• Judge Orders Hawaiian Locations of Biopharm Crops Revealed
  
• Stockpiling of Methyl Bromide Challenged in Court
  
• Qualifications of Organic Food Certifiers Questioned
  
• Bioenergy Producers Compete for $150 Million in Subsidies
  
• Oil and Gas Drilling Planned for Millions of Western Acres
  
• Off-Roaders Prevail Over Conservationists in Algondones Dunes
  
• New Jersey Cracks Down on Medical Waste Generators
  
• Puerto Rican Kayakers Carry Enviro Message Against All Odds
  

Judge Orders Hawaiian Locations of Biopharm Crops Revealed

Chief Judge David Ezra agreed with the plaintiff Center for Food Safety, represented by the public interest law firm Earthjustice, that the locations of the so-called biopharm crops is not confidential proprietary business information.

The lawsuit was filed in federal district court in Honolulu in November 2003 asking the court to order the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to assess the environmental and public health risks of, and better regulate, the open air testing of biopharmaceutical crops in Hawaii and throughout the United States.

This is the first time in the United States that locations of biopharm tests will be revealed to an outside party. Similar disclosures in other states might follow for biopharm crops and possibly for all genetically modified crop research.

In Hawaii, Monsanto Co., the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, ProdiGene Inc. and Garst Seed Co. have been granted permits to test biopharm crops.

Under Judge Ezra's order, the locations of the experimental fields will be disclosed to Earthjustice, which must keep the information confidential for at least 90 days.

Hawaii has more than 4,000 field test sites for genetically engineered crops, more than anywhere else in the world, including more than two dozen tests of biopharm crops, Earthjustice says.

Biopharm crops are genetically engineered to produce pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, and other medical and industrial products, including a blood clotting agent, a blood thinner, various blood proteins, experimental animal vaccines, industrial enzymes, antibodies, and a potent abortion-inducing compound once considered for use as an AIDS drug.

Earthjustice attorney Isaac Moriwake argued that none of these biopharm crops has been approved for human or animal consumption, or even for general release into the environment.

Yet the USDA allows these tests to be conducted in open fields, conceals the trials’ locations from the public, and in most cases refuses to disclose the substances being grown.

Moriwake says the tests use food crops like corn and soybeans, increasing the risk of contaminating the food or livestock feed supply with powerful, biologically active chemicals. The tests also pose a serious hazard to endangered plants and animals, of which Hawaii has more than any other state.

Stockpiling of Methyl Bromide Challenged in Court

The chemical is produced industrially for fumigation of soil prior to planting, and post-harvest treatments of commodities such as grain. In pre-plant treatments, methyl bromide is used on more than 100 U.S. crops to control nematodes, weeds, fungus and other pests.

The lawsuit claims that EPA officials are refusing to release data on stockpiles of methyl bromide, which the United States is required to phase out as a party to the Montreal Protocol, a treaty which governs the release of ozone depleting substances.

Under the Montreal treaty, which was ratified during the administration of President Ronald Reagan in 1987, the phaseout has already begun.

The amount of methyl bromide applied in the United States during 2002 was 50 percent of what was produced and used in 1991. The 1991 baseline amount was 56 million pounds, so U.S. farmers were allowed to use 28 million pounds in 2002. That figure was reduced to 30 percent of baseline, or 17 million pounds, in January 2003.

The remaining 30 percent is to be phased out by the end of 2005, except for uses that the treaty parties agree are "critical."

The Bush administration has sought to use an alleged shortfall in supply as rationale for an exemption to the phaseout.

In March, the administration negotiated exemptions for 2005 that will allow the U.S. farm industry to use an amount of methyl bromide equal to 35 percent of its 1991 base level. Bush officials have already begun lobbying for further exemptions in 2006.

But partial data given to Congress earlier this year confirms that existing stocks are at least 22 million pounds, which is more than the production increases the administration is seeking.

The lawsuit alleges that this undermines the White House’s claim that the chemical is in short supply. The NRDC claims the administration is responding to pesticide, chemical and corporate agribusiness firms that are keen to relax the international accord.

"Methyl bromide is a story about greed, not need. Suppliers are trying to overturn successful ozone layer safeguards and keep growers hooked on this dangerous product," said David Doniger, NRDC's climate policy director.

