• Los Angeles Records First West Nile Virus Fatality
  
• San Fernando Valley Site to Come Off Superfund List
  
• Military Asked to Give Plasma for New Anthrax Drug
  
• Outdated Analysis of Coalbed Methane Impacts Ruled Illegal
  
• Hawaii Longliners Must Stop Killing False Killer Whales
  
• Denver Voters Turn Back Ban on Circus Animals
  
• New York City Watershed Gets Nine Water Quality Projects
  
• Asian Beetle Restricts Firewood Transport in New York, Illinois
  

Los Angeles Records First West Nile Virus Fatality

This is the third reported death for West Nile virus this year in California. The total number of confirmed cases of West Nile virus infection in the county is 32; the Health Department says 29 cases have been symptomatic and three cases are asymptomatic blood donors. Most of the cases are elderly people who reside in eastern areas of the county.

The man's death brings the national death toll so far this year to 11. Three people have died in Arizona, three in California, and one death has been reported in each of these states - Florida, Iowa, Mississippi, and Texas.

Exposure to West Nile virus is spread to humans from the bite of an infected mosquito. Biting a bird that carries the virus infects a mosquito. Most mosquitoes do not carry the virus and most people bitten by a mosquito have not been exposed to the virus. The virus is not spread by person-to-person contact or directly from birds to humans, health officials stress.

Mosquitoes breed in standing water, so the City of Los Angeles is moving towards eliminating all mosquito breeding spots.

The Los Angeles City Council at its last meeting instructed the City Attorney to prepare legislation that would make it a crime to permit standing or stagnant water to remain on a property.

“West Nile virus is a mosquito-borne disease that can be prevented by taking several precautions,” said Laurene Mascola, M.D., M.P.H., Chief of Acute Communicable Disease Control Program. “The risk of infection can be reduced through elimination of sources of standing water, and attention to personal protection, including the use of insect repellant containing DEET, wearing long sleeves and long pants in areas with mosquitoes and avoiding mosquito infested areas, especially around dusk and dawn.

In addition, to reduce exposure to the virus, the Health Department advises residents to ensure your window screens don’t have holes. Do not allow water to stagnate in old tires, flowerpots, trash, swimming pools, birdbaths, pet bowls, etc. Clean and chlorinate swimming pools; drain water from pool covers. Stock garden ponds with goldfish or mosquito fish. They eat the mosquito eggs and larvae. Empty and wash birdbaths and wading pools weekly.

Fewer than one out of 150 people who are bitten by an infected mosquito get severely ill, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In most cases people who are infected never become sick or have only very mild symptoms that include fever, headache, nausea, body aches and a mild skin rash.

But the virus can in rare cases cause encephalitis and death. The elderly are most at risk for severe cases of the disease. There is no specific treatment for the West Nile virus. In a serious case, an individual may be hospitalized to ensure good supportive care.

San Fernando Valley Site to Come Off Superfund List

The Verdugo site covers 2,673 acres in the eastern part of the valley and is located in and adjacent to La Crescenta in the Verdugo Mountains.

The site was listed in 1984 when EPA tests on the greater San Fernando Valley Superfund sites found levels of trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethene (PCE), and nitrates in the groundwater samples.

These compounds have been used and are still being used in many San Fernando Valley industries, such as aeronautical, automotive dry cleaning, and metal plating. These solvents have found their way to the groundwater basin as a result of both past and improper use, storage and disposal practices, the EPA says.

"We have done extensive work studying the Verdugo site," said Keith Takata, EPA's Superfund division director for the Pacific Southwest region. "The EPA is satisfied that trace contaminants are well below federal and state standards and this valuable groundwater resource can be returned to the cities with confidence."

Current PCE contaminant levels are below safe drinking water standards and TCE has never been detected above federal standards, the agency says.

The City of Glendale and Crescenta Valley blend area groundwater used as drinking water reducing or eliminating nitrates to within strict federal and state standards.

