ALEC Trip
Funding May Conflict with Law (Omaha World-Herald 3/30/3)
Did corporate interests in your state fund ALEC scholarships to send some
500 state legislators to enjoy a free stay at a major resort? Businesses
that routinely lobby the Nebraska Legislature bankrolled a weekend trip
for 13 lawmakers to attend an ALEC conference in Las Vegas. The funding
method might conflict with a state law that bars gifts of more than $50
per month from lobbyists, although the trip's organizer says nothing improper
has occurred. Nebraska State Sen. Pat Engel organized the trip in his
role as state chairman of the American Legislative Exchange Council, or
ALEC, a private group in which lawmakers and conservative business interests
draft model legislation on a variety of issues. ALEC is paying for lawmakers'
lodging and airfare, expected to total $12,000 or more, with "scholarship"
money raised from businesses that lobby in Nebraska. Engel said that the
practice complies with the law because the donations from lobbyists are
funneled through ALEC and not earmarked for individual lawmakers. He said
the payment method has been used for such ALEC meetings for a number of
years. A 1995 advisory opinion issued by the Nebraska Accountability and
Disclosure Commission questioned the ALEC fund-raising practice, saying
the "scholarship" money cannot exceed $50. Engel said all 13
lawmakers had their travel expenses – $209 per night lodging and up to
$500 for transportation – covered by the ALEC scholarships. The cost of
the trip would be $918 if the lawmaker stayed two nights and $1,127 for
a three night stay. Engel said lawmakers paid no registration fee for
the meeting. While the scholarships come from an ALEC account held on
Nebraska's behalf, Engel acknowledged that the money is provided by NE
lobby groups. Jack Gould, spokesman for Common Cause Nebraska, questioned
Friday whether the fund-raising method complied with state law governing
gifts to lawmakers. Many lawmakers waited to leave Lincoln until after
the Legislature adjourned Friday. In Colorado, the Legislature there reportedly
had to shut down early because so many lawmakers had left for the ALEC
conference. ALEC has drawn some criticism for its close relationship to
corporate America. The group puts state legislators at the same table
with business interests to vote on model legislation on a variety of topics,
from privatizing Medicaid to private school vouchers. Where were your
state legislators over the weekend? If they were in Las Vegas, how much
"scholarship" money did ALEC funnel to them from corporate lobbyists
in your state? For more information on how ALEC works to conceal and advance
the legislative agenda of hundreds of big corporations and trade associations
in state capitals from coast to coast, visit http://www.alecwatch.org. |
Energy
Market Manipulated, Regulators Say
(LA Times 3/27/3)
Taking a tough new stance, federal energy regulators said last week
that more than 30 private firms manipulated natural gas and electricity
prices during the California energy crisis, and moved to increase
the state's refund to about $3.3 billion. In addition, the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission threatened to revoke the trading authority
of eight subsidiaries of troubled Enron Corp. for allegedly gaming
the natural gas market. The commission also said it's prepared to
strip the trading authority of Reliant Energy Services Inc., now
known as Reliant Resources Inc., and BP Energy Co. for allegedly
engaging in "coordinated efforts" to manipulate electricity
prices at Palo Verde, a key Arizona trading hub. Both companies
denied the charges. California officials expressed some satisfaction
with the FERC decision, but emphasized that the remedy fell far
short of the $8.9 billion in refunds sought by a coalition of state
agencies and its major utilities, including Pacific Gas & Electric
and Southern California Edison. The commission also stopped short
of approving the state's request to renegotiate $20 billion in long-term
energy contracts that were signed during the period of feverish
prices in 2001. Gov. Gray Davis said the state is prepared to keep
pressing its case in court if California's refund isn't boosted
when the matter goes back to a federal administrative law judge,
the next step in the process. |
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Vermont
Legislature Considers Green Power Bills
(Rutland Herald 3/26/3)
The Vermont House and Senate are working on competing versions of
a bill designed to increase Vermont's energy independence
by promoting use of environmentally friendly power. The two bodies
are split over whether to require Vermont utilities to purchase
some of their electricity from renewable energy generators or purchase
renewable energy "credits" from green energy producers,
a move opposed by some Vermont businesses. The Senate version of
the bill would require the "renewable portfolio standard,"
while the House plan calls for delaying implementation and conducting
a study of the costs. The portfolio standards being considered in
the Senate would require utilities to purchase 1 percent of their
power from green sources in 2004, 2 percent in 2005, 3 percent in
2006, and then at a percentage set by the Public Service Board.
