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AmeriScan: August 8, 2003
Appeals Court Upholds Broad Authority of Clean Water Act CINCINNATI, Ohio, August 8, 2003 (ENS) - A federal appeals court has upheld broad authority for the federal government to regulate the nation's waters under the Clean Water Act. The ruling was hailed by environmentalists, who say it is another rejection of the Bush administration's attempt to reduce the scope of the Clean Water Act by widely interpreting a 2001 Supreme Court decision commonly known as the SWANCC ruling.The Supreme Court ruled in 2001 that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had overstepped its authority under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, which requires anyone planning to discharge dredged or fill material into navigable waters to first obtain a permit from the Corps. In particular, the Clean Water Act prohibits the discharge of pollutants into "navigable waters" defined in the law as "waters of the United States" without a Section 404 permit. The Supreme Court ruled by a 5-4 majority that the Army Corps could not protect intrastate, isolated, non-navigable ponds solely based on their use by migratory birds. The case decided on Wednesday by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati upheld the conviction of Michigan resident John Rapanos, who was found guilty in 1995 of filling some 50 acres of wetlands on his property without a permit. Rapanos argues his actions were not subject to the Clean Water Act because the wetlands were too far from a navigable waterway. But the court ruled that these wetlands - because they drained into waters that flow into navigable waters - fall under the jurisdiction of the law. The three judge panel wrote, "As common sense makes clear, the Clean Water Act cannot purport to police only the navigable-in-fact waters in the United States in order to keep those waters clean from pollutants. A pollutant can contaminate nonnavigable water and pollute the navigable-in-fact waters downstream. Congress acknowledged this reality when it created the Clean Water Act." This is the third recent ruling that found favor with the argument that SWANCC is a narrow ruling - not the basis for a sweeping change to the authority of the Clean Water Act. Environmentalists believe the Bush administration and vested interests are trying to use the SWANCC ruling as a broad brush. For example, the administration issued guidance in January to field staff at the U.S. Army Corps and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) not to require permits under the Clean Water Act for the pollution or destruction of wetlands that are located within a single state and are not associated with any navigable waterway. Second, the administration, also in January, issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking asking for public comments on how the SWANCC ruling applies to the full context of the Clean Water Act, which waters in the nation should be considered "isolated." When the administration announced the new rulemaking and guidance, the EPA estimated that as much as 20 percent of the nation's wetlands in the lower 48 states and Hawaii - some 20 million acres - could fit under the category of "isolated" and environmentalists fear up to half the nation's waters could fit the definition. That rulemaking process is in limbo, but Joan Mulhern, senior legislative counsel for the environmental law firm Earthjustice, says the vast majority of comments received by the EPA opposed the proposal. Of the 41 state resource agencies that submitted comments, Mulhern told ENS, 39 were opposed to the Bush proposal. The administration is trying to use the "fig leaf of the SWANCC decision" to justify broad changes, Mulhern said. In light of the Rapanos ruling, she added, "the fig leaf is getting smaller and smaller."
