• Wildlife Refuge System Centennial Draws Donations
  
• Refuges Host More Hunters, Trappers Than Wildlife Viewers
  
• Norton: Alaska North Slope Caribou Can Withstand Drilling
  
• Wisconsin Gets Federal Funds to Monitor Beaches
  
• Wastewater Pollution Trading Set for Long Island Sound
  
• EPA Approves Two Phoenix PCB Waste Storage Facilities
  
• Falsifying Lab Reports Earns Slap on the Wrist
  
• MIT: Hydrogen Car No Better than Diesel Hybrid
  

Wildlife Refuge System Centennial Draws Donations

President Roosevelt went on to establish 51 more federal bird reserves and four national game preserves, which became the forerunner of today's National Wildlife Refuge System.

The grants will be awarded to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and The Nature Conservancy as part of Southern Company's partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for an 18 month pilot program called The Power of Flight.

The funds will be awarded as grants for bird and habitat conservation and environmental education projects in Southern Company's operating area.

One grant will go to the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge to help restore 500 acres of freshwater wetlands habitats. The Savannah National Wildlife Refuge protects a portion of the tidal freshwater wetlands on the Atlantic Seaboard while serving as the winter home for more than 25 percent of the ducks in South Carolina.

The other grant goes to the Mississippi Chapter of The Nature Conservancy to help restore more than 500 acres of wet pine savanna habitat on the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge and the Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Wet pine savannas provide critical habitat for the endangered Mississippi sandhill crane and many other birds and animals.

"The Centennial celebrates President Roosevelt's vision to conserve our nation's unique and critical habitat," said Dwight Evans, Southern Company executive vice president of external affairs. "The national refuge system protects nearly 100 million acres for wildlife while providing superior opportunities for hunting, fishing, recreation, wildlife observation and education. These grants will help promote active management of two critical southeastern ecosystems, speed up restoration efforts and improve biodiversity - something valuable for generations to come."

The National Wildlife Refuge system is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior. The system is the only network of federal lands dedicated specifically to wildlife conservation. It includes 540 National Wildlife Refuges on 95 million acres.

"We really appreciate the efforts and support of our partners, the Southern Company, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and The Nature Conservancy. With their help, we will be able to enhance hundreds of acres of wetlands for the benefit of migratory birds and waterfowl," said Sam Hamilton, Southeast regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "Their support proves that public and private partnerships do work."

Refuges Host More Hunters, Trappers Than Wildlife Viewers

The Animal Protection Institute (API says that the Centennial celebration is a sham, charging that the Fish and Wildlife Service has lost sight of the mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System by allowing recreational killing of wildlife.

To prove its point, the API points out that the Centennial Commission, established by the service, is "stacked" with hunting advocates, including Commission Chairman William Horn, who serves as counsel to the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, and former assistant secretary of the interior for fish and wildlife and parks.

API notes that the mission of the Sportsman’s Alliance is to “protect the rights of hunters, anglers, and trappers.”

“It is clear that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has lost sight of the meaning of refuge and the original purpose of the National Wildlife Refuge System,” says Camilla Fox, national campaign director of the Animal Protection Institute.

Of the 540 refuge units nationwide, more than half allow hunting (311 units) and trapping (280 units). In contrast, fewer than half offer opportunities for wildlife viewing (240 units). Currently, more than 100 refuges have designated programs for killing animals, but not watching them.

Of the more than 27 million people who visited refuges in 1995, 81.5 percent came to view and/or photograph wildlife, for environmental education, or for similar non-consumptive recreational pursuits. Only 4.5 percent visited a refuge to hunt or trap animals.

Wildlife viewing at refuges is big business. Bird watchers annually contribute an estimated $15 million to the local economy of towns surrounding just two Texas National Wildlife Refuges alone.

A 1999 Decision Research national poll found that:

• 78 percent of Americans think it is against the law to hunt and trap animals on National Wildlife Refuges.
  
• 71 percent agree that as long as refuge officials can remove dangerous animals, there is no reason to allow any other killing of animals on refuge property.
  
• 83 percent disagreed that the rights of hunters and trappers are more important than the need to protect wildlife on refuges.

“Until the FWS stops catering to special interests and restores the National Wildlife Refuge System to its original purpose as sanctuaries for wildlife there is little to celebrate,” says Fox. “Refuge is more than a word. It's time that our National Wildlife Refuge System lived up to its name."

Norton: Alaska North Slope Caribou Can Withstand Drilling

"The fact that the herd has grown steadily for the past 25 years while energy production has been ongoing on Alaska's North Slope is a solid sign," Interior Secretary Gale Norton said. The Bush administration is attempting to open more of the North Slope to drilling for oil and gas and extend exploration to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

Norton reiterated her support for energy production in the far North Slope of ANWR's 1002 Area that she notes "was set aside for possible oil and gas production in 1980 by President [Jimmy] Carter and a Democratically controlled Congress."

