| Saving
Wildlands: |
North
Carolina: "Wetlands Trading" Program Not Working
(Raleigh News-Observer 1/30)
Members of a legislative panel criticized a state wetlands restoration
program, begun in 1997, that allows state agencies and private developers
to pay into a fund every time they destroy portions of wetlands.
The money is then to be used to restore or enhance wetlands in other
areas. The program has received $58 million since 1997, but just
$4.2 million has been spent. |
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Washington:
Only 13% of Replacement Wetlands Succeeding (Seattle Post-Intelligencer
1/3)
A state Department of Ecology study of "replacement" wetlands
has determined that only about 13% of the person-made wetlands in
Washington are fully successful. For nearly 10 years, developers
who destroyed wetlands have been required by federal law to replace
them -- 1.78 acres of replacement wetlands for every acre destroyed. |
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| Clean
Energy: |
South
Dakota: Senate Approves Wind Energy Tax Break
The state Senate approved a bill 29-4 Friday that would offer a
50% tax break for major development of wind energy in South Dakota.
SB 167 would reduce the 2% contractors excise tax to 1% on power
facilities using wind, sun, geothermal, or biomass to make electricity. |
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Arizona:
Bill Calls for Free Air at Gas Stations (Arizona Republic
1/31)
State Rep. John Loredo wants gas stations to provide customers water,
compressed air, and a gauge for measuring air pressure for tires.
Loredo says his bill, based on California law, will help prevent
the more than 200 deaths in the United States attributed to low
pressure tire blowouts. In addition, properly maintained tire pressure
greatly improves auto fuel efficiency. |
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| Safe
Air and Water: |
Maine:
Bill Would Ban Fertilizers Containing Arsenic (Portland
Press-Herald 1/29)
A legislative committee seems inclined to back a bill would ban
the sale of fertilizer containing more than 500 parts per million
of arsenic. Although the legislation does not single out the common
fertilizer "Ironite" by name, it is the bill's biggest
target, because it contains 4,000 parts per million of arsenic.
Sponsor Rep. Scott Cowger says he fears children could eat arsenic-contaminated
soil while playing, or that the arsenic could leach into the groundwater. |
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Virginia:
Fish have Highest Contamination of PentaBDE
ENS reported last week that freshwater fish in Virginia have been
found to contain the highest reported levels in the world of a common
but controversial flame retardant, pentaBDE. Because PentaBDE is
a "current use chemical," it is usually disposed of in
conventional municipal sewage systems recirculated back into the
environment. Recent studies show pentaBDE could cause neurological
problems, furthering concerns that the chemical is very similar
to the effects caused by PCBs. |
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Michigan:
Group Says State not Responding to Dioxin (Detroit News
2/2)
The environmental group, Lone Tree Council, says Michigan regulators
are failing to respond to a potentially serious dioxin pollution
problem in soil downstream from a Dow Chemical Co. complex. The
dispute follows the discovery of dioxin levels up to 80 times higher
than the state's residential cleanup standards in a farm field in
a flood plain where the Tittabawassee and Saginaw rivers meet. |
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South
Dakota: Senate Votes for Restaurant Smoking Ban
A bill that would ban smoking in most South Dakota restaurants and
other businesses won narrow approval in the state Senate last week.
