| Safe
Air and Water: |
Iowa:
DNR to Rein in CAFO Air Emissions
The director of the Iowa DNR predicted last week that his agency
would attempt to measure and limit hydrogen sulfide and ammonia
wafting out of livestock confinement facilities. The comments were
sparked by a report recently released by 27 professors from the
University of Iowa and Iowa State University. The chemicals are
known to cause respiratory problems in confinement workers and could
pose threats to neighbors, the report said. Iowa's new CAFO air
quality rules will likely be similar to those in Minnesota -- the
only state that measures a CAFO's hydrogen sulfide and ammonia emissions.
The Iowa report, the most extensive done on the subject, can be
viewed at: http://www.public-health.uiowa.edu/ehsrc/CAFOstudy.htm. |
| back
to top |
| |
Wisconsin:
Agencies Approve Landmark Runoff Rules
Described by the Environmental Law Reporter as the "nation's
most comprehensive rules designed to tackle polluted runoff,"
the state's agricultural and natural resources boards have jointly
approved new rules designed to reduce pollution that runs off farm
and urban operations. If approved by the Legislature, the rules
will apply to urban areas, such as golf courses and construction
sites, and rural areas, such as feedlots and farm fields. The rules
also establish the cost-sharing programs that will help counties
and individual farmers pay for conservation efforts. To see the
rules proposed by the agriculture board, go to: http://datcp.state.wi.us/arm/regulation/prop-rules/atcp_50.html.
To see the DNR rules, go to: http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/water/wm/nps/admrules.htm. |
| back
to top |
| |
| Children's
Health: |
Rhode
Island: State Wins Round One in Lead Paint Suit
A Rhode Island judge has ruled that the state's attorney general
may proceed with a lawsuit against lead paint manufacturers. The
ruling sets in motion the first phase of the trial, whether or not
lead paint in public and private buildings in Rhode Island is a
public nuisance. "Today's ruling is a big win. It breaks the
log jam and moves us closer to trial against the lead industry than
anyone has ever been before," said Attorney General Whitehouse. |
| back
to top |
| |
| Saving
Wildlands: |
Maryland:
Bill Introduced to Better Protect State Forests
Last week Delegate Dana Dembrow introduced HB 1060, which is designed
to separate the management goals of forests on public lands from
those on private lands. The bill requires that on public lands the
Department of Natural Resources will consider as its primary goal
in forest planning the long-term preservation and conservation of
forest land resources. |
| back
to top |
| |
6
of 8 States Support Missouri River Flow Reform
American Rivers reported last week that six of eight states in the
Missouri River Basin Association -- KS, MT, NE, ND, SD, and WY --
have endorsed dam reforms to restore the Missouri River. The states
voted to allow the Army Corps of Engineers to "begin testing
new operations of the dam and reservoir system over a ten-year period
to recreate more natural seasonal water levels in the river,"
necessary for the survival and recovery of imperiled species and
other wildlife. |
| back
to top |
| |
| Clean
Energy: |
Delaware:
New Bill Gives Incentives for Carpooling
The National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL) reported
last week that State Senator Harris B. McDowell, III has introduced
SB 284. This bill would exempt employers from the state's gross
receipts tax if they and their employees maintain an average daily
vehicle occupancy rate (VOR) of 3.5 or greater during the taxable
year. The bill would provide incentives for employers to encourage
employees to carpool, which would cut pollution and traffic congestion. |
| back
to top |
| |
Washington,
D.C.: New Natural Gas Buses Hit Streets
Washington, D.C. has unveiled a fleet of 164 new natural gas fueled
buses and a fueling station to serve them. The buses, which run
on compressed natural gas (CNG), emit about 90 percent fewer air
pollutants than traditional diesel fueled buses. "We live in
one of worst areas in the country for ozone pollution, and replacing
dirty diesel buses with CNG buses will help remove nitrogen oxides
-- a major cause of smog -- from our air," said Elliott Negin,
a spokesperson for the Natural Resources Defense Council, which
campaigned for two years to promote the use of cleaner fueled buses. |
| back
to top |
| |
| Natural
Resources: |
Michigan:
Senate Bans Great Lakes Slant Oil Drilling
