• Truckers Hauling Highly Hazardous Materials Need New Permit
  
• Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant Applies for Power Increase
  
• 1.2 Million Yucca Mountain Nuclear Documents Searchable Online
  
• Inconclusive Mad Cow Not Diseased
  
• Illegal Ship Strikes on Whales Not Prosecuted
  
• Bowater Donates 3,700 Acres to State of Tennessee
  
• Taxman Scrutinizes Conservation Easement Donations
  
• Puffin Cam Takes Viewers to Remote Nesting Islands
  

Truckers Hauling Highly Hazardous Materials Need New Permit

The safety permit will be required for motor carriers hauling certain types and amounts of radioactive materials, explosives, toxic inhalant materials and compressed or refrigerated liquid methane or natural gas.

“This regulation will promote the safe and secure transportation of the most dangerous hazardous materials,” said FMCSA Administrator Annette Sandberg.

She said the special permit is needed because these highly hazardous materials would be dangerous in crashes or if used in terrorist attacks.

Under guidelines outlined in a final rule issued Wednesday, the nation’s approximately 3,100 hazardous materials carriers must meet all federal operational, safety and security standards and must communicate regularly with drivers by phone or other electronic device.

Carriers with poor safety ratings will be prohibited from transporting the hazardous materials requiring these special permits. Temporary safety permits may be issued to carriers without safety ratings for a period of 180 days pending the outcome of a compliance review, a measure the agency said would "prevent unnecessary interruptions of commerce."

FMCSA is implementing a process to deny, suspend and revoke safety permits in this final rule. Safety permits will be denied if a carrier does not have a “Satisfactory” safety rating.

Permits will be suspended or revoked from carriers failing to comply with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, Hazardous Materials Regulations or similar state requirements.

The FMCSA estimates that the annual safety benefits to the U.S. economy resulting from fewer accidental releases of hazardous materials will be $3.7 million.

This final rule is online at http://fmcsa.dot.gov. It also can be viewed in the DOT Docket Management System, http://dms.dot.gov by searching for docket number FMCSA-97-2180.

Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant Applies for Power Increase

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Thursday announced the opportunity for concerned parties to request a hearing on the application.

The Vermont Yankee is still off-line after two fires at the plant June 18 required a hot shutdown of the plant. The fires were extinguished without injury or release of radioactivity into the atmosphere, federal and Entergy officials said.

The Vermont Yankee plant is located in Windham County near Vernon, Vermont, and the proposed change represents an approximate increase of 20 percent over the current maximum authorized output - from 1,593 megawatts thermal to 1,912 megawatts thermal. This would represent an increase of 100 megawatts electric.

The NRC informed the Vermont Public Service Board Monday it will only approve the request by the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant to produce higher levels of electricity if the agency finds that the plant can operate safely at that level.

“The NRC has already received significant public comment on issues related to the review,” said Bill Ruland, the NRC power uprate manager. “The NRC staff will pursue these issues. We will not approve the uprate unless we are satisfied it can be done safely.”

The agency said it will conduct additional safety inspections at Vermont Yankee for three weeks in August as part of a new pilot program to enhance engineering inspections of the nation’s operating nuclear reactors.

“The expanded engineering inspection will provide additional confirmation, beyond the routine inspection program, of the Vermont Yankee plant design as we consider whether or not we should approve the power uprate,” Ruland told the Board.

“Entergy must provide sufficient justification to prove to us that safety is maintained,” Ruland said. “They aren’t there yet.”

Brian Holian, the NRC manager responsible for inspection oversight at the plant, said the independent inspection team would include at least seven people. The team’s leader will come from outside the NRC’s Region I office, which oversees Vermont Yankee. The team will include NRC inspectors who have not worked at the plant in recent years, and private sector nuclear engineering experts, he said.

The Vermont Yankee is also the nuclear power plant that lost two spent nuclear fuel rods, which have yet to be recovered.

