AmeriScan: March 15, 2002

SENATE JETTISONS RENEWABLE ENERGY STANDARD

WASHINGTON, DC, March 15, 2002 (ENS) - The Senate has rejected a proposed renewable energy standard that would have required that 20 percent of the nation's electricity come from renewable sources by 2020.

The standard was proposed in an amendment written by Senator Jim Jeffords, the Vermont Independent who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The measure would have required an increasing percentage of the nation's energy be derived from sources including biomass, geothermal, landfill gas, solar and wind energy.

In a 70 to 29 vote, the Senate rejected Jeffords' amendment, which was intended to reduce the nation's dependence on nonrenewable fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas. Renewable power sources other than hydropower now provide about two percent of the nation's electricity.

Under Jeffords' plan, beginning this year, electricity suppliers would have been issued renewable energy credits for each kilowatt-hour of electric energy produced using renewable energy sources. Suppliers could begin to bank these credits toward the first year that the renewable standard would kick in: 2005.

From 2005 to 2009, suppliers would have to turn in credits equal to five percent of the total amount of kilowatt-hours of electricity sold to consumers during the previous calendar year. From 2010 to 2014, that figure would have risen to 10 percent, then to 15 percent in 2015-2019, and finally to 20 percent in 2020 and subsequent years.

The plan won support from the Department of Agriculture, because it would have boosted the use of biomass energy derived from agricultural products.

"By raising the demand for farm products, this proposal would boost corn prices, as well as prices as other crops such as soybeans, and raise income for farmers," said Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman before the Senate vote. "This is positive news for the American farmer."

Two Democratic Senators - Paul Wellstone of Minnesota and John Kerry of Massachusetts - had cosponsored the amendment.

CFC SMUGGLERS PLEAD GUILTY

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, March 15, 2002 (ENS) - Four men have pleaded guilty to helping smuggle 1,760 tons of chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants (CFCs) into the U.S. - the second largest such case ever.

Barry Himes, John Mucha, and Richard Pelletier, all of Connecticut, each pleaded guilty to conspiring to make false statements to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Customs Service, and conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Douglas Castle of Huntington, New York pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the IRS.

Between 1996 and 1998, the defendants and their partners were engaged in a scheme to illegally import and evade taxes on hundreds of tons of restricted CFCs by using the names of several shell entities. The scheme involved a $24 million tax fraud, wire fraud and money laundering operation.

Importing CFCs is restricted under the Clean Air Act because the release of CFCs into the atmosphere damages the earth's ozone layer, which protects people from the harmful effects of ultraviolet light, such as skin cancer and cataracts, and destroys plant life, including crops.

Six other individuals from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Puerto Rico have also pleaded guilty as a result of this investigation.

When sentenced, Himes, Mucha and Pelletier each face maximum sentences of up to 10 years in prison and/or fines of up to $500,000 or twice the loss to IRS from their offenses. Castle faces a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000.

MAJOR DROUGHT EXPECTED TO CONTINUE

WASHINGTON, DC, March 15, 2002 (ENS) - The drought that now covers much of the East Coast and a wide area in the West is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, climate forecasters said this week.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said that although the unusual dry pattern in the East is giving way to a wetter, stormier pattern, rain amounts are not expected to be enough to break drought conditions. NOAA scientists said the drought there is so severe that months of normal to above normal precipitation are necessary to end it.

The same is true in the West where winter snowfall has been light. Predicted spring rains may be near normal, but not enough to alleviate current drought conditions, NOAA said.

"The drought in some areas will worsen as we move into the warmer months when demand for water is greatest," said NOAA Administrator Vice Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher, Jr. "Nearly four years of little rain and snow in some places has left many areas with deep water deficits. Changing weather patterns may offer a glimmer of hope, but we don't see the water levels returning to normal anytime soon."

Several locations in the Southeast have precipitation deficits of more than 30 inches aggregating since 1998. Precipitation in Washington, DC is 70 percent below normal for the September to February period - a 13 inch deficit.

"For some areas, this is comparable to missing a full year of rain," said Brigadier General Jack Kelly, director of the National Weather Service. "This gives us a real sense that this drought could linger on a while. It will take a period of above normal, well distributed rainfall during the next four months to eliminate most aspects of the drought in the East."

A statewide water emergency was declared by the governor of New Jersey in early March, authorizing the creation of mandatory water restrictions and conservation measures. Local drought warnings were also declared this winter in the five boroughs of New York City, numerous counties in southeastern New York state, and central Maryland and its Eastern Shore. A drought emergency was declared in a large part of eastern Pennsylvania.

