• Judge Halts Oil and Gas Lease Extensions Off California Coast
  
• Ozone-Depleting Chemical Sold to Meth Labs
  
• New Jersey Bows to Chemical Industry on Toxic Discharges
  
• Old New Jersey Resort Acquired for Conservation
  
• Keep Philadelphia Beautiful Head, City Officials, Charged with Theft
  
• Indiana to Ban Canned Hunts
  
• Port of Los Angeles Pays to Replace Polluting Vessel Engines
  

Judge Halts Oil and Gas Lease Extensions Off California Coast

Ozone-Depleting Chemical Sold to Meth Labs

A jury returned the guilty verdicts against Dov Shellef and William Rubenstein on July 28, following a five-week trial before U. S. District Judge Joanna Seybert in Central Islip, New York.

Shellef, of Great Neck, New York, was also convicted of 87 counts of wire fraud, tax evasion, subscribing to false tax returns and money laundering. Rubenstein, of Colts Neck, New Jersey, was also convicted of wire fraud.

The federal Clean Air Act banned the continued importation and production of CFC’s in the United States in 1996, though manufacturers were permitted to sell and export CFC that had been stockpiled prior to the ban.

CFC’s are used primarily as refrigerants and industrial solvents, and when released into the air migrate into the upper atmosphere and destroy ozone, a naturally occurring gaseous compound that protects the earth from the Sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation.

These chemicals are subject to a substantial excise tax - imposed to discourage their use and to promote the transition to more ozone-friendly replacement products. The excise tax applies to domestic sales of stockpiled CFCs, but not sales for export.

Shellef, who owned two businesses involved in the purchase and sale of CFC-113, and Rubenstein - who also controlled two businesses involved in the purchase, packaging, warehousing, shipping and sale of CFC-113 - purchased large quantities of the chemical.

The defendants represented to the manufacturers that they intended to export the product, so the manufacturers did not collect or pay any excise tax on the product.

Beginning in July 1997, knowing that they had purchased the CFC-113 tax-free, the defendants illegally diverted the product to domestic customers.

To conceal these domestic sales, the defendants removed references to the original manufacturers on drums of the chemical and relabeled the product. They created false shipping documents stating that the product was being sold “For Export Only” and “Reclaimed,” knowing that the new product being sold domestically.

For all of the domestic sales of CFC-113, the unpaid excise taxes totaled approximately $1.9 million.

“The defendants defrauded the government of nearly two million dollars of tax revenue and disregarded the environmental harm that their scheme posed,” said U.S. Attorney Roslynn Mauskopf.

The investigation began as Environmental Protection Agency and Drug Enforcement Administration agents traced the supply of CFC-113 to California meth labs.

The investigation revealed that a company called All Discount Lab Supplies was selling CFC-113 to individuals who used the product in meth labs, and the principals of All Discount Labs have since pleaded guilty to selling CFC-113 with reasonable cause to believe it was being used for the illegal manufacture of methamphetamine.

Although Shellef and Rubenstein were not indicted on drug charges, the investigation revealed that they were major suppliers of CFC-113 to All Discount Labs. When used in meth labs, the CFC-113 is released directly into the atmosphere where it damages the ozone layer.

The defendants each face maximum sentences of 25 years in prison and $500,000 in fines for the conspiracy and wire fraud convictions.

In addition, Shellef faces a maximum sentence of 20 years on the money laundering convictions and a fine of $500,000 or twice the property involved in the offenses. The false corporate tax return charges each carry maximum sentences of three years and fines of $250,000, and the personal income tax evasion charge carries a maximum sentence of five years and a fine of $250,000.

Shellef also faces forfeiture of over $1 million of funds involved in the money laundering offenses.

New Jersey Bows to Chemical Industry on Toxic Discharges

Old New Jersey Resort Acquired for Conservation

Known as the Culvermere Property, the land now will be managed as part of the 2,000 acre Bear Swamp Wildlife Management Area.

The property is the site of the former Culvermere resort and hotel. Built in 1892, the hotel became one of the most popular summer getaways in New Jersey until its destruction in a fire in the 1980s. Culvermere is zoned for both commercial and residential use and has been the subject of multiple development plans.

The New Jersey Conservation Foundation (NJCF) led a partnership of public and private conservation organizations and negotiated the acquisition of the property from Somerville based Culvermere Alliance, Inc. for $12.4 million.

