• Kerry Sweeps Five of Seven Democratic Races
  
• Toxic Rincin Closes Three Senate Buildings
  
• Miniature Chemical Warfare Agent Detection System Planned
  
• Senate Will See Leaner Energy Bill
  
• Parks Veteran Resigns Over Poor Wilderness Protection
  
• New Jersey Farmers Get $100 Million to Safeguard Water
  
• California Burrowing Owl Report Suppressed
  
• Saltwater Intruding Into Atlantic Coastal Aquifers
  

Kerry Sweeps Five of Seven Democratic Races

Toxic Rincin Closes Three Senate Buildings

"This is criminal activity directed against the Senate body," Senator Frist said Tuesday. "Safety of the people who work with us is first and foremost. Less is known about ricin than anthrax. Yet we know it is deadly."

Ricin is a toxic protein derived from the seeds from the castor bean plant. Using ordinary kitchen equipment, ricin can be made from the waste pulp left over after processing castor beans to make castor oil. Ricin is poisonous whether inhaled, ingested or absorbed through the skin.

Briefing reporters and staff Tuesday, Frist asked the people who normally use the three office buildings to, "Stay calm and patient as much as possible," while U.S. Capitol Police and other investigators look for clues and determine whether any of the toxic remains in the buildings.

They hope to accomplish this in four to five days, but that time period is subject to change.

Fifteen members of Frist's staff were checked Monday for ricin exposure, and he pronounced them "fine."

Frist called the incident "frightening because [of] the unknown of this poison ricin," but said that all environmental sampling in the buildings' new hepafilters, "is negative to date but must continue."

A medical doctor who worked as a heart and lung transplant surgeon before his election, Frist assured the staff, "Ricin is not contagious."

"There is no antidote, unlike anthrax which is treatable," he said. "Unfortunately it can be deadly if inhaled. Symptoms in animal models develop within eight hours of exposure. The good news is that no one in history, to the best of my knowledge, has ever died of inhaled ricin."

Public tours of the Capitol are suspended until further notice, but the Senate is in session today, and the Capitol is open for business. Senate Galleries will be open while the Senate is in session.

The Joint Meeting of Congress with Spanish President Jose Maria Aznar takes place as scheduled at 11:00 am.

Miniature Chemical Warfare Agent Detection System Planned

The grant comes from the U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) as part of the organization's Special Competition for Research on Minimizing the Effects of Terrorist Acts on Civilian Populations. Each grant provides nine months of support to joint teams of U.S. and Russian scientists working on finding innovative solutions to minimize the impact of terrorist threats.

The competition is the foundation's response to the events of September 11, 2001. Funding for the competition comes from the U.S. Department of State, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health.

The first joint U.S. Russian team is headed by Graham Cooks of Purdue University and his Russian colleague Eugene Nikolaev of the Institute of Energy Problems of Chemical Physics.

The scientists aim to develop a technology that will enable them to miniaturize and expand the detection capabilities of mass spectrometers, highly sensitive instruments that have the ability to rapidly identify and measure the presence of minute traces of compounds in the air.

"Those of us in Indiana know that Purdue University is a leader in many areas," said Senator Richard Lugar, an Indiana Republican who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee. "This joint research will further solidify that reputation, while also advancing our safety and security. Equipment to detect chemical warfare agents is a vital tool in our arsenal against terrorism."

"Mass spectrometers are particularly appealing for emergency on-site analysis due to their inherent speed, precision, sensitivity, capability for continuous real-time measurements, and fairly low maintenance requirements," said Dr. Cooks. "However, the threat of unpredictable terrorist acts involving chemical warfare agents and explosives presents an urgent problem that requires a system that can operate even faster and with a greater degree of mobility than is currently available."

The U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization authorized by the U.S. Congress and established by the National Science Foundation in 1995. The CRDF supports scientific and technical collaboration between the United States and other countries, primarily the countries of the former Soviet Union, through grants, technical resources, and training.

