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Safe
Health Standards for Children
When we give our children an aspirin, we're always careful not to
give them an "adult dose." Why? Because we know a child's
body simply can't handle the same things as ours. Yet, when most
air and water regulations were created, they gave our children "adult
doses" of toxins, by setting standards on cancer and acute
health risks to that of a 160 pound male adult. By employing the
"precautionary principle" -- that legislative measures
should be taken to protect our children, even if an absolute cause
and effect relationship is not established -- we are deciding it
is better to be "safe than sorry" when considering the
health of our children. It is important to recognize that pound
for pound, children ingest a greater amount of toxic substances
which pose undue risks in the years most critical to development.
Research also indicates that pregnant women are also more susceptible
to toxic substances. It is important to protect children and pregnant
women today, rather than finding out the dire consequences in the
future. For more information on how your state can develop Safe
Health Standards for Children visit: http://www.serconline.org/childrensHealth/index.html. |
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Oregon
Passes Pay-As-You-Drive Insurance (OEC Press Release 6/19)
On Thursday, June 19, the Oregon Senate passed House Bill 2043,
a bill designed to encourage automobile insurance companies to offer
cents-per-mile premiums. The bill is now before the governor, who
has not decided whether or not he will sign. Known as mileage-based
or Pay-As-You-Drive (PAYD), the policies are beneficial to those
persons who use their vehicles rarely. The risk of accident is substantially
dependent on how long the vehicle is on the road, so those who drive
less often pay more per mile under the current system. That results
in a disincentive to use other means of transportation, since drivers
have unlimited miles for their premium term -- the more they drive,
the more they get out of their insurance policy. PAYD premiums,
on the other hand, create an incentive to use alternate means of
transportation, such as mass transit, bicycles, or carpooling. In
addition to driver benefits, PAYD insurance will result in improved
air and water quality, reduced congestion, mitigation of our impact
on the climate, and resource conservation. Auto insurers are interested
in offering the policies, but bear the costs of setting up the system
and tracking mileage. House Bill 2043 provides the incentive to
create such infrastructure through tax credits to insurance companies
for PAYD policies issued. |
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A
Real-Life Chainsaw Massacre
In a recent move, the Bush administration stated it would not oppose
placing the Clinton administration roadless rule into effect, protecting
approximately one-third of the national forests from road building
for commercial activities, although allowing roads to be built for
fire fighting and public safety. However, in a move to satisfy Republican
governors of some western states driven by the timber industry,
the administration, through the USDA, intends to introduce an amendment
to the roadless rule allowing states to apply for exemptions and
to reverse the new regulation for portions of Alaska's Tongass National
Forest. The Bush administration has long held that the rule was
too broad, but that position is contrary to the US Ninth Circuit
Court of Appeals' April '03 ruling. The Forest Service already faces
a maintenance backlog of $8.4 billion on its 380,000 mile network
of forest roads. The US Agriculture Secretary, Ann Veneman, maintains
the amendment is needed to allow states to maintain the health and
integrity of roadless forest area. The move has been praised by
Montana's governor Judy Martz even though in 2001 78% of comments
submitted by Montana's residents on the roadless rule were for the
ban on road building. Wyoming's governor Dave Freudenthal also has
publicly stated the state would most likely apply for some projects
to be exempt, but was unsure which ones although several projects
were delayed when the rule was originally passed. He also cites
this move by the Bush administration as an "unfunded mandate,"
forcing states to develop forestry expertise they do not have. Many
environmental groups contend that this move shows that the administration
was never dedicated to upholding the spirit of the law. For an administration
priding itself on fiscal responsibility, adding more costs to an
$8.4 billion maintenance backlog makes little sense. It is unclear
how the "exceptional circumstances" amendment will give
states more flexibility in forest management decisions, when they
are limited by fiscally tight times. |
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Anti-SLAPP
Laws Multiplying, but Lawsuits Persist
(Land Letter 6/19)
Despite laws in almost half of all states intended to protect
environmental groups and activists who speak out against property
developers, potential polluters and others, smaller groups
and individuals still face lawsuits intended to quiet their
protests. SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation)
are normally dismissed in the first trial appearance and those
who file the suits do not anticipate favorable outcomes. Instead,
the lawsuits are used to tie up opponents in costly litigation
and dissuade others from speaking out. Although larger organizations
are able to defend themselves against these types of suits,
smaller organizations and individuals may not be able to.
