• Human Form of Mad Cow Disease Claims First U.S. Victim
  
• Imperial Valley Appeal Against Air Pollution Control Rejected
  
• Transformer Fire Shuts Down Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant
  
• Judge Rules Army Corps Missouri River Management Valid
  
• Phelps Dodge Fined $1.4 Million for Copper Mine Air Pollution
  
• Michigan, Dow Chemical Address Dioxin Contamination
  
• House Unanimously Approves Tribal Forest Protection Act
  
• Federal Dollars Fund Urban Forestry
  

Human Form of Mad Cow Disease Claims First U.S. Victim

In April 2002, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that Charlene Singh was the first vCJD found in the United States. Singh was born in England in 1979; her family moved to the United States in 1992. She is believed to have gotten the disease when she lived in England.

Her condition only began to appear after she graduated from the University of Miami in May 2001 with a business degree. After her diagnosis, she was given three months to live.

Through their research on the Internet, Singh's family learned about the successful treatment of vCJD in the UK with a drug called quinacrine, commonly used to treat psychosis. Singh tried the drug for three months, but it had no noticeable effect.

More successful was hyperbaric therapy, which she was first given in October 2002, and received ever since. She was put in a pressurized oxygen chamber four times a week, which helped to increase the oxygen supply to her blood.

Charlene's father Patrick Singh said his family no longer eats meat. His two other children have not contracted the brain disease.

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, known as mad cow disease, surfaced in the UK in 1986 and has affected nearly 200,000 cattle. Fewer and fewer cows are infected today, but now there is an outbreak of human Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, resulting from the consumption of beef products contaminated by infected bovine central nervous system tissue.

Averaging 10 to 15 cases a year in the UK since its first appearance in 1994, the future magnitude and geographic distribution of vCJD cannot yet be predicted, Florida health officials say.

Imperial Valley Appeal Against Air Pollution Control Rejected

Transformer Fire Shuts Down Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant

Judge Rules Army Corps Missouri River Management Valid

Conservationists had sued the agency seeking measures to "improve the survival prospects for three endangered species, improve the river's overall health, and strike a fairer balance among the needs of various river users."

At issue is the management of the Missouri River, which flows from Montana to Missouri. The Corps manages the river and its reservoirs, and has developed a detailed management plan, the "Missouri River Main Stem Reservoir System Master Water Control Manual" originally developed 40 years ago and last revised in 2004. The Corps also issued an Annual Operating Plan in 2004.

Judge Magnuson ruled that the Corps did not act "arbitrarily and capriciously" in the development of the 2004 Master Manual and the Annual Operating Plan. The manual and the plan are valid, the judge ruled, and the Corps must operate the Missouri River accordingly.

But the conservationists warned that the Missouri River's ecological health will continue to decline and its economic potential will to be squandered because of the court order.

"The Corps of Engineers has postponed the necessary changes in river flows for nearly 15 years, and we do not share the court's confidence that new flows will occur sometime in the future without a court order," said Rebecca Wodder, president of American Rivers, the lead conservation organization in the litigation. "Americans deserve more than ecological decline, economic stagnation, and political stalemate along the Missouri River."

The conservation organizations will review the ruling before determining whether to appeal the decision to a higher court.

Since the 1940s, the Army Corps has transformed the river channel with dams and timed the release of water to maximize the river's commercial navigability for long haul barges that transport the region's agricultural produce to market.

Despite government efforts to prop up the barge industry, barge traffic has declined over the past 15 years. "Misallocation of river water has pushed many river species towards extinction and compromised the growth of a robust recreational industry in regions struggling to diversify their economies," American Rivers said.

"This was a setback, but we'll keep trying," Wodder said. "We predict that long haul barges will disappear from the river by the end of the decade regardless of this ruling. This was a setback but we will not give up the fight to save this river for future generations."

Phelps Dodge Fined $1.4 Million for Copper Mine Air Pollution

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for Arizona, alleges that Phelps Dodge operated its roasters at its Green Valley, Arizona copper mine without required sulfur dioxide monitors and bypassed roaster pollution control equipment on hundreds of occasions over the past decade.

The EPA estimates that more than 1,000 tons of sulfur dioxide were illegally discharged into the air from the copper mine and ore processing plant.

The complaint also alleges that the company operated 15 ore crushers, six ore sifting screens, three ore conveyor belts, and an ore storage bin in violation of federal Clean Air Act rules.

The violations include failure to obtain proper permits, failure to install best available pollution controls, failure to conduct initial tests and install monitors, and failure to record and report data from the monitors.

The state of Arizona joined the settlement and will receive $140,000 of the $1.4 million for its claims against the company.

" Not only does this settlement secure real improvements in air quality and public health for the local residents in Green Valley, it also sends a message to corporations who think they can increase their profit margins by ignoring the law and harming the environment - in the end they will pay a great deal more," said Thomas Sansonetti, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division.

" The significant penalty Phelps Dodge Sierrita will have to pay under today's settlement is much higher than the economic benefit achieved from its non-compliance."

As part of the settlement, Phelps Dodge has agreed to immediately comply with air pollution limits, obtain appropriate permits, perform air impact analyses, and install required air pollution monitors.

The company has agreed to completely eliminate the possibility of bypassing air pollution control equipment by permanently disconnecting the roaster bypass stack. Current open pit mining and leaching activities are planned to continue until 2019.

" This settlement results in improvements at the facility that will greatly reduce sulfur dioxide and particulate matter emissions," said Wayne Nastri, the EPA’s regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest region. " The enhanced monitoring and reporting requirements will allow the EPA and the public to know whether the ore roasters are complying with the sulfur dioxide limit each and every hour, rather than once a year."

