• Military Expansion Threatens San Pedro River, Court Rules
  
• Majority of Nuclear Plants Seek Delay in Upgrading Security
  
• California Watershed Groups Demonstrate Successes
  
• Updating Environmental Regs Saves Pennsylvania Millions
  
• Oregon Fines Nevada Company for Sulfur Emissions
  
• New Jersey Fails to Save Freshwater Wetlands
  
• Washington's Cleaner Production Challenge Finds Acceptance
  
• Rare Birds Seen in Unusual Places
  

Military Expansion Threatens San Pedro River, Court Rules

TUCSON, Arizona, April 15, 2002 (ENS) - In response to a lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity, a federal judge has declared that the massive expansion of Fort Huachuca is dewatering the San Pedro River and jeopardizing the existence of an endangered bird and a plant.

U.S. District Court Judge Alfredo Marquez ruled April 8 that the military's water conservation plan would not offset its impact on the species. He also declared the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's approval of the expansion to be "arbitrary and capricious."

The affected bird is the southwestern willow flycatcher, and the plant is the Huachuca water umbel, a semi-aquatic, perennial plant with slender, erect leaves that grow from creeping rhizomes.

Flowing north from Mexico into the Gila River in southeast Arizona, the San Pedro supports 400 species of birds, nearly half of the U.S. total, 100 species of butterflies, 83 species of mammals and 47 species of amphibians and reptiles.

The Center for Biological Diversity says it has the highest diversity of vertebrate species in the inland United States and the second highest diversity of land mammals in the world.

It was designated the first globally important bird area by the American Bird Conservancy and one of the Northern Hemisphere's eight last great places by The Nature Conservancy. In 1988, Congress designated 45 miles of the San Pedro River as the nation's first Riparian National Conservation Area.

Still, the river is drying up due to unsustainable sprawl and agribusiness. Baseflows have declined 67 percent since the 1940s and will eventually disappear if aggressive water conservation actions are not taken soon, the Center says. "The continuous expansion of Fort Huachuca is the single biggest contributor to the deadly overdraft of the river, thus the U.S. Army has an exceptional responsibility to ensure the river's future."

The Center successfully petitioned to list the southwestern willow flycatcher and Huachuca water umbel as endangered species in the early 1990s. It then filed suit, forcing Fort Huachuca to submit its expansion plans to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for review under the Endangered Species Act. The Service issued a draft decision that expansion would jeopardize the flycatcher and umbel. It laid out concrete actions the military must take to save the river.

But the agency later reversed itself, declaring that the military's water conservation plan was adequate. The Center sued over the decision. Noting that the Service's own biologists complained that the conservation plan "doesn't even come close" to offsetting the military's water withdrawals, Judge Marquez ruled that the agency "sidestepped its obligation to make an accurate "no jeopardy" decision based on the best available evidence."

Fort Huachuca will now have to develop a new, stronger water conservation plan and re-submit it for review to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Majority of Nuclear Plants Seek Delay in Upgrading Security

WASHINGTON, DC, April 15, 2002 (ENS) - The owners of three out of four licensed U.S. nuclear power plants are asking the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a delay in scheduling the security upgrades that the commission recently ordered them to make, the watchdog organization Nuclear Control Institute (NCI) disclosed Thursday.

In a letter sent to Congressman James Greenwood, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee investigating the enhanced security requirements mandated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NCI president Paul Leventhal and scientific director Edwin Lyman warned that "most plants did not even have the necessary expertise and information to determine their vulnerabilities to vehicle bombs of the type specified in the [NRC] Order."

In their letter, Leventhal and Lyman said that NCI's review of responses by all 64 licensed nuclear power plant operators showed that at least 47, or 73 percent, failed to provide an implementation schedule for all measures specified by NRC within the required 20 days of its February 25 order and asked for extensions ranging from two to five and one-half months.

"These delays, if granted, will make it very difficult for many plants to put into place all the upgraded security measures by the NRC's August 31 deadline," they said.

"The NRC repeatedly argued in the months following the September 11 attacks that it did not have to issue mandatory security orders because nuclear plant operators had voluntarily taken all necessary measures to ensure adequate security," Leventhal and Lyman wrote. "Today we know this is not the case."

Greenwood chaired a closed hearing Thursday with NRC commissioners, representatives of the Nuclear Energy Institute industry lobbying group, and David Orrik, who runs the NRC's mock terrorist exercises at nuclear power plants.