Comments on the EPA's deletion of the Verdugo Basin may be submitted in writing by mail, fax or email postmarked no later then September 9, 2004 to: Charnjit Bhullar, bhullar.charnjit@epa.gov

More information about San Fernando Valley Superfund sites is available at: www.epa.gov/region9/waste/sfund/index.html

Military Asked to Give Plasma for New Anthrax Drug

For more information about this plasma donation project, visit http://www.anthrax.mil.

Outdated Analysis of Coalbed Methane Impacts Ruled Illegal

Earthjustice, representing four conservation groups, argued that the BLM violated the National Environmental Policy Act by relying on an outdated plan, drafted in 1985, that did not consider the environmental impacts of coalbed methane development before it sold the leases at issue.

Judge Mary Beck Briscoe, writing for a unanimous appellate panel, ruled that there was sufficient evidence for the Department of Interior to find that the BLM’s environmental review was inadequate because it failed to address “significant new environmental concerns” associated with coalbed methane production.

Coalbed methane is extracted by a process that requires pumping water from coal-seam aquifers to the surface. Ranchers and others who depend on these aquifers can be left without water, and in addition the salty and mineral-rich water can kill crops, other plants, and fish when it is pumped to the surface.

The court ruled that the BLM approved the three coalbed methane leases at issue without considering these effects.

The Department of Interior’s Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) agreed with conservationists that these impacts were significantly different from conventional oil and gas development and told BLM to go back and do the necessary environmental analysis.

The gas company that bought the development rights then successfully sued in a Wyoming federal district court to reverse the IBLA.

At that point, the federal government abandoned its defense of the Interior Department’s ruling, leaving Earthjustice to defend the decision in the court of appeals.

“This decision strikes a balance between our need for energy and our commitment to get it in environmentally responsible ways,” said Earthjustice attorney Susan Daggett.

“As usual, this was a case of gas companies and the federal government being in a hurry to get at the energy in ways that threatened the environment," she said. "Truth is, if they take a bit more time they can consider ways to do things right and leave us all with a cleaner and healthier environment.”

Daggett says the decision has "sweeping implications for the way BLM permits oil and gas development on the public lands in the intermountain West."

The Tenth Circuit’s ruling will help Earthjustice and others to ensure that the BLM looks before it leaps ahead with leasing for coalbed methane by taking the time to do thorough, up-front analyses of the environmental consequences to the people and wildlife of the region.

The Powder River Basin has emerged as one of the most active new areas of coalbed methane production. On April 30, 2003, the Bureau of Land Management approved drilling 82,000 new oil and gas wells in the Powder River Basin which reaches across 12 million acres of land in Wyoming and Montana. Of the new wells, 66,000 will be coal bed methane.

Hawaii Longliners Must Stop Killing False Killer Whales

Reclassification of the Hawaii longline fishery as Category 1 from Category 3 triggers the agency's duty under the Marine Mammal Protection Act to create and implement plans to reduce the fishery’s killing and wounding of false killer whales and other marine mammals, including the Hawaiian monk seal, humpback whale, sperm whale, blue whale and fin whale.

The agency must now convene a committee to draft a protective plan for these animals.

Observers with NMFS' own program have documented that, each year, the Hawaii longline fishery kills or seriously injures an average of more than four false killer whales, nearly four times the level of death and injury that NMFS has determined the Hawaii population can sustain.

State waters just reopened to swordfish longlining this spring after a three year ban while new rules were developed to protect endangered sea turtles.

Jim Cook, legal liaison to the Hawaiii Longline Association and co-owner of the fishery supply firm Pacific Ocean Producers, told the "Honolulu Advertiser" that the information to support the decision is "scanty." He could not predict what the effect would be on the fishing industry.

Conservationists were pleased with the news. “For nearly six years, NMFS’s scientists have been urging the agency to reclassify the Hawaii longline fishery based on its unsustainable slaughter of false killer whales,” said Brendan Cummings of the Center for Biological Diversity. “We’re pleased that NMFS is finally listening to their own scientists and taking the first important steps towards protecting the whale.”

