• Supreme Court to Hear Wilderness Case
  
• EPA Says 40 Superfund Sites Cleaned Up in 2003
  
• Snowmobile Manufacturers Decry Yellowstone Plan
  
• Alaska Family Sues Park Service Over Road Dispute
  
• A New Look at Counting Fish
  
• Green Group To Monitor Western Watershed Restoration
  
• U.S. Navy Honors Pensacola Project Greenshores
  
• Feds Roll Out New Chemical Safety and Health Info Site
  

Supreme Court to Hear Wilderness Case

The case could have far reaching implications, as it centers on whether federal agencies can be sued by the public for failing to comply with a Congressional mandate.

The Supreme will hear oral arguments on the case in its spring 2004 term.

The decision by the court to hear the case is considered a setback for environmental groups, who first filed the suit in 1999 after the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) refused to protect several WSAs in Utah from off road vehicle use.

WSAs are lands that meet wilderness characteristics and are managed to preserve those values until Congress designates the areas as wilderness or releases the areas for non-wilderness management.

Such a designation prohibits development and the use of motorized off road vehicles.

The conservation groups contend that the BLM is mandated by the Administrative Procedures Act to protect these lands as wilderness until Congress determines otherwise.

The case was filed because BLM has "turned a blind eye" to damage from off road vehicle use to the agency's most pristine lands, said Jim Angell, an attorney for Earthjustice.

The appeal by the Bush administration and off road vehicle groups argues that the law does not authorize federal courts to consider challenges of agency inactions - only agency actions.

The case is considered of utmost importance by many conservationists, in particular as the Bush administration has pressed ahead with far reaching policy changes to how the BLM protects and manages public lands under its authority.

A settlement with the state of Utah - and guidelines released last month by the administration for the BLM to implement that settlement - bars BLM land managers from designating additional lands as WSAs and prohibits the agency from allocating additional lands for wilderness protection.

The decision to take the case comes just one month after the Bush administration announced a sweeping reversal of national wilderness policy that effectively prevents the BLM from studying and recommending public lands for wilderness designation.

The settlement is being challenged in federal court by environmentalists.

"The nation's wilderness quality lands have never been more at risk," said Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance staff attorney Stephen Bloch. "The administration is trying to evade its own rules and open America's wildest public lands to development and damage."

EPA Says 40 Superfund Sites Cleaned Up in 2003

EPA Acting Administrator Marianne Lamont Horinko said the news reflects the "continued progress the Superfund program has made over the years."

Horinko said that to date, the EPA has cleaned up 886 sites of the 1,506 sites on the Superfund National Priorities List, which consists of the sites that pose the greatest risk to public health.

"We still face serious challenges because we still have much work to do at our remaining sites," Horinko said. "Although we currently have 699 construction projects underway at 436 sites, many of these sites tend to be large, expensive, and complex."

Environmentalists used today's announcement to criticize the Bush administration, which they believe has underfunded the Superfund program and allowed the pace of cleanup efforts to slow.

Julie Wolk, an environmental health advocate with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, says the number of cleanups is again down some 50 percent from the mid to late 1990s. Of particular concern to Wolk and other critics is the administration's opposition to reinstating the Superfund's polluter pays fees.

"The Bush administration is leaving toxic messes in the backyards of American taxpayers for longer periods of time and forcing those same taxpayers to foot the bill for the cleanups," said Wolk. "Costs to taxpayers have increased by more than 300 percent since 1995, the year Superfund's polluter pays fees expired."

Started in 1980 as a relatively short term project to clean up abandoned hazardous waste sites, the Superfund program has expanded as tens of thousands of waste sites have been discovered.

Many of these sites are owned by the federal government, and cleaning them up has proved to be far more complicated and costly than anticipated.

But the sites that are not owned by the federal government are to either be cleaned up by the private parties responsible for contamination or by the EPA, which is then tasked with seeking reimbursement from those responsible.

Some 30 percent of Superfund sites fall into this category, with no responsible party from whom to recoup clean up costs.

Congress created a trust fund to pay for cleanups of nongovernment sites and devised "polluter pays fees" to fund it. These fees consisted of a corporate tax that applies to profits of large corporations in excess of $2 million, a fee on the purchase of harmful chemicals and a fee on the purchase of crude oil by refineries.

But the polluter pays provision expired in 1995 and according to a recent U.S. General Accounting Office report, the Superfund trust fund, which used to pay for the bulk of orphan Superfund cleanups, is virtually bankrupt.