"Energy production in Alaska's North Slope will reduce dependence on foreign oil from dictators and unstable countries; will create new jobs; is strongly supported by labor unions; and will protect wildlife with the toughest environmental regulations ever applied," Norton said.

The Central Arctic herd ranges from the Brooks Range north to the Beaufort Sea and from the Colville River - the eastern border of National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska - east to the Canning River - the western edge of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The herd migrates about 120 miles between its summer and winter ranges each year.

The survey by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game was conducted in July 2002, using a camera mounted in the belly of a Dehavilland Beaver aircraft. State biologists reported that calving success was good and mortality rates were low in 2000 and 2001, which led to the continued growth of the herd.

Secretary Norton is relying on "American ingenuity and new technologies," to protect the tundra and wildlife on the North Slope. She said that protections with "broad congressional and administration support" include: mandated ice roads and runways to protect habitat; utilizing no more than 2,000 acres for development; strict analysis of each proposed exploration side to avoid sensitive springs, streams, rivers and wetlands; and exploration only in the winter to protect breeding, spawning and wildlife migration patterns."

Wisconsin Gets Federal Funds to Monitor Beaches

The DNR released the beach priority list on March 4, in advance of submitting it to the federal government as part of a state beach testing and notification plan. Under the federal Beach Act of 2000, Wisconsin and other states with coastal waters are required to submit a state beach monitoring and notification plan, and in turn will receive federal money to help counties implement the state plan at their beaches.

Part of the cost of monitoring these beaches will come from the federal government. "We know we'll get $238,000 from the federal government for beach monitoring in 2003," says Toni Glymph, the DNR toxicologist who led state and local health and environmental officials in developing the state monitoring and notification plan. "This list will help us determine how to allocate the money and it will help establish beach monitoring frequencies for counties participating in the program."

Door, Ozaukee, Milwaukee, Racine and Sheboygan counties have the largest number of "high priority" beaches warranting frequent testing, and those counties will get the biggest share of federal money to help them monitor their beaches in summer 2003, according to a state list of beach testing priorities.

One-third of Door County beaches - 13 of 53 - are ranked as high priority on the list, followed by Ozaukee County with four high priority beaches, Milwaukee County with three, and Racine County and Sheboygan County each with two. Manitowoc County has one high priority beach, the beach at Point Beach State Park.

"Every county that is eligible and that said they want to participate will get some federal money," Glymph says. "We're not going to turn anybody down, but the money will be allocated based on how often the counties have to monitor."

There are no good tallies now of the number of beach closings statewide due to unsafe swimming conditions because counties aren't required to monitor. But in 2002, Door County, Milwaukee County and a number of other Lake Michigan coastal counties closed down some of their beaches, drawing statewide headlines. High levels of E. coli bacteria in water prompted warning signs to be posted a record number of times at three Milwaukee beaches.

The state beach monitoring and notification plan was not triggered by those situations, but Glymph says the plan should help address them.

A full listing of beaches, and their priority ranking, can be found on the DNR website at: http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/water/wm/wqs/index

Wastewater Pollution Trading Set for Long Island Sound

The Connecticut DEP is pursuing a project in which wastewater treatment plants are allowed to sell and buy credits for releases of nitrogen pollution into Long Island Sound. Wastewater plants that reduce nitrogen discharges below what their discharge permit requires are allowed to sell credits to facilities that are discharging nitrogen at levels above what their permit allows.

The first trading of credits between Connecticut's wastewater plants is expected to be announced this spring.

The credits are bought and sold through a DEP operated Nitrogen Credit Exchange. The exchange acts as a bank administering the trades and establishing the credit values.

The project is a component of a regional effort covering New York and Connecticut aimed at reducing overall nitrogen discharges into the sound by 58.5 percent by 2014, compared to 1990 discharge levels.

The EPA's Office of Watersheds, Oceans and Wetlands has awarded DEP an $85,000 grant to evaluate the success of the trading program in Connecticut during its first two years in operation. This evaluation will also assess how the program could be expanded to allow trading for nitrogen from stormwater and runoff.

The trading program is designed to reduce the amount of nitrogen entering Long Island Sound quicker and at less cost than traditional regulatory approaches.

"I am pleased by EPA's recognition of the value of our innovative approach to nitrogen reduction in Long Island Sound. I am confident that the results gathered through this grant will verify that trading works - achieving faster results at a lower cost," said DEP Commissioner Arthur J. Rocque, Jr. "Our program is truly a bold step for the restoration of Long Island Sound, and a valuable model for others. It is a tribute to the leadership at EPA-New England that such approaches are recognized, rewarded and promoted to others."

Announced in January by EPA Administrator Whitman, the agency's new Water Quality Trading Policy is designed to give federal, state and local regulators more flexibility to maintain and improve the nation's waters in less costly ways.