The foundation is currently completing its review of additional proposals and plans to announce further cooperative research awards in the near future.

Senate Will See Leaner Energy Bill

Senate Energy Committee Chairman Pete Domenici, a New Mexico Republican, who last June said he had "absolutely no doubt" that lawmakers would pass a broad energy bill with incentives for more oil and gas drilling, yesterday announced he was ordering his staff to write a "leaner" version of the bill.

The energy bill, a keystone of President George W. Bush's legislative architecture, has drawn objections from environmentalists and other critics for the $24 billion in tax breaks and $7 billion in other incentives it would have given to energy producers. Oil and gas drillers and the coal industry were among the original bill's beneficiaries.

Senator Domenici said the ballooning budget deficit was the reason for the need to scale back the energy bill. It is "necessary, in light of current deficit numbers," he said, "to trim spending every way we can."

White House Spokesman Scott McClellan said Tuesday that "the President is strongly committed to passing a comprehensive energy plan," which he feels is needed "to reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy."

"We will continue working very closely with Senator Domenici in his efforts," McClellan said. "He has been working on this issue for quite some time, and we appreciate all his efforts. But I would remind you that we had spelled out the President's approach to a comprehensive energy plan previously. And we're working with members of Congress to move forward on a plan that reflects what the President has outlined."

On November 21, 2003, the Senate defeated the controversial legislation. Supporters of the bill admitted that the vote reflected a deep divide over provisions concerning two gasoline additives - ethanol and methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE).

The bill's mandated doubling of ethanol use attracted several Democrats from farm states, including Minority Leader Tom Daschle, who said, however, that much of the bill was not worth supporting.

But the inclusion of a safe harbor provision protecting MTBE manufacturers from litigation over pollution of groundwaters by the suspected carcinogen, and the $24 billion in tax subsidies proved too much for five Northeast Republican senators and Arizona Republican John McCain.

"On the whole, this just was not good for America," said Senator John Sununu, a New Hampshire Republican in November. "This is an energy bill that busted the budget."

The MTBE provision was the "overriding reason for failure," Daschle said in November. "If this provision was not included, this bill would be passed by the Senate today and enacted into law."

Parks Veteran Resigns Over Poor Wilderness Protection

Jim Walters, a 37 year employee, retired as wilderness program coordinator for the eight state Intermountain Region, with a letter to National Park Service Director Fran Mainella that says the service has "accomplished relatively little in implementing either the letter or the spirit of the Wilderness Act."

In his letter of resignation, dated January 22, Walters warns that the Park Service has not “taken its wilderness management responsibilities seriously,” even though the service "administers the nation's, and in fact the world’s, largest wilderness inventory. "

This inventory includes 45 park areas containing designated wilderness and, at least, 31 additional areas which contain lands which have been identified as “recommended,” “proposed,” “potential” and “suitable” wilderness resources. This inventory is acknowledged to be incomplete in that many national park areas have never completed even the basic required assessment for potential wilderness designation. Together these lands represent approximately 86 percent of National Park Service lands, Walters wrote.

In his resignation letter Walters cited the agency’s failure to undertake required suitability studies for new wilderness designations. As a result, proposed wilderness plans for 31 parks remain in limbo, he said.

According to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), which posted Walters' letter on its website, these new wilderness areas would increase the entire Park Service wilderness network by more than half, protecting an area nearly the size of the state of Montana, from development, traffic and noise.

The NPS is "vulnerable to growing criticism from the environmental community," Walters writes, that "the agency has failed to properly identify and protect its wilderness resources," and that "senior level managers continue to demonstrate either a lack of concern and/or an open hostility to the Service's wilderness responsibilities" and in addition, "park managers continuously attempt to ignore or circumvent the instructions of the Wilderness Act and NPS wilderness policies in carrying out their other duties."

Completing wilderness management plans has been an NPS policy requirement for nearly two decades, but today of the 75 park areas containing wilderness, less than 20 percent - 14 parks - currently have a wilderness management plan, Walters writes. "Of these, approximately half are badly outdated and do not meet the basic requirements for a wilderness plan as required by current NPS policies."

