• California Voters to Decide $4.09 Billion Flood and Stormwater Bond
  
• New York Governor Proposes to Enact Great Lakes Protection
  
• New Jersey Seeks Solutions to Chronic Flooding of Meadowlands
  
• California Brown Pelican Could Lose Endangered Species Listing
  
• Presque Isle Environment Center Honors First Homeland Security Chief
  
• New Environmental Satellite Will Track Severe Weather Events
  
• Safe Sleeping Zones Help Control Children's Asthma
  

California Voters to Decide $4.09 Billion Flood and Stormwater Bond

New York Governor Proposes to Enact Great Lakes Protection

In December 2005, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin had reached agreement on the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact – a comprehensive management framework for achieving sustainable water use and resource protection.

The legislation proposed by Governor Pataki Thursday would formally enact the Compact in New York State law.

“The Great Lakes are a valuable resource for our nation, and because of its geographic location, New York has historically depended upon these waters for industry, transportation, trade, and recreation,” Governor Pataki said. “I am pleased that we have been able to forge collaborative agreements with the other Great Lakes states and Canadian provinces to protect these waters and ensure that they will remain a vital part of our livelihood now and into the future."

The proposed legislation to codify the Compact will, when enacted by the Great Lakes states and consented to by the U.S. Congress:

• Ban any new or increased diversion of Great Lakes water out of the basin, with certain limited exceptions. The exceptions granted would primarily be for community water supply systems that straddle the Basin boundary.

• Establish a state water resources inventory for each member state within five years.

• Require any person/entity seeking to withdraw 100,000 gallons or more of water from the Great Lakes Basin within an average 30-day period to register this activity with the appropriate state.

• Each state and province will establish a program, including thresholds, to manage or regulate new or increased withdrawals, consumptive uses and diversions; establish water conservation and efficient use programs; and conduct periodic assessments of the cumulative impacts.

• Create the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Council, consisting of the governors of the member states. In collaboration with Ontario and Québec, the Council would assist with the coordination of activities and programs of the states, including providing advice and consultation.

"The outcome of the process is essential to millions of current and future New Yorkers who depend on the state’s magnificent waters and abundant water-dependent natural resources,” Tepper said.

Congress has been reluctant to fund a $23 billion Great Lakes Restoration Plan agreed by the governors and premiers of states and provinces bordering on the Great Lakes.

The legislation to fund the Plan - the Great Lakes Collaboration Implementation Act - was introduced in April in both the House and the Senate. It contains a long list of needed restoration projects compiled over a year by 1,500 state, local, federal, and tribal leaders, as well as activists and industry representatives. The Plan and resulting projects list were written in response to the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy that President George W. Bush initiated with an executive order in May 2004.

Work to renew aging, poorly designed sewer systems that overflow accounts for more than half of the $20 billion of restoration work that the Plan identified as needed to restore health to the Great Lakes, the largest fresh-water system in the world. The system spans more than 750 miles of New York shoreline.

Not waiting for federal funding to protect the Great Lakes, the eight Great Lakes states and two Canadian provinces are moving ahead with the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact.

New York State Senator Carl Marcellino, chair of the Senate Committee on Environmental Conservation, said, “Fresh water is a natural resource that must be protected. This compact goes a long way to ensure that the Great Lakes will have enough water to protect their precious ecosystems, and that future generations will have the water they need.”

New Jersey Seeks Solutions to Chronic Flooding of Meadowlands

California Brown Pelican Could Lose Endangered Species Listing

The brown pelican species, including brown pelicans in California, was listed as endangered in 1970. The California subspecies occurs along the Pacific Coast from the Gulf of California to Washington and into southern British Columbia.

The Service recently completed an initial 90 day review of a petition submitted in December 2005 by the little-known Endangered Species Recovery Council, seeking to remove the California brown pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus, from the threatened and endangered species list under the Endangered Species Act.

In its petition, the Council indicated that "on the basis of evidence amassed during recent years, no reasonable assessment of the status of this subspecies would lead to a conclusion that it is currently in danger of extinction, or that it is likely to be in danger of extinction within the foreseeable future."

