• Delaware River Oil Spill Fouls 85 Miles of Shoreline
  
• Nuclear Plants to Store Spent Fuel Dry for 40 Years
  
• Controversial Deputy Interior Secretary Resigns
  
• BLM Pulls Oil Leases Near Hovenweep Monument from Auction
  
• Honda the Greenest Automaker
  
• Iraqi Water Minister Forges Ties with U.S. Water Industry
  
• Nuclear Fusion Experiment Engages MIT, Columbia Researchers
  
• Rare Mojave Desert Plant Would Cost Millions to Conserve
  

Delaware River Oil Spill Fouls 85 Miles of Shoreline

Initially, the spill was estimated at 30,000 gallons, but that figure has now been increased to an unidentified amount. The oil continues to move downstream with river and tidal currents.

The Salem Nuclear Power Plant, the second largest nuclear power plant in the U.S., has been shut down because of concerns of oil entering into the cooling water system for the facility.

The Delaware River is a major port area and dozens of ships pass through the spill area to ports in Philadelphia and New Jersey.

Currently, more than 1,600 workers and 128 vessels are involved in the response effort. More than 115,900 feet of containment boom is in place and absorbent boom to take up the oil is being used as well.

About 11,000 gallons or oil and water mixture has been recovered, but oil submerged in the river continues to be a very complicated issue, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) which has personnel participating in the cleanup.

"Responding to the initial spill is only the beginning. Restoration efforts may take years to complete," NOAA said Wednesday.

On the night of November 26, 2004, the Athos I, a 750 foot tanker, lost an estimated 30,000 gallons of crude oil in the Delaware River. The tanker, registered in Cyprus, was carrying heavy crude oil from Venezuela. After inspecting the vessel, a six foot by one foot tear was discovered in the hull, which had breached a center cargo tank and port side water ballast tank.

The cause of the spill is still under investigation, though on December 7 a surveying crew found a 15 foot curved piece of pipe near the Athos I dock, which the Unified Command, a combination the federal and state responding agencies led by the U.S. Coast Guard, announced is what they believed to have caused the damage to the Athos.

A salvage plan to recover the pipe is in progress.

The incident is still under investigation, and the U.S. Coast Guard said final results of the investigation could take several months.

Experts report 120 birds have been captured, 107 of which have been cleaned to date. Ninety birds are reported to have died.

NOAA Fisheries is assisting the response to the spill through expediting the necessary Endangered Species Act consultations. The Delaware River is inhabited by the short-nosed sturgeon, a federally listed endangered species. The consultation process is designed to minimize any potential impacts to the sturgeon and its habitat from cleaning up the oil.

Barges are being used to offload the ship's oil cargo in order to lighten the ship for salvage operations. The Coast Guard said Wednesday that the barges have offloaded more than five million gallons of oil so far. Transfer operations are expected to be completed this week.

Nuclear Plants to Store Spent Fuel Dry for 40 Years

On Wednesday, the NRC authorized a 40 year license renewal to Dominion Generation for its dry cask independent spent nuclear fuel storage installation at the Surry nuclear power plant in Surry, Virginia, after appropriate license conditions are developed.

“We are confident that casks meeting NRC’s strict standards will be able to store spent fuel safely over an extended period,” said Larry Camper, deputy director of the NRC’s Spent Fuel Project Office. “Even so, the license conditions and our inspections of the facility will ensure that the effects of aging do not degrade the casks’ ability to protect the public and the environment.”

In approving the new license for a duration of 40 years, the Commission approved granting Dominion an exemption from NRC regulations that specify a 20 year license term. Surry was the first commercial nuclear plant to be licensed by the NRC to operate an independent spent fuel storage installation. Its license, issued in 1986, expires next year.

The Commission also directed the staff to approve the same exemption in its ongoing review of the license renewal application of Progress Energy for its dry cask spent fuel storage installation at the H.B. Robinson nuclear plant in South Carolina.

There are now 30 such dry cask storage installations in the United States.

Typically, spent fuel is moved into dry casks after cooling at least five years in pools of water. Surry’s spent fuel pools are at capacity, making continued use of dry cask storage essential if the plant’s two reactors are to continue to operate to the end of their current operating licenses in 2032 and 2033.

The NRC continues to view dry casks as an interim or temporary storage method for spent nuclear fuel until a permanent repository for high-level nuclear waste is available.

