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Air Force Detonations Off Florida Coast Could Harass Marine Mammals WASHINGTON, DC, January 24, 2006 (ENS) - NOAA Fisheries Service is seeking public comments now through February 22 on a proposal from the U.S. Air Force to conduct air-to-surface gunnery exercises in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida. The exercises conducted from Eglin Air Force Base may result in the harassment of marine mammals.AC-130 aircraft gunnery missions involve water surface impacts of projectiles and small underwater detonations. Because these small detonations could potentially affect marine mammals, the Air Force must request an authorization from NOAA under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. To help protect marine life in the vicinity of the exercises, the Air Force plans to use mitigation measures, including aerial surveys prior to firing exercises. Plans include limiting impacts to areas where marine mammals are not sighted. If a dolphin or sea turtle is sighted within five nautical miles of the designated site, they will postpone the firing exercise, and select an alternative area, NOAA says. The AC-130 aircrew can scan a five nautical mile radius around the potential impact area to ensure it is clear of surface craft, marine mammals and sea turtles. The crew uses radar, all-light television, infrared sensors, and visual means to scan an area for marine mammals. Once the area survey is completed, the firing sequence is initiated. Missions typically involve the use of 25-mm, 40-mm and 105-mm gunnery rounds. The actual firing activities typically last about 30 minutes. NOAA Fisheries Service has preliminarily determined that these military exercises "will not result in more than a negligible impact on affected marine mammals." It is anticipated that no marine mammals or sea turtles would be seriously injured or killed. Public comments should be addressed to: Steve Leathery, Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education DivisionOffice of Protected Resources, NOAA Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910. A copy of the application and Federal Register notice may be obtained by contacting the same office, or online at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/prot_res/PR2/Small_Take/smalltake_info.htm#applications.
NOAA Satellites Help Rescue 222 People in 2005 WASHINGTON, DC, January 24, 2006 (ENS) - On December 31, NOAA satellites detected a distress signal from a fishing boat, 25 miles east of Sarasota, Florida. The signal was relayed to the Coast Guard Rescue Coordination Center in Miami, which dispatched a C-130 aircraft that found the stalled boat. The Coast Guard Station Cortez sent a vessel that towed the boat, and the 14 member crew, back into port.The 14 people whose lives were saved that day are some of the 222 people throughout the United States and surrounding waters that NOAA satellites helped save from potentially life threatening emergencies in 2005. NOAA’s polar and geostationary satellites, along with Russia's Cospas spacecraft, are part of the international Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking System, called COSPAS-SARSAT. The system uses a constellation of satellites to detect and locate distress signals from emergency beacons onboard aircraft, boats and from hand-held personal locator beacons. Once the satellites pinpoint the location of the distress within the United States or surrounding waters, the information is relayed to the SARSAT Mission Control Center in Suitland, Maryland, and sent to a Rescue Coordination Center, operated by either the U.S. Air Force for land rescues, or U.S. Coast Guard for water rescues. “The SARSAT program is doing exactly what it was intended to do - save lives,” said NOAA Administrator Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr. “NOAA satellites and the quick responses of the U.S. Air Force and Coast Guard continue to be the difference between life and death.” Since its creation in 1982, COSPAS-SARSAT has been credited with more than 18,500 rescues worldwide, and 5,107 within the United States and its surrounding waters. Most of the rescues each year happen at sea. Alaska led the nation with 65 rescues in 2005, followed by Florida with 49 rescues. Louisiana, California and Hawaii had 13, 12 and 10 saves respectively. Last year there was an increase in the number of people buying and registering emergency beacons with NOAA - 19,282 beacons were registered in 2005, compared to 18,343 in 2004. The total number of registered beacons now stands at 142,222. Older emergency beacons, which operate on the 121.5 and 243 megahertz frequency, will be phased out by early 2009, when 406 megahertz beacons will be the standard. Emergency beacon owners can register their devices online, using the National Beacon Registration Database: http://www.beaconregistration.noaa.gov. “The more emergency beacons that are registered with NOAA, the better able SARSAT will perform to save lives,” said Gregory Withee, assistant administrator of NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service.