In the West, states suffering the worst conditions are Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, portions of Nevada, Idaho, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas and parts of western Texas. The entire state of Wyoming has been declared a drought disaster area. The coastal region of the West is not experiencing drought conditions.

"Water supply forecasts are also bleak for parts of the West. In some areas, snow cover is only half of the normal and forecasts indicate flows on rivers, critical to meeting water supply needs, are also expected to be half of normal," Kelly said.

More information about the drought is available at: http://www.drought.noaa.gov

MASSACHUSETTS DEBATES $625 MILLION BOND

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 15, 2002 (ENS) - The Massachusetts legislature is considering a $625 million bond measure that would provide funds for state environmental programs.

The Environmental Bond: An Act Providing for the Preservation and Improvement of the Environmental Assets of the Commonwealth (House bill 4909) would help fund watershed protection, flood control, farmland conservation, pollution prevention, grants to communities and stewardship of state forests, parks, beaches and trails. The bill has been approved by the House Committee on Long-term Debt and Capital Expenditures, and it is awaiting consideration by the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Hundreds of environmentalists, elected officials, and community activists converged on the Massachusetts State House on Wednesday to lobby in support of the environmental bond.

"This bill is crucial to a multitude of efforts to preserve and protect the Commonwealth's environmental resources," said state Senator Stephen Brewer, chair of the Joint Committee on Natural Resources and Agriculture. "The sum total of the appropriations in the Environmental Bond should bolster nearly every conservation, environmental education, and environmental infrastructure improvement effort in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts."

The lobbying day was sponsored by the Coalition for the Environmental Bond, which was formed earlier this year to advocate for the Bond's passage. The coalition includes more than 150 cities, towns, community groups, sportsman's organizations, and nonprofit organizations dedicated to land conservation, environmental education, scientific research and historic preservation.

"Unless the Legislature provides the funding mechanism with which state agencies can protect the Commonwealth's quickly diminishing open spaces and natural resources, our ability to sustain the quality of life at the local level will be threatened," said James Engle, chairm of the Ipswich Board of Selectmen, who spoke on behalf of the many municipalities that support the Bond.

"The citizens of Ipswich, and many other communities across Massachusetts, have made tremendous investments in protecting the quality of life at the local level by protecting land for open space, water supply protection and recreation," added Engle. "It is essential that the Commonwealth show the same leadership by full funding and passage of the Environmental Bond."

PHYSICIST TO DIRECT OFFICE OF SCIENCE

WASHINGTON, DC, March 15, 2002 (ENS) - Raymond Orbach has been sworn in as the director of the Department of Energy's Office of Science.

"Ray's over three decades experience as a practicing scientist and his demonstrated leadership skills as an administrator who led a major university campus will serve the department well," said Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham.

With an annual budget of $3.3 billion, the Office of Science is the principal funding agency of the nation's research programs in high energy physics, nuclear physics and fusion energy sciences. The office also manages research programs in basic energy sciences, biological and environmental sciences, and computational science.

The office is responsible for the management of 10 of the department's laboratories and for constructing and operating large scientific user facilities.

The director of the Office of Science also serves as the science advisor to the Secretary of Energy and is the vice chair of the department's Research and Development Council.

Orbach, a theoretical physicist, has been chancellor of the University of California at Riverside, since 1992. From 1982 to 1992, Orbach served as provost of the College of Letters and Science at the University of California at Los Angeles.

Orbach was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 4.

ISOTOPE MONITORS TRACK HEXAVALENT CHROMIUM

CHAMPAIGN, Illinois, March 15, 2002 (ENS) - Researchers have developed a simple method of monitoring for hexavalent chromium, a suspected carcinogen, in groundwater.

Used in electroplating, hexavalent chromium is a common contaminant in groundwater. It is the toxin blamed for the health problems of many residents of Hinkley, California, whose plight was dramatized in the motion picture "Eric Brokovich."

"Under certain chemical conditions, hexavalent chromium will convert to trivalent chromium - a less toxic form which tends to precipitate out of the groundwater," said Thomas Johnson, a geologist at the University of Illinois (UI). "Knowing how fast the reaction is occurring within a contaminant plume would help investigators decide whether 'natural attenuation' is a viable approach at a site, or if active remediation is required."

Johnson and his colleagues - graduate student Andre Ellis at the UI and hydrologist Thomas Bullen of the U.S. Geological Survey - have developed a means for measuring how fast, and to what extent, hexavalent chromium is changing to trivalent chromium at a given site.

Chromium has four stable, or non-radioactive, isotopes. By measuring the isotope fractionation in laboratory experiments and in natural waters, the researchers found that lighter isotopes reacted more during the reduction reaction.

