AmeriScan: March 8, 2002

HOUSE MAY DELAY JET SKI BAN IN NATIONAL PARKS

WASHINGTON, DC, March 8, 2002 (ENS) - The House Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands has passed a bill that would keep personal watercraft - also known as jet skis - in 21 national seashores, lakeshores and recreation areas for an additional two years.

The bill (HR 3853) now heads to the full Resources Committee. If that committee passes the measure, the bill must still survive a floor vote.

The legislation was introduced by California Representative George Radanovich, a Republican, and labeled as a "technical corrections" bill. Critics charge that Radanovich's measure interferes with a National Park Service rule that has strong public support and undermines a federal court settlement that established clear deadlines.

The Park Service adopted a final rule in March 2000 that granted 21 park units a two year grace period - through April 2002 - to develop their own policies governing personal watercraft use. The same rule eliminated jet ski use in 67 other park units.

In April 2001, in a court settlement with the environmental group Bluewater Network, the Park Service agreed to do full environmental assessments and rulemakings in order to permit any use of personal watercraft in those 21 units. The court established two sets of deadlines by which parks had to complete their jet ski analyses.

If the agency does not issue rules on a unit by unit basis by the court ordered deadlines, park waters will be closed to jet skis until rules are issued.

In eight of these units - five national seashores, one lakeshore and two national recreation areas - park superintendents have already determined that jet ski use is incompatible with the mission of their respective unit due to public safety, wildlife and natural resource impacts. The House bill would throw these decisions in doubt.

"From today's vote, it appears the jet ski industry directs the leadership of the parks subcommittee," said Sean Smith, Bluewater Network's public lands director and a former park ranger. "Sadly, the American public and our precious National Parks will pay the price for this sell out, with increased jet ski noise, pollution and stink."

Representative Rush Holt, a New Jersey Democrat and a member of the subcommittee, introduced an amendment to strip the jet ski extension language from the bill, but the amendment was defeated in a narrow vote.

"Congressman Holt proved himself a champion of our national parks by opposing this backdoor attempt to keep jet skis in our parks for two more years," said Steven Bosak of the National Parks Conservation Association. "A number of parks that have strong public support to ban jet ski use may now have to delay their bans."

IDAHO BLM DIRECTOR RESIGNS

BOISE, Idaho, March 8, 2002 (ENS) - Martha Hahn, director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Idaho has resigned rather than accept an involuntary transfer to a National Park Service appointment in New York.

"After considering the position, I've decided to leave government service in search of other opportunities and adventures," Hahn said in a statement.

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) charges that Idaho Senator Larry Craig, a Republican, has long sought Hahn's removal and convinced top Interior officials to make the move. Craig spokeswoman Sarah Berk said today the charge is "patently untrue."

In January, Interior Deputy Secretary Steven Griles, a former lobbyist now occupying the number two spot below Interior Secretary Gale Norton, notified Hahn of her removal. The notice directed her to assume a newly created post as executive director of the National Park Service's New York Harbor operations.

Despite requirements that senior employees be consulted and, if possible, accommodated on choice of any new assignment outside of their geographic area, Hahn was not consulted or given a range of options. The only alternative to the New York Harbor posting offered to Hahn was resignation.

Hahn tendered her resignation from federal service on Wednesday and left office today.

Senator Craig has criticized many of Hahn's positions, including the Idaho BLM's decision to restrict grazing in Owyhee County. Craig called the BLM action "an affront" that he would try to reverse in Washington, DC.

Martha Hahn has been BLM Idaho director for the past seven years, responsible for managing BLM's 11.8 million acres in Idaho. As the highest ranking BLM official in Idaho, the BLM state director position is one of the top line management positions within the agency.

PEER charges that Hahn's ouster is one of a series of recent removals of BLM managers targeted by grazing, ORV and mining interests.

"Martha Hahn's removal is part of an unfolding purge of principled professionals within the top ranks of Interior," stated PEER executive director Jeff Ruch. "The message is not subtle: any federal manager in Idaho who displeases a crony of Larry Craig risks a similar fate."

Steven West, an official with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, has told associates that he is slated to replace Hahn. The BLM Idaho post does not require Senate confirmation.

PIPELINE SAFETY BILL REINTRODUCED IN SENATE

WASHINGTON, DC, March 8, 2002 (ENS) - Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican, today introduced a pipeline safety amendment to the Senate energy bill (S 517).

The amendment, which has 11 cosponsors, contains the same language as the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act passed more than a year ago by the full Senate. That act never became law because the House failed to take up the legislation.

McCain's amendment "is designed to promote both public and environmental safety by reauthorizing and strengthening our federal pipeline safety programs which expired in September 2000," McCain said in a statement on the Senate floor. "Our goal is to enact comprehensive legislation to promote pipeline safety for the public, the environment and the economy."

The Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) within the Department of Transportation (DOT) oversees the transport of about 65 percent of the petroleum and most of the natural gas that crosses the United States. The OPS regulates 3,000 gas pipeline operators with more than 1.6 million miles of pipeline, along with more than 200 hazardous liquid operators with 155,000 miles of pipelines.

"Given the immense array of pipelines that traverse our nation, reauthorization of our pipeline safety programs is critical to the safety and security of thousands of communities and millions of Americans nationwide," added McCain. "That is why it is appropriate to include pipeline safety provisions as a key component of any comprehensive energy legislation under consideration."

McCain and others pointed out several pipeline accidents that have harmed or killed members of the public in recent years.

For example, in September 2000, a bulldozer in Lubbock, Texas, ruptured a propane pipeline, resulting in the death of a police officer. On August 19, 2000, a natural gas transmission line ruptured in Carlsbad, New Mexico, killing 12 members of two families.

In total, 71 fatalities have occurred as a result of pipeline accidents over the past three years, McCain noted.

"I regret to report that just yesterday, there was a pipeline explosion near Jeffersonville, Kentucky," McCain added. "hankfully, no fatalities have been reported, but I am informed it caused a fire so intense that it was picked up on a federal government satellite. Clearly, the amendment we are proposing is very timely."

CHINA, U.S. NEGOTIATE BIOTECH TRADE AGREEMENT

WASHINGTON, DC, March 8, 2002 (ENS) - The U.S. and China have reached a tentative agreement on Beijing's restrictions on genetically engineered food imports.

China's new biotechnology regulations, which would bar the import of engineered soybeans and other crops from the U.S., go into effect on March 20. An interagency team from the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and State, and the U.S. Trade Representative, have been meeting with their Chinese counterparts to try to ensure that the soybean trade is not disrupted.

"If implemented as currently announced, [China's biotechnology regulations] could do severe harm to our exports, particularly to our soybean exports, and our farmers rely heavily on this market," Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman told the House Budget Committee on Wednesday.

Secretary Veneman and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick issued a statement Thursday saying that they are "pleased that China appears to appreciate our concerns and has said that it is developing an interim arrangement to reduce trade disruptions and address our specific concerns including approvals, market access and labeling."

"China has indicated that it will publish the details of the arrangement soon, and we look forward to reviewing them closely," the statement adds.

The U.S. exported more than $1 billion in soybeans, much of this engineered varieties, in 2001.

Under the reported compromise, engineered crops will be accepted by China if they have completed the regulatory review process in the exporting country, and have initiated a special approval process in China.

HURRICANE DRIVEN FLOODS SPILL ANIMAL WASTES

CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina, March 8, 2002 (ENS) - Flooding from hurricanes poses a threat to both environmental and human health by washing industrial animal operation wastes into areas with vulnerable populations, a new study suggests.

The study, conducted by University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill researchers, involved analyzing satellite images of the state recorded a week after the Hurricane Floyd dumped up to 20 inches of water on parts of eastern North Carolina.

Researchers say their findings suggest that many more livestock operations were flooded than previous state Division of Water Quality records had indicated, and that the storm's impacts on low income communities was underestimated.

Chemical and biological contamination of wells, the chief source of drinking water for many area residents, is a particular concern when contamination from fecal waste pits, spray fields and animal confinement structures reaches nearby communities, the researchers said.

"In the area we studied, state inspectors found 46 flooded or breached waste pits, but in our interactions with various communities and environmental groups, people had the impression that there were potentially many more than that," said Dr. Steven Wing, associate professor of epidemiology at the UNC School of Public Health.

Using the satellite imagery, researchers estimated that 241 North Carolina livestock operations were flooded or partially flooded by the rising waters. By linking that information to the 2000 Census, they found that 171,498 people lived in neighborhoods where the 241 operations were located.

In contrast, only 46,800 people lived in areas where the state had documented flooded waste pits, Wing said.

"We also were interested in well water and residents' racial and economic characteristics because from past research we knew that swine operations are disproportionately located in low income communities and communities of color," Wing said.

Blacks were 16 percent more likely than whites to live in areas with flooded animal operations, based on estimates from the satellite data, researchers found. In contrast, blacks were eight percent less likely to live in the areas where state officials had inspected flooded waste pits.

"North Carolina's industrial animal operations are currently permitted as non-discharge facilities under the assumption that all waste is contained on site," Wing said. "Our analyses emphasize that this is not the case. Flood conditions occur periodically in the state. As long as there are industrial livestock operations in flood plains, flooding will lead to environmental contamination from chemicals and disease causing organisms."

The research will appear in the April issue of "Environmental Health Perspectives," a scientific journal published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

$1 MILLION SUPPORTS PACIFIC NORTHWEST FISHERIES ENFORCEMENT

WASHINGTON, DC, March 8, 2002 (ENS) - The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is providing an additional $1 million to increase enforcement of fisheries regulations at sea, dockside and on land over the next three years in the states of Oregon and Washington.