56 Environmental, Conservation Groups Nix Alito for Supreme Court WASHINGTON, DC, January 24, 2006 (ENS) - The Senate Judiciary Committee today recommended Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito on a party line vote, 10 to 8. Alito’s nomination will now go to the full Senate.In a letter to the U.S. Senate released Monday, the nonprofit environmental law firm Earthjustice and 55 other conservation groups urged the Senate to oppose the confirmation of Judge Samuel Alito Jr. to a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court. None of these groups opposed the confirmation of Chief Justice John Roberts. "Conservation and environmental groups did not oppose President Bush’s previous Supreme Court nominations of D.C. Circuit Judge John G. Roberts, Jr. and White House Counsel Harriet Miers. Indeed, we have not urged the Senate to oppose any of the eight Supreme Court nominations since Robert Bork, whom some of the undersigned groups opposed in 1987," the letter states. “Earthjustice has not opposed a Supreme Court nominee since Judge Robert Bork in 1987,” said Glenn Sugameli, Earthjustice senior judicial counsel. “Judge Alito’s record indicates that he would pursue his own extreme legal theories to create new barriers that prevent enforcement of laws that protect families and communities from pollution. The Senate should refuse to confirm Judge Alito.” The environmental community has united around the opposition of Judge Alito to a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court for four main reasons, Earthjustice states.
“With smoggy cities, dirty rivers, mercury contaminated fish and other threats, Americans cannot afford to confirm a Supreme Court justice who would unfairly side with polluters,” said Sugameli. “Judge Alito’s nomination must be defeated.” The 56 groups that signed the letter to the U.S. Senate are: Alaska Center for the Environment, Alaska Wildlife Alliance, Arkansas Nature Alliance, Buckeye Forest Council, Californians for Alternatives to Toxics, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Native Ecosystems, Citizens for Public Resources, Citizens Progressive Alliance, Clean Water Action Council of N.E. Wisconsin, Inc., Clean Water Action, Colorado Environmental Coalition, Community Rights Counsel, Conservation Northern California Council, Conservation Northwest, Earthjustice, Ecological Conservation Organization, Endangered Habitats League, Endangered Species Coalition, Environmental Law Foundation, Environmental Protection Information Center, Federation of Fly Fishers, Forest Guardians, Friends of the Columbia Gorge, Friends of the Earth, Friends of the Inyo, Gifford Pinchot Task Force, Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Green Delaware, Greenpeace, Heartwood, Kentucky Resources Council, Inc., League of Conservation Voters, Leavenworth Audubon Adopt-a-Forest, McKenzie Guardians, Michigan Nature Association, Missouri Forest Alliance, Musconetcong Mountain Conservancy, National Environmental Trust, Natural Resources Defense Council, Northwest Environmental Advocates, Okanogan Highlands Alliance, Olympic Forest Coalition, Oregon Center for Environmental Health, Oregon Natural Resources Council Fund, Sagebrush Sea Campaign, San Juan Citizens Alliance, Sierra Club, Sierra Student Coalition, Society of Natural Resources Conservation, Soda Mountain Wilderness Council, Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, Valley Watch, Inc., Western Environmental Law Center, Wilderness Society, and Wildlands CPR.
Congressman Pombo Challenged by Endangered Species Act Author LODI, California, January 24, 2006 (ENS) - Former U.S. Representative Paul N. "Pete" McCloskey, Jr., said that he will challenge fellow California Republican U.S. Representative Richard Pombo for the Republican nomination in his northern California district.McCloskey, 78, formally announced Monday that he is in the running for election in California's 11th Congressional District. "We need to get back to honesty, fiscal responsibility and especially ethics,'' McCloskey said. McCloskey is known for his support of environmental causes and helped to author the 1973 Endangered Species Act, a law which he accuses Pombo of trying to destroy. Pombo's campaign spokesman, Wayne Johnson, said the congressman does not consider McCloskey a threat. McCloskey told Associated Press he wants to get back into politics because of his concern for the environment and what he views as a shift in Washington away from traditional Republican values. Pombo, who is in his seventh term and serves as chairman of the House Resources Committee, has crafted drastic revisions to the Endangered Species Act and supports legislation to open coastlines to offshore drilling. Pombo was one of several Congressional Republicans who helped draft unsuccessful budget legislation last month to lift a moratorium on mining on public land.