"There is no Service-wide initiative for wilderness parks to complete their required plans," Walters writes. "As a result, after nearly 40 years, less than one fifth of the NPS wilderness parks have a plan which explains to managers, and the public, exactly how the wilderness is supposed to be managed and preserved."

“The Park Service opposed its inclusion in the Wilderness Act 40 years ago and acts today like the Wilderness Act never applied to it,” said PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch whose organization is litigating against and pressuring the Park Service to implement and enforce wilderness protections in parks across the country.

“From President Bush on down, administration appointees wax poetic about nature’s solitude but have done precious little to protect that value for future generations.”

Enacted on September 3, 1964, the Wilderness Act is one of the nation’s premier environmental laws. As a result of the act, the National Park Service (NPS) administers some 44 million acres of wilderness spread across some 45 parks, the largest wilderness inventory on Earth.

Read Jim Walter’s letter of resignation to Park Service Director Fran Mainella at: http://www.peer.org/PARK_SERVICE/walters.html

New Jersey Farmers Get $100 Million to Safeguard Water

The $100 million program will provide financial incentives to New Jersey farmers to install stream buffers to reduce nonpoint source pollution.

“As we work to build a better New Jersey, protecting the quality of our water supply is a paramount concern to New Jersey families," said McGreevey. "This program gives our farmers – the original stewards of the land - the opportunity to expand that role as part of the state’s efforts to maintain and improve the quality of our waterways."

"So far we have a total of 25 states participating in Conservation Reserve Enhancement Programs, implementing high priority conservation measures of both local and national significance," said James Little, administrator of the U.S. Agriculture Department's Farm Service Agency, which administers the program at the federal level.

Under the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, farm landowners install and maintain approved practices through 10 to 15 year rental contract agreements.

New Jersey’s goal is to enroll 30,000 acres of agricultural lands into this state-federal program over a 10 year period. Types of buffers that will be installed include trees, shrubs, vegetative strips used to filter water, contour grass strips and grass waterways. Fencing may be used in conjunction with these practices.

The program will pay landowners annual rental and incentive payments for participating in the program, as well as 100 percent of the cost to establish approved practices.

“This voluntary program is a great way to help farmers protect the environment and the viability of their agricultural operations,” said state Agriculture Secretary Charles Kuperus.

“Natural resource conservation is a key component of our recently adopted Agricultural Smart Growth Plan. By compensating farmers who install buffers on riparian lands, we can help protect the water resources that sustain agriculture and all of New Jersey," Kuperus said.

New Jersey’s Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program is sponsored by the state departments of agriculture and environmental protection. New Jersey will receive $77 million in federal funds and contribute $23 million in state funds to implement the new program over a 10 year period.

The governor’s action is part of an overall strategy to protect New Jersey’s water. In January, McGreevey adopted rules that will place 300 foot buffers around more than 6,000 miles of waterways - the most comprehensive water protections in the nation. Most recently, he proposed the strongest drinking water standard for arsenic of any state in the nation.

California Burrowing Owl Report Suppressed

The suppressed report evaluated a formal petition submitted by conservation organizations in April 2003 to list the burrowing owl, Athene cunicularia hypugaea, under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA).

The California Fish and Game Commission voted 4-0 in December 2003 to reject the burrowing owl petition, based in part on a second DFG report that recommended against listing. This second report was criticized by conservationists and owl experts as being full of inaccuracies and inconsistencies.

In contrast, the report the Fish and Game Department refused to release to the Commission and the public recommended that the owl be immediately protected as a “Candidate” species while a year long status review was conducted by the department.

The environmental groups who petitioned for the listing place the blame for suppression of the report on the former administration of Governor Gray Davis.

“It appears the outgoing administration suppressed their own biologists’ report recommending listing and twisted the facts around to arrive at a recommendation that denies protection to a declining species to appease development interests,” said Kim Delfino, California director for Defenders of Wildlife.

