• Export-Import Bank Adopts Global Environmental Standards
  
• Beach States Must Conform to Federal Bacteria Limits
  
• Toxic Bacterial Bloom Closes Popular Nebraska Lake
  
• San Francisco Embraces Greener, Energy Efficient Buildings
  
• Dell Offers Grants for Computer Recycling
  
• Gulf of Alaska Pollock Fishery Meets Sustainable Criteria
  
• Observers Could Reduce Amount of Wasted Marine Life
  
• Local Actions Benefit Long Island Sound Water Quality
  

Export-Import Bank Adopts Global Environmental Standards

The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) said in a statement Thursday it has revised its guidelines to make them consistent with an international agreement on the procedures and standards for environmental impact studies of projects financed by export credit agencies.

The agreement was approved in 2003 after several years of negotiations conducted under the auspices of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which includes the world's industrialized democracies.

In fiscal year 2003, the Ex-Im Bank authorized financing to support $14.3 billion of U.S. exports. The bank helps finance the sale of U.S. exports to emerging markets by providing loan guarantees, export credit insurance, and direct loans.

The bank's Engineering and Environment Division will evaluate the environmental effects of projects on factors such as air and water quality within nine industrial sectors. One guideline, for instance, requires that management, recycling, and disposal of solid, hazardous, and toxic materials and wastes be conducted in a manner that safeguards human health and the environment.

The new guidelines will apply to upcoming projects such as Turkey's Zorlu Combined Cycle Power Plant; the Uttam Steel Galvanizing Line in Mumbai, India; and the Vitro AFG Float Glass Plant in Mexacali, Mexico.

"Ex-Im Bank is proud to maintain its high environmental standards by insuring that the environmental impact of projects is carefully reviewed," Ex-Im Bank Chairman Philip Merrill said. "At the same time, we are working to provide a level playing field for U.S. exporters in the international marketplace."

The Ex-Im Bank underwrites exports to Iraq such as short-term insurance of a $15 million export sale of fogging machines and accessories for insect abatement manufactured by Tifa Ltd. of Millington, New Jersey, for the Iraqi Ministry of Health, State Company for Marketing Drugs and Medical Appliances. The new environmental standards may apply to Iraqi projects as well as those in other countries.

In a December 2003 statement, the U.S. Treasury Department said that the OECD agreement ensures the use of appropriate environmental standards and creates a level playing field for U.S. exporters who have had to comply with Ex-Im Bank's environmental guidelines while exporters from some other countries had not faced similar requirements.

Under the new guidelines, the Ex-Im Bank will conduct environmental impact assessment of a broader range of transactions and make these studies publicly available.

The Bank also approved a new version of its Nuclear Procedures and guidelines to make them consistent with the Common Approaches.

For more information, visit www.exim.gov. The guidelines are available at: http://www.exim.gov/products/policies/environment/environment.asp.

Beach States Must Conform to Federal Bacteria Limits

The BEACH Act requires each state and territory with coastal recreation waters to adopt bacteria standards that are "as protective of human health as" the EPA's 1986 criteria for bacteria.

The act also requires the EPA to promptly propose regulations for states and territories that fail to adopt these criteria by April 10, 2004. The EPA expects to publish a final rule later in 2004, after the agency has received and responded to public comments on the standards it proposed on Friday.

Of the 35 states and territories that have coastal or Great Lakes recreational waters, 10 have already adopted EPA's recommended criteria for all their coastal recreational waters and 17 states are in the process of adopting these criteria. Other states have adopted the criteria for portions of their waters, while a small number have yet to take action.

For the states that have not acted, the EPA is proposing E. coli and enterococci criteria for their coastal recreational waters. These bacteria do not directly cause illness, but are good indicators of harmful pathogens in waterbodies, the agency said.

The criteria have two components. First, a geometric mean, which is the central tendency of a series of measurements of bacteria levels. This has the most direct relationship to risk over the course of a recreation season.

Second, a single sample maximum which is the best value against which to compare individual measurements of bacteria levels.

In setting the limits for how safe bathing water must be, the EPA cites the historically accepted risk levels for gastrointestinal symptoms as 0.8 percent of swimmers at fresh water beaches and 1.9 percent of swimmers at marine beaches.