Energy Dept. Puts $119 Million Into Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles WASHINGTON, DC, January 24, 2006 (ENS) - Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman today jumpstarted the Washington Auto Show with the announcement of $119 million in funding and a "research roadmap” aimed at overcoming the technical and manufacturing challenges associated with development of commercially available hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.Development of hydrogen fuel vehicles is part of the Bush administration’s plan to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Hydrogen fuel cells produce power with no emissions other than water vapor. “Investments in fuel cell and hydrogen research today will enable America to lead the world in developing clean, hydrogen-powered automobiles that will reduce our dependence on imported oil,” said Bodman. “This funding will help overcome technical barriers and bring hydrogen and fuel cell technology from the laboratory to the showroom.” The Department of Energy (DOE) will provide up to $100 million over four years for research projects seeking to improve fuel cell membranes, water transport within the stack, advanced cathode catalysts and supports, cell hardware, innovative fuel cell concepts, and effects of impurities on fuel cell performance and durability. Through this investment, DOE seeks to improve performance and to lower cost of these technologies by 2010. Further information, research specifications, and application information for interested nonprofit and for-profit private entities, institutes of higher education and state and local governments and government laboratories are available at: http://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/. In addition, Bodman announced the selection of 12 competitively awarded, cost shared projects that will receive $19 million in federal funding over five years for polymer membrane research. Applicants will share the cost, contributing $4.75 million. The membrane is an integral part of a hydrogen fuel cell system and is important in using hydrogen to create electricity that can power a vehicle. The goal of this research is to advance membrane durability and extend shelf-life, while bringing down the cost. Selected organizations include: Colorado School of Mines, Pennsylvania State University, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Giner Electrochemical Systems, University of Tennessee, two projects for Case Western Reserve University, FuelCell Energy, Clemson University, General Electric, Arizona State University, and University of Central Florida. Bodman unveiled DOE’s Roadmap on Manufacturing R&D for the Hydrogen Economy addresses challenges to manufacturing, storage and production of fuel cell technologies and proposes solutions, focusing primarily on near commercial technologies. The Roadmap is based on the results of a July, 2005 hydrogen workshop made up of hydrogen and fuel cell experts from industry, universities, and national laboratories. Barriers to commercialization include expense, energy storage and durability. Both the Roadmap and $119 million in funding announced today seek to address these challenges over the next 10 years with the goal of making vehicles powered by hydrogen available in showrooms by 2020.
Sea-Tac Airport Hit With $100,000 Fines for Illegal Discharges BELLEVUE, Washington, January 24, 2006 (ENS) - The Washington State Department of Ecology has fined the Port of Seattle $20,000 for releasing untreated stormwater from aircraft preparation and taxiing areas at Sea-Tac Airport into Des Moines Creek last year. The penalty is the second of two fines for recent water quality violations at the port-owned airport, which serves the Seattle-Tacoma area. Between two and 2.7 million gallons of water that should have flowed to the airport's industrial wastewater treatment plant entered the creek because of improper valve settings on November 25, 2005. The stormwater runoff from taxi strips and aircraft parking areas contains oil, grease and de-icing compounds that drip from the planes. "Sea-Tac has a well-designed industrial treatment system that needs careful and attentive management to work well," said Kevin Fitzpatrick, Ecology's regional water quality program supervisor. "Because of this incident the airport has acted to improve the system's management and oversight and to respond to problems rapidly," Fitzpatrick said. The penalty results from violations identified in a related Ecology order, issued January 10, which directed the airport to review the oversight, operation and maintenance of the treatment system and an upgrade project that is under way. A report containing recommended improvements is due within 45 days. The January 10 order also addressed several separate water quality violations that occurred at the airport's third runway construction project this past fall. Ecology fined the airport and its contractor $81,000 for allowing six releases of muddy water from the third runway project into Miller and Walker creeks and for pumping industrial wastewater into a stormwater treatment system. The violations occurred in October, November and December 2005. For example, the latest violation occurred on December 15 when contractor employees pumped water from a basin of truck wash water to a stormwater holding pond. The basin holds water from a sprayer that cleans mud off trucks as they leave the project. The water, which contains oil and grease, is industrial process waste water that the storm water system is not designed to treat. On November 4 a plug failed in a stormwater holding pond overnight and an estimated 1.5 million gallons of turbid water flowed the entire length of Walker Creek to Puget Sound. "Before these serious violations, the project met its environmental requirements, not perfectly, but to an impressive degree, given its size and complexity," said David Peeler, who manages Ecology's water quality program. "We expect this penalty and order to mark a return to the higher performance that prevailed before this past fall." The port, which owns and operates the airport, may appeal the penalty to Ecology or to the Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board within 30 days. "Stewardship of our precious environment is the highest priority for the Port of Seattle," said Port of Seattle commission chair Patricia Davis. "We have already asked our staff to intensify prevention, oversight, training, and compliance on all our projects."
