Environews AmeriScan July 31, 1998
Posted to the web: July 31, 1998
SLAPP SUIT AGAINST MOSES DROPPED - Mothers Organized to Stop Environmental Sins (MOSES) is rejoicing today over the withdrawal of a lawsuit brought by hazardous waste disposal firms against them. American Ecology Corp. and two of its subsidiaries, American Ecology Environmental Services Corp. and U.S. Ecology have dropped their SLAPP suit that was aimed at stopping MOSES and its president Phyllis Glazer of Dallas and Winona, Texas from picketing, distributing newsletters and contacting the media. MOSES and Glazier believe that the company's lack of environmental compliance and hundreds of violations of federal and state environmental laws affected their health and endangered their lives. The company's hazwaste facility in Winona has been closed by the government, but the legacy of contaminated groundwater and children with cancer and birth defects remains. Commenting on the firm's withdrawal, activist Ralph Nader said, "This sends a message that when citizens have the resources to fight back, SLAPPSs don't work."
REWARD OFFERED FOR CORMORANT KILLERS - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is offering a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of individuals responsible for the killing of more than 800 double-crested cormorants in New York's Lake Ontario. Calling it "a brazen act of environmental terrorism," Cathleen Short, deputy regional director, says the Service is aggressively investigating with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. They want to know what happened on Little Galloo Island, 12 miles west of Waterdown, New York, where the dead cormorants were found Wednesday. Short said she was disgusted by the nature of the Little Galloo killings. "The slaughter of adult birds at their nesting sites is particularly inhumane, as they leave young birds that are still flightless and dependant on their parents for care," Short said. People with informtion can place a confidential call to 1-800-TIPP-DEC.
ZERO-EMISSION VEHICLES COMING DOWN THE PIKE - California's Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) program is advancing towards a successful market-based launch in 2003, according to a report released today by the Air Resources Board (ARB). Zero-emitting fuel cell engines are developing ahead of expectations. According to the ARB staff report, the performance and quality of today's ZEVs are directly related to the progress made in battery technology. The introduction of advanced battery-powered electric vehicles has provided an unprecedented amount of technical information on battery performances and reliability. Of the four most promising battery technologies, nickel-metal-hydride and sodium-nickel-chloride could be available in mass quantities by 2003.
CHICAGO REGISTERING CLEAN FUEL FLEETS - The Chicago area is required to implement the Clean Fuel Fleet Program (CFFP) under the Clean Air Act as its air does not meet the federal air quality standards. After a year's delay because not enough clean fuel vehicles were available last year, the CFFP will begin in Model Year 1999, which starts on September 1, 1998. The Illinois EPA will be administering this program in the Chicago area. Fleet registrations are now being accepted by the Illinois EPA. Fleets subject to the CFFP are to register with the Illinois EPA prior to September 1.
BIGHORN SHEEP HUNT LOTTERY RAISES $49,000 - The annual lottery for one Idaho bighorn sheep tag raised $49,140 for health research benefitting Idaho's bighorn herds. James Haskcup of Greenwood, New Jersey won the draw Wednesday. His ticket entitles him to hunt one bighorn sheep in Idaho this fall. The Foundation for North American Wild Sheep (FNAWS) is given authority to use two bighorn tags each year by the Idaho Fish and Game Commission. One is sold at auction during the FNAWS annual convention and one is awarded in a lottery. The proceeds of the lottery go to health research conducted at the wildlife lab in Caldwell, Idaho. Funds raised in the auction go toward habitat improvements and transplanting programs. Since 1992 when the lottery was first authorized, FNAWS volunteers have raised more than $200,000 for wildlife health research in Idaho.