U.S. Partially Opens Border to Canadian Beef WASHINGTON, DC, August 8, 2003 (ENS) - After a scientific analysis determined that the risk of importing mad cow disease is very low, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will begin accepting applications for import permits for some ruminant derived products from Canada. Ruminants are cattle, sheep, goats, elk and deer.On May 20, Secretary Veneman temporarily halted imports of live ruminants and most ruminant products from Canada after a single cow in Alberta was found to have bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease. “We have a long history of safeguards in place to prevent the introduction of BSE in the United States, and the continued protection of the U.S. food supply is our top priority,” Veneman said. “Our experts have thoroughly reviewed the scientific evidence and determined that the risk to public health is extremely low.” Today’s announcement comes after a review of the international standards set by the International Office of Epizootics (OIE), the standard setting organization for animal health for 164 member nations. There also has been an exhaustive epidemiological investigation into the case by Canada, during which no other animals were found to be infected, and Canada put risk reduction measures in place after a review of their investigation by an independent expert panel. Veneman said that USDA will no longer prohibit the importation of hunter harvested wild ruminant products intended for personal use. The U.S. agency will begin to accept applications for import permits for certain products from Canada, including boneless meat from cattle under 30 months of age, and boneless veal meat from calves that were 36 weeks of age or younger at slaughter. The Canadian Cattlemen's Association said today's announcement of a partial opening of the United States border to boxed beef from cattle under 30 months of age is great news and a very important first step toward resuming normal trade with the United States. Exports from Canada to customers south of the border may resume by September 1, the association said. Veneman said that a rulemaking process will begin immediately for the importation of live ruminants and ruminant products. Veneman called for an international dialogue on BSE to develop more practical, consistent guidance to countries regarding the resumption of trade with countries that have reported cases of BSE. Veneman said that the United States, along with Mexico and Canada, have requested that the OIE include such a dialogue in an upcoming meeting of international experts in September. “The current OIE standards have been helpful in guiding countries with their risk mitigation efforts,” Veneman said. “But we are continually learning about this disease and the science is advancing. Countries knowing they will be treated consistently and fairly will have greater incentive to conduct appropriate levels of surveillance and reporting of BSE as well as to demonstrate transparency with their trading partners.” “It is vital that we pursue this course so that there is consistency among trading partners and assurance to consumers around the world that their food supply is safe," Veneman said. Since it was identified in the mid-1980s in Britain, mad cow disease has resulted in the slaughter of millions of cattle and the deaths of dozens of people from the related brain wasting disease known as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration explained in 2001 how BSE spreads. "Evidence suggests that certain contaminated cattle feed ingredients are the source of BSE infection in cattle. The process that leads to the contaminated feed starts when livestock already harboring the BSE agent are slaughtered. After cows and sheep are killed, the edible parts are removed. The inedible remnants are taken to a special plant, where they undergo a process called "rendering." This process creates two major products - fat, which is used in an amazing array of products such as soap, lipstick, linoleum, and glue, and meat-and-bone meal, a powdery, high protein supplement that is often processed into animal feed." "Although the animal remnants are cooked at high temperatures during the rendering process, the BSE agent, if present, is able to survive. When this contaminated meat-and-bone meal is fed to cattle as a protein supplement, the BSE agent can be passed on to many new cattle." Hunters can immediately begin bringing wild ruminant meat products intended for their personal use into the United States. Download permits from: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/bse/bse.html. Certain other previously banned ruminant meat products may be imported with a “United States Veterinary Permit for Importation and Transportation of Controlled Material.” The application can be completed on line at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/import_export.htm or can be downloaded from http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/ncie.
West Nile Virus Kills Five This Year GREELEY, Colorado, August 8, 2003 (ENS) - An elderly woman from Greeley in Weld County has died from West Nile virus, the first death to be reported from the virus in Colorado this year. The woman was admitted to the North Colorado Medical Center with other chronic medical conditions where she died on August 1.Her death brings the total of fatalities caused by the virus in the United States this year to five. Two people have died in Alabama, and two others have died in Texas, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta. The CDC reports that 182 people across the United States have been infected with West Nile virus in 2003. West Nile virus, a seasonal infection transmitted by mosquitoes, grew from an initial U.S. outbreak of 62 disease cases in 1999 to 4,156 reported cases, including 284 deaths, last year. Weld County Health Department Director Dr. Mark Wallace said “We are very sorry for the family’s loss of their loved one to West Nile virus. We had hoped to get through the season without any deaths. We are doing everything we can to protect our citizens from West Nile virus. We expect everyone will follow the recommendations for protecting themselves and their families.” West Nile virus may be transmitted when an infected mosquito bites a human to take in blood. Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on infected birds, which may circulate the virus in their blood for a few days. Only about two persons of every 10 who are bitten by an infected mosquito will experience any illness, the CDC says. Although the sickness is usually mild, serious illness and death are possible, particularly for persons over the age of 50. The virus is not transmitted from person to person by touching or kissing a person who has the virus or from a health care worker who has treated someone with it. While there is no human vaccine for West Nile encephalitis, there are many ways to reduce the risk of becoming infected. Dr. Wallace urges everyone to make it a habit of applying an insect repellant with DEET to bare skin and to wear long pants and long sleeved shirts if they go outside, particularly at mosquito feeding times at dawn and dusk. “The precautions sound simple and they are," he said. "If we follow them, we can help protect ourselves from being bitten by the mosquitoes that carry this disease.” Avoid applying repellent to children under two years of age, and to the hands of older children because repellents may be transferred to the eyes or mouth potentially causing irritation or adverse health effects. Maintain window and door screening to keep mosquitoes out of buildings. Drain standing water in the yard. Empty water from mosquito breeding sites, such as flower pots, pet bowls, clogged rain gutters, swimming pool covers, discarded tires, buckets, barrels, cans and similar sites in which mosquitoes can lay eggs. In addition, recent investigations confirmed West Nile virus transmission through transplanted organs and transfused blood. CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding says the recent introduction of routine West Nile virus screening of blood donations should greatly reduce the risk of spread of the virus through transfused blood.
