| Saving
Wildlands: |
Maine:
Bill Protects Streams by Tracking Large Water Users
Last week the House Natural Resource Committee considered LD 1488,
a bill that would require farmers, golf courses, saw mills, resorts,
and other large water users to report exactly how much water they
are taking from the state's rivers, lakes, and streams. Environmental
groups say mandatory reporting of water withdrawals would protect
spawning fish and other aquatic life, and set the stage for the
development of a comprehensive water-use policy for the state. |
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Georgia:
Bill Takes New Approach to Punishing Litterbugs
Last week, Rep. Mark Burkhalter introduced HB 1343, "the Georgia
Clean Communities Act of 2002." Burkhalter believes the
bill will decrease littering by decriminalizing the first offense
and, instead, making it a $200 civil penalty, which he says will
increase the likelihood authorities will cite litterbugs. "The
reality is that nobody gets prosecuted for littering," he said.
"The reason is that it's not a very attractive thing for law
enforcement to deal with. The hope is that if we decriminalize the
first offense and make it like a speeding ticket, law enforcement
will no longer have to go to court and tie up their time testifying." |
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| Children's
Health: |
Kentucky:
Bill Keeps Power Plants Away From Schools
Because power plants typically produce emissions that put the health
of children and the elderly at a higher risk, HB 540 establishes
a new state board to determine statewide setback standards for power
plants from schools, neighborhoods, hospitals, and nursing homes. |
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| Land
and Water Use: |
Iowa:
Comprehensive CAFO Bill Gets Out of Committee
HF 2473, a comprehensive plan aimed at reining in CAFOs, passed
an important early test by clearing the House agriculture committee.
The bill has four important aspects: local control, ammonia and
hydrogen sulfide clean air standards, proper management of phosphorous
and nitrogen when spreading manure, and an implementation of an
Animal Agriculture Compliance Fee to help defray DNR compliance
costs. |
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South
Dakota: Gov Says Packers Shouldn't Own Livestock (New York
Times 2/10)
The Associated Press reported today that Gov. Bill Janklow said
he has long believed that packers should not be allowed to raise
livestock. This year, several states are debating banning packer
ownership and the factory farms it spawns. Unfortunately, most are
leaning against banning packer ownership because of fears that they
won't be able to compete with other states that allow packer ownership. |
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Idaho:
"Takings" Will Cause Cuts in Fire & Police Protection
Last week, the Idaho Statesmen reported that "takings"
legislation, HJ 3, was approved 16-3 by the House State Affairs
Committee last week. Before the committee approved the bill, Meridian
City Attorney told the committee that "takings" is a bad
idea because lawyers would replace planners in reviewing new development
proposals and the "takings" costs of attorneys to review
decisions and the costs of paying landowners would force cuts in
police and fire fighting. |
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| Clean
Energy: |
California:
"Largest Clean Energy Investment in History" Proposed
Last week, the California Power Authority (CPA) submitted its Energy
Resource Investment Plan, "Clean Growth: Clean Energy for California's
Economic Future," to the state legislature. The plan details
a strategy to prevent future energy crises by meeting California's
energy supply shortfalls with clean power sources. In total, the
CPA plans to generate $5 billion in revenue bond financing that
will leverage over $12 billion in clean energy investment by 2007.