A notice of the opportunity to request a hearing was published July 1 in the Federal Register, and anyone wishing to request a hearing must file a petition by August 30. Petitions may be filed by anyone whose interest may be affected by the power increase and who wishes to participate as a party in the proceeding.

A request for a hearing and a petition for leave to intervene must be filed by sending it to the Secretary of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission at: hearingdocket@nrc.gov.

1.2 Million Yucca Mountain Nuclear Documents Searchable Online

DOE's Yucca Mountain documents may be accessed today at http://www.ocrwm.doe.gov, and will be available through the NRC's LSN web site at http://www.lsnnet.gov.

Those without access to the Internet may use the public access computers at the Las Vegas Yucca Mountain Information Center - 4101B Meadows Lane, Las Vegas, Nevada; at the public reading room (1E-190), U.S. Department of Energy, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC; or at most libraries worldwide.

Inconclusive Mad Cow Not Diseased

But now, another cow has tested inconclusively positive for the fatal brain wasting illness.

Dr. John Clifford, USDA deputy administrator for the Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service, said that the inconclusive screening test sample reported on June 25 had been sent to the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa for confirmatory testing, but those tests showed the animal was not infected.

The National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) "used the world recognized gold standard test for BSE, the immunohistochemistry test to confirm this finding," Clifford said.

The agency has declined to release the type of animal tested, or its location because it did not test positive for mad cow disease. And Dr. Clifford will not disclose this information for the second animal that produced a positive screening test.

“The inconclusive result does not mean we have found another case of BSE in this country," said Clifford. "Inconclusive results are a normal component of screening tests, which are designed to be extremely sensitive so they will detect any sample that could possibly be positive."

Again a sample has been sent to the NVSL for confirmatory testing. Neither animal has entered the food supply, and the carcasses of all cattle tested for mad cow disease will be held until the test results are in before they move into the food chain.

“Confirmatory results are expected back from NVSL within the next four to seven days," Clifford said, "and we will announce the test results then. And, if the test comes back positive for BSE, we will of course provide additional information about the animal and its origin."

“USDA remains confident in the safety of the U.S. beef supply," said Clifford. "This animal did not enter the human food chain. Our ban on specified risk materials from the human food chain provides the protection to public health, should another case of BSE ever be detected in the United States."

An expert advisory panel convened by the USDA after a BSE infected cow was discovered in Washington state last December, has said it is likely that more cases of the disease will be found in U.S. cattle.

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, such as mad cow disease and its human form, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, are spread by prions - abnormally shaped proteins that originate as regular components of neurological tissues in animals. They are not cellular organisms or viruses, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Mad cow disease spreads from one animal to another by consumption of feed that has been contaminated by these prions, such as blood or meat meal that contains nervous system tissue from an infected animal. The human form of the disease can be transmitted if a human being eats BSE infected meat, or possibly through blood transfusions.

The ban on nervous system tissue in the human food chain, "provides the utmost protection to public health should another case of BSE ever be detected" in the United States, Clifford said.

Safety measures include a ban on the use of most mammalian protein in cattle feed that has been in place since 1997.

Earlier this year, the USDA banned downer cattle from the human food chain and tightened the process control for establishments using advanced meat recovery systems. The agency prohibited the air injection stunning of cattle that can force nervous system tissue into muscle tissues. The practice of holding the carcasses until BSE test results have been confirmed negative was also put in place early this year.

Illegal Ship Strikes on Whales Not Prosecuted

Nationally, there is almost a total absence of any civil or criminal prosecution under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the organization said.

In June, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) proposed speed limits, no-shipping areas and designated shipping lanes in the Atlantic Ocean to protect endangered right whales, but a former employee says the agency lacks the experience or resources to enforce those rules.

New England PEER Director Kyla Bennett, a former federal biologist, said, “NOAA lacks the training and budget to investigate ship strikes while the Coast Guard, besides being the fifth biggest cause of ship strikes itself, has been consumed by new Homeland Security responsibilities.”

