• Interior Funding Worth $9.9 Billion Signed Into Law
  
• Bush Administration Drafts Rule to Diminish Stream Protections
  
• California Logging Lawsuit Sparks Attorney General Recall Attempt
  
• Responders Work to Right Texas Sulfuric Acid Barge
  
• Heart Attacks More Frequent on High Pollution Days
  
• Yucca Mountain Safety Depends on Geological Absorption
  
• Chips Beneath the Greens Solve Pollution Problems
  
• Applications Open for $10,000 Environmental Excellence Awards
  

Interior Funding Worth $9.9 Billion Signed Into Law

"We are pleased with Congress's support for our conservation vision," Interior Secretary Gayle Norton said. "The bill provides funding for major initiatives to improve national parks, build and restore Indian schools, improve forest and rangeland health, and suppress catastrophic wildland fires. It also contains provisions to enhance traditional and renewable energy and to improve management of our wildlife refuges and other public lands."

Including a recent budget amendment of $99 million for fire, the President's budget request for discretionary appropriations for Department of the Interior programs in the Interior bill totaled $9.86 billion. The conference agreement is $58 million or 0.6 percent below the President's budget request.

For the National Park Service, Congress funded the majority of the $16.4 million increase for park base operations and the $14.3 million increase request for cyclic maintenance.

Funding for the National Park Service maintenance backlog is $704 million, comparable with the request. Combined with DOT funding for roads, the 2004 program will provide over $1 billion to parks maintenance.

But the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) says that while the legislation does include a modest increase for national park operations, it falls far short of the $178 million increase that association's Americans for National Parks campaign sought to address critical park needs and a system wide annual shortfall of more than $600 million.

The NPCA warns that the legislation allows for damaging road claims and construction in parks and other public lands.

Privatization of services now provided by government will be funded, but Congress mandated that the Park Service spend no more than $2.5 million on all ongoing privatization studies and any new studies that might be conducted in fiscal year 2004. The law requires extensive reporting and Congress expects to receive the Park Service’s first report on monies spent on privatization studies by December 31.

The first privatization studies are expected to look at Park Service jobs at Golden Gate National Recreation Area in San Francisco. Additional studies are slated to begin in the coming year.

Secretary Norton is pleased that the budget legislation supports her Cooperative Conservation Initiative. Under this program the Interior Department partners with citizens, land-user groups, environmental organizations, communities, local and state governments, and industries for conservation projects. Partnering organizations or individuals are expected to match federal funds on at least a 50/50 basis.

The total 2004 appropriation for the Cooperative Conservation Initiative is $110.3 million. This is $18.9 million over 2003 and includes an increase over 2003 of $4.8 million for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Partners for Fish and Wildlife program.

The Interior Department is also expanding the use of cooperative conservation tools such as conservation banking, stewardship contracting, enhanced use of Safe Harbor agreements under the Endangered Species Act, and use of consensus based management for public lands.

The 2004 budget provides $497,000 for the Take Pride in America program to rally citizens to become engaged through volunteerism and fund raising to leverage federal investments in conservation partnerships effectively and efficiently.

Congress provides $788 million for the Department's fire program, including $99 million to repay funds borrowed in 2003. Suppression activities are funded at the 10 year average, and the bill provides funding of $185 million for fuels removal.

For the Hazardous Fuels Reduction program, the Interior Department will emphasize collaborative efforts to protect wildland urban interface communities. Fifty percent of on-the-ground fuels reduction monies will fund contracts to protect communities and aid local economies, and many of the fuels reduction contracts will be awarded to small, local companies.

Congress funded the Department's request of $10 million in grants funding to help equip and train rural fire departments for wildfire preparedness and initial attack capability.

Congress provides $297 million, slightly more than the requested level for Bureau of Indian Affairs education construction. This investment supports the President's "No Child Left Behind" initiative and will allow us to replace school facilities at seven or more locations and address critical health and safety concerns at a number of other schools.

Congress funded federal land acquisition at $109 million, $34 million below the administration's request. The state grants component of Land and Water Conservation Fund is funded at $94 million, $66 million below the request.