The state Senate voted last week to ban directional oil and gas
drilling under the Great Lakes. The 28-5 vote would send Gov. John
Engler a bill -- already passed in the House -- halting his plans
to allow oil and gas drilling under the lakes. So-called slant drilling
has been strenuously opposed by environmental groups who say it
poses an unacceptable pollution risk. Facing a guaranteed override,
the governor is not expected to veto the bill. |
| back
to top |
| |
| Safe
Food: |
Minnesota:
Bill Limits Antibiotics in Animal Feed
The National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL) reported
last week that Minnesota State Senator Jane Krentz has introduced
SF 2884, a bill to prohibit the sale, purchase, or use of animal
feed containing antibiotics (antimicrobials) for nontherapeutic
purposes. Livestock and poultry producers have long used antibiotics
to prevent infection as well as enhance growth. In an October 2001
report, the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary
Medicine acknowledged that there is ample scientific data linking
antimicrobial foodborne resistant infections in humans to the use
of antimicrobials in livestock and poultry. |
| back
to top |
| |
| Saving
Wildlife: |
California:
Coho Salmon Making Comeback (San Francisco Chronicle 2/14)
Several creeks in Northern California's Marin County are seeing
"huge" numbers of endangered coho salmon returning to
spawn. "After more than a century of abuse," local stream
restoration efforts began in the 1980s, and the returns of not just
coho but chinook and chum are all the more remarkable considering
that some 3,300 people live adjacent to the spawning areas. The
recovery efforts have the support of "almost everybody"
and the streams have "become a statewide model for fisheries
restoration." |
| back
to top |
| |
| Land
and Water Use: |
Maine:
Gov Urges Trading of Development Rights to Control Sprawl
The answer to sprawl, says Governor Angus King and proponents of
LD 2049, is for developers to buy development rights from areas
towns have identified as "sprawl sensitive." In exchange
for their payout, the developers get to build subdivisions elsewhere
that are denser than normally allowed -- and more profitable. Taxpayers
get open space preserved at no cost to them. Fifteen other states,
including Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maryland, have
laws that encourage this practice. The governor's administration
is pushing for the legislation, and the bill has the support of
a broad coalition that includes the Maine Chamber of Commerce, the
Audubon Society of Maine, and The Nature Conservancy. |
| back
to top |
| |
Virginia:
Brownfields Bill Sailing Through Legislature
HB 463, the Brownfield Restoration and Land Renewal Act, passed
the House unanimously last week and appears to have clear sailing
through the Senate. The bill's primary intent is to mesh with provisions
approved recently in the federal act. The bill also creates the
Virginia Brownfields Restoration and Economic Redevelopment Assistance
Fund, which will make grants and loans available to local governments
for the purposes of promoting the restoration and redevelopment
of brownfield sites and to address environmental problems or obstacles
to reuse so that these sites can be effectively marketed to new
economic development prospects. |
| back
to top |
| |
Kentucky:
House Passes Fee on Drink Containers (Lexington Herald
Leader 2/13)
Last week, the state House passed HB 174, a bill that puts a half-cent
fee on drink containers and fast-food cups, which will be used to
clean up dumps and litter in Kentucky. Gov. Paul Patton, who backed
the bill sponsored by House Majority Leader Greg Stumbo, said the
vote "gives Kentucky the potential to be the cleanest state
in the nation in just a few short years and will put Kentucky head-and-shoulders
above other states." HB 174 also raises the charge, known as
a tipping fee, for dumping trash at state landfills. |
| back
to top |
| |
| Resources: |
Northeast
States Form Mercury Clearinghouse
Last week, it was announced that a new group -- the Interstate Mercury
Education and Reduction Clearinghouse (IMERC) -- has been created
to promote reductions in mercury use in eight Northeastern states.
The umbrella organization will assist the states in implementing
mercury reduction laws and programs aimed at getting mercury out
of consumer products, the waste stream, and the environment. To
learn more about this group, visit their web site at: http://www.newmoa.org/prevention/mercury/imerc.cfm. |
| back
to top |
|