The other provisions of the bill, which the House and Senate agree
on, include provisions to promote "green pricing," which
would enable customers to ask to buy electricity that comes from
renewable or clean sources; give the PSB the authority to try alternative
regulation schemes that would let utilities make greater profits
if they meet standards in encouraging efficiency and using renewable
energy, and reduce their profits if they don't meet the targets;
spend $750,000 from penalties collected from oil companies to support
local projects that use alternative energy systems. |
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New
Bid for Water Metering in California
(Sacramento Bee 3/27/3)
Assemblywoman Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, has introduced legislation
that would require metering of water usage at all residences and
most commercial buildings statewide by 2008. If passed, the bill
would supersede city ordinances and charters that so far have blocked
water meters in Sacramento, Fresno, Modesto, Folsom and other Central
Valley towns. Supporters say that, given California's tight water
supplies, the state's capital should set an example and start charging
residents for the water they consume, as do nearly all communities
along the coast and Southern California. The meter mandate wouldn't
come cheap, however, and probably won't pass without a battle. In
Sacramento alone, more than 100,000 homes would have to be retrofitted
with meters, at a cost of $1,000 per home, according to city engineers.
In addition, the city's total costs could be far more than $100
million, they say, because many water mains go through people's
back yards and would have to be dug up. Lined up behind the bill
are the powerful Metropolitan Water District of Southern California,
the San Diego County Water Authority, the Natural Resources Defense
Council and other environmental groups. Studies in various cities
have shown that metering reduces water consumption by 10 percent
to 50 percent, with 20 percent as an average, according to a recent
state survey by M.Cubed, an Oakland consulting firm. For more on
how states can conserve water, see http://www.serconline.org/waterconservation/pkg_frameset.html. |
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New
Hampshire House OK's Subsidy for Wood-Fired Plants
(Union Leader 3/27/3)
The New Hampshire House voted 270-73 last week to establish a fund
to subsidize the operations of wood-burning power plants when their
rate agreements expire in the next few years. Under HB 787, money
for the fund would come from the efficiency section of the systems-benefit
charges on electric bills. Opponents said the proposal is nothing
but a bailout of an industry that made more than $1 billion in profits
over the years when the rate agreements were in effect. Rep. Michael
Harrington, R-Strafford, said "This bill should be called the
wood-burning plant welfare act because that is what it is."
But supporters said the proposal would be a temporary measure to
preserve the low-grade wood products industry, which has been hard
hit by the closing of the paper mills in the North Country. |
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STPP
Releases State Transportation Program Report
(STPP)
The Surface Transportation Policy Project has released state by
state summaries of the benefits of the 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation
Efficiency Act (ISTEA) and the 1998 Transportation Equity Act for
the 21st Century (TEA-21). The reports specifically highlight those
programs that most benefit communities and the environment and that
should be protected during transportation funding debates. The fact
sheets list projects by name, location, and funding amount. To find
out how your state benefited from these important programs, check
out the fact sheets at http://www.transact.org/report.asp?id=204. |
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New
York Guidelines Strive For 'Environmental Justice'
(Albany Times Union 3/26/3)
For the first time, New York state has clear guidelines designed
to bring what advocates call "environmental justice" to
low-income and minority neighborhoods that have historically seen
a disproportionate amount of development-related pollution and health
risks. Rodney Davis, executive director of the Arbor Hill Environmental
Justice Corporation, said the new Dept. of Environmental Conservation
guidelines will help curb the tendency of developers to put unpopular
projects in areas that are least financially able to oppose them.