The Bush administration opposes reinstating the fees unless reforms of cleanup standards and polluters' liabilities are enacted, a position environmentalists say mirrors industry.

But Congress has also failed to act to reinstate the provision.

In the today's agency statement, Horinko noted that the administration asked for a $150 million increase in the fiscal year 2004 Superfund budget, which has yet to be approved by Congress.

Snowmobile Manufacturers Decry Yellowstone Plan

The plan sets daily limits for the number of snowmobiles allowed in the parks, bans most old, two stroke snowmobiles in favor of quieter and less polluting models, and requires most snowmobile users to travel with guides in order to protect wildlife.

The rule calls for a daily limit of 1,190 snowmobiles - 950 in Yellowstone and 190 in Grand Teton and the parkway that connects the two parks.

Most of the snowmobiles allowed in the parks will have to be four stroke models that are less polluting and less noisy than the two stroke machines, and the Park Service will publish a list of acceptable models. The administration says new models can reduce carbon monoxide emissions by as much as 85 percent and hydrocarbons by some 95 percent.

But snowmobile manufacturers believe the proposal, which the agency plans to finalize this month, is based on overestimates of snowmobile emission and sound levels.

"The Park Service winter use program must be based on accurate science," said Ed Klim, president of the International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association. "A decision that penalizes users and the industry when snowmobiles have never been found to violate ambient air quality standards in Yellowstone or any where else they are enjoyed is not right."

Klim says Park Service relied on studies that overestimate peak snowmobile usage and emission levels in Yellowstone by 75 percent, thereby establishing a false baseline for snowmobile technology emission requirements and for establishing limits on the number of snowmobiles allowed to enter the parks.

Errors by the Park Service have resulted in manufacturers being asked to reduce emissions by an inflated and unjustifiable amount, according to Klim.

And the industry group is critical of the Park Service's best available technology standard for governing emission level requirements and says the agency should use the standard established a year ago by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

"We believe that if the Park Service had based their emission requirements on accurate emission data from the onset, then they would have used the far more equitable EPA approach," Klim said. "It is not too late for them to correct their inaccuracies."

But snowmobile manufacturers are not the only ones unhappy with the Park Service's proposal - environmentalists have filed suit to stop the new regulations.

The federal judge overseeing the lawsuit to block the use of snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park says he will issue a ruling before the winter snowmobile season in early December.

Over the past decade the Park Service has studied the impacts of snowmobile use on park wildlife, air quality, human health and visitor experience. The agency's research, which included 375 scientific studies and 22 public hearings, revealed that snowmobile use was negatively affecting each of these factors.

In the past few winters, the government provided Park Service employees with respirators and earplugs to safeguard against the pollution and noise of the snowmobiles.

The lawsuit would allow road packing and oversnow motorized winter use to continue in Grand Teton National Park, John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway, and from the south entrance of Yellowstone to the geyser Old Faithful. The road between Mammoth and Cooke City traversing the Lamar Valley would also remain open to public use.

Alaska Family Sues Park Service Over Road Dispute

The lawsuit filed by The Pacific Law Foundation alleges that the Park Service's closure of a 15 mile long road that provides overland access to the property owned by Robert Hale violates two federal laws - the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) and a repealed 18th century mining law known as RS-2477.

Hale - who goes by the name "Papa Pilgrim" - purchased the 410 acre property in 2002 and used a bulldozer to clear the road in question. He says he purchased the property with the understanding that this road connected the remote location to town and would be continuously accessible so that food and other provisions could be carried in by vehicle.

But the Park Service says Hale had no such right and insists he bulldozed a road that was not consistent with the historical route. The agency ordered the road closed to motorized vehicles in April 2003.

Officials say reopening it requires a public process and environmental review because the road in question crosses McCarthy Creek nine times. This review would take some nine weeks to complete.

The Pacific Legal Foundation argues that the review and the permit are unnecessary because both statutes protect access for park inholders like Hale and his family.

The group's attorneys say ANILCA provides that the Park Service allow, at a minimum, adequate and feasible access to owners of private land within national parks and preserves. RS-2477, the attorneys say, also provides access to historic rights of way.

The debate over what RS-2477 claims are valid is of growing concern to conservationists, who say the Bush administration is keen to let Western states and local governments use such claims to build roads and encourage development.