Todd Steiner, director of Turtle Island Restoration Network said, “We hope that today’s decision reflects a new willingness at NMFS to address the environmental devastation that industrial longline fishing’s non-selective gear inflicts on the ocean’s wildlife species. If we don’t act quickly, we may lose forever not only Hawaii’s false killer whales, but also many other marine mammals, turtles and seabirds.”

This species, Phocaena crassidens, is separate from the orca, the killer whale which it resembles. Their numbers are unknown, but the species is considered rare.

Denver Voters Turn Back Ban on Circus Animals

Heather Herman, the Arvada High School student who originated the initiative, told the "Denver Post," "Win or lose, I think it's a big victory for the animals because we're still helping them by educating people."

Known as Initiative 100 on the Denver primary ballot, the proposal would have banned circuses or parades in the city if they used "wild or exotic animals," such as lions or elephants.

“Today is a victory not only for the tradition of the American circus, but for Denver families who have shared in the Ringling Bros. experience for 85 years,” said Kenneth Feld, owner of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. “When presented with honest and accurate facts, Denver voters decided to preserve their own entertainment choices while recognizing Ringling Bros.’ enduring commitment to animal care and stewardship.”

“Circuses subject animals to constant travel, confining them for hours on end and forcing them to perform unnatural tricks merely for human entertainment,” said Wayne Pacelle, chief executive officer of the Humane Society of the United States, which urged Denver voters to support Initiative 100.

“Young people often see issues very clearly, and in this case, Heather has zeroed in on the unjustifiable abuse of animals for amusement,” said Pacelle. “She is not seeking profit or personal gain, but simply trying to help those who cannot speak for themselves.”

The HSUS has compiled a list of numerous incidents involving wild animals in circuses dating back to the 1970s, including the 1996 death of an Asian elephant. The elephant had collapsed while being unloaded from a truck and later died in a transport trailer in Colorado. Other incidents include elephants rampaging through crowds, causing serious injuries and even deaths of trainers and spectators.

Pat Grant, president of the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo, argues that, "There's never been a documented case of abuse of an animal in the 75 years of Ringling Bros. circuses in Denver." If adopted as written, the initiative would have exempted the National Western, Ocean Journey and the Denver Zoo.

As part of the Ringling Bros. circus experience, Feld said Animal Open House invites circus ticketholders behind the scenes "to observe the exceptional care our animal family receives every day."

New York City Watershed Gets Nine Water Quality Projects

"The New York City watershed is an extraordinary and complex network of reservoirs, lakes, rivers and streams providing safe drinking water for more than nine million New Yorkers," Governor George Pataki said announcing the funding on Tuesday. "It is one of the largest unfiltered surface drinking water systems in the world and we are working diligently to safeguard this critical resource for future generations."

A federal grant under the SDWA is providing $1,250,173 for the nine projects conducted by state researchers, local governments, academia and nonprofit organizations to undertake research, monitoring, education, and implementation of management practices in the watershed.

Several of the projects in Delaware County will provide information for future stormwater control programs that will reduce discharges of phosphorus and stormwater runoff from farms and hamlets into the Cannonsville Reservoir. Phosphorus reduction in the Cannonsville Reservoir is one of the highest priorities of the New York City Watershed Protection Program.

In addition, researchers at the State University of New York - College of Environmental Science and Forestry will use the funding to forecast future water quality based on projected land use changes in the Catskill-Delaware watershed using historical data and modeling projections.

Funding is also being provided for a project within the New Croton Reservoir watershed that will monitor the use of best management practices on land development located on a tributary to Hunter Brook. A teacher training and curriculum education program will be continued and expanded for school children doing stream monitoring in the watershed.

The New York City watershed covers nearly 2,000 square miles in the counties of Delaware, Greene, Schoharie, Ulster, Sullivan, Westchester, Putnam, and Dutchess and provides about 1.4 billion gallons of drinking water per day.

