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SERC
Report: ALEC's Attack on Civil Liberties
Today, lawmakers and citizens alike place national security among
the foremost of their concerns. In a post-911 world in which America
is waging a "war against terrorism," one of the most critical
issues facing our nation is how to ensure national security while
safeguarding the civil liberties guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
Against the backdrop of this political climate, the American Legislative
Exchange Council (ALEC), a right-wing organization primarily comprised
of business interests and state legislators, has drafted and is
promoting three related bills. The first, ALEC's "Animal and
Ecological Terrorism Act," was released as part of ALEC's alarmist
report, "Animal & Ecological Terrorism in America,"
and has been introduced in six states (WA, AZ, HI, TX, SC, NY).
The other bills, "Environmental Corrupt Organizations - Preventative
Legislation and Neutralization Act" (ECO-PLAN) and the "ECO-PLAN
Forfeiture Act" emulate RICO statutes but target environmental
groups. ALEC claims that these bills will help safeguard the nation
against acts of domestic ecoterrorism. However, the bills plainly
violate civil rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. To read
the full report, visit: http://www.serconline.org/pdf/civilLiberties.pdf. |
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North
Carolina Asks EPA to Force Other States to Clean Air (News-Observer
3/19)
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/nc/story/3432510p-3050926c.html
North Carolina can't clean up its dirty air by itself, so the federal
government should make 13 upwind states reduce pollution at their
coal-burning power plants, state leaders said. With the support
of Gov. Easley, Attorney General Cooper sent a letter to Michael
Leavitt, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), asking his agency to agree that the 13 states are illegally
fouling North Carolina's air. The letter asks the EPA to order those
states to emit far less of the soot and airborne chemical compounds
that poison people's lungs and spoil scenic views. "We've taken
steps to cut down on the pollution we produce here in North Carolina,
but dirty air doesn't respect state borders," Cooper said Thursday
in announcing the petition. "Since we can't stop air pollution
at the state line, we want to cut it at the source." North
Carolina is the first southern state to petition the EPA under Section
126 of the federal Clean Air Act to force nearby states to be healthier
neighbors, as several northeast states did successfully in the late
1990s. Cooper said that despite slashing pollution from its own
power plants, North Carolina can't meet federal air-quality standards.
Smog and ground-level ozone have broken federal limits in the Triangle,
Charlotte, and other places. That not only makes the air unhealthy,
it jeopardizes federal highway funding. And, air pollution elsewhere
hurts farming and tourism. If the petition succeeds, states as far
away as Michigan would have to cut power plant pollution by more
than 50 percent, while states nearer North Carolina would face reductions
of 70 percent to 80 percent. In addition to Michigan, the states
named in the petition are Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky,
Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia,
and West Virginia. The EPA estimates that more than half the nation's
population will be living in areas that are in violation of the
Clean Air Act after April 15th. For more on how your state can clean
up its air, visit: http://www.serconline.org/clean/index.html. |
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GA
Senator Wants to Make It Harder for Citizens to Block Damaging Permits
In Jan. 2004, Georgia Sen. Eric Johnson introduced SB 524, which
sought to restrict the ability of concerned parties to appeal pollution
permits. The bill, as introduced, would have required the appealing
party to post a bond as a prerequisite for an appeal. That bond
would have to cover "all loss, damages, interest, attorney
fees, and costs and expenses of litigation" that could be incurred
by the business or government entity that received the permit, and
would be unduly prohibitive to all but the very wealthy who try
to oppose such permits. The bill as proposed may have violated the
Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution by offering financial
protection only to the permittee and not to the appellant or agency.