Leventhal and Lyman also asked Greenwood to investigate "factually incorrect testimony" presented by Nuclear Energy Institute Vice President Ralph Beedle at the subcommittee’s last hearing on December 5, as well as "false claims made by NEI and by some NRC officials that control room operators could recover a plant after terrorists succeed in gaining entry and destroying a redundant set of safety systems."

"It is simply unrealistic to assume that operators would have a significant chance of rescuing a plant in the severely degraded state that would occur if terrorists were able to destroy an entire target set, especially if the terrorists were still at large," Leventhal and Lyman warned Greenwood.

California Watershed Groups Demonstrate Successes

SACRAMENTO, California, April 15, 2002 (ENS) - California's Yuba River Watershed has a sophisticated watershed council structure that includes working with federal, state and local partners. It is one of 10 watersheds selected by the state of California as models of how people can cooperate to protect and restore these areas.

The California Resources Agency and the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) assembled a Joint Task Force to examine 10 exemplary local and grassroots watershed organizations. Their report, released Friday, includes suggestions on how to improve and develop partnerships between local groups and government, and approaches to providing support and improved guidance for grassroots groups.

A watershed is an area of land that drains water, and everything in the water, to an outlet - a lake, bay, or the ocean. Watershed protection partnerships have gained popularity around the country and in California, helping to organize scientific data, engage local citizens and landowners in environmental stewardship, and deliver programs and activities to improve natural ecosystems and community health.

Governor Gray Davis said, "My administration has made the protection of the state's watersheds a top priority. This important study will help to protect and preserve our natural resources, improve water quality and leave a priceless legacy for the future."

The report, "Addressing the Need to Protect California's Watersheds: Working in Partnerships," was the first of its kind, and was mandated by law.

The report was compiled over 18 months under the direction of the Cal/EPA Secretary Winston Hickox, Secretary for Resources Mary Nichols, and State Water Resources Control Board Chairman Art Baggett.

The task force evaluated the relationships of state and federal agencies to local watershed group efforts and studied watershed projects geographically from Humboldt Bay in Northern California to Los Penasquitos Lagoon in San Diego.

The 10 watersheds selected by the Joint Task Force on Watershed Management are (with counties): Humboldt Bay (Humboldt), Yuba River (Nevada), Clear Lake Basin (Lake), Tomales Bay (Marin), Codornices Creek (Alameda), Santa Clara Basin (Santa Clara), Elkhorn Slough (Monterey), Arroyo Seco (Los Angeles), Santa Ana River (Orange), and Los Penasquitos Lagoon (San Diego).

"Watersheds have a wonderful ability to bring people together, even those once in conflict," Nichols said. "Watersheds help find what unites rather than what divides a community. They also bring out creativity and innovation by bringing together many viewpoints through the collaborative process."

"We are fortunate to live and work in a state with some of the most diverse and beautiful ecosystems on Earth," Baggett said. "All of us have the responsibility to protect, preserve, and restore these watersheds for the benefit of those that live here, the millions of visitors that recreate here, the migratory birds that rest in our waters, the farms that supply our food, and the generations yet to come. This report is the beginning of a process to set aside differences and do just that."

Updating Environmental Regs Saves Pennsylvania Millions

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, April 15, 2002 (ENS) - A Pennsylvania regulatory program designed to increase compliance with environmental regulations while making the compliance process simpler, less time consuming and less expensive, has been worth $672 million in the view of government officials.

The Regulatory Basics Initiative has saved Pennsylvania businesses and local governments an estimated $672 million since the plan was launched in August 1995, according to Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary David Hess.

Hess today told Pennsylvania business leaders gathered at the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry's annual Environmental and Occupational Safety and Health Administration conference that thousands of pages of obsolete documents were removed from the state regulations.

"During the past seven years, we have deleted 4,500 pages of outdated, confusing and unnecessary guidance documents. We have made all 11,500 pages of technical-guidance documents available to the public through the DEP website. And we have drafted regulatory changes to cut redundant administrative activities," Hess said.

These changes were accomplished by reviewing 5,000 pages of regulations and 16,000 pages of policies to identify areas in need of revision. More than 35 public hearings were held, and DEP responded to more than 1,040 public comments. DEP's 27 advisory committees made up of Pennsylvania citizens also provided input.

Hess told the group that water resources legislation pending in the legislature will help ensure future economic growth in Pennsylvania while also benefiting the environment.