But the EPA says these values are uncertain and is considering adopting an illness rate of 1.0 percent of all swimmers.

"We are working as partners with the states and territories to promote scientifically strong, defensible standards for coastal and Great Lakes recreational waters," said Acting Assistant Administrator Ben Grumbles. "States have made good progress over the last several months. We expect this to continue, but in the meantime, we are ensuring that the public is protected by having federal standards in place."

The proposal applies only to those Great Lakes and marine waters designated by a state or territory for swimming, bathing, surfing, or similar water contact activities.

The EPA will exclude from the final federal regulation any state or territory that adopts these more protective health-based criteria. The proposal has a 30-day comment period and EPA will issue a final standard in early fall.

To see the details of the geometric mean and single sample maximum values proposed by the EPA for various types of waters, click: here.

Information about the beach criteria proposal, a list of states and their status as of July 1, 2004, and the Agency's Clean Beaches Plan is available at: http://www.epa.gov/beaches/

Toxic Bacterial Bloom Closes Popular Nebraska Lake

San Francisco Embraces Greener, Energy Efficient Buildings

"This Green Building Ordinance will translate into millions in savings on future operational costs on new construction," said Jared Blumenfeld, director of SF Environment, the city's environmental department.

The Green Building Ordinance, sponsored by Supervisor Tom Ammiano, requires that all, city-owned facilities and leaseholds will need to achieve at least a LEED Silver certification. LEED, the green building rating system of the U.S. Green Building Council, stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

Located in Golden Gate Park, the California Academy of Sciences is rebuilding to be a natural history museum and research center that is not only one of the largest but one of the greenest in the country. The museum is projected for the highest rating, LEED Platinum.

The 370,000 square feet facility will feature solar panels and an environmentally friendly roof that will capture and reclaim millions gallons of rainwater before it can become storm run-off. Its floor to ceiling glass walls will suffuse public spaces in natural light and integrate the interior space with environment of the park.

The buildings are rated on a four-step scale from lowest to highest: LEED Certified, LEED Silver, LEED Gold, and LEED Platinum. LEED criteria evaluate a building's environmental and energy efficiency performance from a "whole building" perspective, over the course of a building's lifecycle, which provides a definitive standard for what constitutes a green building.

In order for a building to qualify as green, it is analyzed under six categories - site consideration and closeness to public transportation; water efficiency and the management of water consumption, distribution, treatment, and storage; energy and atmosphere, including alternate energy sources such as solar panels; materials and resources from recycled products; indoor air quality including the use of high quality cleaning and painting materials; and innovation in design.

The Laguna Honda Hospital addition is also striving to meet the new green building standards. The design shows that the new 1,200 bed rehabilitation healthcare facility will use 30 percent less energy then the code requires, which is estimated to help save the city more than $7 million over the course of the first 10 years. At least 75 percent of all construction and demolition debris will be recovered or recycled from this new addition. Residents will have access to natural lighting and ventilation and views of a 62 acre forest.

The ordinance is good for the city and will help improve the health of our environment and the thousands of employees that continue to provide services for this community," says Blumenfeld. "This city leads by example and together we can hope this will encourage the private sector to adopt similar building measures."

Dell Offers Grants for Computer Recycling

The company will award a series of $10,000 grants to selected state, provincial and local governments, universities and other nonprofit groups, nearly doubling the number of organizations that participated in the spring 2004 pilot program. The grants will be awarded through an application and review process.

Through the spring program, which awarded $10,000 grants to 12 organizations, more than 800 tons of unwanted computer equipment were collected in communities from Alaska to South Carolina.

"This grant program has demonstrated success in keeping reusable and recyclable equipment out of landfills while raising awareness of responsible product end-of-life options," said Pat Nathan, Dell's sustainable business director. “By working with our grant recipients and the National Recycling Coalition, and by expanding the program, Dell continues to spread the message that no computer should go to waste.”