The overall effect is one of stifling the public's first amendment
rights. In a recent example, the Westlands, CA water district
sued the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) over a January
2001 letter to the Bureau of Reclamation in which NRDC criticized
a contract for a proposed federal irrigation project. Westlands
asked U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton to declare the
proposed contract terms legal, thereby invalidating NRDC's
objection. A statement included in NRDC's dismissal brief
read, "If the potential burden of defending a lawsuit
threatens to chill robust representation by elected legislators,
who have thrown themselves willingly into the public arena,
it will certainly discourage members of the public from contacting
their legislators or Executive Branch officials." For
more information on how your state can help prevent SLAPP
suits visit: http://www.serconline.org/SLAPP/index.html. |
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Wisconsin
Cutting Back Water Rule Enforcement
(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 6/19)
The State of Wisconsin will scale back some enforcement of
rules and testing requirements for roughly 12,000 public water
systems that serve 4 million people because of staff and budget
cuts. In addition, municipal water utility managers and private
well owners will receive less assistance from the Department
of Natural Resources Drinking Water and Groundwater Bureau,
as the agency cuts more than 10% of its 115 workers. The staff
reductions started with six positions in the state budget
repair bill approved last year to address the growing state
deficit. Another 9.5 jobs would be cut through the budget
plan now being debated in the state Senate, said Jill Jonas,
the water bureau director. Sen. Robert Welch said the cuts
are justified reductions in the DNR bureaucracy. Fewer workers
should be able to provide the same level of water quality
enforcement, while local municipalities handle the responsibility
of running the utilities safely, Welch said. But Don Swailes,
chief of the drinking water quality section and a 20-year
DNR veteran, said the cutbacks erode the state's ability to
ensure safe drinking water. The reductions will keep the bureau
from following up immediately when a municipality or a public
water provider fails to submit a test on time, he said. That
will limit oversight of roughly 1,100 restaurants, taverns,
manufacturing plants and other businesses that provide water
to more than 25 people, 60 days a year. For more information
on how your state can enforce its environmental laws visit:
http://www.serconline.org/enforce/pkg_frameset.html. |
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Washington
High Court Upholds State Trapping Ban
(The Seattle Times 6/20)
The state Supreme Court yesterday upheld Washington's voter-approved
ban on most animal trapping. The 8-1 decision affirmed a lower
court's ruling that Initiative 713, which also banned two
specific poisons, didn't violate the state's constitutional
prohibition of initiatives addressing more than one subject.
"It is logical to conclude that both body-gripping traps
and pesticides each bear a rational relationship to the general
subject of [Initiative]-713 -- the regulation of methods for
trapping and killing animals," Justice Faith Ireland
wrote for the majority. I-713 banned the use of body-gripping
traps and poisons to capture any mammal for recreation or
commerce in fur. Nearly 55 percent of voters agreed, passing
the initiative in November 2000. After I-713 passed, landowners,
farmers, ranchers, and parks officials complained of increased
animal damage to lawns, crops, livestock, and fish hatcheries.
The Legislature passed a bill largely repealing I-713 earlier
this year, but Gov. Gary Locke vetoed it as too contrary to
the public's wishes. Ed Owens, the chairman of Citizens for
Responsible Wildlife Management, the group that challenged
the initiative, says it and 12 other groups have filed another
lawsuit that would invalidate I-713 and Initiative 655, which
outlawed bear-baiting and hunting cougar with hounds in 1996. |
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New
Jersey Governor Urges Brownfield Development
(The Star-Ledger 6/19)
Gov. James E. McGreevey stepped up his campaign for a constitutional
amendment that would free up millions of dollars in grants
and loans for developers or towns willing to build on contaminated
industrial properties, known as brownfields. The amendment
would let builders tap into a $40 million state fund currently
reserved for cleaning up underground tanks. McGreevey has
been a proponent of helping developers build on brownfields.