Pacific Law Foundation attorney Russ Brooks said the situation is growing more serious as winter weather fast approaches because Hale's house and most of his 16 member family's belongings were destroyed by a fire in April 2003 - just prior to the Park Service's decision to close the road.

"The Park Service is seeking to lock up national parks and prevent access to private land," said Brooks. "This is nothing more than another chapter in the federal government's ongoing land grab. Tragically, women and children are being placed in harm's way."

Since the road closure, the Hale family has been receiving supplies via an existing airstrip that is adjacent to their property.

The Park Service says it believes Hale - and others pursuing RS-2477 claims across public lands - are required to seek a permit before bulldozing a road under such a claim.

Hale requested an application for emergency access in October, but has not requested a permanent access permit, according to agency officials.

The agency refused the Hales' demand for immediate approval of the emergency permit to make 13 trips with a bulldozer pulling a 15 foot trailer. This refusal prompted the law suit.

Three conservation groups - the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), Alaska Center for the Environment, and The Wilderness Society - aim to intervene in the case on behalf of the Park Service.

The litigation seeks to avoid rules "written during the Reagan administration to protect park values while at the same time providing for reasonable right of entry," said Jim Stratton, Alaska regional director of the NPCA.

"National parks belong to all Americans - everyone has to follow the same rules so that these places are available for everyone to enjoy," Stratton said. "We cannot afford to stand idly by while basic protections are ignored at the expense of some of our nation's most valued parklands."

A New Look at Counting Fish

"This study is for fishery managers who have to work in the real world, where it is not always possible to have an observer on every fishing boat," said Elizabeth Babcock, a scientist with the Pew Institute for Ocean Science at the University of Miami. "We tried to demonstrate how to get the most useful and reliable information from an observer program."

Fishery observers are independent scientists who work alongside fishermen at sea, collecting information about what is actually caught as compared to landings data, which only records what is brought to port.

These observers are critical in monitoring and assessing bycatch - marine species unintentionally caught and discarded.

The United Nations estimates that some 25 percent is discarded bycatch, including sensitive species such as sea turtles, sharks and cetaceans.

The study says at the onset of an observer program, managers should use whatever data is available, and should refine and improve coverage levels as new observer data is collected.

"Fishery observer programs must be both precise and accurate to ensure that their results provide meaningful information for fisheries management," said Ellen Pikitch, who is also a scientist with the Pew Institute for Ocean Science at the University of Miami. "Our results show that when a species of concern is rare, at least 50 percent observer coverage may be required. For more common species, 20 percent may be adequate."

There are some 300 U.S. federally managed fisheries, yet only about 20 observer programs - most of which need to be expanded to provide more complete information based on the studies findings, Oceana reports.

"Management decisions based on faulty assumptions are bad for the fish and the fishermen," said Hudson. "Onboard observers are the best way to get the information we need to stop the destruction to our oceans and ensure that our fisheries are sustainable."

The release of the report comes as Congress weighs proposals to increase funding for observer programs. The Senate has proposed a 66 percent increase in total funding for observer programs from $13.8 million to $22.9 million - the House is proposing an increase in funding to $17 million.

Green Group To Monitor Western Watershed Restoration

The nonprofit group signed agreements to carry out the efforts with the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho and Sea Resources, a community based watershed restoration organization located in Chinook, Washington. In addition to funding, the BEF will provide scientific oversight and an independent peer review panel.

The agreements mark the start of the organization's "Model Watershed Program," which centers on long term investments in scientifically accountable restoration programs. The BEF believes this approach will prove more effective than short term and piecemeal project grants scattered widely among Pacific Northwest watersheds.

"We hope this cooperative commitment to a long-term and monitoring intensive approach will provide a model for science and community based watershed restoration that can be replicated elsewhere across the region and within the watershed community as a whole," said Angus Duncan, president of the BEF.

The Model Watershed Program is a departure for the foundation, which initially supported a range of short term watershed projects across the Pacific Northwest.

But these short term projects typically had "uncertain restoration objectives and inadequate monitoring and evaluation capacity," according to Jim Lichatowich, BEF's Watershed Project committee chairman.

"The short term approach severely hindered our attempts to develop and support science based watershed restoration programs," he said.

The BEF was established in 1998 to restore watershed ecosystems and further the development and use of new renewable energy resources.

It funds projects through revenues generated from the sales of green power projects.

Over time, the BEF intends to seek out additional resources and apply its own funds to support 10 to 12 long term Model Watershed programs across the Pacific Northwest.