Cities, towns, and counties won the majority of Dell's spring grants. Winners included the Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority of San Ramon, California; the Washington, DC Department of Public Works, Office of Recycling; the Town of Bethlehem, New York; and the cities of Atlanta, Georgia; Knoxville, Tennessee; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Through Dell's partnership with the National Recycling Coalition, grant recipients will have access to a series of technical assistance forums led by the Coalition. NRC members were given special consideration in the Dell grantmaking decision process and NRC served as a member of Dell's Recycling Grant Review Board.

"The most effective solutions to building our nation's electronics recycling and reuse infrastructure are those that incorporate shared responsibility and public-private partnerships - this grant program is an innovative step in that direction," said National Recycling Coalition Executive Director Kate Krebs.

All proposals are reviewed by a grant review board of individuals from a variety of Dell business units, government organizations and experts from environmental and recycling organizations. Decisions for the U.S. grant awards will be announced August 30 at the National Recycling Coalition’s Annual Congress and Expo in San Francisco.

For the first time both U.S. and Canadian communities are eligible for these grants. Details for the Canadian application and grant awards are being developed and will be available within two months.

Dell’s Recycling Grant Program is one element of the company’s four part Total Product Life Cycle approach to sound environmental practices. It is integral to phase four, Equipment End-of-Life Strategies. The other phases are Product Concept and Design, Manufacturing and Operations, and Customer Ownership Experience.

Applications for U.S. grants are available at www.dell.com/recyclinggrant. The deadline for U.S. applications is 5 pm on July 30. New and revised proposals will be accepted; electronic submission is required.

Discarded consumer electronics are the fastest growing component of municipal garbage with millions of discarded computer terminals ending in landfills each year. According to the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, the typical personal computer contains about four pounds of toxic materials.

• Lead, contained in cathode ray tubes and circuit boards, can damage the central nervous system, kidneys and reproductive system.
  
• Mercury, contained in flat panel displays and switches, can cause brain and kidney damage and birth defects.
  
• Brominated fire retardants, contained in plastic housings for electronics, may mimic natural hormones, possibly disrupting a body's metabolism.
  
• Polyvinyl chloride, contained in soft plastics used in cables and wires, may produce dioxins if burned.

Gulf of Alaska Pollock Fishery Meets Sustainable Criteria

The At-Sea Processors Association is seeking certification of two pollock fisheries which together constitute the world’s largest whitefish fishery - the Bering Sea-Aleutian Island fishery and the Gulf of Alaska fishery.

The Alaska pollock fishery is a mid-water trawl fishery which accounts for approximately 30 percent of all fish harvested by volume in the United States.

Now, a 21 day period begins during which organizations opposed to the recommendation may indicate that they plan to file an objection.

Only when the required Marine Stewardship Council objections procedure is completed will a decision be made about whether the pollack fishery will receive certification and have the right to display the MSC logo on its seafood products.

After 21 days, if no objection is received, the determination becomes the final result and the fishery will be awarded certification.

If an "intent to object" is received, the objections procedure begins. Once the intent has been acknowledged, then the objecting party has 30 days to submit its detailed objection to Scientific Certification Systems (SCS).

SCS then has 30 days to respond in detail. If the objecting party is unsatisfied with the response it will file an objection with the Marine Stewardship Council, which will either dismiss the objection as frivolous or convene an independent objections panel to examine the concerns that have been raised.

The assessment process began in January 2001 with the draft report for the Bering Sea-Aleutian Island portion released in September and the draft report on the Gulf of Alaska fishery posted in November 2003.

The Final Report for the Gulf of Alaska portion is available on the MSC website: www.msc.org. Any intent to file an objection must be lodged by July 26. The Final Report for the Bering Sea-Aleutian Islands fishery was released on June 14.

Observers Could Reduce Amount of Wasted Marine Life

"Many New England fishermen and environmentalists agree that bycatch is a big problem," said Gib Brogan, campaign projects manager at Oceana. "Working together, we can include bring practical solutions to this serious threat to New England fisheries."

In 2002, Oceana filed a formal petition with 100,000 signatures to compel federal fishery managers to "count, cap, and control" bycatch.

As part of its response to Oceana's petition, the federal government hosted a first New England Bycatch Worskhop last week in Wakefield, Massachusetts.