At his direction, the state Department of Environmental Protection
created an Office of Brownfield Reuse last year. A boom in
brownfield development would be a political plus for the governor
in several respects. More building would provide more jobs
for trade unions, a key Democratic constituency, while also
placating, to some degree, builders angered by the governor's
anti-sprawl rhetoric. It also would help stem urban blight,
and would please some environmentalists by providing incentives
for cleaning up contaminated sites. However, several environmentalists
who support the constitutional amendment cautioned that the
low-interest loans and grants should be carefully targeted,
going only to fund clean-ups that developers would not otherwise
pay for on their own. If the Assembly passes the amendment
on June 23, it would then go before voters on the November
ballot. For more information on how your state can revitalize
brownfields, visit: http://www.serconline.org/brownfields/index.html. |
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North
Carolina Legislative Vote Near on Hog Lagoons
(News Observer 6/18)
The House approved S 593 on Wednesday, a bill which would
extend the current moratorium on building or expanding industrial
hog farms until 2007, four years longer than called for in
the original moratorium. The moratorium was put into effect
in 1997 after a hog farm's lagoon burst, spilling 25 million
gallons into the New River. The moratorium is necessary, according
to the bill's sponsor, to allow researchers at NC State University
to find alternatives to the current methods of waste disposal.
A separate bill, H 1113, sponsored by Rep. Nasbitt, which
calls for the eradication of the lagoons, was heard in committee.
Critics of the moratorium contend it is a toothless reaction
to a serious pollution problem and allows time for continued
inaction. H 1113 calls for lagoons to be eradicated by 2008
or ten years after the lagoon was opened -- whichever date
is the earliest. Rep. Nasbitt contends that if a deadline
was in place there would be greater motivation to find a solution. |
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Chicago
Bike Depot Plan May Turn Commute into Easy Ride
(Chicago Tribune 6/13)
Chicago's Mayor Daley, an avid bicyclist, is planning a new
bike station for his city's downtown. The station would include
a free bike check for up to 400 cycles, showers and lockers,
a bike rental and repair shop, and a coffee and juice bar.
The station will cater to commuters, residents with little
storage space, and downtown visitors. Similar stations are
in use in Europe, and are being planned in Colorado and California.
Mayor Daley wants to make Chicago the most bike-friendly city
in the US. |
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Alabama
Environmental Board Opens Up
(Birmingham News 6/18)
The Alabama Environmental Management Commission has finally
decided to let the public speak at its meetings. After 18
months of debate, the Commission changed its rules to allow
citizens to sign up a week in advance to speak. Previously,
citizens had to petition the Chair, and the Commission had
to vote to hear the petition. This seems to be part of a larger
trend towards independence and discussion in the Commission,
sparked by several new Commissioners. |
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New
York Bill Would Encourage Wastewater Reuse
(EANY.org)
A New York bill that requires the Department of Environmental
Conservation to augment existing rules and standards for reuse
of wastewater, including required levels of treatment and
appropriate uses, passed the Assembly, and is being read a
3rd time in the Senate. AB 4081 would also require facilities
that discharge wastewater to submit a feasibility study regarding
the reuse of reclaimed wastewater when these facilities apply
for renewal of their wastewater discharge permit. Treated
wastewater can be safely reused for commercial and industrial
landscaping, or industrial cooling. This can have the double
benefit of reducing use of fresh water and reducing wastewater
discharge in to lakes and rivers. As recent years have shown,
drought can be a serious problem, even on the East Coast.
Wastewater reuse programs can help conserve water and lessen
the impacts of drought. California, Texas, and Florida currently
require wastewater reuse. For more on how your state can conserve
water, visit: http://www.serconline.org/waterconservation/pkg_frameset.html. |
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