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Net
Metering
"Net Metering" is a special metering and billing agreement
between utilities and their customers that facilitates the connection
of small renewable energy generating systems to the power grid.
These programs encourage small-scale renewable energy systems, ensure
that customers always have a reliable source of energy from the
grid during times when their renewable generators are not producing
energy, and provide substantial benefits to the electric system,
the economy, and the environment. When a customer's renewable generator
is producing more power than is being consumed, the customer's meter
runs backward generating credits. When a customer uses more power
than is being produced, the meter runs forward normally. The customer
is only charged for the "net" power they buy from the
electricity service provider that has accumulated over a designated
period or may, in fact, be credited or paid for the excess electricity
contributed to the grid over that same period. By adopting net metering
laws, states can encourage the installation and use of renewable
energy generators. These systems help break our dependence on dirty
fossil fuels, add to the diversification of our current energy portfolio,
and help lessen the environmental footprint associated with electricity
generation and consumption. For more information on net metering,
visit: http://www.serconline.org/netmetering/index.html. |
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Delaware
Law Cracks Down on Polluters (The News Journal 7/17)
Gov. Ruth Ann Minner signed SB 60 imposing criminal penalties for
corporate officials who recklessly endanger people with toxic chemicals.
The new law allows for prison terms of up to eight years and also
allows for prison time for corporate officials and employees who
falsify data in reports to environmental regulators. The new law
will make public nonconfidential information about firms branded
"chronic violators" of state environmental law. Minner
signed the bill in Delaware City one day ahead of the two-year anniversary
of the collapse of a sulfuric acid storage tank at the Motiva Enterprises
refinery. Jeffrey Davis, a boilermaker and part of a crew doing
maintenance work on the tank, was killed. Eight others were hurt
in the tank collapse and explosion. Motiva was fined $296,000 last
week after pleading no contest in state court to seven charges stemming
from the event. Environmentalists have criticized the law because
to trigger its penalties, environmental damage must pose a threat
to people. Sen. David McBride who has pushed for an environmental
felony statue for 10 years, said the bill is a first step and called
on environmental groups to work with him to expand the law in the
future. For more information on how your state can improve environmental
enforcement and monitoring, visit: http://www.serconline.org/enforce/pkg_frameset.html. |
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Oregon
Cries Wolf
The Oregon house recently voted to pass HB 2458, which revises the
state's endangered species act. The proposed changes would make
it easier to remove species from the endangered or threatened status,
and easier to "take" (i.e., kill) endangered species.
The bill would allow species to be delisted if they are "not
of cultural, scientific, or commercial significance" to the
state, or if the species is "secure" outside the state.
These criteria sidestep the existing scientific process for listing
and delisting species. How do you determine if a species is of cultural,
scientific, or commercial significance? And, who gets to make that
decision? Under this language, politically unpopular species could
be left unprotected, regardless of what the science says. While
proponents claim this is just a "streamlining" of the
act, environmentalists say it is directly targeted at the Grey wolf.
Oregon does not currently have a wolf population, but several have
crossed over from Idaho, and more could come at any time. Another
clause in the bill that seems targeted at wolves allows the "taking"
of an endangered species without a permit if that species causes
agricultural damage. While wolves that attack livestock need to
be dealt with, there are multiple ways to do this without killing
them. The listing and delisting of species under state endangered
species acts should not be a political popularity conference; it
should be based on science. HB 2458 weakens Oregon's endangered
species act and should be opposed. For more information about state
endangered species acts, visit: http://www.serconline.org/esa/index.html.
For more information about how states are dealing with wolf populations,
visit: http://www.serconline.org/wolfpreservation/index.html. |
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Maine
Mercury Law Holds Up Against Automaker Challenge
(Press Herald 7/18)
A federal magistrate sided with the state Thursday in a challenge
by automakers to a recently enacted Maine law intended to
promote the recycling of mercury switches from junked automobiles.
The law, which was a priority for the Natural Resources Council
of Maine in last year's legislative session, requires automakers
to pay a $1 bounty to junkyards and scrap dealers. Automakers
are also required to set up consolidation centers to collect,
package, and ship the mercury switches to recycling centers.
The Natural Resources Council of Maine estimates that 1,500
pounds of mercury remains in registered cars in Maine. Mercury
switches were gradually phased out between 1993 and 2002.
Mercury is a toxic metal that is associated with a variety
of health problems including kidney and nerve damage. For
more information on how your state can reduce mercury pollution,
visit: http://www.serconline.org/mercury/pkg_frameset.html. |
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California
Senate OKs Bill to Ban Retardant
(Los Angeles Times 7/18)
The California Senate approved AB 302 that would make California
the only state in the nation to ban toxic chemicals widely
used as flame retardants that are rapidly building up in the
bodies of people and wildlife around the world. The bill,
already approved by the state Assembly in May, will be sent
to Gov. Gray Davis for his signature after the Assembly acts
on some minor technical amendments next week. Beginning in
2008, the legislation would prohibit all products containing
penta and octa PBDEs, which are applied mostly to upholstered
furniture and building materials but are also used on plastic
housings of computers and other electronic equipment. California
is a leader in use of the chemicals because it has the world's
most stringent flammability requirements for furniture. Industry
representatives say that once the state bans them, they are
likely to be phased out elsewhere. The compounds have been
banned by the European Union, where industries began voluntarily
phasing them out in the late 1990s. |
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New
York Clean Car Bill (www.EANY.org)
A4082 and S4044 direct the Department of Environmental Conservation
to develop cost-effective standards for the emission of greenhouse
gases from motor vehicles. The standards are identical to
the California vehicle standards for greenhouse gases and
are slated to be in effect as of the 2009 model year for vehicles.