The budget for the Fish and Wildlife Service included small increases for endangered species activities, refuge operations and maintenance, migratory birds, law enforcement programs and hatchery operations and maintenance.

Bush Administration Drafts Rule to Diminish Stream Protections

Streams that flow for fewer than six months a year would lose protection from pollution and filling under the draft rule, as would the wetlands adjacent to them.

The change is proposed to the definition of waters of the United States as it relates to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under the Clean Water Act.

Under the new definition, tributary streams that flow into U.S. navigable waters would be protected from development and pollution only if they flow for six months of the year and are supplied by groundwater. Streams that are solely fed by rain or snow melt are not covered.

Federal protection would be removed for all wetlands adjacent to tributaries that flow less than six months a year or are not fed by groundwater.

The draft rule shows “a blatant disregard for law and science in favor of a free ride for industry when it comes to protecting America’s water resources,” according to Julie Sibbing, National Wildlife Federation (NWF) water policy specialist. It risks increased flooding, pollution and erosion and jeopardizes habitat and wildlife that support outdoor recreation, she said.

“Saying that streams must flow for at least six months to warrant Clean Water Act protection is like asking Americans to wear a seat belt only if they drive more than half the year. It takes only an instant for irreversible damage to occur,” warned Sibbing.

Waters that are used in interstate commerce by recreational users, hunters, anglers, shellfishers and industry would be removed from Clean Water Act protection.

Under the draft rule, pollutants could be discharged into a pipe or culvert connecting two navigable water bodies without any safeguard for the health of people or the environment because pipes, certain drains, ditches and other connections between navigable waters and tributaries would be removed from federal protection.

“The administration’s draft rule appears to respond to special interests’ attempts to expand a 2001 U.S. Supreme Court ruling to remove federal Clean Water Act protection from many types of wetlands, streams and ponds,” said Jim Murphy, NWF counsel for water and wetlands resources.

The Supreme Court’s decision in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. Army Corps of Engineers, known as the SWANCC decision, is a narrow ruling that applies exclusively to waters where the only claim to federal protection is that they are used by migratory birds, said Murphy.

The SWANCC ruling did not affect any federal regulations regarding the jurisdictional scope of the Clean Water Act. The nation’s lower courts have "consistently and overwhelmingly" found that federal safeguards to protect these critical water resources remain in place, Murphy explained.

“This decision leaves no doubt that the Bush administration is willing to ignore case law when it comes to warping Clean Water Act protection policies so that they meet the needs of industry,” said Murphy. “The elements of the draft rule fly in the face of lower court rulings and even those of the U.S. Supreme Court when it comes to safeguarding our nation’s water resources.”

California Logging Lawsuit Sparks Attorney General Recall Attempt

Pacific Lumber Company is the defendant in a lawsuit brought by Gallegos in July which claims that the lumber company secured state approval to log under the Headwaters Forest deal by submitting an environmental report containing false information about potential hazards, such as erosion from logging on steep hillsides.

Logging on unstable slopes "resulted in major landslides causing destruction to ancient redwoods, serious harm to Humboldt Bay and serious harm to streams, bridges, roads, homes and property rights of the people of Humboldt County," the lawsuit alleges.

"Between August 1998 and November 18, 1998, the Defendant devised a scheme to conceal required landslide information from the government and the public. This was done in order to maximize timber harvesting rates under its proposed sustained yield plan so as to pay off timber bonds, " the complaint states.

"From March 1, 1999 to the present time, the Defendant submitted timber harvest plans and proceeded to harvest timber based upon a fraudulent sustained yield and habitat conservation plan," according to the lawsuit.

In addition, Gallegos complains in the suit that during the same time period the Defendant took and appropriated $300 million dollars from escrow in contravention of (a) an implied condition that all escrow documents were untainted by fraud, and (b) an express condition requiring delivery of a CDFapproved sustained yield plan."

Pacific Lumber officials have denied the charges, saying Gallegos’ lawsuit rests on the findings of a government researcher whose work lacks "scientific credibility."