Maryland Approved to Kill Mute Swans WASHINGTON, DC, August 8, 2003 (ENS) - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that no significant environmental impact would result from its plan that allows the killing of some 3,100 mute swans annually over the next 10 years in the Atlantic Flyway.The environmental impact statement was issued in response to a complaint filed in May 2003 by The Fund for Animals and several Eastern Shore residents against the agency's decision to authorize the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to shoot up to 1,700 of the federally protected swans. In its complaint, The Fund for Animals alleged that the agencies failed to conduct even the most basic study of what alternatives are available and how the swan killing program would effect the environment - including the orphaning of baby cygnets during swan nesting season. But now the Fish and Wildlife has determined that there will be no adverse environmental impacts from the killing of mute swans, which could start as early as today. "The state of Maryland has been given a blank check to kill thousands of mute swans without even giving non-lethal methods a chance to work," said Heidi Prescott, national director of The Fund for Animals. State and federal officials say the management plan is needed because mute swans forage on submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), which are an important part of the Chesapeake Bay's ecosystem, providing food and shelter for marine species and improving water quality. Maryland state officials contend that mute swans are a nonnative species and that the state's current population of 3,600 birds is eating 10.5 million pounds of SAV a year. Prescott says the real problems facing the Chesapeake Bay include the waste runoff from the billions of chickens raised in intensive confinement every year on the Eastern Shore. "The finding issued today turns these majestic birds into scapegoats for major industrial polluters," Prescott said. "It is ludicrous for the DNR to blame the swans when its own report states that the decline of SAV is attributed primarily to elevated levels of nutrients and sediments. The impact of the mute swan population on SAV is stated in that report to be negligible at their current numbers." A species native to Europe and Asia, mute swans were introduced to estates and parks in the eastern United States beginning in the 19th century. Maryland's population of mute swans originated when five birds escaped from captivity in 1962. Maryland state officials say scientists believe that the current population is on the verge of an exponential increase in numbers and could reach 20,000 birds by 2010. Mute swans are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the International Convention for the Protection of Migratory Birds, but the federal permit allows the swans to be killed at any time and in any location of the state.