"The New Jersey Conservation Foundation was approached by a group of community leaders more than a year ago who wanted to save this treasured parcel of land from intense development pressures that had been building for 20 years," said Executive Director Michele Byers.

"Working with our many preservation partners statewide, today this dream is a reality," she said. "Culvermere will now be a managed preserve allowing for the protection of water quality and natural resources while providing public access for generations to come."

"The preservation of the Culvermere property protects the Kittatinny Ridge, whose contiguous forests stretch from High Point to the Delaware Water Gap," said DEP Commissioner Bradley Campbell.

"Culvermere was one of the largest privately held properties in Sussex County, and its preservation from the immediate threat of development is a credit to the persistence and advocacy of local leaders who are helping to fund the acquisition," Campbell said.

The land is composed of rolling hills and oak, beech and sugar maple forest. Culvermere provides critical habitat for threatened or endangered species such as the bobcat, barred owl, northern goshawk, timber rattlesnake and wood turtle.

The acquisition was supported by the DEP Green Acres Program, the Nature Conservancy, Morris Land Conservancy, Sussex County and the townships of Frankford and Hampton.

In addition, NJCF contributed a grant from the Victoria Foundation and The Nature Conservancy provided a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

Conservation Resources, Inc. of Chester, and the Coalition to Protect our Land, Lakes & Watershed were instrumental in obtaining contributions, including grants from the Conservation Fund, Wild Turkey Federation, Ducks Unlimited, Conserve Wildlife Foundation, Sussex County Federation of Sportsmen, New Jersey Waterfowl Stamp Committee, Ruffed Grouse Society of New Jersey, and New Jersey Audubon Society.

"Conservation Resources was delighted to help facilitate this unique project, which represents the first open space partnership between Sussex County, sportsmen's organizations and state and local conservation groups," said Michael Catania, president of Conservation Resources.

Keep Philadelphia Beautiful Head, City Officials, Charged with Theft

U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan said an indictment was filed August 8 against former Executive Director of Keep Philadelphia Beautiful Mark Viggiano.

Former Philadelphia Streets Department Commissioner William M. Johnson and Assistant City Managing Director David B. Robinson are also named in the indictment. Robinson was responsible for the city's recycling program.

The indictment charges all three men with conspiracy to defraud the city government and two counts of theft of program funds.

From February 2002 through August 23, 2002, the indictment alleges that the defendants conspired and agreed to use $13,000 of City of Philadelphia money from the Keep Philadelphia Beautiful program for two 2002 parties.

The first was a $5,000 event at the Fairmount Park Horticultural Center on March 22 to celebrate Johnson's 39th birthday.

The second party on August 23, 2002 was an $8,099 event at the Water Works behind the Philadelphia Museum of Art to celebrate Johnson's departure from city government. Johnson left to take a job as president of Odyssey Services, a waste transfer company, which closed earlier this year.

Keep Philadelphia Beautiful was a nonprofit organization formed in 1985 which was responsible for fostering and supporting recycling and other environmental stewardship activities for the City of Philadelphia. It is an affiliate of the nationwide Keep America Beautiful nonprofit, which bills itself as the nation's largest community improvement network.

The Keep Philadelphia Beautiful program had a $197,750 contract with the City of Philadelphia Streets Department, which annually receives federal funds, to develop and implement public education programs to improve cleanliness and enhance the quality of life and personal responsibility among Philadelphia residents and visitors.

Johnson, Robinson, and Viggiano are alleged to have arranged for Keep Philadelphia Beautiful to pay for the two parties. They are then alleged to have received reimbursement for the costs from the City of Philadelphia.

“This was money that was supposed to help make Philadelphia a better place to live, not provide entertainment for a city official,” said Meehan. “The amount of money isn’t as significant as the abuse of trust by two public servants and the gatekeeper of federal funds given to the Streets Department.”

Robinson began working for the city in November 2000. He was fired from his $73,000 city job on Tuesday.

If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum 25 years imprisonment, three years of supervised release, a $750,000 fine, and a $300 special assessment.

Indiana to Ban Canned Hunts

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, August 15, 2005 (ENS) - The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) plans to ban the hunting of white-tailed deer and exotic animals in high fenced facilities starting in 2006. The decision, announced Friday, drew praise from the Humane Society of the United States.

These so-called canned hunts, where hunters shoot at captive animals, have been held due to "perceived loopholes concerning exotic mammals that have been used as a legal justification for hunting exotic mammals," DNR Director Kyle Hupfer told reporters.