The Commission found in 1990 as part of its revised Waste Confidence Decision that spent fuel could be safely stored in spent fuel pools or dry casks without significant environmental impact for at least 100 years. The Commission reaffirmed its finding in 1999.

The original 20 year license period was a policy decision by the Commission at a time when the Department of Energy was expected to begin receiving spent fuel for disposal in a repository by 1998.

The most current estimates predict that the Yucca Mountain repository will not be ready to receive waste until 2015.

Given the need for continued interim storage of spent fuel until a repository is available, the Commission approved granting Dominion’s request for an exemption from the 20 year limit. Progress Energy requested a similar exemption in its February 2004 application to renew the license of the H.B. Robinson storage installation.

Controversial Deputy Interior Secretary Resigns

BLM Pulls Oil Leases Near Hovenweep Monument from Auction

This decision comes a few days before the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) upcoming auction of public lands in Utah for energy development set for Friday, and less than a week after a coalition of outfitters, archeologists and conservation groups protested the lease sale.

"BLM has made the right decision to withdraw the two leases near Hovenweep National Monument from its upcoming sale," said Stephen Bloch, staff attorney for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. "It was clear that the agency hadn't done its homework before announcing that it would offer these special places for sale."

The public lands in and around Hovenweep are renowned for being rich in cultural sites such as ancient cliff dwellings and kivas.

"We're relieved that BLM has come to its senses and decided not offer some of the magnificent lands near Hovenweep for oil and gas development," said Vaughn and Marcia Hadenfeldt, co-owners of Far-Out Expeditions of Bluff, Utah.

"The public lands outside of Hovenweep National Monument are too valuable to be leased and developed for the short-term gain of a single company or individual," said Sonia Hutmacher-Cunningham, Vice-President for Governmental Affairs for the Utah Professional Archeological Council. "Development on these lands would be devastating to the important natural and culturally significant qualities of the monument."

All told, conservation groups protested 25 of the 83 parcels BLM originally planned to lease for energy development on December 10. The agency has decided to defer all but 25 of those parcels from the sale, including a dozen of the ones opposed by conservation groups. If the contested parcels are leased by oil and gas companies conservation groups vow to pursue a legal challenge to their development.

"Since BLM is already leasing the public's land faster than industry can develop it, it makes us wonder why they continue to try to lease sensitive wild lands," said SUWA's Stephen Bloch. "If they don't slow down, we're facing the permanent loss of some real Western treasures."

In another December 10 auction of Utah lands, a separate coalition of conservation and outdoor industry groups has formally asked the Forest Service to withdraw plans to lease over 20,000 acres for oil and gas drilling in Utah’s Uinta National Forest.

The groups sent a letter to the Forest Service Monday asking the agency to withdraw its consent to leasing based on violations of federal environmental laws.

The coalition claims that leasing would allow industrial development in roadless areas along the Wasatch Front that provide valuable opportunities for hiking, fishing, and hunting, as well as habitat for wildlife such as the Bonneville cutthroat trout and northern goshawk.

The nonprofit public interest law firm Earthjustice submitted the request on behalf of the Wasatch Mountain Club, Black Diamond Equipment, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Utah Chapter of the Sierra Club, The Wilderness Society, and Trout Unlimited.

The Forest Service has authorized the BLM to auction mineral leases on over 20,000 acres of Uinta National Forest lands on December 10.

The areas to be leased include almost 17,000 acres of the Diamond Fork and Tie Fork roadless areas that provide habitat for wildlife species ranging from elk to bald eagles.

The lands up for auction are in addition to the almost 120,000 acres of leases that BLM sold nearby in the Uinta National Forest in September.

“When the Forest Service revised the Uinta Forest Plan in 2003, it recognized that these roadless areas provide crucial wildlife habitat and valuable recreational opportunities,” said Earthjustice attorney Keith Bauerle. “In signing off on these leases, the Forest Service has ignored those values and the million plus Americans who spoke out in favor of preserving roadless areas and their resources."

"Oil and gas development in these roadless places would ruin exactly those qualities that our customers are seeking when they backpack or hike into these wild and scenic areas," said Peter Metcalf of Black Diamond Equipment, an outdoor equipment maker.

"Recreation generates, in a long term and sustainable manner, over 80 percent of the economic value of these lands, yet the Forest Service gave no consideration to Utahns who recreate in the great outdoors or to the outdoor industry when it signed off on these leases. It's bad policy and a bad deal - bad for people, bad for the outdoor industry, and bad for Utah's economy that is better served by sustainable recreation than one-time drilling."

