• Companies Will Pay for Polluting New Jersey Water
  
• 4,000 Acre Ranch Becomes California Park
  
• Alabama Pitcher Plant Gains Protected Habitat
  
• Groups Begin Plans to Clean Up Vieques
  
• Utility Sites Recognized for Wildlife Protection
  
• Ammonia Release Costly for Sausage Plant
  
• California Coastal Dunes Added to State Park
  
• Giant Sphere Offers Unique Look at Science
  

Companies Will Pay for Polluting New Jersey Water

The ground water contamination was first discovered in East Hanover Township in the early 1980s, when volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were detected in a water sample collected from a municipal supply well. Further testing showed that the contamination had spread to cover a 10 square mile area of the Morris County community.

"This year's drought emergency highlights the urgency of protecting the public interest in clean water. As trustee of water resources, we are aggressively stepping up efforts, which are long overdue, to follow through with that important mandate," said New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) commissioner Bradley Campbell.

The agreement with the 19 parties settles their alleged liability in connection with the East Hanover ground water contamination. The settling parties will pay the agency more than $2 million, which includes $1 million for natural resource damages and more than $1 million for costs incurred by the state to prevent public exposure to the contamination.

The settling parties will also pay East Hanover Township $1 million for costs the municipality incurred to address the ground water contamination. Parties with property in the area of the ground water contamination that have not been fully investigated and cleaned up also agreed to remedy their contamination problems under DEP oversight.

Some of the money from the settlements will go towards restoration projects and land purchases in the same watershed. Examples of possible restoration projects include wetlands creation or enhancement, non-point pollution control projects, purchase of aquifer recharge areas, research for restoration of endangered species, and public education projects.

After the contamination was discovered, a treatment system was installed on the supply well. The DEP sampled 127 private drinking water wells in the township to evaluate the extent of the ground water contamination, finding that several of the potable wells were contaminated with VOCs at levels exceeding New Jersey Drinking Water Standards, and many others had lower levels of contamination.

Between 1998 and 1999, the DEP and the township connected about 240 properties with private wells to the existing water supply system and extended water lines to one area.

The DEP identified several industrial sites as possible sources of the contamination, and pursued a variety of companies for compensation. The settling parties are: Voltronics Corporation; G & F Management; Vincent and Irene Muccione; Viscot Industries, Inc.; MCE/KDI Corporation; Colgate-Palmolive Company; Deforest Investment Co. L.L.C.; Philomena Gasparine; Estate of Sylvio Gasparine; Prime Fabricators, Inc.; Township of East Hanover; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation; Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation; Dorine Industrial Park Partnership; Precision Rolled Products, Inc.; Phelps Dodge Corporation (f/k/a Cyprus Amax Mineral Company); GTE Operations Support Incorporated; Ingersoll-Rand Company and Royal Lubricants Company, Inc.

"We intend to pursue vigorously those who pollute our air and water and do harm to our state's valuable natural resources," said New Jersey acting attorney general Peter Harvey.

The DEP is now expanding its natural resource damage program to include more contaminated sites. In the last nine months alone, DEP has reached more than $8.1 million in natural resource damage settlements, an amount greater than reached in the previous six years.

"I was astounded to find on taking office in January that the Department had not pursued, or left unsettled, thousands of cases against polluters responsible for a wide range of damages to New Jersey's natural resources," said Campbell. "We are putting this program back on track and are committed to aggressively pursuing damage settlements for the residents of this state who have lost the ability to use and enjoy some of our most precious natural resources, including drinking water sources and wetlands."

4,000 Acre Ranch Becomes California Park

With funding from a half dozen public agencies, the Trust for Public Land (TPL) spent $13 million to buy the property from the S.H. Cowell Foundation and transferred it to the California Department of Parks and Recreation. The Cowell Ranch's rolling, oak studded hills in the shadow of Mount Diablo will offer open space and recreation in one of the state's fastest growing regions.

The ranch had been earmarked for urban development, until local politicians, including state Assemblymember Joe Canciamilla and state Senator Tom Torlakson began an effort to raise public support for preserving the ranch. Through the efforts of Canciamilla and Torkalson, voters agreed to relocate the urban limit line to exclude almost all of Cowell Ranch.