Fewer than 300 North Atlantic right whales survive today after whale hunting, pollution and ship strikes have taken their toll.

Fatal collisions with ships have become the most common threat to whale survival. Ships strikes are on the rise, due to a combination of increasing coastal ship traffic, smaller crew sizes, bigger vessels and faster speeds.

According to records compiled by PEER, in the Northeast Atlantic from Virginia to Maine, there has not been a prosecution for a ship strike of a whale in more than 25 years despite at least 20 incidents when the identity of the ship could be proven.

A pregnant humpback whale was killed by a ship in Alaska’s Glacier Bay in July 2001, shortly after Alaska’s congressional delegation overruled restrictions on the number of big cruise ships in the Bay, PEER says. National Park Service investigators linked the fatality to a cruise ship and referred the matter for prosecution. The U.S. Attorney has not acted on the case.

Within the National Marine Sanctuaries, enforcement is no better. NOAA, which operates the sanctuaries, is under attack from the shipping industry, who claims NOAA does not have the jurisdiction to mandate speed limits in marine sanctuaries.

“Without enforceable rules and the resources to enforce these rules, marine sanctuary becomes a misnomer,” said Bennett, noting that even the requirements that ships must report when they have struck whales are often unobserved.

Bowater Donates 3,700 Acres to State of Tennessee

The gift includes permanent conservation protections on 3,122 acres in the company’s Pocket Wilderness system. Bowater’s Pocket Wilderness Areas are located throughout Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau and are characterized by their unique historical, ecologic and geologic significance.

Part of the donation is 610 acres on the Cumberland Plateau that will connect segments of the park’s Rock Creek, Possum Creek, and Soddy Creek Trails.

Bowater Incorporated Chairman and CEO Arnie Nemirow told reporters, “These pristine forests of the Cumberland Plateau are truly magnificent, and Bowater is pleased to celebrate its 50th anniversary of operations in Tennessee by permanently protecting these areas for enjoyment by its citizens."

“I’d like to thank Arnie Nemirow and Bowater for this generous donation,” the governor said. “These lands will be combined with the state’s recent purchase of 4,500 acres in northern Hamilton County to permanently protect nearly 50 miles of scenic woodlands on the Cumberland Trail."

Conservation easements will be made in the North Chickamauga, Piney River and Stinging Fork Pocket Wilderness Areas, and the Upper Piney River Gorge in the Cumberland Trail system.

In addition to permanent land protections, Nemirow announced the company’s plan to work with the state of Tennessee over the next year to study Bowater’s Cumberland Plateau lands that may be appropriate for additional protection. The study will cover lands that are adjacent to Tennessee state parks and trails, as well as gulfs and coves.

Governor Bredesen’s balanced budget approved by the General Assembly in June restores nearly all of the land acquisition funds, totaling nearly $17 million annually. The budget earmarks nearly $3 million for the acquisition of 8,000 acres of forests in the Cumberland Range known as the Bedsole Tract.

The state is also working with the Friends of South Cumberland State Recreation Area and the The Conservation Fund to add nearly 7,000 acres from the Fiery Gizzard Trail to the South Cumberland Recreation Area using resources from the Land Acquisition Fund to secure them for recreation, biodiversity and the economic benefit of the local communities.

Taxman Scrutinizes Conservation Easement Donations

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Wednesday issued a notice to tell taxpayers that the IRS intends to disallow improper charitable contribution deductions for transfers of easements on real property to charitable organizations and for transfers of easements in connection with purchases of real property from charitable organizations.

Taxpayers claiming improper charitable contribution deductions for such transfers may be subject to accuracy-related penalties, the agencies said.

“We’ve uncovered numerous instances where the tax benefits of preserving open spaces and historic buildings have been twisted for inappropriate individual benefit,” said IRS Commissioner Mark Everson. “Taxpayers who want to game the system and the charities that assist them will be called to account.”

Conservation easements are agreements that preserve natural lands from commercial development, and as long as these agreements are qualified, they will not be disallowed, the IRS said.

