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Minimum
Stream Flow
In 1998, the United States Environmental Protection Agency reported
that unnatural river and stream flow is the second greatest threat
to water quality in the United States. Water is a finite resource,
and the competing interests that need clean water must be balanced.
We also have to remember to provide for future generations. To address
this problem it is necessary to recognize that both streams and
rivers need to have a certain minimum flow, or minimum stream flow.
Minimum stream flow is the amount of water flow necessary to preserve
stream values, or the minimum lake elevation necessary to preserve
lake values. The water that remains in reach of a river or in a
lake protects fish and wildlife habitat, aquatic life, navigation,
transportation, recreation, water quality or aesthetic beauty. This
is the first step in addressing water quality issues while providing
clean water for aquatic ecosystems, wildlife, recreational and hunting
interests, agriculture, and human communities. Minimum stream flow
is an approach that can be used to help restore the country's most
overburdened streams and rivers. By using the minimum stream flow
approach states can also tame unregulated groundwater withdrawals
that have been shown to dramatically affect bodies of water. For
more information on how your state can implement minimum stream
flow regulations visit: http://www.serconline.org/streamflow/pkg_frameset.html. |
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Massachusetts
Senate Approves Stiffer Environmental Laws
(Boston Globe 5/30)
A recent oil spill that sent nearly 100,000 gallons of oil into
Buzzards Bay, MA, prompted the Massachusetts Senate to approve a
budget amendment that would create some of the stiffest penalties
in the US for violations of environmental laws. Under the proposed
law, individuals could face up to 20 years in prison and forfeit
up to $100,000 for negligently violating environmental laws. Companies
would forfeit up to $250,000 for first-time offenses and $500,000
for subsequent offenses. Furthermore, if their violation resulted
in human injury, companies would face first-time fines of up to
$500,000 and subsequent fines of up to $2 million. Adam Schafer,
program director for the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators,
believes that the measure, if enacted, would definitely set a precedent
for other states to follow. The April 27th spill resulted in a 13-mile
oil slick and has since impacted nearly 94 miles of shoreline. Buzzards
Bay is home to between 30 and 50 pairs of threatened piping plovers
and one-half of the world's breeding pairs of the endangered roseate
tern. For more information on how your state can enforce environmental
laws visit: http://www.serconline.org/enforce/pkg_frameset.html. |
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Nevada
Attempts to Privatize Water
Another attempt to privatize water supplies in this country is moving
through the Nevada legislature. SB487, introduced in March 2003,
has rapidly passed through the Senate and through the Assembly's
committee on Government Affairs. The bill seeks to allow counties
with a population under 400,000 to enter into contract with a private
corporation or other entity that will pay for the acquisition, development
and distribution of the county's water resources. Therefore the
public water resources of all counties except Clark County, home
to the ever growing Las Vegas metropolitan area, could be privatized
for a profit. The individuals deciding this are the elected board
commissioners of the county. The bill does not contain any stipulations
for any public meetings that would detail the facts of the sale.
The sponsors of the bill contend it is necessary to allow counties
to do this in order to provide for their economic, health, safety,
and general welfare. One agreement between Lincoln County and Vilder
Water Company already exists. Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie said she
opposes the bill because it, "would allow agreements like one
already made between Lincoln County and Vidler Water Co. to split
profits from water sales to the fast-growing Las Vegas area."
SB487 would also go against the state's 150 year old laws guaranteeing
that water is a public resource not a private one. This bill clearly
has been designed to acquire profits for a few individuals and to
support the wasteful habits of corporate lobbyists while pitting
less populated counties against one metropolitan area. Water is
a precious public resource and should not be sold to the highest
bidder. |
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California
Bill Targets Tax Policy That Adds to Sprawl
(Los Angeles Times 5/29)
Proposition 13, now 25 years old, established a revenue structure
that favored sales tax over property tax. The result, which
can be seen today in cities across California, is sales-tax-generating
retail chain stores and auto malls taking up land that should
have been designated for urban housing and light manufacturing.