“The responsibility for the state’s failure to protect a clearly imperiled species lies with former Fish and Game Director Robert Hight,” said Jeff Miller, spokesperson for the Center for Biological Diversity.

“We call on Governor [Arnold] Schwarzenegger and the new Fish and Game Director to protect the burrowing owl under the California Endangered Species Act and to investigate this owlgate incident.

"The Fish and Game Commission should reverse their decision in light of significant information that was deliberately withheld from them,” said Miller.

The report that was released to the public was condemned by leading owl experts, who the environmental groups say were not paid for their comments, as biologically flawed, containing numerous errors and speculative conclusions about the status of the species.

The released report was supported by two biological consultants with little owl expertise that were paid by agricultural and development interests to testify. Department of Fish and Game staff did not disclose the existence of the second report to the Commission before its December vote on the owl petition.

“It’s a shame that the Commissioners weren’t given both reports by their staff,” said Craig Breon of the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society. “Government officials making key decisions should be given complete information, and it’s clear that here they were not."

The western burrowing owl is a small bird that inhabits prairies and grasslands. In California these owls rely for nests on burrows dug by ground squirrels.

Many historical accounts by naturalists reported this species was one of the most common birds in California. Burrowing owls ranged throughout the Central Valley, were found in coastal areas from Marin County south to the Mexican border, and sparsely inhabited desert areas in northeastern and southeastern California.

Burrowing owls have been in continuous decline throughout the state since at least the 1940s. Burrowing owls are threatened primarily by habitat loss to urban development and eradication of ground squirrels and other burrowing rodents. The common practice of relocating owls from development sites is accelerating local declines in rapidly urbanizing areas.

Saltwater Intruding Into Atlantic Coastal Aquifers

To address the critical role of groundwater in sustaining coastal populations, economies, and ecosystems, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has published a report that describes groundwater conditions in freshwater and saltwater environments along the Atlantic coast.

Groundwater supplies are vulnerable to overuse and contamination, and the proximity of coastal aquifers to saltwater creates unique issues of groundwater sustainability in coastal regions.

The USGS report identifies several scientific challenges and opportunities related to groundwater conditions along the Atlantic coast.

"New monitoring and research efforts will be needed to characterize the occurrence and movement of saline groundwater in different types of coastal terrains and to better understand linkages between groundwater discharge, groundwater quality and the health of coastal ecosystems," says USGS hydrologist Paul Barlow, author of the study.

The movement of saline water into freshwater aquifers, called saltwater intrusion, is usually caused by groundwater pumping from coastal wells.

In extreme cases, saltwater contamination has led to the abandonment of supply wells in several communities along the Atlantic coast, and is a continuing threat in many areas. The report describes multifaceted strategies for managing saltwater intrusion in coastal Georgia, and in Florida's Biscayne Bay.

Barlow covers the role of the Chesapeake Bay impact crater on Virginia's inland saltwater wedge, the effects of paleochannels on saltwater intrusion along the Georgia and Carolina coasts, and the role of fractures and other structural anomalies on saline water movement in northeastern Florida.

"Many states and local communities are taking actions to manage and prevent saltwater intrusion to ensure a sustainable source of groundwater for the future," said Barlow.

Innovative management approaches such as aquifer storage and recovery systems, desalination systems, and blending of waters of different quality, are being implemented to manage saltwater intrusion, and several monitoring networks are in place to document the location and movement of saltwater in freshwater aquifers.

The USGS report also addresses the role of groundwater in delivering contaminants to coastal waters. This has become an area of growing concern because the discharge of excess nutrients, particularly nitrogen, can severely impair coastal ecosystems.

As coastal populations expand into undeveloped areas, it is likely that new patterns of saltwater occurrence and intrusion will be identified that will require scientific analysis and monitoring, Barlow says.

The report "Groundwater in Freshwater-Saltwater Environments of the Atlantic Coast," is available on the USGS website at: http://water.usgs.gov/pubs/circ/2003/circ1262.