One of the permitted conservation purposes, the tax agency said, is the "protection of a relatively natural habitat of fish, wildlife, or plants, or similar ecosystem."

Another of the permitted conservation purposes is the preservation of open space, including farmland and forest land, for the scenic enjoyment of the general public or pursuant to a clearly delineated governmental conservation policy. "However," the IRS warned, "if the public benefit of an open space easement is not significant, the charitable contribution deduction will be disallowed."

The IRS said agents are aware that some taxpayers are claiming inappropriate charitable contribution deductions for easement transfers that do not qualify as qualified conservation contributions, or are claiming deductions for amounts that exceed the fair market value of the donated easement.

In addition, the IRS is aware that some taxpayers are claiming inappropriate charitable contribution deductions for cash payments or easement transfers to charitable organizations in connection with the taxpayers’ purchases of real property.

In some of these questionable cases, the agency explained, the charitable organization purchases the property and places a conservation easement on the property.

Then, the charitable organization sells the property subject to the easement to a buyer for a price that is substantially less than the price paid by the charitable organization for the property.

As part of the sale, the buyer makes a second payment, designated as a “charitable contribution,” to the charitable organization. The total of the payments from the buyer to the charitable organization fully reimburses the charitable organization for the cost of the property.

In "appropriate" cases, the IRS said it will treat these transactions in accordance with their substance, rather than their form. So, the agency said it may treat the total of the buyer’s payments to the charitable organization as the purchase price paid by the buyer for the property.

The IRS said it may "impose penalties on promoters, appraisers and other persons involved in these transactions."

The IRS may challenge the tax-exempt status of the charitable organization, based on the organization’s operation for a substantial nonexempt purpose or impermissible private benefit.

Puffin Cam Takes Viewers to Remote Nesting Islands

On July 4, Audubon's Project Puffin seabird camera will beam live-streaming video of Eastern Egg Rock's nesting puffin colonies, just off the Maine Coast. The tiny island is home to the world's first restored puffin and tern colonies and it is the largest colony of endangered Roseate Terns in Maine.

The Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund and the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund provide funds for the camera, which is the invention of Daniel Zatz of SeeMore Wildlife Systems.

The camera transmits microwave signals from the south end of Eastern Egg Rock to the Audubon Visitor Center in Bremen, Maine, eight miles across Muscongus Bay.

A unique feature of the camera allows an operator in the visitor center to pan the camera in all directions, zooming in and out for closer views.

The resolution of the camera is so sharp that biologists operating it can read the numbers on the tiny bands attached to the puffins and measure the length of the puffins' beaks - a technique for determining the sex of the birds. Mainland operators can also wash the camera lens and wipe it dry using remote operated wipers.

Currently on camera, Eastern Egg Island's tern population can be seen incubating eggs and some have begun to hatch. When the camera is moved to its new location within the puffin colony, viewers will have close-up views of puffins, guillemots, terns, and laughing gulls.

A special microphone allows viewers to hear seabird sounds. The camera operates on an automatic tour from dawn to dusk, but staff manually control it from 9-11 am daily to insure close-up views. Later in the summer, interns on the island will occasionally provide on-line, narrated talks directly from Egg Rock's bird blinds.

Puffins disappeared from their historic island nesting sites in the late 19th century. The National Audubon Society started Project Puffin 31 years ago to learn how to restore puffins to their nesting islands in the Gulf of Maine.

Young puffins usually return to breed on the same island where they hatched. With this in mind, Audubon researchers transplanted 954 young puffins from Great Island to Eastern Egg Rock between 1973 and 1986. Transplanted puffins began returning to Eastern Egg Rock in June 1977 and the colony increased to 59 pairs by 2003.

Audubon says the techniques developed at Egg Rock for puffins also restored terns to the island, and the techniques are now used widely for rare and endangered seabirds worldwide.

This is the fifth year that the camera has beamed real time video to the web: to watch, click on www.projectpuffin.org