The legislation is based on AB 1058 that passed the California
legislature in 2002. Regulating greenhouse gas emissions will
significantly reduce the total amount emitted in New York
each year and will help toward stemming the effects of global
warming. |
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Pennsylvania
House Sends Blighted-Site Bill to Senate
(Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 7/17)
HB 300 which is aimed at clearing blighted properties across
the state, including 15,000 in Pittsburgh, passed the state
House by a 136-64 vote and is headed to the Senate. The legislation,
two years in the making, was authored by Rep. Michael Diven.
Under Diven's plan, the state would create three blight remediation
boards - one for Pittsburgh, one for Philadelphia, and one
for the remainder of the state. The state would allocate $200
million from the capital budget for the boards to use to buy
and remediate blighted properties. Of that amount, $50 million
would be dedicated to blight remediation in Pittsburgh, Diven
said, with $35 million used for purchasing property and the
remaining $15 million for rehabilitation. The blight remediation
board would use the money to clear up tax liens, buy the properties
and ready them for sale by tearing down structures, and installing
infrastructure like water and sewer lines. The city would
hold the titles to the properties. Funds used for the program
would be paid back to the state over 20 years. The money would
come from property taxes generated by the rehabilitated properties.
For more information on how your state can revitalize blighted
sites or brownfields, visit: http://www.serconline.org/brownfields/index.html. |
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New
Jersey Tightens Rules Protecting Wildlife
(The Times 7/16)
New Jersey's three decade-old endangered species law has yet
to be fully implemented. While it is illegal to kill animals
listed on the state's endangered and threatened species lists,
no law exists to prevent developers from using habitat that
is vital to their survival. In other words, you can't kill
wood turtles or corn snakes, but one could fill in the ponds
and plow over the fields the species live in. Currently, the
McGreevey administration has plans in the works to amend the
yet-to-be enacted legislation. The new rules will require
developers to hire consultants to survey prospective development
sites and confirm that they do not contain critical dwelling
or forage grounds for endangered species. For more information
on how your state can protect its endangered species, visit:
http://www.serconline.org/esa/index.html. |
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New
York School Bus Changes in Pipeline
(Times Union 7/15)
New York's school bus fleet is getting a makeover, compliments
of a groundbreaking joint state-federal program that will
retrofit or replace 5,000 buses a year through 2006. The retrofits
will consist of adding pollution-absorbing devices similar
to the catalytic converters that have become ubiquitous on
cars, while the oldest and dirtiest buses will be replaced
by new, more efficient models. Part of the impetus for the
program was a study released by the Natural Resources Defense
Council in 2001 which linked school bus diesel fumes and the
rising numbers of asthmatics among children. In addition to
updating New York's buses, the program aims to completely
phase out older generation diesels by 2010 and reduce unnecessary
idling by at least 50% by 2005. For more information on how
to reduce school bus emissions, visit: http://www.serconline.org/schoolbus/index.html.
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Wisconsin's
Governor Doyle to Reject Stewardship Cuts
(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 7/14)
Governor Doyle has announced that he plans to veto several
Republican budget provisions that would threaten the state's
ability to protect its natural heritage lands. The GOP proposed
that bonding be reduced for Wisconsin's land-buying stewardship
program by $245 million through 2010, that the Department
of Natural Resources sell off $40 million of land, and that
all land purchases - not just those costing $250,000 or more
- be subject to the approval of the Legislature's Joint Finance
Committee. This is just another case, Doyle said, of Republicans
"taking a fiscal problem and using it to attack the environment."
The stewardship funds targeted by the budget cut proposal
are a vital part of Wisconsin's efforts to preserve its undeveloped
lands. To date they have facilitated the purchase of over
250,000 acres of land in the state, much of which serves to
maintain recreational easements to streams, lakes, and other
sensitive lands. While raiding these funds may produce short
term economic gains, the loss of the wild and recreational
areas they protect would be irreversible, say conservationists.
For more information on how your state can protect its undeveloped
land, visit: http://www.serconline.org/conservationfunding/index.html. |
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Minnesota
Companies Try to be Greener, Cleaner
(Duluth News Tribune 7/7)
Several prominent Minnesota businesses are joining a worldwide,
common-sense environmental movement called Design for the
Environment. The idea is simple: if you think about the environment
while designing (or redesigning) a product, you can save money
and lower the environmental impact of the product. The movement
emphasizes reducing the use of toxic materials, designing
products to be recycled, and minimizing waste. The Minnesota
Office of Environmental Assistance (OEA) has been coordinating
a Design for the Environment program for five years now. They
work with companies like Ford, whose Ranger truck plant in
St. Paul saves $129,000 a year and has reduced it's emission
of volatile organic compounds by 45 percent since 1996 as
a result of a redesign. Medtronic, another OEA program participant,
saves around $2 million a year because they decided on an
environmentally-friendly coating for its products. The key
is to think about the entire production process, and the entire
lifecycle of the product, according to OEA staff. This kind
of design can also help companies comply with existing and
upcoming environmental regulation. |
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Massachusetts
Bill Promotes Use of Safer Chemicals
(MA legislative website)
HB 2275, introduced by Rep. Jay Kaufman, promotes the use
of chemicals that are safe as alternatives to toxic chemicals
that are regularly used. Toxic chemical exposure can be dangerous
for individuals, but their use is especially detrimental to
children. Pound for pound, children ingest more toxic chemicals
due to their size and general behavior. The bill is currently
in the Joint Committee on Natural Resources and Agriculture. |
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