The Cowell Foundation withdrew its development plans and TPL optioned the property in 2000. Working on a two year deadline, TPL was able to secure financial commitments from the California Coastal Conservancy, Caltrans, the Department of Parks and Recreation, the Wildlife Conservation Board, and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

"This is terrific news for the people of Contra Costa County and all of California," said Torlakson, a Democrat. "This acquisition and park plan required a strong community effort and cooperation among elected officials, government agencies and private groups. A new park, anchored by the new historic John Marsh Home, can provide recreational, historic and cultural opportunities."

The ranch's hills, wetlands, streams and vernal pools are home to many threatened and endangered species, including red-legged frogs, fairy shrimp, tiger salamanders and San Joaquin kit fox. The protection of the ranch helps to create a wildlife corridor that would encompass about 81,000 acres from the Los Vaqueros Reservoir Watershed, extending west through Morgan Territory and Mt. Diablo State Park to Walnut Creeks Shell Ridge.

"This is a natural legacy of rolling, grassy hills with majestic oaks and seasonal streams that we can pass on to future generations," said Mary Nichols, California's secretary for resources.

The Cowell Ranch was part of the initial bequest to the S.H. Cowell Foundation from the Cowell family, and was one of the foundation's few remaining real estate holdings. Disposing of the property, which was providing no other income to the foundation, increases the foundation's liquid assets which will make it easier for the group to make grants throughout northern California for youth, families, affordable housing and public education.

"We are delighted to see the Cowell Ranch protected and remain a vital part of the California's natural heritage," said Mary Metz, president of the S.H. Cowell Foundation. "The ranch was the destination of the earliest pioneers and was the homestead of John Marsh, a powerful force in California's most dynamic period of history. Marsh's spectacular stone house still stands and when restored will be a centerpiece of the new State Park."

Alabama Pitcher Plant Gains Protected Habitat

With the purchase of the tract from International Paper, The Nature Conservancy has almost doubled the size of the group's Roberta Case Pine Hills Preserve, established two years ago to protect the largest known population of the federally endangered Alabama canebrake pitcher plant.

The canebrake pitcher plant is one of Alabama's and the world's rarest species, known to occur only at fewer than 20 locations in three Alabama counties. Several other rare plants also occur only in these few counties and nowhere else in the world, including Harper's wild ginger.

The 200 acre preserve is named in memory of Roberta Case who, with her husband Fred, discovered the rare plant many years ago. The Cases spent their lives monitoring, inventorying and researching the plant, and provided the seed money for its permanent protection.

Pitcher plants are unique in that they are carnivorous, meaning their survival depends on nutrients provided by decaying prey. Insects are lured into the plant's tube like leaves by an odor the plant emits, then become trapped and succumb to the plant's digestive juices.

The land bought earlier this month is adjacent to the preserve and will allow land managers a buffer to use much needed prescribed fire to maintain the fire dependent pitcher plant and longleaf pine communities on the preserve.

"This was an important project because we needed this additional land to safely manage the preserve with prescribed fire and protect these rare plants," said Steve Northcutt, the Nature Conservancy's north Alabama land protection specialist.

The 163 acres contains two additional areas of pitcher plants, upland longleaf pine forests and unique gravel hillside seepage areas. The new addition will be managed to restore the longleaf pine ecosystem.

"Buying and selling forestland is part of our strategic planning process," said Jim Fitzgerald, region manager of Gulf operations for International Paper's forest resources business. "It is a wonderful compliment to our sustainable forestry management when one of our conservation partners like The Nature Conservancy is interested in an ecologically important parcel we are selling."

The Roberta Case Pine Hills Preserve is open to the public - a series of forest roads and hiking trails allow public access.

Groups Begin Plans to Clean Up Vieques

Representatives of several Vieques organizations, including the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques, the Vieques Women´s Alliance and the Milivy Camp, met with members of environmental groups from the main island of Puerto Rico to discuss strategies for cleaning up the contamination caused by decades of military activities.

In 1938, the Navy began using Vieques, which lies off the eastern coast of Puerto Rico, for military practices. In 1947, the Navy began expropriating land on the island, about 16 miles long and four miles wide, eventually confiscating two-thirds of it for military installations and a target range.