The bill was supported by industry groups that complained of having
to jump through hoops to obtain a permit, only to have their development
halted when an appeal was issued -- usually by "environmental
groups." However, citizen groups say those complaints lack
merit and insist that the majority of past appeals were ruled valid
and resulted in permit modifications or other changes. In other
words, in most cases where an appeal was issued, the permittee or
the permit issued was found to be in violation of the law and detrimental
to the environment and human health. Reactions to the bill from
citizen groups and others in Georgia resulted in the Senate committee
introducing a substitute for SB 524, which removes the bond requirement
but retains the intent of the original bill. The new substitute
removes the so-called "stay rule," which halts the development
during the appeals process to allow the state to consider and rule
on the appeal. This version passed the Senate, and is under consideration
in the House. If SB 524 were passed today, it would allow developments
to proceed immediately during an appeals process; if a judge later
finds that the action was illegal, they may be unable to undo or
hold parties liable for any harm that might have occurred. SB 524
makes it more difficult for citizens to hold corporations liable
for environmental damage, and may prevent the state from correcting
the harm done even if an appeal is found to be valid. This is a
dangerous bill, and should not pass. |
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Mississippi:
Drilling Bills Sail Through Legislature (Sun Herald
3/19)
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/8223111.htm
The Senate and House voted overwhelmingly in favor of bills
aimed at opening state waters to oil and gas drilling, but
only after restricting nearshore drilling for most areas of
the coast. The two versions include provisions, which would
move oil and gas lease authority from the Department of Environmental
Quality to the Mississippi Development Authority, with an
oversight board comprised of the governor, secretary of state,
attorney general, and state treasurer, and restrict drilling
near some barrier islands and oyster reefs. Proponents said
the legislation would allow the state to tap its natural resources
to help fund public education, without spoiling the environment
or beach views. But some environmentalists, local governments,
and tourism and casino industry representatives have lobbied
against the legislation. They worry offshore drilling would
harm the environment or tourism industries and views from
the sand beach or islands. |
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Florida
Legislators Look to Weaken Manatee Protections (South
Florida Sun-Sentinel 3/19)
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/sfl-fmanatees19mar19,0,5967595.story?coll=sfla-news-florida
A bill moving through the Florida legislature calls for the
state to shift manatee protection money into research on whether
the huge marine mammals are eating so much sea grass that
they're harming fish that depend on it for food and shelter.
Inspired by anger over restrictions on boating and dock-building,
the bill is one of several introduced this session to head
off additional manatee protection regulations. One bill would
exempt certain proposals for new marinas from the full approval
process for large regional developments. Another would require
the state to set measurable biological goals for manatees
and prohibit additional protection measures where those goals
were being met. A third bill would shift $3 million in manatee
protection funds from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation
Commission to Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota for conducting
manatee research, including an inquiry into their effect on
sea grass. The shift in funding would devastate the state's
manatee protection work, according to an analysis by the Florida
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. It would cause
the agency to reduce or eliminate vital functions such as
rescuing injured manatees, posting and enforcing slow speed
zones, recovering manatee carcasses, determining the cause
of death, and reviewing coastal construction permits. For
more on how your state can protect endangered species, visit:
http://www.serconline.org/esa/index.html. |
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Minnesota
Bill Would Dedicate Funding to Clean Water (Grand
Forks Herald 3/15) http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/8188701.htm
A bill, which would give voters a chance to create an annual
pool of money to clean up Minnesota's lakes and rivers, is
working its way through the legislature with a strong ally
-- the governor. The legislation would set a referendum on
whether the state constitution should be amended so that one-quarter
of 1 percent of the state sales tax is set aside each year
for 20 years for environmental programs, including water restoration.
Similar attempts to get money for outdoors programs have failed
in the past, and this year's version again faces opposition.
But Gov. Tim Pawlenty has said that cleaning up one of the
state's natural treasures -- its lakes and streams -- is a
cornerstone of his administration. The Minnesota Pollution
Control Agency (MPCA), whose report on the status of lakes
is the basis for the funding request, lists cleaning up lakes
and rivers as its top priority. The agency lists 1,916 lakes
and streams as "impaired," meaning they contain
harmful levels of pollutants like mercury or excess nutrients
like nitrogen. The list, first released in 1998 as part of
the federal Clean Water Act, has grown in recent years as
the agency collects more data on water quality. It is estimated
that 10,000 lakes and streams could be on it by 2014. The
pollutants causing most of the trouble in Minnesota's water
come from routine activities such as driving cars, fertilizing
lawns, and agricultural and stormwater runoff, the MPCA said.