"This means that the trivalent chromium becomes enriched in lighter isotopes as the reduction proceeds, while the remaining hexavalent chromium becomes enriched in heavier isotopes," Johnson said. "By measuring the relative abundances with an isotope-ratio mass spectrometer, we can determine how much reduction has taken place, and then estimate the long term reduction rate."

As the reduction reaction proceeds, the ratio of heavier to lighter isotopes will change, providing a convenient and effective monitoring technique.

"A scientist or consultant working on a chromium contamination site can collect a few water samples, analyze them using our technique, and then determine rather directly how much hexavalent chromium reduction has occurred," Johnson said. "That information can then be used to decide the best course of action - whether aggressively cleaning up the site or leaving it for nature to run its course."

The research appears in today's issue of the journal "Science."

HUNTING, FISHING TAXES FUND ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECTS

WASHINGTON, DC, March 15, 2002 (ENS) - This year, state fish and wildlife agencies will share more than $481 million in excise taxes paid by hunters, anglers and boaters.

The agencies will use the money for fish and wildlife conservation through land acquisition, habitat improvement, research, education and other programs. The funds will also help pay for hunter safety and aquatic education programs and fish and wildlife related recreation projects.

The funds are apportioned under two federal aid programs administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).

"Anglers and hunters have been the leading force for conservation in America," said UFSWS Director Steven Williams. "By supporting these excise taxes, they are contributing critical funds for maintaining and restoring our fish and wildlife resources."

The Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (Pittman-Robertson Act), enacted in 1937, and the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act (Dingell-Johnson Act), enacted in 1950, have raised more than $5.6 billion for state programs. Federal aid funds pay for up to 75 percent of the cost of each project while the states contribute at least 25 percent.

The wildlife restoration apportionment for 2002 totals $188 million, with $36 million apportioned for hunter education. The money is derived from an 11 percent excise tax on sporting arms and ammunition, a 10 percent tax on pistols and revolvers, and an 11 percent tax on certain archery equipment.

States use Wildlife Restoration Program funds to manage wildlife populations, habitat, research, surveys and inventories and to fund hunter education. Half of the tax on handguns and archery equipment is made available for state hunter education and safety programs.

The apportionment for sport fish restoration for 2002 totals more than $292 million. The funding results from a 10 percent excise tax on fishing equipment and a three percent tax on electric trolling motors and sonar fish finders. States use Sport Fish Restoration Program funds to stock fish, acquire and improve sport fish habitat, provide aquatic resource education opportunities, conduct fisheries research, and build boat ramps, fishing piers and other recreational facilities.

EMERALD MOUNTAIN PROTECTED THROUGH LAND SWAP

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colorado, March 15, 2002 (ENS) - An innovative partnership has secured permanent protection for Colorado's Emerald Mountain.

Emerald Mountain is a 6,345 acre parcel adjacent to the town of Steamboat Springs that is now owned by the State Land Board, and has been valued at over $17.2 million.

In 1996, the Land Board signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Emerald Mountain Partnership - a local community group formed to raise money to purchase the land and preserve it. The agreement gave the Partnership four years to raise the necessary funds to purchase the parcel.

However, to date it has raised less than $1,000 of the $17.2 million needed to acquire the land.

Chris Castilian, director of the Land Board, said that the board, looking for a way to preserve Emerald Mountain as well as meet its constitutional duty of raising money for public schools, brokered a land swap with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

"Beverly Rave from the State Land Board and John Husband from the BLM have worked together and successfully brokered a deal that will preserve this beautiful part of Routt County's heritage," said Castilian. "Just as important, the deal will also consolidate federal land holdings into one parcel and generate tremendous revenue for the Public School Permanent Fund."

The agreement entails consolidating several BLM parcels and transferring them to Land Board ownership, along with a cash buy out from the BLM to make up the difference in value. In return, the BLM will take over ownership and management of Emerald Mountain.

"Both the BLM and the Land Board stand to gain several efficiencies in management by consolidating these parcels of land," Castilian said. "Unlike the Land Board, which is constitutionally required to raise money for public schools, the BLM can manage Emerald Mountain for open space, wildlife, and recreational values for future generations, and they can manage it free from development - a goal to which we have all been striving."

Colorado's governor praised the plan for benefiting the state, the BLM and the natural resources of Emerald Mountain.

"Preserving Colorado's unique natural resources - such as Emerald Mountain - is essential to safeguard the quality of life we enjoy," said Governor Bill Owens. "Credit and thanks are due to the State Land Board for having the foresight and the tenacity to enter into this agreement, which I hope becomes a model for others to follow."