The Navy now controls the eastern and western ends of the island, while the island's population of 9,400 lives in the middle section of the island. Live fire shelling occurs on the eastern tip of Vieques, 11 miles from the main town.

Medical tests have shown that Vieques residents have a higher than normal rate of heart damage that may be related to sudden loud noises. Local fishers say they cannot make a living in peace, and the tourism potential of the island cannot be developed as long as the military exercises continue.

The island and offshore sea floor are littered with unexploded ordnance and leaking containers of toxic chemicals.

The groups were motivated by a lack of action on the part of the U.S. and Puerto Rican governments, and want government agencies to include community participation in cleanup planning. The groups plan to petition the Puerto Rican governor, the Environmental Quality Board and other pertinent agencies to hand over to community organizations all documentation related to conversations, meetings or negotiations with the Navy or other federal agencies that have to do with the cessation of bombing, return of lands and environmental cleanup on Vieques.

Environmental participants at the meeting included lawyer Pedro Saadé, veteran of the environmental legal battle on Vieques, and two students from the University of Puerto Rico´s Environmental Law Clinic; environmental scientists and community consultants, Jorge Fernández Porto and Lirio Márquez and Wanda Colón, Coordinator of the Caribbean Project for Peace and Justice.

The group took the first steps toward creating an advisory committee on environmental affairs to orient the Vieques organizations that work for cleanup. This team of scientists and environmental lawyers will help the community work for and demand a clean Vieques for future generations.

One strategy discussed will be to seek help from experts in the United States who work with communities affected by military contamination, and others that have worked in Panama, Hawaii and the Phillipines. Among the entities with experience in this field that have worked with Vieques are the Center for Public Environmental Oversight, Arc Ecology, the Fellowship of Reconciliation and the Military Toxics Project.

Utility Sites Recognized for Wildlife Protection

The Colbert Fossil Plant and the Wilson Dam/Muscle Shoals Reservation have been certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council, for their outstanding management of wildlife habitat and environmental education efforts.

This is the first time Colbert has been recognized by the WHC for its program. The Muscle Shoals site was certified in 2000 and recertified this year.

In 1993, Colbert employees began habitat improvements including the placement of boxes for bluebirds and wood ducks, the establishment of wildlife food plots and roadside wildflower areas, and improvements of riverbank areas using native plants. The employees also integrate wildlife projects with their Partners in Education program to provide environmental education opportunities for elementary and middle school students.

Additions and improvements to the Muscle Shoals site since its 2000 award include doubling the size of roadside wildflower planting areas, converting 50 acres of non-native turf grass to native grassland meadow, and increasing the total number of monitored bluebird boxes to 53. Through additional community partnerships, the program has expanded its public awareness and environmental education efforts.

TVA, the only federally owned and operated utility, has received two other certifications from the WHC since 1999, recognizing its wildlife habitat program at the Raccoon Mountain Pumped-Storage Plant and its Reservoir Releases Improvements program.

The Wildlife Habitat Council is a nonprofit group of corporations, conservation organizations, and individuals dedicated to protecting and enhancing wildlife habitat. Since 1988, the organization has helped businesses manage their unused lands to benefit wildlife and broaden understanding of wildlife values.

More information about WHC and its National Habitat Conservation Awards is available at: http://www.wildlifehc.org/

Ammonia Release Costly for Sausage Plant

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Region 5 has filed an administrative complaint against Fresh Mark Inc. for violation of federal laws on the reporting of a hazardous chemical release. The EPA has proposed a $70,358 fine.

The EPA alleges that on June 22, 2002, a broken refrigeration system valve released about 7,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia from the company's sausage plant at in Canton. The release lasted about three hours and the plant was evacuated at the time of the incident.

Anyhdrous ammonia may be fatal if inhaled for prolonged periods of time. It causes burns to the skin and may cause irritation to the eyes, nose and throat.

Computer modeling by the EPA indicates that the chemical plume drifted onto neighboring properties, but Fresh Mark did not promptly notify its neighbors. The company also failed to promptly notify the National Response Center (NRC), the Ohio Emergency Response Commission or the Stark County emergency planning commission, as required under federal laws.