The 18-17 vote sends the measure to the House, but opponents said
they plan to ask the Senate to reconsider the bill Thursday. |
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| Natural
Resources: |
Hawaii:
Deposit / Return, Curbside Recycling Debated (Honolulu
Star-Bulletin 1/31)
The Hawaiian Legislature is debating the best system to recycle
used beverage containers. Beverage dealers and distributors want
a combination of curbside and drop-off recycling -- a system that
would not require any work from them. While most local environmentalists
are pushing for a traditional deposit / return system, citing statistics
that this system is time-tested and the most effective in other
states. A recent report by Businesses and Environmentalists Allied
for Recycling (BEAR) found that states with a 5-10 cent deposit
recover 61.6% of all beverage containers targeted, and recover 125
containers per dollar spent, while states with curbside programs
recover only 18.5% of all beverage containers targeted. |
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Michigan:
House Votes to Ban Great Lakes Drilling (Detroit Free Press
1/29)
The House approved a ban on oil and gas drilling under the Great
Lakes, on a 98-7 vote. While continuing to insist that environmental
risks are minuscule from onshore wells bored into bedrock beneath
the lakes, Governor Engler said he expects the Legislature to pass
a ban and for it to become law. |
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| Urban
Issues: |
New
York: Gov. Vetoes Bill Limiting Light Pollution
Gov. George Pataki vetoed last week a bill that would have required
local and state governments to phase out most outdoor lighting that
casts too much brightness into the night sky. The bill had been
pushed by environmentalists who argued that the measure would increase
energy efficiency and allow people to once again see stars at night. |
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| Saving
Wildlife: |
Nebraska:
Deadly Deer Disease Spreading Fast
On a quest to stamp out chronic wasting disease, the state has embarked
on a mission to kill 100 white-tailed deer in an infected zone of
the Pine Ridge. This is the frontier for the emerging, deadly illness
pushing out from its epicenter in northeastern Colorado. |
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| Land
and Water Use: |
Virginia:
Local Control of Sewage Sludge Debated (Richmond Times-Dispatch
1/30)
An Assembly committee is debating the merits of a bill that would
give localities the power to ban or regulate the spreading of sewage
sludge on farm fields. State-issued permits allow sludge -- a dirt-like
byproduct of sewage treatment -- to be used in 32 Virginia counties,
where it is spread on fields as a fertilizer. A Virginia Supreme
Court decision in January 2001 said a county can't ban sludge if
the farmer spreading it has a state permit. Many have complained
that sludge pollutes rivers and wells, causes disease, drives away
tourists, and creates a smelly nuisance. |
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Nebraska:
Missouri River Flow Compromise Suggested (Associated Press
1/29)
A group called the Missouri River Basin Association representing
states in the Missouri River basin are floating the idea of implementing
more natural flows on the river -- as sought by environmentalists
-- but on a 10-year experimental basis. The idea would be to see
what impact the changes have on recovery of endangered species,
as well as on economic interests in the basin, without committing
to permanent changes. For more than a dozen years, the Army Corps
of Engineers has been mulling changes in its master manual, its
guidebook for how it releases water from six major dams on the upper
Missouri. |
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South
Dakota: Law Limiting Factory Farms Under Attack
Amendment E, a factory farm prevention measure that is already being
attacked in federal court by the Farm Bureau, is now also under
attack in the state legislature. Approved 60-7 by the House, HJR
1009 would place the issue on the low-turnout June ballot and allow
voters to decide if they want to rescind the law, which limits factory
farms by requiring owners of large operations to have residency
in the state. |
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West
Virginia: Mountaintop Removal Ban Still Has Hope (Charleston
Gazette 1/25)
Although the U.S. Supreme Court declined to weigh in on the legal
battle over mountaintop removal coal mining, local activists are
still hoping for action from a state court. The West Virginia Highlands
Conservancy, which sued in July 1998 to try to curb mountaintop
removal, will likely file a new suit in state court challenging
valley fills. |
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| Resources: |
Study:
Smog Proven to be Cause of Asthma
Last week the University of Southern California released a decade-long
study that is the strongest evidence yet that smog can not only
aggravate existing childhood asthma, which has reached epidemic
proportions among American youth, but may actually be one cause
of the life-threatening disease. |
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Poll:
Autoworkers Support MPG Standards
A new Celinda Lake poll released by the Sierra Club last week found
that Michigan households with a United Auto Worker (UAW) member
are even more likely to favor tougher fuel economy standards than
the general public. Pollsters found that 77% of Michigan voters
favor increasing standards to 40 miles per gallon (mpg) over the
next 10 years, while an even higher percentage of UAW households,
84%, favor increasing fuel economy standards to 40 mpg over the
next 10 years. "We found that support is high, in part, because
Michigan voters, including UAW households, believe that increasing
standards will create jobs and help the economy," said Lake. |
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| Conferences/Workshops: |
Public
Interest Environmental Conference - February 14-16 - Gainesville,
Florida
More info: http://grove.ufl.edu/~els |
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Public
Interest Environmental Law Conference - March 7-10 - Eugene,
Oregon
More info: http://www.pielc.uoregon.edu/ |
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International
Electronic Products Recovery & Recycling Conference
- March 12-13 - Washington, D.C.
More info: http://www.nsc.org/ehc/epr2.html |
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