In other words, housing sprawl, long commutes and foul air
quality. This may change, however, thanks to the bipartisan
efforts of Assemblymen Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) and
John Campbell (R-Irvine) and their new bill, AB 1221. If passed,
the measure will transform the fundamental structure of local
government financing, swapping a half-cent of sales tax for
a comparable amount of property tax in hopes that doing so
will encourage future development to be housing rather than
big-box driven. For more information about this type of issue
visit: http://www.serconline.org/sprawl/pkg_frameset.html. |
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Maine
Bill on Forestry Harvest Sent to Governor
(Portland Press Herald 5/30)
A Maine bill that aims to limit the use of a destructive timber
collection practice known as "liquidation harvesting"
has passed both the house and senate and is ready for Governor
John Baldacci's signature. Liquidation harvesting is the practice
of stripping a forested area of its most valuable lumber and
then partitioning the land and selling it within five years,
a method of forest management that is ecologically unsound
and places those who choose to harvest trees in a sustainable
manner at a competitive disadvantage. Approximately 6 to 8
percent of Maine's forests are harvested in this way each
year, but HP 1194 seeks to rectify that by authorizing state
forestry officials to draft regulations that curtail timber
harvesting practices that don't promote healthy, sustainable
forests (i.e., forests that are comprised of balanced age
classes). For more information on forest management plans
visit: http://www.serconline.org/forestrystateinfo.html. |
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Massachusetts
Mercury Cuts of 90 Percent Possible
(Environment News Service, 5/28)
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
is poised to issue stricter regulations regarding mercury
emissions from four power plants in the state. How strict
those regulations are depends on whether the DEP heeds the
counsel of a report recently released by a coalition of environmental
organizations that advocates the attainability of a 90 percent
reduction in airborne mercury effluence. The report coincides
with the release of a similar study by the National Wildlife
Federation, which found that mercury levels in the rainfall
of 12 eastern states exceed federal health standards for people
and wildlife. Mercury pollution -- 85 percent of which is
created by coal fired power plants -- is rising in rank among
the environmental hazards that threaten the East. "We
estimate that 118,000 women of childbearing age in Massachusetts
are exposed annually to mercury levels that could harm their
unborn children," said Eric Palola, director of the National
Wildlife Federation's northeast regional office. Mercury is
toxic when ingested or touched. After being released into
the atmosphere, it returns to the earth in the form of precipitation,
at which point it is broken down into methyl-mercury by bacteria
and bio-magnified as it moves up the food chain. Eventually,
it can end up in human water and food sources, contaminating
fish, for example, or water supplies like Boston's Quabbin
Reservoir. For more information about how your state can reduce
mercury poisoning visit: http://www.serconline.org/mercury/pkg_frameset.html. |
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States
Consider Adopting Renewable Portfolio Standards
(Chicago Tribune 5/28, Caspar Star Tribune 5/22)
Illinois and Wyoming are both considering adopting renewable
portfolio standards (RPS) that would require energy companies
to purchase a certain percentage of their power from renewable
sources. Wyoming is considering requiring 10 percent renewable
sources by 2010 and 20 percent by 2020 -- standards that have
already been adopted in California and Nevada. Illinois is
considering lower standards -- 5 percent renewables by 2010
and 15 percent by 2020. Utility companies in IL are trying
to lower the standards even further, favoring 2 percent renewables
by 2007, a level that could be met simply by marketing existing
green power sources better. Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota
have all adopted RPS in the 2-4 percent range. For more information
on how your state can adopt a renewable power standard visit:
http://www.serconline.org/RPS/pkg_frameset.html. |
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AL
Governor's Plan Would Require Large Timberland and Farm Owners
to Pay More of Their Share
(The Birmingham News 5/29)
Seventy-one percent of the land in Alabama is timber, yet
that property produces less than 2% of the state's $205.5
million in annual property taxes. Intent on fixing a broken
property tax system by adding fairness, Governor Bob Riley
has proposed a number of changes to the code, which would
affect the way Alabama farms and timberland are taxed. One
change would alter the formula used to determine land value;
another would calculate the tax based upon the full amount
of the property value, instead of the current 10% of property
value. Overall, however, the tax rate applied to property
would decrease nearly 50%. Furthermore, owner-occupied lands
of less than 200 acres would be exempt. The plan is meeting
stiff resistance from powerful interest groups, who claim
that the plan unfairly increases their taxes more than other
landowners. Plan proponents counter that farmers and timberland
owners are only paying more of their own share. Yet another
view believes Riley's plan does not even the playing field
enough, noting that the plan would continue to allow major
players in the timber industry to pay a fraction of what most
homeowners pay. |
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Maine
Governor Signs Bills to Protect Health, Reduce Pollution
(NRCM Press Release 5/29)
Maine Governor John Baldacci has signed three bills to protect
public health and the environment from mercury and lead pollution.