"EPA is helping them by playing hide-and-seek with the facts," Doniger said. If the stockpile information were made public, we are quite certain it would show there is more than enough methyl bromide already on hand to meet any legitimate needs."

The suit filed by NRDC in federal court aims to force officials to make the full stockpile information public – not the locations of the chemicals, only the total quantities known by the agency to exist.

California farmers such as Tulare County Farm Bureau Director Paul Paulin say retaining the use of methyl bromide is essential. "We use methyl bromide daily to ensure a clean, safe product for export," he said.

Paulin is general manager of the Cal-Bean and Grain Cooperative and also owns a diversified farming operation that includes stone fruit, grapes, kiwifruit and walnuts. He said, "Methyl bromide is a safe product when used properly and a vital part of this country's trade."

U.S. farmers say developing countries are still permitted to use methyl bromide, while at the same time, no effective alternative exists for U.S. farmers who must comply with the Montreal Protocol.

"The only other fumigant available to us involves a very time-consuming process," Paulin said. "Our buyers are not going to want our product fumigated with a less effective alternative, but as a farmer, I don't have a choice. The buyer will ultimately go to Somalia or Burma where he can buy it fumigated with methyl bromide and it is safe and free of bugs."

Qualifications of Organic Food Certifiers Questioned

Bioenergy Producers Compete for $150 Million in Subsidies

"Increased bioenergy production helps strengthen the income of soybean, corn and other producers and lessens U.S. dependence on traditional energy sources," Veneman said.

Payments will be based on bioenergy production increases from eligible commodities compared to the same time period a year earlier.

Eligible commodities are barley, corn, grain sorghum, oats, rice, wheat, soybeans, cotton seed, sunflower seed, canola, crambe, rapeseed, safflower, sesame seed, flaxseed, and mustard seed.

Also eligible under the program are cellulosic crops, such as switchgrass and hybrid poplars, as well as fats, oils, and greases - including recycled fats, oils and greases - derived from an agricultural product, and any other animal byproduct that may be used to produce bioenergy.

To be eligible under the program, ethanol producers must produce and sell ethanol commercially and have authority from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to produce ethanol for fuel or sell denatured ethanol rendered unfit for beverage use.

Biodiesel producers must produce and sell biodiesel commercially, be registered and in good standing with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and must also meet the biodiesel standard set by the American Society for Testing and Materials.

In FY 2003, ethanol producers expanded production by 607 million gallons, and biodiesel producers by 18.5 million gallons.

For the first two quarters of FY 2004, ethanol production increased 280.9 million gallons, while biodiesel production grew by 6.9 million gallons.

Signup for the fiscal year (FY) 2005 Bioenergy Program is underway and will continue until August 31. Apply online at: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/daco/bio_daco.htm

Oil and Gas Drilling Planned for Millions of Western Acres

Four new draft and final plans released by the Bureau of Land Management BLM open 5.4 of the 6.4 million acres - 84 percent - to possible oil and gas drilling.

“Because they dictate how public lands will be used for decades, these management plans have huge ramifications for the West,” said Suzanne Jones of The Wilderness Society. “By sacrificing wildlife, wildlands, and recreation for oil and gas drilling, they reflect a tremendously unbalanced approach to how our public lands will be used.”

Resource management plans guide natural resources and activities on public lands over the long term, spelling out which lands will be open to oil and gas drilling and off-road vehicle use, or for wildlife habitat and non-motorized recreation.

“Because many land-use plans throughout the West were outdated, the previous administration asked Congress to fund new plans, with the mandate that the plans would balance protection of natural resources with some oil and gas and mineral development,” said The Wilderness Society’s Dave Alberswerth.

“Instead, the Bush administration is using these new plans to open nearly every acre to oil and gas development, except for those areas that Congress has already said must be protected.”

Off-Roaders Prevail Over Conservationists in Algondones Dunes

Last August, local biologists with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in California proposed 52,780 acres of the 160,000 acre Algodones (Imperial) Dunes to be designated critical habitat for the survival and recovery of the Peirson’s milkvetch (Astragulus magdalenae var. peirsonii).

Most of the Algodones Dunes is managed by the Bureau of Land Management as part of the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area, and is heavily used by off-road vehicle enthusiasts.

"The Service is continuing to work cooperatively with the BLM on implementation of their Recreation Area Management Plan," said Steve Thompson, manager of the Service's California/Nevada Operations Office.