Atlantic Salmon Farmers Lose Water Pollution Case BOSTON, Massachusetts, August 8, 2003 (ENS) - A federal appeals court upheld an injunction Wednesday ordering two salmon farm companies that operate in Maine to take steps to reverse the environmental degradation caused by 15 years of Clean Water Act violations.The First Circuit Court of Appeals, located in Boston, affirmed the injunction imposed by Judge Gene Carter of the federal district court in Portland, Maine on May 28. The lawsuit was brought by the United States Public Interest Research Group and two Maine residents against Atlantic Salmon of Maine, LLC and Stolt Sea Farm, Inc. The companies were found liable for violating the Clean Water Act by discharging without permits a variety of pollutants - including non-native fish that escape from the farms, large amounts of fish waste and excess feed, and drugs and toxic chemicals. Wednesday's ruling means that the companies are required to let their fish farm sites lie fallow for up to three years as soon as their current crop of fish is harvested. In addition, the companies are prohibited from growing non-native species of Atlantic salmon because of concerns these fish could escape and interbreed with wild North American salmon, which is on the Endangered Species List. "The significance of today's ruling goes beyond the upholding of desperately needed protections for wild salmon," said David Nicholas, senior attorney with the National Environmental Law Center, which represented the plaintiffs in the case. The court affirmed that "citizen plaintiffs have the power not just to put a halt to ongoing violations of the Clean Water Act, but to force corporate polluters to undo the environmental harm caused by their irresponsible behavior," Nicholas said.
Westslope Cutthroat Trout Denied Endangered Species Protection WASHINGTON, DC, August 8, 2003 (ENS)- The westslope cutthroat trout does not merit listing as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act because "abundant, stable and reproducing populations remain well distributed throughout its historic range," the U.S. Fish and Wildlife has announced.The decision was issued as the result of a lawsuit brought by five environmental groups, who challenged the federal agency's finding in 2000 that the species was not likely to become endangered or threatened in the foreseeable future. The environmentalists argued that the Fish and Wildlife Service acknowledged hybridization as a threat to the species but included hybrids in the overall westslope cutthroat trout population without providing a justification. The court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and ordered the agency to reconsider whether to list the westslope cutthroat as a threatened subspecies and to more thoroughly take into account the hybridization issue when making that decision. In its decision issued Thursday, the agency says it based its findings on information contained in a 1999 status review as well as a 2003 status update report prepared by the fish and game departments of the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington, and the U.S. Forest Service. The criteria used by the agency defines a westslope cutthroat trout as having at least 80 percent westslope cutthroat trout genes. The Fish and Wildlife Service determined that this percent of hybrid westslope cutthroat trout is not considered a threat to the continued existence of the subspecies, and will be considered as westslope cutthroat trout in assessing its status for potential listing under the ESA. The agency acknowledged that only a small portion - about 18 percent - of existing westslope cutthroat trout populations have been genetically tested, but concluded that this sampling indicates that numerous, genetically pure westslope cutthroat trout remain today. The agency highlighted that much of the habitat for the bright yellow, orange, and red fish is on lands managed by public agencies that are afforded considerable protection. There are more than 700 ongoing projects directed toward the protection and restoration of the species and its habitat, the agency reports. "While not factored into our decision, the Service acknowledges the many conservation efforts conducted by our Federal and State partners on behalf of westslope cutthroat trout," said Ralph Morgenweck, the Fish and Wildlife Service's director of the Mountain-Prairie Region. "These conservation projects contribute to the certainty that westslope cutthroat trout can be conserved and preserved."