For more on your state can protect its water, visit: http://www.serconline.org/safeair&water.html. |
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Colorado
May Implement Fees for Wildlife Watching (The Daily
Camera 3/18)
http://www1.dailycamera.com/bdc/state_news/article/0,1713,BDC_2419_2738694,00.html
Colorado lawmakers may consider a bill next year that would
require wildlife watchers to pay a fee to access state wildlife
areas. Wildlife advocates are encouraging the use of such
fees because hunters and fishermen currently bear the majority
of the cost of wildlife management. "It is past time
that individuals, other than fishermen and hunters, begin
to contribute on a mandatory basis for wildlife management,"
Eddie Kochman, former state fisheries manager, told a state
committee. Besides the burden placed on hunters and fishermen,
the numbers of those groups are declining, causing a decrease
in state money available for wildlife management. Kochman
estimates that about 2 million people use the state's wildlife
areas annually, while only a small fraction actually pay for
it. To implement such a program, wildlife watchers and other
users would pay an annual fee for a wildlife habitat or conservation
stamp. State lawmakers have considered similar proposals in
the past, but potential payers wanted to ensure that the money
would go specifically to wildlife preservation, while the
state Division of Wildlife doesn't want the money collected
to benefit specific programs. Similar pay schemes have been
implemented in neighboring Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, and
New Mexico. For more information on conservation funding mechanisms,
visit: http://www.serconline.org/conservationfunding/index.html. |
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Florida
to Face Lawsuits over Polluted Waterways (Miami Herald
3/19)
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/national/8224306.htm
Accusing the state of shirking its responsibility to keep
Florida waterways clean, two environmental groups announced
last week they will sue the federal government to take over
the job. The Sierra Club, along with the Natural Resources
Defense Council and Linda Young of the Clean Water Network,
said they had filed a 60-day notice that they intended to
sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a step
required before filing a lawsuit. The aim is to force the
EPA to once again enforce the federal Clean Water Act in Florida.
The agency gave up that authority in 1995, delegating responsibilities
to the state, an arrangement the agency has with most other
states. The groups said Florida, in its last report to the
EPA, identified 6,391 miles of rivers and streams, 635,008
acres of lakes, and 1,150 square miles of estuaries not meeting
federal water quality standards. They also said the state
has failed to issue permits to limit dioxins from paper mills
and sewage from dairies, is pursuing potentially dangerous
underground injection of waste, and had altered laws that
would delay cleanup of phosphorus pollution in the Everglades,
among other things. |
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SD
Gov. Wants River Management Plan Reconsidered (Rapid
City Journal 3/19)
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2004/03/18/news/state/top/state01.txt
South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds wants more emphasis placed on
sufficient water to support spawning fish in upstream reservoirs
of the Missouri River. Rounds has asked the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers to modify their submitted Missouri River management
proposal to ensure protection for the hatching of fish important
to the viability of the fishing industry. The changes will
be made to the new master manual, used to guide river management
and develop annual operating plans based on the amount of
water available each year. Rounds noted South Dakota officials'
concerns over basing the existing plan on the normal amount
of runoff from melted snow and rain, since runoff this year
is likely to be below normal. If the plan were based on averages,
it could pose a threat to fish eggs laid in shallow water
this spring. Droughts in the area in recent years could aggravate
those threats. Upstream states want more water held in upstream
reservoirs to support the fishing industry, and downstream
states want more water at certain times of the year to support
barge traffic, city water supplies, and power plant cooling
systems. Even after the final master manual is completed,
the Corps expects numerous legal challenges. In response to
concerns from environmentalists, the Corps has submitted a
new plan that would create about 1,200 acres of slow-moving,
shallow water channels for the endangered pallid sturgeon,
and intends to establish ways to provide nesting places for
terns and plovers. At the federal level, Senate Minority Leader
Tom Daschle has reintroduced a bill that would reform the
Corps and revise its methods of designing and building projects.
Dashle's bill would also create a new, independent review
process for such proposed projects. For more information on
how your state can work to encourage water conservation, visit:
http://www.serconline.org/waterconservation/pkg_frameset.html. |
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Nebraska:
Senators to Debate Livestock Waste Bill (Lincoln
Journal Star 3/16)
http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2004/03/16/nebraska/10046805.txt
Nebraska LB 916, if approved, would force permit holders to
pay a fee for each cow, pig, horse, sheep, lamb, turkey, or
chicken housed in a facility each year. The fee would vary
depending on the animal. Sen. Ed Schrock of Elm Creek, who
introduced the bill, said the measure is designed to bring
the state's permitting process into compliance with federal
regulations that take full effect in 2007. The goal is for
the fees to cover about 20 percent of the state's $1 million
annual cost of conducting inspections and issuing permits.
