• EPA Prepares for New Fine Particle Air Quality Standard
  
• Three Illinois Nuclear Power Plants Sustain Earthquake
  
• Whistleblower Tips Coast Guard to Ship's Magic Pipe
  
• Explosives Cleared From Future California Target Center
  
• Off-Shore Wind Farm Opponents Lose Massachusetts Court Battle
  
• Ohio Appeals EPA's New One Hour Ozone Rule
  
• U.S. Mayors Honor Livability, Clean Up Brownfields
  
• Rare California Birds Could Catch West Nile Virus
  

EPA Prepares for New Fine Particle Air Quality Standard

These tiny particles - about 1/30th the size of a human hair - have been scientifically linked to serious human health problems including premature death from heart and lung disease; aggravation of heart and lung diseases; chronic bronchitis and asthma; increased hospital admissions and doctor and emergency room visits; and absences from work and school.

The EPA informed states and tribes this week of the status of counties as the country prepare to meet the nation's first fine particle (PM2.5) air quality standard.

Twenty-eight states were informed they are in attainment with the new standard. States with areas designated as nonattainment do not meet the new standard or contribute to pollution in a nearby area that does not meet the standards.

"Fine-particle pollution represents one of the most significant barriers to clean air facing our nation today," EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt said. "These new particulate health standards, coupled with our efforts to reduce power plant and diesel emissions, are important steps toward meeting our nation's commitment to clean, healthy air."

On June 28 and 29, EPA issued letters to states and tribes in response to their recommendations for attainment and nonattainment areas under the more protective national air quality standard for fine particles.

The EPA will issue final designations of counties attainment or nonattainment of the PM2.5 standard in November, after states and tribes have had an opportunity to comment on the agency's proposals.

The fine particle standards were established in 1997, but litigation slowed their implementation.

In 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the standards and in 2002 all remaining legal challenges were cleared, allowing EPA to put these standards into effect. The implementation of these standards will prevent hundreds of thousands of occurrences of aggravated asthma and thousands of premature deaths every year.

Frank O'Donnell of the Clean Air Trust said, "One thing is clear: today's action underscores the urgent need to clean up coal-fired power plants and to begin cleaning up existing diesel trucks, buses and heavy equipment.

"The standards on the books for new trucks, buses and heavy equipment are good, but they won't pay off completely for decades," he said, citing the EPA's use of the year 2030 as the date for measuring the benefits of the new standard. "Obviously, we need to take quicker action against diesels in service today."

For more information on the fine particle standard, visit: http://www.epa.gov/pmdesignations/.

Three Illinois Nuclear Power Plants Sustain Earthquake

The quake's epicenter was about eight miles northwest of Ottawa in northern Illinois. The rural area is about 75 miles west and south of Chicago.

The shaking was felt at the Lasalle nuclear power plant about 20 miles away; at the Dresden nuclear power plant; and at the Quad Cities nuclear power plant - all owned and operated by the Exelon Generation Company.

All three plants declared unusual events, the lowest of four levels of emergency.

The three stations supply electrical power for several million Illinois residents. All three plants remained stable and on-line, and no abnormalities and no physical or structural damage were identified during inspections following the quake.

Exelon spokesman Craig Nesbit said the Nuclear Regulatory Commission declared the "unusual alert" for all three plants."All of them were operating 100 percent, and no problems were reported, but we did a check of all safety systems."

Whistleblower Tips Coast Guard to Ship's Magic Pipe

Explosives Cleared From Future California Target Center

In addition to providing for cleanup and repayment of EPA cleanup costs, the agreements pave the way for retailer Target Corporation to proceed with a project that will bring new jobs to the area.

The site was used during World War II by the U.S. Army for transportation and temporary storage of railcars loaded with ordnance.

From the mid-1980s through May 2002, the site was operated privately by two different companies - first Broco Environmental Inc. and then Denova Environmental Inc. - as a chemical and explosives storage and disposal facility.

In May 2002, the EPA’s Region 9 Emergency Response Section began an emergency removal of hazardous materials and explosives abandoned at the site by Denova located only 75 yards from the nearest residential neighborhood.

The removal took 11 months and cost $3 million. It resulted in the cleanup of over 275 tons of explosives on the 20 acre site, more than three times the legal limit for storage at any one facility.

EPA workers were assisted by the Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton and Twenty-nine Palms; the San Bernardino County Fire Department Hazardous Materials Unit; the San Bernardino County Bomb Squad; the FBI and Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the California Department of Toxic Substances Control; and the Rialto Fire Department.

“These agreements show that cleaning the environment and facilitating job creation are absolutely compatible,” said Tom Sansonetti, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Not only does today’s action help replenish the Superfund, it also creates the possibility of future jobs for those living near the Denova Site.”