"It's un-American to give the public no notice, and no input, in this decision," said Amy Mall. "The great majority of Americans and Utahns want to leave behind a legacy of wild forests for their children and grandchildren, and they should have a say in the future of these lands."

Honda the Greenest Automaker

"Honda is in a class of its own when it comes to producing clean cars and trucks," said David Friedman, research director of UCS's Clean Vehicles Program and lead author of the third report the UCS has published ranking the six largest automakers in the United States.

By contrast, UCS dubbed General Motors "Public Polluter #1" when it comes to emissions generated by automakers. GM, which had the least polluting vehicles of the Big Three automakers just six model years ago, fell behind industry laggard DaimlerChrysler into last place in UCS's latest environmental ranking of car companies.

Friedman said General Motors is "stuck in reverse," as far as environmentally friendly development is concerned.

"GM has spent countless dollars in advertising trying to create a green image, but as the only automaker to move backwards on both smog and carbon dioxide, its rhetoric doesn't match reality," he said.

The report analyzes the six largest automakers in the U.S. market, which together account for nine out of every 10 vehicles sold in this country.

UCS evaluated data on smog-forming pollution and heat-trapping emissions from each company's fleet using model year 2003 sales information and certification standards.

The report rates the pollution performance of the average vehicle produced by each company; total sales volume does not influence the results.

Honda increased its lead by building vehicles that produce less than half the smog-forming pollutants of the industry average and 18 percent less heat-trapping emissions.

Nissan took over second place by reducing global warming emissions per vehicle more than any other automaker - by about six percent since model year 2001.

Toyota's slip into third place is a reflection of Nissan's pollution progress as well a lackadaisical effort from Toyota on smog.

Ford maintained a fourth place standing with a Jekyll and Hyde approach to the environment that led to cars that matched Toyota's smog-forming pollution performance for the first time in UCS's analysis and the worst greenhouse gas performance of all the automakers.

"One of the key findings of this report is that trucks don't have to be an environmental liability," said Don MacKenzie, UCS vehicles engineer and co-author of the new report. "Ford and Honda put technology to work and cut their overall smog-forming pollution despite increased truck sales."

DaimlerChrysler moved into fifth place - one up from last place in the first two rankings - due to GM's poor performance as well as a modest fuel economy improvement from the trucks that make up two-thirds of DaimlerChrysler's sales.

GM bottomed out in the rankings, despite many technology announcements and a commitment to lead the Big Three on truck fuel economy. GM fell from the best of the Big Three to the worst over the past six model years, because GM's trucks are more polluting than Ford's and DaimlerChrysler's, the report said

"Spurred by regulations, Honda, Nissan and Ford cut smog-forming pollution ahead of schedule, and the other automakers should follow their lead," said Friedman. "A similar approach is needed to address global warming. Automakers must tap into the variety of existing technologies that can cut heat-trapping emissions while saving consumers money at the gas pump."

The report is intended to encourage consumers to purchase the cleanest, most fuel efficient car or truck that meets their needs. When all else is equal between two vehicles, the rankings allow consumers to use their purchasing power to reward the better overall automaker.

Read Automaker Rankings 2004: The Environmental Performance of Car Companies online at: http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_vehicles/cars_and_suvs/page.cfm?pageID=1567

Iraqi Water Minister Forges Ties with U.S. Water Industry

Minister Nesreen Mustafa Siddeek Berwari, who oversees 42,000 Iraqi government employees, told a gathering of 20 water utility experts and industry manufacturers that years of conflict and "isolation from information" have left the country's infrastructure in severe disrepair.

Approximately 40 percent of Iraqis do not have access to safe drinking water and only 10 percent have adequate wastewater services. "Iraqi engineers are very hungry for information," Berwari said.

AWWA President Kathryn McCain said the association would facilitate tours of North American water utilities for Iraqi engineers and coordinate the exchange of technical information and training between the association and Iraqi officials.

She invited Iraq to participate in the U.S. Department of Commerce's International Buyer's Program, conducted at AWWA's Annual Conference and Exposition in San Francisco next June.

"AWWA has the unique opportunity to assist Iraqi engineers as they rebuild and improve their water services," McCain said. "Safe drinking water is absolutely critical to public health protection, economic development and overall quality of life."