The new policy requires a project planned for an area with potential
environmental justice issues – low-income and minority neighborhoods
– to get an extra review to determine how the project will affect
the community. Part of the review includes additional efforts to
obtain public comment, including using different ways of getting
information to residents, said DEC Commissioner Erin Crotty. |
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Runoff
from Mega-Farms Raises Environmental Concerns
(Ann Arbor News 3/24/03)
State regulators and environmentalists are growing increasingly
more worried that the surface waters of Michigan are becoming more
contaminated due to unregulated waste from concentrated animal feeding
operations (CAFOs). Although the farms are able to produce up to
50 lbs. of milk per cow per day, the waste from those farms is often
times comparable to a large city that does not treat its municipal
waste. Volunteer manure watchers and small farm owners are pressuring
the MI Dept. of Environmental Quality to step up its testing and
enforcement of the megafarms. Dan Wyant of the Dept. of Agriculture
contends that big farms do not mean big pollution as long as they
are properly placed and utilize the proper technology, while farmers
contend that megasizing is the only way to survive. In recent weeks
water samples from megafarms in two counties revealed levels of
bacteria and dissolved oxygen far above government regulations.
For more information on how states are dealing with CAFOs, see http://www.serconline.org/cafos.html. |
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States
Tighten Nitrogen Limits (Richmond
Times-Dispatch 3/24/3)
Chesapeake Bay states, including Virginia, have set tougher limits
to reduce nitrogen pollution by nearly 40 percent. Excess nitrogen
spurs algae growth which reduces oxygen for fish and clouds the
water, killing underwater grasses that provide shelter for baby
fish and crabs and help to clean the water. When cleanup of the
bay started in 1983, it was receiving an estimated 338 million pounds
of nitrogen annually. The new goal cuts tolerable limits of nitrogen
to no more than 175 million pounds per year, down from the current
285 million pounds poured into the bay each year from farms, livestock
manure, sewage-treatment plants and other sources. But environmentalists
say the goals do not go far enough to remove the bay from the EPA's
dirty-waters list. Far enough or not, West Virginia, New York and
Delaware, states that occupy some of the bay's watershed, have agreed
to shoulder some of the $19 billion expected costs over the next
eight years. |
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New
Mexico Governor Plans to Sign Major Water Bills
(Santa Fe New Mexican 3/23/3)
Two water bills have passed the New Mexican legislature, and Gov.
Bill Richardson plans to sign both. The first bill enables the transfer
of water rights in dry times. This will allow municipalities to
lease water rights from agriculture during times of water scarcity
without having to permanently transfer the rights to the water.
The second bill earmarks 10 percent of the state's severance-tax
bonding capacity for water projects. The total bonding capacity
was more than $90 million this year. This will give the state a
continuous source of funding for water projects. In addition, Gov.
Richardson recently signed a bill that allows citizens to recycle
grey water for use on landscaping and gardens. |
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Oregon
Governor Says Economy, Environment Are Entwined
(The Oregonian 3/25/3)
In his first major speech on the environment, Gov. Kulongoski said
the recession should not be used as an excuse to weaken protections
for wildlife or natural resources. He promised to veto legislation
attacking Oregon's endangered species act, particularly those
seeking to remove protection for wolves. The Governor also said
that while natural resources departments would have to share the
burden of funding cuts with other state agencies, he would oppose
any moves to gut their budgets. He specifically expressed support
for the Oregon pesticide reporting system, salmon habitat restoration,
energy conservation and development of renewable energy systems,
which he said will create jobs. "It's important that we keep
Oregon's existing environmental standards in place. I will oppose
any legislation that attempts to roll them back," the Governor
said. |
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