Pacific Lumber finally produced corrected information, but according to the lawsuit, that data was delivered only to a local representative of the California Department of Forestry, and not until just before the Headwaters deal was finalized. Gallegos said as a result the government and the public relied on Pacific Lumber's "false information" when authorizing 40 million more board feet per year than the previously approved alternative.

Gallegos has requested a court order to stop the company from logging in some areas, including those potentially unstable hillsides. He also seeks $2,500 for each tree harvested illegally, penalties that could amount to $250 million.

Local media report that Pacific Lumber Company, long the target of logging protestors for logging old growth and steep hillsides, has enlisted the efforts of its employees in the final weeks of the campaign to gather enough signatures to support a special recall election.

The "Times-Standard" newspaper quoted a October 24 letter written by Pacific Lumber President Robert Manne to all Pacific Lumber and Britt Lumber employees and retirees asking their support for the recall of Gallegos.

Recall organizers failed to get the 11,138 signatures needed to place the measure on the ballot this November. But based on a random sample of signatures collected in the latest attempt, the Humboldt County Elections Office says proponents have sufficient signatures to call for an election that could be consolidated with the March 2, 2004 Presidential Primary. The Elections Office will certify the recall signatures on November 18.

Responders Work to Right Texas Sulfuric Acid Barge

The barge remains on its port side with its bow aground and stern afloat. Inert nitrogen gas is being pumped into the barge to prevent pockets of explosive hydrogen gas from forming.

Responders are adjusting salvage slings and rigging in preparation for re-righting the barge, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Divers were deployed to attach a rigging line for salvage, but the line became snagged on debris and submerged pilings.

Crews with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration and the Coast Guard are at the site.

The vessel is operated by Martin Product Sales of Kilgore, Texas, and Martin personnel are continuing to work closely with the U.S. Coast Guard, the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality Houston Region 12, Texas Parks and Wildlife and the federal agencies to minimize the impact of this incident.

The safety zone remains at 100 yards. All waterways and terminals in Port of Texas City remain open with the exception of Sterling docks 1 and 2 and Texas City dock 11.

The Coast Guard Marine Safety unit in Galveston is investigating the cause of this accident.

Heart Attacks More Frequent on High Pollution Days

"Smokers are more sensitive to air pollution, as far as their risk for heart attacks," said study author Yves Cottin, M.D., Ph.D., of the cardiology department at the University of Dijon in Burgundy, France.

"When fine particles of less than 10 micrometers (µm), which are mainly attributable to diesel exhaust, exceeded 25 micrograms (µg) per cubic meter, hospital admissions for heart attack rose by 91 percent in the general population and even more in current smokers," Dr. Cottin said.

Cottin and his team examined data collected from 322 patients hospitalized for heart attack from the greater Dijon area during the period January 2001 to December 2002. Forty-two percent were smokers.

The researchers compared the daily incidence of heart attack with the average daily concentrations in the air of particles smaller than 10µm (PM10). They also measured average levels of ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide.

Researchers included the ATMO index, widely used in France as a daily overall indicator of air quality. The index ranges from one to 10, where one indicates very good and 10 very poor. It is calculated via the daily monitoring of four pollutants, both gases and particles - nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, ozone and PM10.

While the pollution level rose to six or higher only about five percent of the time, or about 18 days a year, heart attacks were 161 percent more likely to occur in the general population and 250 percent more likely in smokers during those high pollution days.

When considered separately, ozone, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide did not cause measurable adversel effects, Cottin said. But the team found that increased particulate matter increased the risk of heart attack, even at levels lower than current national standards.

"This is yet another strong case against smoking, and a warning for high risk people to stay indoors, or refrain from strenuous activities during peak air pollution periods. Doctors could even consider increasing heart disease treatment during those high risk pollution times," Cottin said.

Studies are under way to follow up with the patients who had heart attacks during the study period to analyze any differences that might exist between heart attacks people have during peak air pollution times versus cleaner air days.

The risks may be similar in other cities around the world, Cottin said, but the data needs confirmation in different geographic areas.