California brown pelicans have an estimated population of 200,000 birds.

The Service will now undertake a more comprehensive study, known as a 12 month status review, to determine whether or not to propose the brown pelican for delisting.

"The Service has found that the petition presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that removing the California brown pelican from the Endangered Species List may be warranted," said Steve Thompson, director of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's California/Nevada Operations Office.

"We are now beginning a more thorough review to determine if the petitioned action is warranted," Thompson said. "To ensure that the review is as comprehensive as possible, we are actively soliciting information and data regarding this subspecies."

In 1985, brown pelicans on the Atlantic Coast and in Florida and Alabama were removed from the Endangered Species List. The Service will review the status of all brown pelicans currently protected under the Act, which includes brown pelicans in Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, the Pacific Coast, Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and South America, in a process known as a five year review.

The Endangered Species Act requires the Service to review the status of listed species at least once every five years to determine whether its status has changed such that it should be delisted or classified differently.

At the conclusion of the five year review, the Service may find that the whole species or discrete populations no longer need the protection of the ESA and may propose reclassification of the species or distinct population segments.

To ensure that the status review of the brown pelican is as thorough as possible, the Service is soliciting new information about the pelican from the public, concerned governmental agencies, tribes, the scientific community, industry, environmental entities, and any other interested parties.

Information for the status review and five-year review can be addressed to Christine Hamilton, 2493 Portola Road, Suite B; Ventura, California 93003 and sent to: fws8pelicanpetition@fws.gov. The public comment period will close July 24, 2006.

Presque Isle Environment Center Honors First Homeland Security Chief

ERIE, Pennsylvania, May 30, 2006 (ENS) - Current and former governors of Pennsylvania participated in a ceremony Friday to open a new environmental center atPresque Isle State Park in Erie.

The new Tom Ridge Environmental Center is named after the former Pennsylvania governor (1995-2001), who grew up in Erie, worked at the park as a young man and provided funding for the center and numerous Presque Isle projects during his administration.

Ridge resigned as governor in October 2001 to become the first Office of Homeland Security Advisor in the history of the United States. He became the first Secretary of Homeland Security in 2003, and stepped down in 2005.

“This park has been a part of my entire life,” Ridge said at the ribbon cutting ceremony. “It’s an honor to have this facility bear my name, knowing the incredible impact it will have on the young children who visit it, the researchers who make new discoveries in its laboratories, and the new people it introduces to Presque Isle and the vibrant Erie region.”

The new environmental center features a 75 foot tall glass enclosed tower that resembles a lighthouse with a deck offering a view over Lake Erie, exhibits, classrooms and two theaters.

Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell said, “This one-of-a-kind center offers a unique blend of education and research facility, tourist destination and one-stop-shop for Presque Isle Sate Park administration.”

“Presque Isle is one of our most spectacular and visited parks in the state, and this center will serve as its gateway, connecting the public – residents, school children, researchers, visitors – to nature in exciting and different ways," the governor said.

Presque Isle State Park is a 3,200 acre sand peninsula attached to the mainland, four miles west of downtown Erie. Migratory birds frequent the park, which has more than 3,000 species in its ecosystem, including 130 that are threatened, endangered or rare.

The center was built as a green building, designed to achieve a silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Environmentally friendly features include natural ventilation, an inverted roof to collect rainwater, materials made from recycled content, native landscaping, renewable energy usage and a porous asphalt parking area. Panels throughout the center explain the green features.

Presque Isle State Park currently averages four million visitors a year, most of whom come between June and September. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources manages the park and the new center.

“One of the goals of the center is to increase off-season use of Presque Isle State Park,” DCNR Secretary Michael DiBerardinis said. “Our studies showed longer and repeat visitation to the center could initially be worth an additional $3 million annually to the region’s economy – a great example of how important our natural resources are to our economic vitality.”