The Iraqi-U.S. meeting occurred at the joint request of the U.S. Department of State and Department of Commerce. AWWA's Manufacturers/Associates Council worked with the Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association to bring to the table representatives from a variety of water industry equipment manufacturers.

Decentralizing the management of utilities in Iraq is one of her greatest challenges, Berwari told the group.

Her Ministry wants to give more local control to water utilities and municipalities, but a decentralized structure is new to Iraq. She expressed interest in the public-private partnerships that have proven successful in operating North American water utilities.

She encouraged the manufacturers and consultants not to fear doing work in Iraq, pointing out that much of the country is safe. "It's not stopping us from doing what we need to do," she said.

Nuclear Fusion Experiment Engages MIT, Columbia Researchers

Now researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Columbia University are collaborating in a unique experiment - the Levitated Dipole Experiment (LDX) - that will test whether nature's way of confining high temperature gas might lead to nuclear fusion as a new source of energy for the world.

First results from the LDX project were presented at a meeting of the American Physical Society the week of November 15. Scientists and students described more than 100 plasma discharges created within the new device, each lasting from five to 10 seconds.

X-ray spectroscopy and visible photography recorded spectacular images of the hot, confined plasma and of the dynamics of matter confined by strong magnetic force fields.

The primary confining fields are strong magnetic fields from a half-ton superconducting ring inside a huge vessel that looks like a spaceship. This ring will ultimately be levitated within a large vacuum chamber.

A second superconducting magnet located above the vacuum chamber provides the force necessary to support the weight of the floating coil.

The resulting force field resembles the fields of the magnetized planets, such as Earth and Jupiter. Satellites have observed how these fields can confine plasma at hundreds of millions of degrees.

Scientists using the LDX experiment will conduct basic studies of confined high-temperature matter and investigate whether the plasma may someday be used to produce fusion energy on Earth.

Fusion energy is advantageous because its hydrogen fuel is practically limitless and the resulting energy would be clean and would not contribute to global warming as does the burning of fossil fuels.

The LDX research team is led by Jay Kesner, senior scientist at MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center and Michael Mauel, a professor of applied physics at Columbia University.

The work is sponsored by the Department of Energy's Office of Fusion Energy Sciences.

Rare Mojave Desert Plant Would Cost Millions to Conserve

From 2005 to 2025, costs for the species' conservation are estimated between $5.8 million and $13 million.

The Service proposed 29,522 acres as critical habitat for the Lane Mountain milk-vetch in April of this year in response to a lawsuit filed against the Service by the Center for Biological Diversity and the California Native Plant Society. Most of this acreage is on Federal and private lands, with a small amount on State lands.

Most of the federally owned acreage is managed by the Department of Defense and the Bureau of Land Management.

The majority of the costs prior to the designation of critical habitat for the species are for conservation measures associated with the expansion of U.S. Army military maneuver training.

These measures include: endangered species education programs, species and boundary surveys, and development and maintenance of conservation areas. Other pre-designation costs for the Bureau of Land Management are attributable to the development and implementation of the West Mojave Plan, a multiple species habitat conservation plan.

The entire known range of Lane Mountain milk-vetch occurs between Barstow and Goldstone, California in an area no more than 13 miles in diameter. It grows on a particular whitish granite substrate in creosote bush scrub with a few widely scattered Joshua trees.

Fewer than 150 plants of Lane Mountain milk-vetch have ever been reported. The largest population is on the Army's Fort Irwin nation tank training center, in an area not yet used for training. Most of the rest of the plants occur on BLM land within one of the proposed alternative sites for Fort Irwin expansion.

The Service says threats to the species' habitat include dry-wash mining, off-road vehicle use, and military maneuvers at Fort Irwin.

Without strong protections, Army use in these areas is a potential threat to the survival of this rare milk-vetch, says the California Native Plant Society.

The Service is accepting public comment on the proposed designation of critical habitat for the Lane Mountain milk-vetch and the draft economic analysis until January 7, 2005.

Comments on the draft economic analysis and proposed critical habitat may be submitted to: Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, 2493 Portola Road, Suite B, Ventura, CA 93003; or faxed to 805/644-3958. They may also be submitted to: fw1Lanemv@r1.fws.gov.

Critical habitat is a term in the Endangered Species Act that identifies specific geographic areas that are essential for the conservation of a threatened or endangered species and which may require special management considerations. A designation does not affect land ownership or establish a refuge, wilderness, reserve, preserve, or other special conservation area. It does not allow government or public access to private lands and does not close areas to all access or use.