The Canton fire department was notified about three hours into the incident and assisted in stopping the leak and dispersing the cloud of ammonia vapor.

Federal laws require facilities to immediately notify the NRC and state and local authorities about any anhydrous ammonia release larger than 100 pounds. In addition to the late notifications to the state and local authorities, the company failed to notify the NRC until more than 41 hours after the incident.

California Coastal Dunes Added to State Park

The 40 acre addition to Morro Bay State Park supports several endangered and threatened plant and animal species. The project also advances efforts to create the Morro Bay Dunes Greenbelt, a proposed habitat and trail corridor of more than 1,000 acres connecting Montana de Oro State Park and Morro Bay State Park.

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) bought the tract in Los Osos for $1.5 million from a private seller. The parcel was then transferred to the California Department of Parks and Recreation to be protected as part of Morro Bay State Park.

"TPL commends all our partners for their tremendous work helping to make this greenbelt a reality," says Margaret Eadington, senior project manager for TPL. "As partners, we continue to work together year after year, piece by piece, to achieve the goal of a fully connected greenbelt."

"The purchase of this critical habitat protects endangered species and helps preserve the Central Coast's natural beauty," said state Senator Jack O'Connell, a Democrat who co-authored the Coastal Resources Grant legislation that helped fund the land purchase.

Morro Bay is ranked as a top 10 bird sanctuary across the nation each year by the National Audubon Society. It was also accepted into the National Estuary Program in 1995 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency due to its diverse yet imperiled resources.

The property is home to several endangered and threatened plant and animal species found only within the Morro Bay watershed, including the endangered Morro shoulderband snail, the threatened Morro manzanita, and the sensitive Morro blue butterfly. The public ownership of the property protects these species, their habitat and the open space that still surrounds the community of Los Osos.

The property also contains archeological resources including ancient middens of the Chumash Native American people.

The Morro Estuary Greenbelt Alliance (MEGA) has worked with the adjacent Los Osos Middle School to start up the Earth Club, a science curriculum involving native plant restoration of coastal dune habitat. The students learn about, propagate and plant native dune vegetation in their backyard classroom on state park lands.

"This land is a beautiful place, it draws us in, where we discover truths and gain solace. We are truly surrounded by a treasure in our own backyards," said Marla Morrissey, president of MEGA. We often don't know what is precious until we are about to lose it. We have the vision to protect these dunes for all our children."

Giant Sphere Offers Unique Look at Science

NOAA's Science On a Sphere owes its start to a beach ball.

"I started thinking about this several years ago and did some experiments on the deck of my house using a beach ball," said Alexander MacDonald, director of the NOAA Forecast Systems Laboratory and creator of the Sphere. "I knew that putting NOAA climate, weather, oceanic and geophysical on a sphere would be a spectacular tool for explaining NOAA's science to a variety of audiences."

Students at Heights Middle School in Broomfield, Colorado watch a NOAA Science On a Sphere™ demonstration in October 2002. (Photo courtesy NOAA)

Images include the Earth's topography, bathymetry, weather events, weather prediction models, and past and future climate change. For example, viewers can watch how the warm water in the Pacific that signals an El Niño travels across the ocean, or see five centuries of past climate change as it affected the Earth.

The Sphere makes its debut December 2 at the NOAA Science Center in Silver Spring. A series of events, starting with an official opening by NOAA Administrator Conrad Lautenbacher, have been planned for its Silver Spring stay.

"We think NOAA Science On a Sphere will be an invaluable educational tool," said MacDonald. "It is a unique way to explain complex information using images. It can be used to illustrate geography, weather, climate, space weather and a host of other kinds of data. It's limited only by our imagination."

The Sphere's creators envision its use by museums, science discovery centers, scientific meetings and conferences, educational institutions, and, of course, NOAA events.

"There's really no end of possibilities with NOAA Science On a Sphere," MacDonald added. "Viewers will see our Sun erupting in spectacular solar storms, sending streams of particles Earthward. We could develop data sets where viewers can see the climate of the past and present and project it into the future. We have a blank slate at this point, with endless possibilities."

For more information on the Sphere, visit: http://www.fsl.noaa.gov/sos/