CONNECTICUT SUPERFUND SITE CLEANUP COMPLETE - A celebration marked the completion last week of a five-year cleanup at the Beacon Heights Landfill Superfund Site in Beacon Falls, Connecticut. A leachate collection system and pipeline to transport leachate to the sanitary sewer system was built; the Beacon Falls Wastewater Treatment Facility was expanded and upgraded; a multilayer landfill cap designed to collect landfill gas and minimize the infiltration of water into the landfill was constructed. During 1996, 5.6 acres of replacement wetlands were constructed to replace existing wetlands areas that had been disturbed as a result of construction activities at the site. Finally, adjacent homes to were connected to a municipal water supply.
UPPER CONNECTICUT RIVER ENHANCEMENTS PLANNED - The EPA has awarded $164,000 in federal funds for environmental projects along the upper Connecticut River, and received a comprehensive plan by the Connecticut River Joint Commission (CRJC) to guide federal activities in the area. Two cornerstone grants went to the CRJC for projects to improve water quality in the watershed. One project involves a study of state and federal policies that govern river flow. The effects of flow reductions can disrupt fish passage, reduce protective cover, increase stream temperatures, and reduce spawning habitat. Another project, the Connecticut River Corridor Management Plan, tackles topics ranging from water quality, fisheries, and wildlife to agriculture, recreational boating access, and historic resources. The CRJC presented the six-volume plan to New Hampshire Governor Shaheen and Vermont Governor Howard Dean last summer.
TREE-SITTERS HANG ON IN OREGON - Seven determined activists, including a 15-year-old girl, are continuing a tree-sit in three tree to prevent logging of the Clark Timber Sale on the Willamette National Forest. The Forest Service is trying to close the area to the public and pressuring the sitters with sleep and supply deprivation. The Clark timber sale would cut 500 acres of old growth forest near Fall Creek, a popular recreation spot just outside of Lowell, Oregon. The Oregon Natural Resources Council appealed the sale citing habitat destruction for four Spotted Owl pairs and lack of surveys for the Red Tree Vole required by the Northwest Forest Plan. The appeal was denied, leading to a civil disobedience campaign to preserve this critical habitat. Activists are planning a rally in support of the demonstrators at the closure site this Saturday. Contact Concerned Citizens for Fall Creek at Tel: 541-687-8064 for information.
WILD & SCENIC CLEARCUT - The Willamette National Forest is proposing to clearcut old-growth forests within 1/4 mile of the Wild and Scenic Breitenbush River as part of the Windy Canyon/High and Dry Timber Sale. The sale, on steep slopes in the Santiam watershed which provides drinking water for 160,000 Oregonians, is opposed by two local municipalities and by American Lands, a Washington, DC based forest protection group. The environmentalists object to cutting riverside reserves within a Bald Eagle Management Area, in a municipal watershed, on steep slopes.
DECONTAMINATING WILD ALASKA - Wild plants and animals eaten for subsistence by Alaskan residents will be considered in new guidelines for cleaning up sites contaminated by oil or other hazardous substances, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced. Until now, DEC had only federal guidelines for considering these risks, but federal guidelines are based on relatively small amounts of fish eaten by people in the lower 48 states. DEC instead identified actual rates of subsistence food consumption by Alaskans. DEC Commissioner Michele Brown said, "Many of our contaminated sites are in rural Alaska and these same areas are used for subsistence hunting or fishing. We want to be sure DEC consistently and accurately takes subsistence use into account in cleanup decisions." Comments will be accepted through August 31, 1998.
SEWAGE SPILL IN TEXAS MAKES PEOPLE ILL - Health officials say four people in the Brushy Creek neighborhood northwest of Austin have tested positive for cryptosporidiosis following a 170,000-gallon sewage spill. Authorities in Williamson County say more than 100 residents have reported symptoms since raw sewage spilled into the water supply two weeks ago. The contamination occurred July 14 following a power outage at a City of Austin pumping station. Area residents continued to drink the water for more than a week before the contamination was discovered. Water officials have closed 13 wells. Officials said more than 100 people have called to report symptoms, and they are urging area residents to see their doctor for treatment and testing for the disease. About 10,000 people live in the Brushy Creek neighborhood west of Round Rock.
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