Yucca Mountain Safety Depends on Geological Absorption

The report, published in the November-December issue of "American Mineralogist" and largely funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Office, provides the most detailed three dimensional picture to date of the minerals most likely to impact long term waste storage.

"The repository must not place undue reliance on any one portion of the storage system, such as the man-made engineered portion," said David Bish, Haydn Murray Chair in Applied Clay Mineralogy at IUB and the report's lead author. "The long term storage of high-level radioactive waste will depend on geological and engineered systems that are intertwined in a complex way."

The Yucca Mountain site, approved by Congress and the President in 2002 for the long-term storage of 70,000 metric tons of high-level radioactive waste must remain geologically stable for at least 10,000 years according to federal requirements, but doubts remain about the ability of the mountain to keep the public safe from radioactive contamination for that length of time.

Department of Energy (DOE) representatives are expected to approach the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2004 to acquire three federal licenses: one for facility construction, another permitting the storage of high-level radioactive waste and a third for sealing the repository.

"Because the work presented in our paper provides the most comprehensive, three-dimensional mineralogical picture of Yucca Mountain, we believe the paper will probably be used in licensing deliberations," Bish said.

Bish and his colleagues confirmed that Yucca Mountain's rocks are rich in zeolites - soft, clay-like minerals that are known to absorb a number of positively charged ions, such as radioactive cesium, barium and strontium. "These zeolites are still one of the most potent natural means of retarding the movement of radioactive ions through rock," Bish said.

Zeolites also possess some of the properties of sponges, absorbing and releasing large amounts of water. This water can, in turn, absorb much of the heat produced by the radioactive waste.

The DOE maintains that Yucca Mountain was selected because the area is dry, the climate is arid and the water table is deep, so waste packages would be preserved. But Allison Macfarlane, a professor at Georgia Tech’s Sam Nunn School of International Affairs who is co-editing a book on the safety of the proposed Yucca Mountain repository, says Yucca Mountain is not really that dry.

In fact, Macfarlane said, wet conditions are better than dry for extending the life of spent fuel, but as a result of its policy, the DOE has neglected to explore significant issues associated with the corrosion of spent fuel. "DOE’s understanding of water transport through the rock above the water table remains in its infancy, Macfarlane said.

DOE relies heavily on the performance of Alloy-22, a chromium-nickel-molybdenum alloy, to endow the waste packages with a predicted 10,000 years of resistance to corrosion. This reliance stems from two years’ worth of corrosion research in the laboratory. "But there is good reason to be skeptical about these results," said Macfarlane. "No natural analogs were studied, because there are none. No long-term studies were conducted. And the complex conditions that will evolve over time around the waste package are still poorly understood."

Bish also said that understanding the complex geological and mineralogical features of Yucca Mountain is vital to modeling the long-term performance of any storage facility that is built there.

"I'd like to know more about how introduction of a repository into the mountain will change the geology, mineralogy and hydrology, all of which will affect the ability of the mountain to contain the waste," Bish said. "We also need to know more about how water flows through the repository horizon, a zone of rock into which the waste would be placed."

If all goes according to proponents' plans, the Yucca Mountain site could begin receiving radioactive waste as early as 2010. But many obstacles exist, that could delay the transportation of waste. Many of the 43 states through which it will pass object to the transportation of radioactive waste across their borders.

Also, the state of Nevada contests scientists' claim that Yucca Mountain is geologically satisfactory for the purposes of high-level radioactive waste storage. Governor Kenny Guinn, a Republican, has said, "Yucca Mountain is not safe. It is not suitable." The state has mounted several lawsuits against the project, and a majority of Nevada residents are opposed to Yucca Mountain.

Chips Beneath the Greens Solve Pollution Problems

Now, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have found an environmentally friendly use for these mountains of tires - they can grind them into bits for placement beneath golf course greens. These rubber bits can absorb excess chemicals from fertilizers and pesticides, preventing them from leaching into groundwater and contaminating the surrounding environment.

In a paper accepted for publication in the journal "Waste Management," Jae (Jim) Park, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at UW-Madison and a golfer with a 6 handicap, has shown that used tires could provide a barrier to the the fertilizers and pesticides applied to the golf course greens that now pollute the environment.