"Pennsylvania businesses have relied on our state's rich natural resources to flourish, whether it was the coal in our hills fueling the mining industry, the trees in our forests used for logging, or the rich soil which makes some of the best farmland anywhere in America," Secretary Hess said. "We have adequate water supplies to meet our economic needs as we move forward in the 21st century."

The Governor's Action Team, which helps recruit and retain businesses for Pennsylvania, reports that 900,000 gallons of water per month would be needed to support a one million square foot distribution center. Pennsylvania is a prime spot for these distribution centers because of its location near the population centers of New York and New England, and as the access point from the Northeast to the markets of the Midwest.

"Food processors, part of our state's largest industry, also use a tremendous amount of water," Hess said. "But today, in many parts of Pennsylvania, we have no idea how much water we have available or how much we're using. Our state water plan hasn't been updated since 1976."

The water-resources legislation would require DEP to update the state's water plan within three years and every five years thereafter. The plan would identify areas where demand now, or in the future, exceeds supply, and it would offer solutions. These critical water-planning areas would get technical help from state experts, but decisions would be made at the watershed level with involvement from local officials, businesses and the general public.

The legislation also would set up education and outreach programs to help businesses and individuals learn ways they can conserve water and save money at the same time. The legislation would set standards for drilling private wells in Pennsylvania which are drilled at the rate of 15,000 a year.

Oregon Fines Nevada Company for Sulfur Emissions

SALEM, Oregon, April 15, 2002 (ENS) - Illegal sulfur dioxide emissions have cost a Nevada minerals company operating in Oregon big bucks. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has signed a Mutual Agreement and Order with Eagle-Picher Minerals to address air quality permit violations at the company's diatomaceous earth processing facility in Vale.

The Order includes an agreement to pay a $303,169 civil penalty for failing to obtain a Prevention of Significant Deterioration permit, and for operating without a Title V air quality permit. The permits are necessary to limit or reduce the amount of sulfur dioxide emissions coming from the facility.

Eagle-Picher Minerals processes diatomaceous earth and perlite minerals from two locations in Nevada, and one in Oregon. The products are shipped to 2,500 customers in 60 countries. Diatomaceous earth and perlite are used in the industrial filtration of liquids in the food, beverage, water treatment, pharmaceutical and chemical industries, and as fillers in paints, plastics and rubber.

Eagle-Picher's Vale facility processes sulfur containing diatomaceous earth into these industrial products. Sulfur dioxide is released when the diatomaceous earth is heated during processing.

High concentrations of sulfur dioxide emissions can harm human health by causing difficulty in breathing, and may cause respiratory and cardiovascular illness.

Sulfur dioxide can cause acidification of lakes and streams, accelerated corrosion of buildings, and reduced visibility.

Under the Order, Eagle-Picher Minerals agrees to pay the civil penalty, apply for and obtain an Oregon Title V air operating permit, submit monthly emissions reports to DEQ, and decrease sulfur dioxide emissions 50 percent immediately and 60 percent by January 31, 2003.

New Jersey Fails to Save Freshwater Wetlands

"New Jersey has long required that up to two acres of wetlands be created for every one acre lost," said Campbell. "However, setting goals for a net increase in wetlands is futile if, in the end, your results show an actual net loss. The most important lesson we must learn from these results is that mitigation is not a substitute for avoiding and minimizing wetlands fill wherever possible."

The study began in 1998 to assess the state's wetlands mitigation program - focusing only on wetlands creation - in three areas: the percentage and type of acreage successfully created; whether the mitigation project met specific permit requirements; and, the quality of the created wetlands. In all areas, the results showed on average a less than 50 percent success rate.

Wetlands are critical natural resources because they perform vital ecological functions. They help store water and replenish the ground water supplies, a function that is especially important during a drought such as the one that now has the state in its grip.

Wetlands filter out contaminants to improve the quality of water resources. They protect against flood conditions, prevent shoreline erosion, maintain habitats for plant and animal species, and support recreational opportunities.

The DEP has taken steps to improve the program by adopting new rules that require permittees to develop performance based wetland mitigation requirements to ensure better planning, implementation and compliance. Some of the requirements include strengthening detailed site plans and water budgets. All projects must now be certified by a consulting biologist at the time of project completion.

The study also helps to enhance the DEP's database capabilities and a monitoring protocol to better assess mitigation into the future.