The Northeast Regional Bycatch Workshop was organized by the National Marine Fisheries Service Northeast Regional Office (NERO) and co-sponsored by NERO and NOAA Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Sea Grant in cooperation with the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, New England Fishery Management Council, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

Representatives from these agencies examined specific aspects of bycatch and expressed their views on regional bycatch issues. Participants discussed and recommend priorities and solutions regarding science-research, data-monitoring, management, and gear engineering that will be identified and incorporated in an updated version of the Northeast Region Bycatch Implementation Plan to be released later this year.

The conference concluded that increases in observer coverage are necessary to characterize bycatch for many fisheries so that management solutions can be devised, and so that stock assessments can be improved. Bycatch is a major component of mortality for many species. The observers will assist in an assessment of bycatch in longline fisheries to determine whether or not a seabird bycatch problem exists.

The NOAA Regional Bycatch Assessment Team recommends that the initial top priority for bycatch research in the Northeast Region should be gear modification and the study of the behavior of fish, marine mammals, sea turtles, and sea birds related to the development of gear, and also recommended an increase in the number of observers.

But Oceana is tired of talk and eager for action. "It's been years now and all the federal government has done is talk about and plan how to reduce bycatch," Brogan said. "The New England fishing community needs to take leadership and seize this opportunity to bring common sense back into New England fishery management."

At the workshop, Oceana presented a comprehensive set of actions to "count, cap, and control" bycatch. The proposal calls for more observers on fishing vessels to count exactly what is taken out of the ocean.

Oceana's proposal would establish a hard caps system for New England fisheries - fishing limits for various sectors and areas that maximize catch for fishermen, while ensuring the protection of depleted fish populations, marine mammals, sea turtles, and other ocean life.

Fishermen also support these types of management measures. In a 2003 survey, 79 percent of respondents thought that fishery observers are needed to provide statistically reliable bycatch estimates in all fisheries, and 61 percent supported limits on the amount of catch and bycatch that can be caught in each fishery and closure of the fishery when those limits are met.

"Count, cap, and control is as really as simple as it sounds," said Brogan. "Our proposal provides incentives that reward fishing that avoids and minimizes bycatch as well as measures to maintain fairness, accountability, and stability in every fishery."

Local Actions Benefit Long Island Sound Water Quality

The Bayville project, worth $350,000, is one of eight Long Island Sound water quality improvement projects announced by Governor George Pataki last week worth a total of $1.5 million.

The funding is being provided by the federal government through the Long Island Sound Restoration Act (LISRA) and is administered by the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

"Thanks to unprecedented cleanup and protection efforts over the last 10 years, Long Island Sound today is healthier, cleaner, and more accessible than it has been in decades," Governor Pataki said.

"With clean coastal waters, an abundance of fresh seafood and long stretches of scenic beaches, Long Island Sound is a nationally significant natural, economic and recreational resource."

Under the 1996 Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act, Governor Pataki committed $200 million to implement priority projects and improve the water quality of Long Island Sound. To date, the Bond Act has provided funding for more than 130 water quality improvement projects in communities along Long Island Sound.

In addition, LISRA provides a $200 million authorization over five years for cleanup and restoration of the Sound.

New York Assemblyman David Sidikman, who represents Oyster Bay Harbor, said, "We must continue to safeguard the Long Island Sound so that everyone, especially our children, may be able to enjoy its natural splendor. The improvements these grants fund will help preserve and protect this great natural resource - benefiting the residents of Bayville and Glen Cove now and in the future."

Bayville Mayor Victoria Siegel said, "This project has been in the works for 16 years and receiving the grant money will help us to accomplish this long standing project."

The other projects include funds for the Town of Huntington to upgrade catch basins and outflow pipes to reduce sediment, grease, oil and other pollutants that flow directly into Huntington Bay; funds for the Village of Northport to design and construct catch basins, dry wells, and retention basins to mitigate the impact of stormwater runoff pollution to Northport Harbor; and funds for Westchester County to restore a pond and wetland within the East Branch of the Mamaroneck River in a designated Critical Environmental Area.

Best management practices will be employed to minimize the non-point discharge of excess nutrients, especially nitrogen, organics, pathogens, and eroded sediments and soils, into coastal tributaries, harbors, and bays of Long Island Sound.