Park says some 1,000 pounds of pesticides are applied yearly to a single golf course and there are more than 23,000 golf courses in the United States.

"Because many greens are built near groundwater levels or wetlands," explains Park, "it is vital to consider the mitigation of environmental contamination caused by the pesticides and fertilizers applied to golf courses."

"Tires are a waste material," says Park, "and we need to have safe ways to dispose of them."

In the latest study, Park and his team found that tire chips can absorb nitrate - one of the main chemicals in fertilizers. Park says studies show that infants who drink water containing excess amounts of nitrate can become seriously ill and, left untreated, could die.

For the study, the researchers inserted tire chips six to nine millimeters in diameter between layers of sand and peat root mix and gravel, both commonly found beneath golf green turf. The rubber layer was either five or 10 centimeters thick. While the field sites were seeded with a grass, the lab samples were left bare.

To test the ability of the tire chips to absorb chemicals, the Wisconsin scientists applied water spiked with different concentrations of nitrate to each sample. Then, they measured the concentration that seeped out of the bottom gravel layer. In all experiments, the researchers found that the rubber layers did absorb the compounds.

Some environmentalists have expressed concern that chemicals released from the tires will percolate into the environment, but Park says many scientific studies show that the amount released is minimal compared to the amount the tires can trap.

"We've proved that is not an issue," he says. "Some contaminants have been reported, but the levels are so low."

Greens with a tire chip underlay look just as good as traditional greens. Turfgrass quality, color, density or germination rate did not appear to be affected, Park says.

"Excess amounts of fertilizer will be absorbed by ground tires. They'll be trapped right there instead of traveling." Over time, he says, soil microbes will remove the nitrate from the rubber layer, which could remain intact for last years.

Besides absorbing chemicals harmful to the environment, Park says tire chips are light weight, allowing for easy transportation and installation; they absorb shock, possibly alleviating foot pains of golfers; and they trap heat, promoting turf and root growth longer into autumn and earlier in spring.

But, above all, he says, "The technology reuses a waste material that's hard to dispose while it protects the environment." Park estimates that about 72,000 tires would be needed to include a 10 centimeter layer of tire chips for an 18 hole golf course.

Researchers throughout the world have been searching for ways to reuse tires that are accumulating in stockpiles.

Civil engineers have utilized tires, either in scrap or ground-up form, to develop fuel, artificial ocean reefs, bumpers, playground equipment, and asphalt additives that extend the life of roadways and shock

absorbent playing fields.

Ground up rubber products, including the soles from sneakers, can be found beneath the turfgrass at many athletic stadiums, including Camp Randall Stadium at UW-Madison.

Applications Open for $10,000 Environmental Excellence Awards

Organizers emphasize this is an awards program, not a grant program. Project submissions should demonstrate significant accomplishments completed by December 19. Past winning projects have demonstrated ongoing positive environmental impact for at least several years.

Eligibility for the awards now expands beyond school groups to recognize the efforts of community groups, such as 4-H clubs, public recreation centers, scouts, and other community service organizations working creatively to solve local environmental challenges.

This year, Fujifilm is joining the 12 year program. "We are very pleased to partner with SeaWorld and Busch Gardens in support of this wonderful program," said Judy Matson, director of corporate contributions for Fujifilm. "It not only fosters environmental awareness and conservation, but also rewards those schools and organizations who take action to protect our environment. The awards fit perfectly with Fujifilm's efforts in promoting environmental education."

The awards are held in cooperation with nine nationally recognized environmental and education organizations - National Wildlife Federation, World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, National Geographic Society, Izaak Walton League of America, Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute and the National Science Teachers Association.

Since 1993, the "SeaWorld/Busch Gardens Environmental Excellence Awards" have recognized more than 100 schools in 35 U.S. states and territories and awarded more than $1 million.

Applications will be accepted now through Decmeber 19. To learn more about the 2004 "SeaWorld/Busch Gardens/Fujifilm Environmental Excellence Awards," visit: http://www.seaworld.org/conservation-matters/eea or call 407-363-2389 to receive an application form.