Hupfer said that the DNR’s comprehensive examination of high fence white-tail deer shooting showed that there has been "inconsistent application and enforcement of the law."

He said that to be fair to current holders of captive deer, the prohibition against hunting captive white-tail deer held pursuant to a Game Breeder’s License and exotic mammals until the end of the 2006 General Assembly.

A Game Breeder’s License does not allow the hunting or purposeful killing of deer maintained under that license.

“We believe this delayed enforcement approach is fair and provides the opportunity for the legislature to exercise its rightful role in lawmaking,” said Hupfer.

The DNR also will take administrative action to close the exotic mammal loopholes, he said. The types of exotic animals killed can include zebras, Corsican rams, blackbuck antelope, and water buffalo.

“We hope that today’s announcement represents the end of the debate of these issues and that no future legislation will be proposed to legalize these practices,” Hupfer said.

The enforcement of the Game Breeder’s License restrictions "protect and preserve the strong Hoosier hunting heritage for generations to come,” he said. “In order to preserve the hunting tradition, we must ensure that all hunting in Indiana is done in an ethical manner and in a way that conforms with long-standing fair chase standards.”

There are approximately 225 deer or elk farms in the state with 125 farms also permitted to have other exotic species.

“The Indiana Department of Natural Resources has taken the lead in outlawing this unsporting and inhumane practice and we hope that other states will follow,” said Heidi Prescott, senior vice president for the Humane Society. “Tens of thousands of animals in Indiana will be spared from being shot behind fences with no chance of escape. Hunters and animal advocates agree that there’s nothing sporting about shooting a tame animal trapped behind a fence.”

Advertised under a variety of names such as hunting preserves, game ranches, or shooting preserves, canned hunts violate the hunting community’s standard of “fair chase” by confining animals to cages or fenced enclosures, Prescott says.

The Humane Society estimates that there are more than 1,000 hunting ranches scattered across more than 25 states, offering “no kill, no pay” opportunities to kill confined exotic animals.

The animals are bred in captivity, purchased from animal dealers, or, in some cases, retired from roadside zoos and circuses, so they do not fear contact with humans and make easy targets.

Federal bills S. 304 and H.R. 1688, The Sportsmanship in Hunting Act, have been introduced in the U.S. Senate and the House to prohibit the interstate commerce of exotic animals destined to be killed for trophies at canned hunting facilities.

Port of Los Angeles Pays to Replace Polluting Vessel Engines

SAN PEDRO, California, August 15, 2005 (ENS) - Residents of San Pedro should soon see less air pollution generated by their neighbor the Port of Los Angeles, the nation's busiest container port. The fumes have had many residents keeping doors and windows closed for years as trucks, trains and ships and smaller vessels spew emissions into the air as they move their cargo shipments.

The Board of Harbor Commissioners has approved memorandums of agreement with three local companies to repower their maritime equipment and ultimately eliminate an estimated 18 tons of particulate matter and 221 tons of nitrogen oxide from the air each year.

The agreement grants more than $363,000 to these projects from the Port's Air Quality Mitigation Program. Wilmington based International Cargo Equipment will use the funds to replace older, higher polluting engines on nine pieces of cargo handling equipment with newer, cleaner, reduced emissions engines.

Southern California Bait Company of San Pedro, will replace older, higher polluting engines on two bait boats and three of its bait barges with newer, reduced emissions engines.

And San Pedro Pride of San Pedro will replace the older, higher polluting engine aboard its fishing vessel with a cleaner engine.

“The Port is working with all our customers, large and small, to find ways to reduce air emissions in their operations,” said Port Interim General Manager Bruce Seaton. “Our goal is to partner with more companies like these to update operations and clean the air in the process.”

The Port of Los Angeles is pursuing some of the near term pollution reduction measures included in the June 29 report of the “No Net Increase” Air Quality Task Force," as part of its $17 million 2005-2006 air quality improvement program.

These measures focus on converting all in-port terminal equipment and harbor craft to cleaner emissions technology through a combination of cleaner burning fuels, exhaust retrofits on existing equipment, or the purchase of new equipment with higher air quality standards.

Between 2004 and 2008, the Port is spending more than $50 million on these immediate measures. Other efforts include underwriting the cost of new in-port switching locomotives and subsidizing the purchase of hundreds of cleaner burning diesel trucks driven by operators who make as many as 700 trips to and from the Port each year.