Visit the DEP web site at: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/dsr/wetlands/ to read the entire study.

Washington's Cleaner Production Challenge Finds Acceptance

OLYMPIA, Washington, April 15, 2002 (ENS) - Companies that make aerospace parts and circuit boards are among 59 manufacturers in Washington who have signed up for free technical assistance aimed at reducing the amount of hazardous waste and waste water they produce.

The Cleaner Production Challenge, offered by the state Department of Ecology (Ecology), provides technical assistance and training to wet-process manufacturers, which use large quantities of water and generate a great deal of dangerous sludge and waste water. The group includes metal finishers, aerospace parts manufacturers and circuit board manufacturers.

In 2000, the three types of facilities produced 80 million pounds of hazardous waste, some of which could have been prevented.

"The challenge program has opened another avenue of communication between Ecology and these companies," said Dennis Johnson, a toxics reduction expert for Ecology. "We've had years of dialogue with them on pollution prevention and problem solving, but we needed to repackage it in a way they would find valuable and useful."

Last year, Ecology asked the facilities what would help them the most. The answer was training, workshops and information from successful facilities. The department is now providing that assistance through the Cleaner Production Challenge, in exchange for stronger efforts to prevent pollution and conserve resources. The participants also have been invited to learn about cost saving improvements at a training seminar in May.

Novation, a Spokane metal finisher, was one of the first companies to accept the challenge. "We are glad Ecology is giving us this opportunity," said Charlotte Trevino, environmental manager for Novation. "There are things we want to learn more about - reducing water and chemical consumption, reducing sludge production and eliminating rejects caused by improper rinsing."

"This is a positive step because it's a united effort. It's not seen as the state against manufacturers," said Ecology's Johnson. "It's great for the companies, the environment and the people living in neighboring communities."

The program challenges participants to reduce their wastes by 10 to 25 percent, depending on what's feasible for each facility, by December 2004. Most will use baseline data from 2000.

Johnson said his agency hoped to enlist 25 or 30 out of 76 facilities across the state, but he is pleased that 59 facilities are part of the program. "We set a goal, and they are stepping up to the mark," he said.

Rare Birds Seen in Unusual Places

NEW YORK, New York, April 15, 2002 (ENS) - Birders across the United States and Canada spotted a total of 505 species of birds in the four days between February 15 and 18 in the 2002 Great Backyard Bird Count. The National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology announced the results Friday.

Rare and unusual sightings include a gyrfalcon, a powerful falcon from the Arctic, in Massachusetts. A great spotted woodpecker from Asia was seen in Alaska and a broad-billed hummingbird was seen in Georgia - a first for the state.

"Close to 50,000 checklists were submitted for a total of almost five million individual birds counted from across the United States and Canada, with every state and province reporting in," said Frank Gill, Audubon's vice president of science and conservation.

Gill said the 505 figure for total number of bird species is sure to grow as rare sightings continue to be confirmed and added to the Great Backyard Bird Count database.

Families, individuals, classrooms, and Scout troops reported on the birds they saw in their backyards, schoolyards, local parks, or right out the office window. Reports were submitted over the Internet, at http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc and compiled almost immediately, for all to view in the form of tables and animated maps.

Bird court participants once again reported sandhill cranes along the length of their eastern migration route. Sightings of these elegant birds appear within a clear band running from Florida to Michigan on the map for the species. Possibly due to the mild winter weather, a greater number of cranes were reported along the northern end of the route than during the 2001 count.

This was also true for red-winged blackbirds, which were reported in greater numbers than previously seen in the Northeast and around the Great Lakes.

Out west, evening grosbeaks were nearly absent from California, where they had been reported in large flocks in 2001. The Great Backyard Bird Count is a valuable tool for tracking the continent-wide wanderings of Evening Grosbeaks, crossbills, redpolls and other species known for their winter travels in search of food.

Snowy owls, hunters found usually in the northern part of the continent, will also move in search of prey when necessary. Birders reported them in 20 states and provinces during the count period, including sightings from as far south as Colorado, Oklahoma and Virginia.

"This landmark year of the Great Backyard Bird Count was a big step for bird conservation," said John Fitzpatrick, director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. "Thanks to the efforts of tens of thousands of birders across the continent, we are able to understand more about birds' distribution and abundance. With the keen eyes of participants, we will ultimately be able to determine what measures are necessary to keep birds protected."