Permit holders would have to pay a fee of 10 cents per head
of beef cattle, 15 cents for each dairy cow, and $4 per 100
pigs greater than 55 pounds or $1 per 100 pigs less than 55
pounds. The state's Livestock Waste Management Act, passed
in 1998, directs the Department of Environmental Quality to
oversee a system of permits and inspections designed to keep
livestock waste from polluting Nebraska's waterways. The Nebraska
Farm Bureau, the Nebraska Cattlemen, and the Nebraska Pork
Producers all spoke in support of the bill, despite the new
fees. Environmental groups question why the bill doesn't include
a requirement for livestock operators to contribute money
to a fund in case a confined animal site is abandoned and
needs to be cleaned up. |
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NJ
Legislators Fast-Track North Highlands Watershed Preservation
(New Jersey Star-Ledger 3/16)
http://www.nj.com/statehouse/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1079421415175220.xml
The New Jersey Senate and Assembly environment committees
said this week that they will fast- track the North Highlands
area of the state for preservation because the watershed is
an invaluable asset to the state. Gov. McGreevey has called
for sweeping protections in the region, which supplies drinking
water to more than half the state. The protections include
the creation of a regional council with veto power over development
on 350,000 watershed acres. The state will stress both new
regulation and land purchases at prices that reflect values
prior to regulatory changes in order to preserve the watershed's
core. The area's remaining 120,000 acres are privately-owned,
undeveloped land, and could be protected for somewhere between
$200 million and $300 million. McGreevey and others stress
that the plan will be ineffectual if growth in designated
areas is not appropriately managed. For more information on
smart growth and sprawl, visit: http://www.serconline.org/sprawl/pkg_frameset.html. |
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Connecticut
Gov. Approves Proposals to Combat Climate Change (ENS
3/15)
Connecticut Gov. John Rowland has accepted 38 recommendations
from a climate change committee to help reduce state greenhouse
gas emissions. The Steering Committee on Climate Change made
their recommendations based on input from a diverse array
of citizen stakeholders, businesses, and government agencies
that met and formulated action plans during a series of public
forums. The recommendations could result in a number of greenhouse
gas-reducing state programs, ranging from stricter auto emissions
standards to a program that would give state energy users
the option to pay for renewable energy sources like wind,
solar, hydro, and fuel cell power. If implemented, the plan
is expected to encourage the use of renewable energy, environmentally-friendly
building materials, green building, smart growth plans, alternative
fuels, product recycling, and locally produced goods. "Together
[the recommendations] are projected to account for more than
half of the greenhouse gas emission reductions we're targeting
by 2010," Rowland said. "It's the equivalent of
planting nearly three million acres of trees or removing over
750,000 cars from our highways over a year's time." For
more information on how your state can work to implement sustainable
growth policies, see SERC'S Energy Policy Report, "Crafting
a Clean and Sustainable Energy Policy," at http://www.serconline.org/cleanenergy.pdf
or SERC package materials on a variety of issues including
smart growth, electronic waste, clean power, and biodiesel. |
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Maine
Plans to Green State Vehicle Fleet (Portland Press
Herald 3/18)
http://www.pressherald.com/news/state/040318emissions.shtml
Gov. John Baldacci issued an executive order this week that
outlines a plan to thin out, and reduce emissions from, the
state's vehicle fleet. The program envisioned by the initiative
includes using more hybrid vehicles and cutting down on unnecessary
transportation by maximizing opportunities of employees to
telecommute. Maine has set a goal of reducing greenhouse gas
emissions to 1990 levels by 2010, with another 10 percent
cut envisioned by 2020. Baldacci writes in the order that
he believes state government needs to assume a leadership
role in curbing climate change, and that the program will
also save taxpayer dollars. For more information on greening
state vehicle fleets, visit: http://www.serconline.org/suvFleets.html. |
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New
Jersey Assembly Passes Smart Growth Measure (Philadelphia
Inquirer 3/16)
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/local/8196464.htm
The New Jersey Assembly passed, by a 65-10 vote, a bill that
would allow local governments to channel growth by transferring
development rights away from undeveloped property and into
designated growth areas. The building industry has lobbied
against most of Gov. McGreevey's smart growth agenda, but
this initiative appears to have builders' support because
it manages instead of restricts development. The concept is
based on a decade-old Burlington County program that has preserved
more than 10,000 acres of open space and farmland in Chesterfield
and Lumberton by shifting developers' rights to build houses
from one area of town to another. Under the program, builders
forfeit their rights to build in an undeveloped area of town
in return for permission to build more densely in sections
designated for growth. Under the legislation, towns interested
in establishing a transfer-of-development-rights program would
have to pass local ordinances and receive approval of their
master plans from the State Planning Commission. Similar programs
exist in 20 other states. For more information on smart growth
and sprawl, visit: http://www.serconline.org/sprawl/pkg_frameset.html. |
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