Asian Beetle Restricts Firewood Transport in New York, Illinois

"Even though the Asian longhorned beetle doesn't fly great distances, it can get around by hitching a ride in infested wood," said Christine Markham, national Asian longhorned beetle program director with the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

The Asian longhorned beetle, native to China, Japan and Korea, is a voracious pest of deciduous hardwood forests. It deposits its eggs into healthy hardwood trees. After hatching, the developing beetle bores into healthy hardwood trees and feeds on living tree tissue during the larval stage. Later, throughout the summer, adult beetles emerge from exit holes and briefly feed on the small twigs and leaves of host trees.

The Asian longhorned beetle attacks many different hardwood trees - all species of maple, birch, horsechestnut, poplar, willow, elm, ash, mimosa (silk tree), hackberry, London plane, sycamore and mountain ash.

Residents are asked not to move USDA regulated articles out of the quarantine areas as movement of these articles can unintentionally increase the spread of an infestation. Articles include firewood of all hardwood species, green lumber and other wood materials living, dead, cut or fallen, including nursery stock, logs, stumps, roots, branches and debris of half an inch or more in diameter of many common urban and forest trees.

Transporting wood from established quarantined areas can be both a federal and state offense. Violations can be punished with federal fines of up to $250,000.

The Asian longhorned beetle was first found in the United States in Amityville, New York during September 1996. Today the beetle has spread on Long Island and in New York City.

On Long Island, the Amityville quarantine includes the area south of the Southern State Parkway, east of Broadway, in Massapequa, west of Wellwood Ave., in Lindenhurst, south of East John St., west of Route 109, in Babylon, and north of the Great South Bay. The Islip quarantine includes the area east of Brentwood Rd., in Bayshore, north of Montauk Highway, west of Heckscher Parkway, west of Carleton Ave., in Central Islip, south of Pear St., east of Broadway, in Brentwood, and south of the Southern State Parkway.

In New York City, regulated areas for the Asian longhorned beetle include: all areas south of 125th Street in Manhattan to include Roosevelt, Wards and Randalls Islands; in Queens south of Little Neck Bay, north of the Jackie Robinson Parkway/Grand Central Parkway, west from the Queens/Nassau line to the East River; and in Brooklyn, south of the Queens line, north of Linden Blvd. (Route 27)/Liberty Ave., west of 112th Street to the East River.

To fight this destructive pest and prevent it from spreading, agriculture officials have removed and destroyed more than 7,100 trees in New York. The goal is to eradicate the insect from New York.

In Illinois, the beetle was first discovered in the Ravenswood neighborhood of Chicago in July 1998. Current Asian longhorned beetle regulated areas in the city of Chicago include: the area south of Howard St., west of Lake Michigan, north of Chicago Ave., east of Damon Ave., north of Diversey Parkway, east of Central Park Ave., south of Bryn Mawr and east of Western Ave. Also the area in proximity to Kilbourn Park, bound by Patterson St. to the north, Knox Ave., to the east, Roscoe St. to the south and Lamon Ave. to the west.

Other regulated areas include: Park Ridge, which is bound by Davon Ave. to the north, Dee Rd. and East River Rd. to the east, the Kennedy Expressway to the south and the Des Plains River on the west; and Bensenville, which is bound by Jefferson and Waveland Streets to the south (including the Redmond Recreation Complex), O'Hare Airport's Runway 27R and Supreme Dr., to the north, US Highway 45 to the east and Thomas Dr. and Church Rd. to the west.

In the past six years, agriculture officials have had to remove and destroy more than 1,530 trees in and around the city of Chicago. The goal of the program is to prevent this highly destructive insect from spreading, and eradicate it from Illinois.

People can also help by looking for the Asian longhorned beetle, which is about 1 to 1.5 inches long, has a shiny jet black body with distinctive white spots and long antennae that are banded with black and white.

To report a beetle sighting or to find out if you live in an area regulated for the Asian longhorn beetle before moving firewood, please call 1-800-641-3934 or 312-74-BEETL.