High concentrations of sulfur dioxide can cause serious health problems, including respiratory illness. Sulfur dioxide pollution causes acid rain, which damages waterways and vegetation, and causes decreased visibility - a problem at many national parks, including the Grand Canyon.

The settlement agreement is subject to a 30 day public comment period and final court approval.

Michigan, Dow Chemical Address Dioxin Contamination

The community of Midland is dependent on Dow, which has had a factory on the Tittabawassee River since 1897 and employs more than 6,000 people in the town. The plastics and agrochemical company has produced Saran wrap, Styrofoam, Agent Orange and products used to support the military during World War II.

Dioxin is an ingredient in Agent Orange and a byproduct of Dow manufacturing and incineration practices dating back a century.

The Tittabawassee River Watch is an organization of concerned property owners along the river promoting the protection of their homes, health, and river from the effects of dioxin contamination. "We live in the rivers flood plain and are victims of the contamination introduced by the Dow Chemical Company," the group says.

Extensive testing of flood plain soils by state agencies has revealed levels of dioxin toxicity over 80 times the level deemed safe for human contact in residential areas More than 2,000 properties are contaminated in an area estimated to cover 16,000 acres spanning either side of 22 miles of river frontage. The contaminated land is used for residential homes, recreational parks, churches, schools, agriculture, a national wildlife refuge, and small businesses.

The Tittabawassee River Watch (TRW) wants the contamination cleaned up. "Many residents suffer health problems known to be caused by dioxin. Statistically speaking ones chance of developing Genitourinary problems including cancer, endometriosis, birth defects, diabetes, immune system suppression, male and female reproductive effects, and many more are enormously increased by dioxin exposure. Children are especially susceptible.

Other Midland residents know dioxin is still in the soil and in the riverbed. But these people say there is no evidence the chemical is causing illness or building up in their bodies. They worry that their property values will go down if state environmental officials focus on the dioxin, giving the town a bad name.

The TRW says, "Real estate values are significantly reduced. Regardless of what your tax assessment statement says, who will buy a contaminated property at their pre-dioxin discovery values?"

The state of Michigan has set a limit of 90 parts per trillion of dioxin. Meeting that standard could require topsoil removal from thousands of properties. Midland lawmakers have introduced legislation to block enforcement of the state’s standard.

The federal standard is more permissive - 1,000 parts per trillion, although the Environmental Protection Agency has the standard under review.

Company officials say most dioxin pollution occurred before federal and state emissions standards were established. The pollution settled in Midland soil through the air, and was discharged into the river.

The new round of discussions to try and resolve the dioxin issue are the direct result of a meeting held Thursday at the request of Governor Jennifer Granholm and chaired by Lt. Governor John D. Cherry, Jr.

"Our goal is to build a foundation for cooperation," said Steve Chester, director of the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) who will be participating in the discussions. "While no potential solutions were discussed, we agreed on a process that will ensure a solution that protects public health, the environment, and the interests of the stakeholders involved."

The DEQ and Dow agreed to report to the Lt. Governor with their progress within a month.

House Unanimously Approves Tribal Forest Protection Act

"As another devastating fire season begins in the West, the House has acted again to ensure forest health and the tribal government's right to protect their lands from catastrophic wildfire," said Pombo.

"By actively involving tribal governments in forest fuel reduction and health projects," he said, "Congress is sending a strong message to federal land managers and the American people that we are serious about addressing wildfire in the West."

Last summer, 18 Indian reservations were swept by wildfires from adjacent federal lands. Over half the reservation fires occurred in Southern California where 10 people died, and some 30,000 acres and 130 homes were consumed. Two of the reservations were burned to the ground.

Senator Diane Feinstein, a California Democrat, introduced a companion bill in the Senate in February. "This bill gives Native American tribes the chance to defend themselves and their ancestral lands from catastrophic fires by involving them in brush-clearing projects on federal lands near their reservations," Feinstein said.

"I am determined to give the tribes of my state and from around the country the opportunity to prevent tragedies like those we have seen in recent years from recurring," she said.

Congressman Stevan Pearce, a New Mexico Republican, said, "We can and must do a better job managing our forests. In New Mexico, the Mescalero Apache Tribe has shown us how we can manage our forests in a way that creates local jobs while improving the forest's health and reducing the chance of catastrophic wildfire."

Federal Dollars Fund Urban Forestry

Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University at Blacksburg, Virginia have been awarded more than $300,000 by the U.S. Forest Service to develop a green infrastructure technology that links trees and engineered soil to minimize runoff from pavement.

This is the largest grant awarded last week by the Forest Service in the latest round of Urban And Community Forestry Grants. With a matching grant of $346,000 from the two academic institutions, the Virginia researchers will have $648,000 to spend on solving the runoff problem.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) spent $1,155,756 on federal grants to 14 organizations, and the organizations will match those funds with an additional $1,666,135 for research and education projects for urban forests.

" These grants will help fund programs to improve the quality of the environment and the quality of life in our urban communities," said Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman.

Recipients of the cost-share grants were selected in a competitive process, based on criteria developed by the National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council. The council reviews the proposals and makes recommendations to the Forest Service, which awards the grants.

The funds will cover a wide spectrum of projects. Earthcorps of Seattle, Washington will conduct a study on the effect of urban forestry work experiences on inner-city, underserved adolescents.

Rainbow TreeCare Scientific Advancements of St. Louis Park, Minnesota will investigate the potential of essential oils extracted from the heartwood of Northern Australian Cypress as a bio-rational strategy for control of the pine engraver beetle.

And ArborMaster Training, Inc., a Willington, Connecticut company that teaches skills to the climbing arborist will conduct a program called Saving Tree Workers’ Lives: The Neglected Component of Urban Forest Management.