Zuni Salt Lake Saved from Coal Development PHOENIX, Arizona, August 8. 2003 (ENS) - In what environmentalists are calling "an astounding victory for environmental protection and preservation of sacred sites," a utility based in Phoenix has abandoned plans to develop the proposed Fence Lake coal strip mine in western New Mexico.The Salt River Project (SRP) announced on Monday that the utility will relinquish permits and coal leases acquired for the mine, which would have provided electricity for SRP's customers in the Phoenix metropolitan area. SRP's Board of Directors decided that current coal prices on the open market make it favorable for the utility to purchase coal rather than operate its own mine. "The coal market is very competitive at this time," said David Areghini, SRP's associate general manager of Power, Construction & Engineering. "We believe SRP's customers will not only save money but that environmental and operational benefits will be realized by entering into a new coal contract now instead of opening Fence Lake." In order to suppress fugitive dust emissions, the Fence Lake mine would have required the pumping of millions of gallons of water from aquifers connected to the ecologically unique and fragile Zuni Salt Lake, a central religious and culture site for the Zuni Pueblo and many other Southwestern tribes, says the Tucson based Center for Biological Diversity which has been fighting to save Zuni Salt Lake. Hydrological studies conducted by the federal government and others have found that such pumping would pose grave risks to the Salt Lake, which averages only three to five feet in depth. The mine would have wiped out thousands of acres of remote grasslands inhabited by golden eagles, prairie dogs, and endangered pronghorn. The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) joined with the Pueblo of Zuni in the mid-1990s to challenge the original state permit granted to operate the mine. In 2001, CBD again joined with the Pueblo of Zuni in challenging the state's renewal of SRP's mining permit. The challenge objected to a federal environmental analysis concluding that the mine would have no impact on the Zuni Salt Lake. In 2001, CBD joined with the Pueblo of Zuni and other conservation and advocacy organizations to form the Zuni Salt Lake Coalition, a sustained campaign to stop the Fence Lake Coal mine which had garnered support from thousands of people across the world. The coalition held 24 hour prayer runs around SRP headquarters, organized marches and rallies, pursued legal actions against the mine, and helped secure political pressure to stop SRP's mine. The ZSLC also includes Citizens Coal Council, Sierra Club, Water Information Network, Tona Tierra, Seventh Generation Fund and others. "SRP's decision to abandon its plans to develop the Fence Lake Mine is an astounding testament to the power of unity among diverse interests, and to the incredible will of the Zuni people," said Brian Segee, southwest public lands director. "Fence Lake exemplifies all that is wrong with the Bush administration's so-called energy policy," said Segee, "which promotes the continued exploitation of fossil fuel sources regardless of the damage inflicted upon critical environmental areas or sacred sites such as Zuni Salt Lake."
Designer Plants to Remediate Toxic Metals One Step Closer SAN DIEGO, California, August 8, 2003 (ENS) - A chemical that permits plants to detoxify heavy metals can be transported from the roots to stems and leaves, researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) have demonstrated. The finding means that the day when plants can be used to clean up soil contaminated with toxic metals such as lead, arsenic and cadmium is one step closer.A paper detailing the discovery appears this week in an advance online publication of the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" and will appear in the journal’s August 19 issue. Bioremediation, the process of using organisms to restore toxic or damaged areas, could substantially reduce the costs of cleaning up the nation’s Superfund sites, estimated to require more than $700 billion. Of the top six pollutants at U.S. Superfund sites, four are heavy metals - lead, arsenic, mercury and cadmium - that plants may be used to extract. “There are about four important steps in developing plants for bioremediation,” says Julian Schroeder, a professor of biology at UCSD who headed the study. “The roots of the plant need to secrete a substance that makes the metals in the soil soluble, making it possible for the plant to take them up," he explained. "The plant needs to detoxify the metals once it takes them up, and the metals need to be transported to the stems and leaves of the plant, and stored there." "We have found that phytochelatins, chemicals produced by an enzyme for which our lab co-discovered the gene four years ago, unexpectedly function in the root to leaf transfer of metals,” said Schroeder. If the phytochelatins remain in the roots and concentrate the heavy metals there, using plants for bioremediation is much less feasible because pulling the plants out of the ground with the roots attached is much more difficult than harvesting the parts above ground, and because the leaves and stems produce a lot of new biomass for metal accumulation, Schroeder explained. Cleaning up a site contaminated with heavy metals usually requires extensive bulldozing to remove soil. This is costly, damaging to the environment and requires a disposal site for the contaminated soil. Plants that can take up and store heavy metals could be a practical and relatively cost effective way of cleaning up contaminated sites. Plants could be grown, harvested and then incinerated to concentrate the heavy metals. Depending on the level of contamination, it might take multiple seasons of growing, harvesting and incinerating the plants to get the concentration of heavy metals in the soil to a safe range, the researchers say. At present, the Schroeder concedes that his team does not understand the mechanism by which phytochelatins are transported from the roots to the shoots of plants. But by better understanding how this occurs, it might be possible to optimize accumulation of heavy metals. The research was supported by the National Institute on Environmental Health Sciences Superfund and the National Science Foundation.
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