EPA Studies Equate Higher-Density Development With Water Protection WASHINGTON, DC, January 24, 2006 (ENS) - The U.S. Census Bureau projects that U.S. population will grow by 50 million people, or approximately 18 percent, between 2000 and 2020. To deal with the stormwater runoff resulting from this population growth, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this week released four new smart growth publications:
The EPA modeled stormwater runoff from three different densities at three scales - one-acre level, lot level, and watershed level - and at three different time series build-outs to examine the premise that lower-density development is always better for water quality. The findings indicated that "low-density development may not always be the preferred strategy for protecting water resources. Higher densities may better protect water quality - especially at the lot level and watershed scale," the EPA said. The study found that higher-density scenarios generate less storm water runoff per house at all scales - one acre, lot, and watershed - and time series build-out examples. For the same amount of development, the EPA says, higher-density development produces less runoff and less impervious cover than low-density development. For a given amount of growth, the agency found, lower-density development impacts more of the watershed. But this is one of the more controversial areas in water quality. Some stormwater professionals take issue with these findings, saying that increasing density does not protect water resources. Instead, they advise, the most effective way to protect water quality is to reduce the amount of runoff from a site with the use of measures such as bio-swales, cisterns, porous paving, dry wells, green roofs, and native landscaping. "Protecting Water Resources with Higher-Density Development" is found at: http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/water_density.htm To comply with the Clean Water Act, over 6,000 communities across the nation are developing municipal stormwater permitting programs, also known as Phases I & II. Many of these communities are also implementing programs that encourage development in existing communities, redevelopment of vacant properties, promote transportation options and facilitate efficient use of land and infrastructure. "Using Smart Growth Techniques as Stormwater Best Management Practices" reviews nine common smart growth techniques and examines how they can be used to prevent or manage stormwater runoff. The EPA says this publication will help communities encourage smart growth and meet the new regulatory requirements. It is found at: http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/stormwater.htm The publication, "Growing Toward More Efficient Water Use: Linking Development, Infrastructure, and Drinking Water Policies" focuses on the relationship between development patterns, water use, and the cost of water delivery. It reviews literature that shows how large-lot, dispersed development patterns cost more to serve because of the length of pipe required, pumping costs, and other factors. The literature reviewed shows how large-lot, dispersed development uses more water than smaller lot, higher density development. This publication concludes with policy options for states, localities, and utilities that directly reduce the cost and demand for water, while indirectly promoting smart growth. These policies offer opportunities for more efficient water use at a time when many communities face water shortages due to drought. "Using Smart Growth Techniques as Stormwater Best Management Practices" is online at: http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/water_efficiency.htm "Parking Spaces / Community Places: Finding the Balance through Smart Growth Solutions" highlights approaches that balance parking with broader community goals. Current codes typically apply inflexible minimums that ignore community and developer priorities including environmental quality and human health. An oversupply of unnecessary parking wastes money and creates places that degrade water quality and encourage excess driving and air emissions. The highlighted solutions cover a range of supply management, demand management, and pricing strategies. Communities have found that combinations of parking pricing, shared parking, demand management, and other techniques have helped them create vibrant places while protecting environmental quality and still providing for necessary vehicle storage. "Parking Spaces / Community Places" is found at: http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/parking.htm For free hard copies of any of these publications, send an e-mail to ncepimal@one.net or call 1-800-490-9198.
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