Under the first agreement, the current owner of the 20 acre Denova Site will pay EPA $640,000 from the proceeds of the sale of the property to Target, in settlement of the agency's claim for recovery of its past response costs at the site.

The second agreement, a prospective purchaser agreement between EPA and Target, will facilitate Target’s purchase and redevelopment of the Denova Site and adjacent property as a distribution center to serve the southern California area.

Under this agreement, the United States agrees not to sue Target for existing contamination at the distribution center property. In exchange, Target will pay the EPA $100,000.

Before redevelopment of the site, Target will perform steps necessary to complete cleanup. In all, the value of Target’s cleanup work and reimbursement from all parties is approximately $1 million.

Target estimates the development will create 1,000 temporary jobs, and the center will create 1,300 permanent jobs with an estimated $40 million annual payroll.

“One of the EPA’s overriding goals is to turn polluted properties into properties that are a benefit to the communities they are in, and this agreement with Target does just that,” said Wayne Nastri, the regional administrator of the EPA’s Pacific Southwest Regional office in San Francisco. “Jobs are being created, and simultaneously we are assuring protection of human health and the environment.”

Off-Shore Wind Farm Opponents Lose Massachusetts Court Battle

A three judge panel of the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston upheld a lower court's decision that the developer, Cape Wind Associates, does not need state permits to build a data collection tower for the proposed wind power facility.

The tower has been in operation since last year, but the core of the lawsuit was the larger question of jurisdiction and whether the proposed wind farm is subject to the state permitting process.

The ruling frustrated a legal strategy of the wind farm opponents, who had hoped to use state authority to stop the windpower facility.

In October 2002, Ten Taxpayer Citizens Group and several other plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts state court to prevent Cape Wind Associates from erecting a 197 foot data collection tower in Nantucket Sound.

The complaint alleged that Massachusetts state courts had jurisdiction over the project and that Cape Wind had failed to obtain the necessary permits under state law.

Cape Wind took the action to federal district court and the federal court dismissed the complaint on August 19, 2003.

The district court concluded that although Congress did delegate to Massachusetts the power to regulate fishing in Nantucket Sound, that grant did not confer on the Commonwealth a general warrant to "police the entire Nantucket Sound for environmental disturbances that could impact fishing."

Cape Wind hopes to build the first U.S. off-shore wind facility in a 24 square mile area in Horseshoe Shoal. The 130 turbines would be located at least three miles from shore, outside state territorial water and under federal authority, the court determined.

"We conclude that any Massachusetts permit requirement that might apply to the ... project is inconsistent with federal law and thus inapplicable," said the decision, written by Circuit Judge Sandra Lynch.

"That is the end of the matter," the decision states. "Because the responsible Massachusetts agency has disclaimed regulatory authority" over the site of the scientific measurement device station, "we hold that Cape Wind was not required to seek approval for the project" under Massachusetts law.

The Ten Taxpayer Citizens Group and other opponents of the wind farm maintain that a private developer should not have the right to develop Nantucket Sound, a public resource, without a review by policymakers.

A Massachusetts task force has recommended that oceans be zoned the way land is zoned, to provide for review of proposed developments.

The authority to approve or reject the Cape Wind project now falls to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is writing a draft environmental impact statement on the wind farm.

Ohio Appeals EPA's New One Hour Ozone Rule

The appeal was filed Tuesday by Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro’s office in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

Ohio continues to work toward complying with the new ozone standard and the appeal will not delay the state’s efforts to improve air quality, the agency said.

“I am dedicated to improving air quality in Ohio and meeting the new ozone standard,” said Ohio EPA Director Christopher Jones. “The state is simply asking for the flexibility given to us by the Clean Air Act to make the best choices for Ohio.”

“There is no reason to limit a state’s ability to adopt any strategy reasonably calculated to help it meet the new ozone standard,” said Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro.

Ohio argues that the Clean Air Act adopts "a federalist approach," the federal government establishes the air quality standards and the states decide which sources to control to meet those standards.

Despite having heard many positive messages from the U.S. EPA about the agency’s intention to give states flexibility to design the air pollution control programs that will work best in their jurisdictions, U.S. EPA’s implementation rules do not follow this approach, Petro states.

The U.S. EPA’s implementation plan for the new ozone standard, finalized this April, prohibits states from altering any current air pollution control measures. "This means that states would not be allowed to substitute or drop pollution controls even if they can demonstrate that different solutions are equally effective," Petro argues.

The Ohio EPA said it will continue to develop an inventory of ozone-causing air pollution sources, identify possible pollution control measures and complete the necessary computer modeling to determine how to comply with the new ozone standard in 33 counties.

U.S. Mayors Honor Livability, Clean Up Brownfields

Sustainable Honolulu, a plan established by Mayor Jeremy Harris to address the challenges of island urbanization, won a City Livability Award from a panel of judges who called the plan an “outstanding example of environmental leadership on the part of Mayor Harris.”

