| Children's
Health: |
Idaho:
Legislature Approves Environmental School Safety Bills
The House and the Senate approved a carrot and a stick last week
for school districts struggling with aging buildings with environmental
and safety hazards. The House approved HB 682, which would give
the state Board of Education unprecedented authority to increase
levies, consolidate school districts, and shift a district's money
around to take care of school safety issues neglected for two years.
And, the Senate approved SB 1474 -- a sliding scale of subsidies
to cover interest rates for school construction bond levies. The
two bills are designed to satisfy 4th District Judge Deborah Bail,
who said in a ruling on a lawsuit filed by rural districts from
across the state that the Legislature was in violation of its constitutional
responsibility to provide schoolchildren with a safe environment
for learning. |
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| Clean
Energy: |
Vermont:
Renewable Energy Bill Introduced
Rep. Little recently introduced HB 670, which implements a lot of
innovative renewable energy strategies. The bill provides incentives
for the private development of renewable electric energy generation,
authorizes green pricing programs for electric utilities, authorizes
alternative regulation of utilities, encourages development of combined
heat and power systems, and establishes renewable portfolio standards. |
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New
York: New Bill Requires Alternative Fuel Stations
The group Environmental Advocates is strongly supporting A 9116,
a bill that provides alternative fuel stations along the New York
State Thruway every 120 miles for several types of alternative fuels.
The specific types of fuel will be determined by the State Energy
Research and Development Authority and would likely include natural
gas, propane, and electricity. |
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| Environmental
Justice: |
NJ:
State EPA Unveils "Environmental Equity Rule" (Trenton
Times 3/7)
A proposal to protect poor neighborhoods from receiving a disproportionate
share of the state's polluting industries was unveiled by the state
EPA. The so-called Environmental Equity Rule would require businesses
or governments seeking state permission to pollute to alert these
communities -- not only when they apply for permits, but when they
seek changes in existing permits or want to renew them. The rule
calls for neighborhood residents to participate in meetings to discuss
the potential impacts on their health or the environment. |
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| Funding: |
Washington:
"Smart Spending" Looks For Passage in Senate
1000 Friends of Washington is fighting for passage of S-HB 2648,
a bill that requires the Office of Financial Management to consider
environmental protection, community revitalization, and growth management
information when deciding which capital projects to fund. |
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| Land
and Water Use: |
Virginia:
Open Space Protection Bill Sent to Governor
Last week, on a 91-7 vote, the Virginia House sent HB 346 to the
Governor. The bill provides that a locality may provide in its zoning
or subdivision ordinance standards, conditions and criteria for
clustering of single-family dwellings and the preservation of open
space developments. |
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West
Virginia: Industrial Hemp Bill Passes Senate
Last week, the Senate passed SB 447, the Industrial Hemp Act, by
25-6. The bill was introduced by conservative Republican Senator
Karen Facemyer and is being strongly endorsed by the WV Department
of Agriculture and the WV Environmental Council. |
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Arizona:
New "Anti-Planning" Takings Bill Appears
The AZ Sierra Club is working hard to defeat the "anti-planning
bill" HB 2638. The bill says that, if any county adopts a planning
designation in its comprehensive land use plan or a zoning regulation
that causes a reduction in use or value of property of ten percent
or more, it is considered a taking and the property owner is entitled
to compensation. The Sierra Club says the bill is aimed at undercutting
the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan and other planning efforts. |
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| Safe
Food: |
Kentucky:
Foreign Food Labeling Bill Passes
Last week, the Kentucky House passed HB 319, which requires state
agencies to give a 5% preference to vendors of Kentucky-grown agricultural
products and requires imported food to be labeled with the country
of origin. The Kentucky Conservation Committee is supporting this
bill because consuming food grown locally produces far less energy-use
environmental impacts and because of increased concerns that foreign
countries are producing food far below American environmental standards. |
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| Safe
Air and Water: |
Washington:
State Temporarily Bans Herbicide
Last week, the Washington Department of Agriculture banned the use
of the herbicide clopyralid on lawns for 120 days. The purpose of
the Clopyralid Emergency Rule is to keep the long-lasting herbicide
from contaminating compost. At the end of the four months, the department
plans to make the ban permanent and will consider additional restrictions
on the use of the herbicide. Evidence has been growing that when
clopyralid-tainted compost is used to enrich soils, it can harm
certain flowers and vegetables. |
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Texas:
Vet Fights to Keep Anthrax Out of City Landfills (Washington
Times 3/5)
A Texas veterinarian, Dr. Michael L. Vickers, is fighting a DNR
rule that allows anthrax-infected carcasses in public landfills,
saying such a "reckless" practice may be endangering future
generations or aiding potential bioterrorists. Because high heat
is the best way to destroy Anthrax spores, Dr.Vickers advocates
burning diseased animal carcasses -- a position echoed by the World
Health Organization and the USDA. Dr. Vickers also said that, because
anthrax spores live 150 years or longer, they become time bombs
to future generations. "Let's say down the road somebody builds
a housing development over this landfill and before you know it,
a kid digs up some of these spores and dies," said Dr. Vickers. |
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New
York: New Bill Would Allow "Toxic Tin Cans"
The group Environmental Advocates is working to defeat S 5399, the
"toxic tin can" bill. This bill would enable manufacturers
of packages and packaging components containing more than the current
statutory limit for lead, cadmium, mercury, or chromium to apply
for two-year exemptions from the provisions of the law. |
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Maine:
Conference to Discuss Mold IAQ Problems
The Maine Indoor Air Quality Council will devote its upcoming annual
conference to the problem of mold contamination in buildings. The
council has brought together leading national speakers to discuss
what is known about the mold problem, and what can be done to ensure
that mold concerns are properly handled in Maine buildings. |
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Maryland:
Biological Agents Registry Bill Introduced
Delegate James Hubbard has introduced HB 361, which establishes
a biological agents registry program. The registry program will
require any person who manufactures or keeps certain biological
agents to properly notify the state. |
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| Regulatory
Powers: |
Ohio:
New Bill Seeks to Give Polluters Statute of Limitations
The Ohio Sierra Club is working hard to defeat SB 105, a new bill
that lets polluters avoid paying penalties when they violate environmental
laws, if Ohio EPA and other agencies fail to act within five years.
The Sierra Club is expecting the Ohio House to vote on the bill
sometime over the next two weeks. |
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Oklahoma:
Audit Priviledge Bill Returns
The Oklahoma Sierra Club reports that SB 1261, an audit privilege
bill (aka Pollution Secrecy and Amnesty) has resurfaced in Oklahoma. |
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| Other
News: |
States
Graded on Controlling Coastal Runoff
A new study by the group Coast Alliance, entitled "Mission
Possible II," graded states' progress in controlling runoff
on the coasts. The report can be read at: http://www.coastalliance.org/mpii/mpii.htm. |
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Following
9/11 Many States Limiting Public Access
Stateline.org reported last week that lawmakers in 17 states have
proposed rules to limit access to public records in the name of
national security. State leaders have proposed denying public access
to information about utilities, closing meetings on homeland security,
blocking access to blueprints of public buildings, and shutting
down web sites about chemical and hazardous substance storage. |
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