"Once our consultation is completed we anticipate the BLM will move forward with finalization of their management plan for the dunes."

The smaller designation was politically motivated, and may be the subject of a lawsuit, according to Daniel Patterson, an ecologist with the Center for Biological Diversity. "This designation is far too small, and will jeopardize the conservation and recovery of the species. We may challenge it in court,” he said.

The American Sand Association, an off-road vehicle group, has been lobbying the federal agencies to place consideration of their recreational activities above the conservation of the plant.

In a statement accompanying its critical habitat determination, the Service said that an economic analysis of costs associated with conservation activities for the plant conducted by the Service concludes that there would be "a reduction in output of $2.8 million in the year 2013 if the areas designated as critical habitat were closed to off-highway vehicle use."

Impacts identified in an economic analysis may be considered when determining if the benefits of excluding an area from critical habitat outweigh the benefits of including it in such designation, the Service said.

"Based on analysis of potential impacts, approximately 30,917 acres of land were excluded from the final designation," said the Service. "The exclusion of these areas from critical habitat will not result in the extinction of the species."

Patterson says much of the critical habitat designation will be in wilderness, an area already closed to off-roading, while proposed critical habitat areas in the central and south dunes have been eliminated.

In an attempt to work out their differences, representatives of the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Sierra Club met with members of the American Sand Assocation Board of Directors on July 21. The CBD offered to end threats of litigation if the off-roaders would allow a greater area to be conserved for the endangered plant. No agreement was reached.

New Jersey Cracks Down on Medical Waste Generators

Regulated medical waste generators affected by this initiative include - medical, dental, and veterinary offices, hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, convalescent homes, medical analytical laboratories, outpatient surgical centers, biomedical research facilities, funeral homes, schools, and body piercing and tattoo parlors.

The initiative included inspections at more than 1,541 facilities and uncovered 341 environmental violations at 160 sites. Most violations uncovered in the sweep resulted from improper documentation of waste disposal practices.

Eighty-seven of the facilities inspected were cited for a single violation, while 73 sites were cited for multiple violations. Fifty unregistered medical waste generators accounted for half the total violations.

Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Bradley Campbell said, "The Ocean County sweep shows that the state of New Jersey must continue to identify medical waste generators who should be registered." The DEP is developing online registration to encourage compliance.

Campbell said he will work to more effectively communicate requirements for sorting, collecting and disposing of medical waste.

A Compliance Advisory Alert was mailed to 1,700 known and potentially regulated individuals, businesses and government operations as well as trade associations in March, and training sessions were held.

The second phase, known as the Enforcement Sweep, began in April and involved large scale, unannounced inspections.

"Compliance with the state's medical waste requirements is important for the protection of the public's health," said Department of Health and Senior Services Commissioner Clifton R. Lacy, M.D.

For more information, visit the DEP Compliance and Enforcement website at: http://www.nj.gov/dep/enforcement/medwaste/medwaste.htm. New Jersey Health Department website at: http://www.state.nj.us/health/eoh/phss/syringe.pdf.

Puerto Rican Kayakers Carry Enviro Message Against All Odds

They had planned a five day journey by kayak from Anegada to Puerto Rico.

Cruz left the group of five environmentalists stranded on the island of Tortola Tuesday, taking all their provisions and the kayaks they had planned to use to make their journey.

Environmental leader Alberto de Jesus (Tito Kayak) said, "Today we cannot get to Anegada as we had programmed. And without a doubt this journey will be much more difficult than we had planned. Although we are in unfavorable conditions and without economic resources, we maintain our high spirits and our determined will to continue until the end of this journey."

Chiri Vassallo of Vassallo Enterprises, sponsor of the event and the owner of the motor launch and both kayaks was not informed of the action by his employee, Cruz. Other members of the group could not guess at his motive for leaving.

"We will not stop," said de Jesus. "It will be difficult. Much more difficult. We have neither the equipment nor enough of the necessary provisions. We don't even have an escort launch for security. But we will continue our journey until the journey's end."

"We will continue with our pledge to take our message of solidarity with the regional integration of Caribbean Islands into environmental struggles," he said. "Friday we will be in Culebra, Saturday in Vieques and on Sunday we will arrive at Hucares Beach in Naguabo on the main island of Puerto Rico."