Nitrogen pollution is a major water quality problem in Long Island Sound. Much of the pollution comes from the more than 79 wastewater plants in Connecticut that discharge either directly into the Sound or to rivers that flow to the sound. Excess nitrogen causes hypoxia, or low dissolved oxygen, which hurts the habitat of marine life and diminishes the population of fish and shellfish.

EPA Approves Two Phoenix PCB Waste Storage Facilities

Lighting Resources, Inc. at 1522 E. Victory St. and Earth Protection Services, Inc. at 10 S. 48th Ave. have met federal requirements to store more than 500 gallons of PCB waste at any time, the agency said.

Both facilities recycle fluorescent light ballasts some of which were manufactured before 1978 and contain PCBs in capacitors and potting material. The capacitors and potting material are disposed of as hazardous waste at EPA approved facilities and the metal is decontaminated and recycled.

EPSI is cleaning up an area behind its facility that was contaminated with PCBs in September 2000.

"The public process was instrumental in developing these two approvals,"said Enrique Manzanilla, the EPA Cross Media Division director for the Pacific Southwest office. "We heard the public loud and clear. We've included conditions in the approval to ensure that the surrounding neighborhoods and the environment are protected."

Due to community's involvement during the comment period, the EPA has added two additional requirements into the approvals that address potential hazards posed by accidental fires and other unintentional releases to the environment.

Each facility is required to submit plans to the agency that ensure PCBs are not swept, diffused, or blown outside the facility and Lighting Resources is required to install a sprinkler system on-site.

The two companies are also required to hire a third party contractor to monitor indoor and outdoor air to ensure employees and the public are adequately protected. Both facilities must also make available for public review annual environmental reports and spill reports, and include public notice requirements for major changes to the original approval.

If the facilities fail to comply with the plan or any other condition of the approval, the EPA may suspend or terminate the approval, or deny the application for renewal.

Polychlorinated biphenyls are a mixture of individual chemicals which are no longer produced in the United States, but are still found in the environment. Health effects that have been associated with exposure to PCBs include acne like skin conditions in adults and neurobehavioral and immunological changes in children. PCBs are known to cause cancer in animals.

Falsifying Lab Reports Earns Slap on the Wrist

This morning, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Division of Law Enforcement announced that Judge Philip Frederico sentenced Steven Donald Stratton, of Seminole, Florida, to 18 months probation and reimbursement of investigative, prosecution, and court costs on one count of organized communications fraud.

Stratton, age 52, is the owner of Environmental Evaluations, Inc., located in Pinellas County. The environmental consulting business contracts with clients to conduct environmental evaluations of sites during the removal of underground storage tanks.

In March 1999, DEP's Bureau of Environmental Investigations began investigating Stratton after receiving reports that he was falsifying laboratory reports on underground storage tanks and billing clients for lab services they did not receive.

Investigators later arrested Stratton and charged him with one count of organized communications fraud, a third degree felony. Stratton appeared at the Pinellas County Circuit Court in December 2002, and entered a plea of guilty.

On March 4, 2003, Judge Frederico sentenced Stratton to probation and reimbursement of $2,483 in investigative costs, $3,500 in prosecution costs, and $400 in court costs.

MIT: Hydrogen Car No Better than Diesel Hybrid

A diesel hybrid is a vehicle powered by a conventional engine supplemented by an electric motor. While hybrid vehicles are already appearing on the roads, the study notes, adoption of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will require major infrastructure changes to make compressed hydrogen available.

Release of the study comes a month after the Bush administration announced a billion dollar initiative to develop commercially viable hydrogen fuel cells. It comes a year after establishment of a government-industry program to develop the hydrogen fuel cell powered FreedomCar.

But the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) study team advises, "If we need to curb greenhouse gases within the next 20 years, improving mainstream gasoline and diesel engines and transmissions and expanding the use of hybrids is the way to go."

The assessment was led by Malcolm Weiss, LFEE senior research staff member, and John Heywood, the Sun Jae Professor of Mechanical Engineering and director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Laboratory for 21st Century Energy.

The new assessment is an extension of a similar study done in 2000. This time, the MIT researchers used optimistic fuel cell performance assumptions cited by some fuel cell advocates, and the conclusion remained the same - hybrids are a quicker, easier route to limitation of greenhouse gas emissions.

The hydrogen fuel cell vehicle has low emissions and energy use on the road, but converting a hydrocarbon fuel such as natural gas or gasoline into hydrogen to fuel this vehicle uses substantial energy and emits greenhouse gases. "Ignoring the emissions and energy use involved in making and delivering the fuel and manufacturing the vehicle gives a misleading impression," said Weiss.

Still, Weiss and his team do not recommend stopping work on the hydrogen fuel cell. "If auto systems with significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions are required in, say, 30 to 50 years, hydrogen is the only major fuel option identified to date," said Heywood.

The hydrogen must be produced without making greenhouse gas emissions, from a non-carbon source such as solar energy, for instance, or from conventional fuels while sequestering the carbon emissions.

The new report and the original "On the Road in 2020" study are available at: http://lfee.mit.edu/publications under Reports.