New Environmental Satellite Will Track Severe Weather Events

WASHINGTON, DC, May 30, 2006 (ENS) - A new geostationary operational environmental satellite is now orbiting the Earth.

Designed to track hurricanes and other severe weather impacting the nation, the NOAA GOES-13 satellite was launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida Wednesday aboard a Boeing Delta IV rocket.

The first signal acquisition occurred six hours and 30 minutes after the launch at the Air Force Tracking Station, Diego Garcia, located in the Indian Ocean.

The satellite will supply data critical for fast, accurate forecasts and warnings for severe weather, including tornadoes, winter storms and hurricanes.

It will detect solar storm activity, relay distress signals from emergency beacons, monitor the oceans and scan the landscape for the latest drought and flood conditions.

"This satellite will serve the nation by monitoring conditions that trigger dangerous weather, and it will serve the world by contributing vast amounts of observational data, as part of our contribution to the Global Earth Observation System of Systems," said retired Navy Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator.

GOES-13, the first spacecraft in the new GOES-N/O/P series, features a highly stable pointing platform, which will improve the performance of the imager and sounder instruments.

GOES-13 has expanded measurements for the space and solar environment monitoring instruments. The satellite features a new dedicated broadcast capability to be used by the Emergency Managers Weather Information Network and a new digital weather facsimile capability for higher quality transmissions of data and products.

Once it reaches geostationary orbit, GOES-13 will undergo a series of tests for approximately six months before completing its check-out phase. After check-out, GOES-13 is expected to be put into a storage mode at 105 degrees West. It will be ready to replace one of the two existing NOAA GOES spacecraft should either experience trouble.

The GOES satellites orbit the equatorial plane of the Earth at a speed matching the planet's rotation. This allows them to hover continuously over one position on the surface. The geostationary orbit is reached at about 22,300 miles above the Earth, high enough to allow the satellites a full-disc view of the Earth.

Safe Sleeping Zones Help Control Children's Asthma

WASHINGTON, DC, May 30, 2006 (ENS) - As National Asthma Awareness Month comes to a close, the U.S. Environment Protection Agency has recognized some effective approaches for controlling the disease that affects 20 million Americans, more than six million of them - children.

Creating "safe sleeping zones" for kids and providing one-on-one consultations with pharmacists are some of the approaches that help improve the health and quality of life of asthma sufferers honored with the National Environmental Leadership Award in Asthma Management.

The group Improving Pediatric Asthma Care in the District of Columbia (IMPACT DC) and Blue Cross of California, State Sponsored Business Unit (SSB) are this year's winners.

"These award winners combine innovation, imagination and compassion to improve the quality of life for asthma sufferers," said Bill Wehrum, EPA acting assistant administrator for Air and Radiation. "We can all take a deep breath and express our appreciation for IMPACT DC and Blue Cross of California."

Although there is no known cure for asthma, there are ways to reduce the number of attacks, including avoiding exposure to environmental asthma triggers at home, school, and other places where children spend their time.

IMPACT DC, a program of the Children's Research Institute at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC, helps families avoid visits to the emergency room by reducing environmental triggers in the home. The program helps parents create a "safe sleeping zone" by making a child's bedroom free of dust mites, mold and other allergens, or irritants that might trigger asthma.

The program's unique approach uses the emergency department to identify and educate asthma patients, link them to primary care physicians or Medicaid managed care organizations and follows them to ensure they receive effective long-term care.

Blue Cross of California, SSB, a managed care system, provides multi-lingual pharmacist consultations, home visits to assess environmental risks for high risk members, and incentives for physicians who follow the program's guidelines.

Blue Cross of California, SSB contributes to education and research efforts addressing air quality and its effect on asthma through a community-wide coalition that it founded.

The EPA recognized the award winners at the first Communities in Action for Asthma-Friendly Environments National Forum held May 22-23 in Washington, DC. Some 130 representatives from community-based asthma programs gathered for the two-day workshop to learn from their peers about effective strategies and approaches to managing asthma triggers and improving the lives of people with asthma.