The three bills signed by the Governor include: LD 697, an
Act to Require the Installation of Dental Amalgam Separator
Systems in Dental Offices, that will remove 98% of the mercury
in wastewater discharges that results from dental work on
mercury fillings; LD 743, an Act to Develop a Plan for Cathode
Ray Tube (CRTs) Disposal, that bans the disposal of CRTs from
computer monitors and televisions in landfills and incinerators
by January 1, 2006 and that requires a plan by January 30,
2004 to collect and recycle CRTs; and LD 1159, an Act to Reduce
Mercury Use in Measuring Devices and Switches, that bans the
sale of many mercury-containing products, such as mercury
fever thermometers and residential mercury thermostats, by
July 1, 2006 and requires a plan to improve collection and
recycling of old mercury thermostats. Maine is one of the
first four states in the country to require dentists to install
separators to reduce mercury discharges into the sewer systems
that empty into rivers and bays. The disposal of CRTs, which
each contain four to eight pounds of lead, poses environmental
health hazards. "Reducing mercury and lead in the environment
will help prevent learning disabilities in our children,"
said Sandra Cort, immediate past president of the Learning
Disabilities Association of Maine. For more information on
how your state can reduce mercury poisoning visit: http://www.serconline.org/mercury/pkg_frameset.html. |
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California
Assembly Moves to Ban Toxic Flame Retardants
(LA Times 5/28)
The California Assembly passed a bill that would ban use of
toxic flame retardants, called polybrominated diphenyl ethers
(PBDEs), that are building up in the bodies of people and
wildlife around the world. PBDEs were designed to protect
the public from fires by suppressing the flammability of plastics
and polyurethane foam in upholstery, building materials and
electronic equipment, including TVs and computers. Scientists
are alarmed by the compounds because concentrations in American
women and their babies are approaching levels that scientists
believe can harm the developing brains of newborns and young
children. PBDEs pass through a mother's womb and are readily
absorbed by a fetus. Americans carry on average 10 to 70 times
more PBDEs in their breast milk, tissues and blood than Europeans.
Most likely, PBDEs are being ingested from consuming fish
and inhaling particles and gases given off by furniture in
homes and offices. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
which is conducting a risk assessment of PBDEs, has no current
plans to regulate them. Industries used 135 million pounds
of PBDEs in 2001, half of them in the U.S. and Canada. The
Assembly bill would ban the manufacture and use of two types
of PBDEs beginning in 2008. Known as penta and octa PBDEs,
they are applied mostly to upholstered furniture and building
materials. If enacted, the law would make California the first
state to regulate use of PBDEs. The bill now goes to the Senate,
which will begin debate this summer. |
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Environmentalists
Oppose Attempt to Repeal Key Recycling Law in Iowa
(ENN 5/27)
The Coalition to Oppose Attacks on Recycling in America, composed
of eight leading national, state and local recycling and environmental
organizations, has opposed legislation awaiting Iowa Governor
Vilsack's signature. The bill was introduced to amend the
current Iowa law banning the disposal of yard trimmings so
that grass and leaves can be landfilled at the Des Moines
landfill instead of being composted. According to Allen Hershkowitz
of the Natural Resources Defense Council, "Iowa's yard
waste ban has been a huge success in reducing the need for
additional landfills and promoting successful composting of
yard trimmings, and it should be maintained." "The
proposal would overturn source separation programs for composting
yard trimmings and an Iowa ban on yard trimmings in landfills.
Yard trimming programs have also been enacted in at least
21 other states," said Bill Sheehan, co-director of the
Athens, GA-based GrassRoots Recycling Network. The Coalition
believes that the proposal would dramatically undermine the
Nation's recycling and composting efforts, and be a threat
to the environment. |
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