"This is the largest clean energy investment plan in history,"
said Danny Kennedy, coordinator for Greenpeace's Clean Energy Now
Campaign. The plan acknowledges two major strengths that the support
of a government agency can provide: the agency can act as a public
broker and lead the path for other institutions to go solar, and
it can provide bulk procurement when buying for schools, prisons,
and other public buildings. The plan also projects that by installing
photovoltaic cells on buildings all over California, the state can
tap up to 2,400 megawatts of solar power on state facilities. To
view the plan, go to: http://www.documents.dgs.ca.gov/CPA/ERIP/ERIP.pdf. |
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New
Hampshire: Gov Makes State First to Allow "Segways" (Fosters
Daily News 2/20)
Gov. Jeanne Shaheen signed HB 681 into law last week to make New
Hampshire the first state to legalize Segway use on sidewalks and
streets. A Segway is a self-balancing, two non-tandem wheeled device
that transports a person with an electric propulsion system of less
than 750 watts. Because it can travel up to 20 miles on a single
electric charge, it is expected to replace a great deal of short-trip
automobile use. State Senate President Arthur Klemm, who co-sponsored
the Segway law with House Speaker Gene Chandler, said, "It's
going to change the way that we go into the future with our cities
in how they are planned and how they are built." |
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South
Dakota: Timberland First Corporation to "Trade" CO2
Timberland is the first corporation in the nation to make a donation
that will allow Clean Air-Cool Planet to purchase renewable energy
credits, also known as Green Tags, from a family-owned wind farm
in South Dakota. The Green Tags purchased by Clean Air-Cool Planet
will "retire" more than 2,400 tons of carbon dioxide,
enough to offset the carbon pollution produced over two years of
normal electricity use by Timberland's 28 U.S. retail stores. |
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| Saving
Wildlife: |
Florida:
Committee Vote Expected on Manatee Protection Bill
SB 1614, by Senator Bill Posey, will be up for vote in the Senate
Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday, February 25th. A statewide
coalition of boating and fishing interests, including CCA Florida,
support this bill. SB 1614 requires that the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission develop a measurable biological goal and that manatee
speed zone and manatee protection zone rules be established. |
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| Safe
Air and Water: |
Virginia:
Pentagon Being Rebuilt with New IAQ Safe Paint
In an effort to avoid indoor air quality problems often associated
with conventional paint, an environmentally safe paint will be used
in the massive repairs of the Pentagon. The "American Pride"
paint includes a newly developed chemical building block derived
from castor oil. The component reduces the amount of toxic volatile
organic compounds (VOCs), which pollute the air and give fresh paint
its unpleasant odor. The new castor oil paint lasts longer than
traditional paint and cuts the level of pollutants from about 200-400
grams per liter of paint to as low as three grams. |
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Maryland:
Bill Establishes Greenhouse Gas Registry
The National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL) last week
that Maryland Delegate Leon G. Billings has introduced HB 334, which
requires the state to study issues related to the reduction of greenhouse
gasses, particularly carbon dioxide. The study would give recommendations
for the formation of a state registry that would track and report
current sources and amounts of greenhouse gas emissions, track and
document reductions, and look at strategies to increase and reward
voluntary reductions. |
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| Natural
Resources: |
Nebraska:
Bill Aims to Improve Electronics Recycling
The Nebraska Sierra Club is fighting for LB 644, the Electronic
Equipment Recycling Act. Given that there are no programs for recycling
broken or obsolete electronic equipment in Nebraska, most of this
equipment winds up in our sanitary landfills. Since cathode ray
tubes (CRTs) are one of the biggest sources of hazardous materials
in electronic equipment, this legislation establishes a $5 fee on
the sale of each new item containing a CRT which would provide:
1) seed money to get electronic equipment recycling businesses started
in Nebraska, 2) financial assistance to local governments and waste
facility operators to help pay for processing and recycling costs,
and 3) grants for public education programs to encourage recycling
electronic equipment. |
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Alaska:
Program Keeps Business Equipment Out of Landfills
The Fairbanks Daily News reported last week that Alaska businesses
have saved more than $2 million by swapping goods from photocopiers
to pallets to heavy equipment on the Alaska Materials Exchange since
it began in 1994. Businesses statewide post materials they'd like
to jettison in the AME, a catalog put together by the state Department
of Environmental Conservation. Last year alone AME kept an estimated
101 tons of material out of landfills. |
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| Conferences/Seminars: |
Environmental
Law Institute Seminar: Environmental Justice at the Crossroads -
March 14, 2002 - Washington, D.C.
Web Site: http://www.eli.org/seminars/020314dc.htm |
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