information on state energy policy planning, visit http://www.serconline.org/cleanenergy.pdf. 

Proposed Ban on Dry Cleaning Chemical would set National Precedent (ENN 10/23)
A toxic chemical used in dry cleaning, perchloroethylene (perc), may soon be banned for the first time by Southern California’s clean air agency. Studies cite perc as a probable, possible, or known carcinogen that elevates lung, cervical, esophagus, bladder, and other cancer rates in dry cleaning workers. According to the agency, dry cleaners pose a cancer risk to nearby residents and workers ranging from 20 to 140 in 1 million, more than oil refineries, power plants, and aerospace manufacturers. If the ban is passed, a complete phase-out would be achieved by 2019.

A New Solution to the Connecticut Energy Crisis (New Haven Register 10/23)
Connecticut utility regulators and environmental officials are working together to devise a solution to the state’s power crisis, in lieu of building a new transmission line which residents oppose. An idea for a new regulatory process includes review of proposals for new power lines, cables, and other energy projects by a multi-agency planning authority that would rank proposals using “preferential standards” that consider both energy and environmental requirements. This could foster competition between projects, leading to better environmental solutions and dialogue between project planners and environmental advocates. Currently, proposals are approved separately by different agencies based on satisfaction of requirements, not on which is cheaper, cleaner, or more efficient. A comprehensive state study on transmission issues will be completed before January 1.

New Green Business Directory Available Online (ENN 10/23)
Environmental network Care2 and nonprofit consumer organization Co-op America have teamed up to present a web resource designed to help consumers identify and support socially and environmentally responsible businesses. Green Pages Online offers access to an extensive directory of businesses that support sustainable practices and have met rigorous screens of their social and environmental business procedures. The green pages will make supporting socially and environmentally responsible businesses easier and will provide a valuable new tool green businesses can use to reach consumers. You can access the site at www.greenpages.org. 

Minnesota Agencies could use Sales Tax to Protect Natural Resources (Star Tribune 10/23)
Last week, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and several conservation groups proposed dedicating one half of one percent of the state sales tax to programs for water quality, wildlife habitat, fisheries, parks and trails. The funds could be used to bolster recycling and pollution prevention programs, promote conservation and erosion control on farmlands, and help local governments and watershed groups begin cleaning up an estimated 1,750 lakes or stream segments on the state's list of "impaired waters.”

California proposes study on Breast Cancer/Environment Link (ENN 10/24)
Do environmental contaminants contribute to the sky-rocketing rates of breast cancer? We don’t really know. For years, research on breast cancer has focused on detection and treatment, not prevention. Studies have looked at genetic predisposition and ‘lifestyle choices’, not at environment. But that might be changing, at least in California. CA State Assemblyman Dario Frommer and State Senator Deborah Ortiz plan to introduce legislation that establishes a breast milk monitoring program. Breast milk is considered a good indicator of the presences of toxins in the body, which could be related to breast cancer. The legislators announced their plan at a special joint meeting of the legislature's health committees. The committees also heard testimony from a variety of experts, including NRDC’s Dr. Gina Solomon, who supported the proposed study, and Dr. Ana Soto of Tufts Medical School, who said “The increasing risk of breast cancer and other cancers has paralleled the proliferation of synthetic chemicals since World War II.” She added “I believe it is high time to seriously consider environmental chemicals as the most likely cause of this sudden increase in risk.” For more information on tracking environmental health issues, see http://www.serconline.org/TrackingEnvironmentalProblemsState.html

On Site Biological Treatment Guidelines Released (Interstate Tech. and Reg. Council, 10/21)
The Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council’s In Situ Bioremediation Team has released a report titled “A Systematic Approach to In Situ Bioremediation in Groundwater”. This document provides guidance for organizations using on site biological treatment to clean up ground water contaminants such as nitrate, carbon tetrachloride, and perchlorate. The report is available at http://www.itrcweb.org/user/isb-8.pdf. 

California Fish and Game Comm. Approves Channel Islands Marine Reserves (LA Times, 10/24)
The California Fish and Game Commission approved the creation of a 175 square mile marine reserve around the Channel Islands last week. Most of the reserve will be off limits to fishing of any kind as of Jan. 1st, 2003. No fishing zones like this one are increasingly favored over catch limits as a way to increase declining population sizes, and marine scientists have called for 20% of the world’s oceans to be protected. Currently, about 1% of the oceans worldwide and 0.02% of CA’s marine resources are protected in no-take zones. In the next several years, federal officials will consider expanding the Channel Islands reserve into federal waters, which could make it the largest in the continental U.S.