NMFS's Office for Law Enforcement (OLE) is providing $900,000 to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) in a joint enforcement agreement. Over the next three years, the WDFW will conduct almost 13,000 hours of marine patrols, fishing vessel monitoring and water borne inspections of catches and fishing gear.

The WDFW will conduct additional patrols to protect salmon listed under the Endangered Species Act, and purchase a boat to patrol the North Puget Sound as part of the joint enforcement agreement.

"These agreements help us to better meet our regulatory responsibilities," said NMFS director Bill Hogarth. "Regulations have little impact if they can not be enforced. Any increase in enforcement will improve the health of our fisheries populations, and these new partnerships take us in the right direction."

In Oregon, the OLE is providing $100,000 to the state's Police, Fish and Wildlife Division. The agreement allows Oregon enforcement officers to conduct more than 600 hours of patrols to monitor compliance with federal and state environmental protection acts.

Joint enforcement agreement funds will also enable the state to purchase and equip two patrol vessels for use in both inland and offshore waters.

"This agreement will help us meet our regulatory responsibilities and improve the health of our fisheries populations," said Tom Shuler, special agent in charge of OLE's Northwest office. "These new partnerships are a step in the right direction."

"By providing funds to state agencies, NOAA greatly broadens the reach of its fisheries enforcement capabilities and builds cooperative understandings at all government levels," added OLE chief Dale Jones.

STATES COULD GET AUTHORITY TO CONTROL GEESE

WASHINGTON, DC, March 8, 2002 (ENS) - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is proposing to allow state wildlife management agencies to control populations of nonmigratory Canada geese.

Most Canada goose populations are migratory, wintering in the United States and migrating north to summer breeding grounds in the Canadian arctic. But the availability of habitat in urban and suburban areas where there are park like open spaces with short grass near small bodies of water - such as golf courses and school campuses - has resulted in growing numbers of geese that live year round in the lower 48 states.

The proposed regulation would allow state agencies to manage populations of resident Canada geese that cause personal and public property damage and, in some cases, pose a threat to public health and safety.

Under the proposed alternative identified in the draft Environmental Impact Statement released this week, the USFWS would grant the states the authority to undertake approved population control strategies, such as nest and egg destruction, trapping and culling programs, and expanded hunting opportunities.

"The Service believes that the problems caused by resident Canada geese can be best addressed at the state level," said USFWS director Steve Williams. "To that end, we are committed to providing State wildlife management agencies with as much flexibility as possible to address the issue."

The draft EIS evaluates a range of alternatives in relation to their ability to reduce and stabilize resident Canada goose populations, reduce conflicts with humans and minimize impacts to property and human health and safety.

Aside from the proposed alternative, the EIS analyzes other alternatives, including:

• continuing current management practices unchanged
• implementing non-lethal methods such as harassment and habitat management designed to make areas less attractive to geese
• expanded hunting opportunities
• various options expanding the culling of resident geese.

A 90 day public comment period on the draft EIS will close on May 30.

HEMP INDUSTRY WINS STAY ON FOOD BAN

SAN FRANCISCO, California, March 8, 2002 (ENS) - A federal appeals court has granted a request by the hemp industry to block a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) rule aimed at banning the sale of foods containing hemp.

The rule, issued October 9, 2001, banning any edible item containing hemp seed or oil that contains "any THC." Under the authority of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, the agency gave consumers and retailers until February 6 to "dispose" of such products. The appeals court later extended that deadline until March 18.

THC, tetrahydrocannabinol, is the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, a hemp plant. Sterilized hemp seed and oil are exempted from the Controlled Substances Act under the statutory definition of marijuana, just as poppy seeds are exempted under the statutory definition of the opium poppy.

The Hemp Industries Association (HIA) and several major hemp food companies in the U.S. and Canada had asked the court to stay implementation of the DEA rule to allow the court to hear a challenge to the rule.

"The Court's order effectively prevents DEA from enforcing its 'Interpretive Rule' until a final ruling by the Court on the validity of DEA's action," said Joe Sandler, counsel for the HIA. "With this stay in effect, all those who sell, import, manufacture, distribute and retail edible hemp oil and seed, and oil and seed products, can continue those activities secure in the knowledge that such products remain perfectly lawful."

The DEA received more than 115,000 public comments from hemp food and body care consumers and manufacturers opposing the agency's regulation. The Body Shop collected most of the comments at their 300 personal care stores nationwide, and the independent group Vote Hemp generated about 5,000 comments through their website at: http://www.VoteHemp.com.

Several members of Congress and state legislatures have also sent comments to the DEA critical of the new rule.

"The DEA has no public support for the new hemp food rule," said Eric Steenstra, president of VoteHemp. "After examining the public comments, it is clear that the DEA is out of touch with the general public which is informed about the compelling nutritional and legal arguments in support of healthy hemp food products."