U.S. Navy Honors Pensacola Project Greenshores

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) launched Project Greenshores in 2001 as an oyster reef and salt marsh restoration program off the coast of the Panhandle city.

"Volunteer involvement in restoration projects fosters environmental stewardship and strengthens protection," said DEP Secretary David Struhs. "Restoration of this sensitive marine habitat serves as a model for other communities."

Volunteers planted thousands of Spartina alterniflora, a smooth cord grass, bringing the total number of planted grasses to 50,000, and added 40 reef structures to the site's eastern end to protect the newly created saltmarsh.

More than 20,000 tons of recycled concrete and limestone rock safeguard aquatic plants from wave damage and provide the foundation for three acres of oyster habitat.

The oyster reef will filter the water, slow the waves and provide protection for the seagrasses that will soon be planted. Nearly 12 acres of seagrass and salt marsh plants will be placed landward of the oyster reefs.

Pensacola waterfront residents were enlisted as foster parents to help raise oysters for Project GreenShores. In July, residents were asked to place the oyster strings on piers or docks for a couple of months to attract spats, or baby oysters, that were then be moved to their new home, Site 1 of Project GreenShores, located at the north end of the Pensacola Bay Bridge along Bayfront Parkway.

Oysters can filter nearly 50 gallons of water each day, cleaning algae, bacteria, and other contaminants out of Pensacola Bay. Project Greenshores officials say the oyster reefs will create a healthier bay system, and offer protection, food, and habitat to shrimp, crabs, and fish.

The manufactured reef provides a rest stop for migratory and local birds and shelters a diversity of marine life including thousands of oysters, which help filter water and improve water quality in Pensacola Bay.

"Project Greenshores improves the health of the bay and contributes to the local economy by preserving and enhancing one of Pensacola's most cherished natural resources," said DEP Northwest District Director Mary Jean Yon. "The success of this project is a direct result of this community's commitment to restoring and protecting the environment."

In July, students planted 2,000 seagrass plants from the Florida DEP's greenhouse in Pensacola Bay. The student volunteers were from the Northwest Florida Passage Youth Leadership Group, a program of the University West Florida's Whitman Center for Public Service.

"I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself," said Abby Holcomb, a Washington High School junior. "I will see it every time I go to the beach and it will be a really cool feeling knowing that I played a role in it."

Since Project Greenshores began two years ago, thousands of school children have experienced Pensacola Bay from aboard the American Star, an environmental educational tour sponsored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Project Greenshores is managed by the DEP with the support of more than 60 local and national entities, including the Environmental Protection Agency's Gulf of Mexico Program, the City of Pensacola, and Escambia County.

Thursday's award ceremony will take place at the National Museum of Naval Aviation at Pensacola Naval Air Station. After the ceremony, there will be a tour of Project GreenShores aboard the American Star which leaves from the Seville Harbor Marina.

Feds Roll Out New Chemical Safety and Health Info Site

The site features information on the recognition, evaluation and control of chemical reactive hazards, and includes compliance requirements and available training resources.

"There have been too many reminders in recent years just how tragic and catastrophic chemical reactions can be if unpredicted and not properly controlled or contained," said OSHA Administrator John Henshaw. "Our goal and commitment is to work with chemical safety stakeholders throughout the country to prevent these incidents in the future."

Visitors to the new Web page can access OSHA standards and fact sheets on process safety management as well as additional reactive material hazard information from the center.

The site links to a chemical reactivity worksheet provided by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Response and Restoration - the worksheet includes a database of reactivity information for more than 6,000 common hazardous chemicals and also details on what dangers can arise during chemical mixing.

The page also offers free access to a new book by the Center for Chemical Process Safety that includes a compendium of best practices from leaders in chemical processing. OSHA says the book can be useful for health and safety manager, engineers, chemists and others involved in chemical manufacturing or operations to identify, address and manage chemical reactivity hazards.

The new Web page also includes reports on various reactive chemical incidents and resulting investigative reports, as well as references to other sources of information on chemical safety.

In addition to the new Web page, Henshaw says OSHA is working on additional guidance on hazard communication, including material safety data sheets.

"I believe our comprehensive approach to address hazards posed by reactive chemicals is a sound one," Henshaw said. "This new Web page is an important part of a well rounded strategy that will result in fewer reactive chemical incidents and fewer worker injuries and deaths."

The new page can be found at: http://www.osha.gov/dep/reactivechemicals