While the other cities were honored for reducing crime or delivering affordable housing, Honolulu was recognized for increasing the energy efficiency of city facilities, leveraging the potential of renewable energy sources and expanding the use of distributed energy systems that allow local government operations to be energy self-sufficient.

The nation's mayors wound up their annual meeting Tuesday in Boston by announcing a partnership with Cherokee Investment Partners of Raleigh, North Carolina to expedite the cleanup of contaminated properties in cities and towns nationwide that lack the needed resources to do so themselves.

This initiative would match underutilized or blighted sites, commonly known as brownfields, identified by mayors who are interested in redeveloping with Cherokee, the nation’s largest investor in brownfield redevelopment.

“Many cities do not have the financial resources and expertise to facilitate brownfield revitalization even though they may have the properties in need of redevelopment,” said U.S. Conference of Mayors President James Garner. “Cherokee is the nation’s premiere brownfield redeveloper, and this dynamic partnership will help bring the much needed private capital and proven know-how for community revitalization.”

Mayor Garner said the organization has been working on brownfield redevelopment since the early 1990s when it identified environmental and economic benefits of brownfield redevelopment within member communities.

“We are excited to work together with the Mayors Conference and its members to revitalize local communities throughout the nation,” said Cherokee CEO Tom Darden. “Our track record proves that private investment and ‘smart growth’ can turn stagnant, polluted land into an economically robust community destination where people can safely live, work and play.”

“Cherokee has built a remarkable reputation by striking a balance between protecting the environment and smart redevelopment,” said Elizabeth Mayor J. Christian Bollwage who chairs the Conference’s Brownfields Task Force. “Such redevelopment projects are sound public policy because they reduce risk to human health, minimize sprawl, increase local taxes, create jobs, and enhance the beauty of the location.”

Cherokee will seek properties that can be owned or controlled by municipalities, private parties or a combination of both. The preferred investment will require $10 – $20 million or more of equity and financing, with no maximum.

With nearly $1 billion of discretionary debt and equity capital under management, Cherokee is committed to protecting its partners from the associated risks and liabilities with any redevelopment.

Headquartered in Washington, DC, the U.S. Conference of Mayors includes 1,139 cities that each is represented by its mayor.

Rare California Birds Could Catch West Nile Virus

Prepared by a team led by Walter Boyce, director of the UC Davis Wildlife Health Center, at the request of the California Department of Fish and Game, the report predicts where West Nile virus poses the greatest risk to wildlife by examining mosquito abundance in relation to bird species that "amplify" the virus and the location of rare amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.

Areas of greatest concern are the Central Valley, coastal regions, western Sierra Nevada, the Salton Sea and the lower Colorado River basin. However, with the current limited knowledge of West Nile virus, it is nearly impossible to know which species may be hardest hit, Boyce said.

"Some level of mortality due to West Nile virus will occur in a substantial number of different bird species in these areas," Boyce said. "Just which ones we can't say with certainty. There is so much we don't know about this pathogen. The species that concern us most are those that have limited distribution overall or a limited population in areas with high numbers of mosquitoes."

For example, yellow-billed magpies are not listed as threatened or endangered. However, their distribution is limited to the Central Valley, an area high in mosquitoes, which puts magpies at risk. Furthermore, they may be subject to high levels of mortality because they belong to the highly susceptible family of birds that includes crows and jays.

The study's West Nile virus risk maps show 27 birds such as the brown pelican, California condor and sandhill cranes; 21 mammals such as the kit fox, wolverine and bighorn sheep; 10 amphibians such as the Shasta salamander, black toad and red-legged frog; and 10 reptiles such as the desert tortoise, barefoot gecko and giant garter snake.

The geographic overlap of abundant and rare bird species creates a situation that may increase the threat, Boyce said. Locally dense populations of crows are of particular concern because they raise the risk of infection for other, less common birds in the same area. Most of the dead birds found to be infected with West Nile virus have been crows - nearly 500 already in California this year.

Crows and related birds such as jays, magpies and ravens, as well as house finches, house sparrows and ring-billed gulls are considered likely amplifying hosts that are key, abundant sources of the virus.

"The ability of West Nile virus to move within a given area is strongly influenced by the presence of hosts that serve as a source of virus for mosquitoes," Boyce said. "We may see local 'hotspots' of disease around areas with large numbers of susceptible hosts, such as crow roosts."

The virus, first detected in mosquitoes near the Salton Sea in July 2003, is expected to move into the northern part of the state this year. Ten people and four horses have been diagnosed with West Nile virus in California as of Tuesday.

The UC Davis report, "Potential Effects of West Nile Virus on California Wildlife," is online at: http://www.wildlifehealthcenter.org