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Yosemite Arson Suspect Found Dead in Park YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, California, October 18, 2004 (ENS) - On Saturday, Yosemite National Park rangers found the body of a man who is suspected of lighting fires that spread to a 2,000 acre blaze in the park on the weekend, officials said. The body was taken to a medical examiner to determine the cause of death.Fire managers at the Crane Flat lookout noticed smoke at about 11:30 Friday morning 16 miles northwest of Yosemite Village in an area near the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. Firefighters who responded to the fire in a helicopter evacuated two hikers from the area. The hikers reported that a man on the trail was lighting fires and waving a gun around. National Park Service Rangers went to the area to apprehend the suspected arsonist, but decided not to approach him. The road leading to Hetch Hetchy is currently closed beyond the entrance station as are all trails in and leading to the Hetch Hetchy area. Yosemite Fire crews, Alpine Hotshots, a Yosemite Helitack crew, and three helicopters were working to suppress the fire all day Sunday in cooperation with 55 firefighters on the ground. The fire is burning in brush, hardwoods, and mixed conifer forests in an isolated area, and no homes are threatened. Officials are keen to suppress the fire, which is burning adjacent to Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, which supplies drinking water to some 1.7 million inhabitants of the San Francisco Bay Area. Fire officials say it could take until October 30 to contain the blaze.
Car Crashes Kill Yellowstone Bears, Man Survives Mauling WASHINGTON, DC, October 18, 2004 (ENS) - Six bears, including a grizzly sow and three black bear cubs, were victims of car crashes in Yellowstone National Park this summer, a greater number than has ever been recorded at the park in a single summer.The female grizzly is the second killed in the park this year, equaling the government’s mortality limit for the species for the first time since 1997. The mortality limit is based upon a calculation that the grizzly population risks extinction if it loses more than two sows per year. The statistics were compiled in a report by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), which represents natural resources employees at all levels of government. In response to the bear deaths, Yellowstone Superintendent Suzanne Lewis has appointed an internal committee “to make recommendations on ways to reduce the number of accidents.” Interior Secretary Gale Norton has said that motor vehicles in Yellowstone National Park "are involved in collisions that, on average, cause the death of at least one large animal per day.” Still, Yellowstone National Park is widening park roads, which increases vehicle speed, the leading factor in large mammal deaths from cars. Nearly half of Yellowstone’s major roadways have been widened in the past five years, and park managers are making only limited use of wildlife crossings and sensors to protect the animals. In its environmental reviews of road projects, the National Park Service limits its attention to federally protected species, like the grizzly and the wolf. Yet on average, one moose deer, elk or mule deer is killed every week on Yellowstone roads. Cars kill as many buffalo in the park as does Montana’s controversial bison hunt outside the park, PEER's analysis shows. PEER is starting a campaign to lobby the National Park Service to take affirmative steps to reduce road-kill and to enforce its own rules governing off-road vehicle usage in the parks. Deaths occur when animals find themselves on areas constructed by humans - such as roadways. On the other hand, a park visitor last month walking off the road in bear country kept his cool after surprising a grizzly sow with two cubs and escaped serious injury. The 41 year old Livingston, Montana resident was backpacking along the Snake River Trail south of Heart Lake on September 26 when he heard a “whoof” and looked up to see the three bears about 30 yards above the trail. The sow charged. The man slowly and calmly began to leave. The bear hit him from behind - knocking him down – and ran off. After starting to crawl away, the man heard the bear huffing and curled up into the fetal position with his back to the sow. The bear then batted him about the head and shoulders with her paws and bit into the top of his pack several times before running off, park officials recounted. The man then hiked out to the trailhead. He had received two small puncture wounds on his head and one on his right shoulder but did not seek medical treatment. Wildlife mangers believe the backpacker avoided serious injury by acting passive and nonthreatening during the encounter, by going into the fetal position and by keeping his pack on his back.
New Jersey Cracks Down on Pollutants in Consumer Products TRENTON, New Jersey, October 18, 2004 (ENS) - Dozens of consumer products containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as adhesives, paint strippers, and air fresheners may soon be subject to stricter emissions regulations proposed by the state of New Jersey.The Department of Environmental Protection is proposing the new rules to control the emissions of VOCs and toxics from consumer products. The new requirements will apply to manufacturers, distributors, suppliers and retailers of consumer products. The new rules would apply to automotive windshield washer fluids, insecticides, and cleaners containing VOCs; and portable fuel containers from which VOCs may be emitted when gasoline or other fuels are poured into or out of the container or stored in the container. New limits would also apply to personal care products such as hair spray and shaving cream and to colorants and ethanols in antiperspirants or deodorants. The rulemaking is intended to reduce VOC emissions, which are precursors of smog, and to assist in the attainment of the one-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard and the eight-hour ozone health standard. Considering both categories and product forms, the number of regulated VOC content limits is increased from 41 to 89. If approved, these 89 VOC content limits take effect on January 1, 2005, and supersede the existing state standards that became operative April 30, 1996. Of these 89 VOC content limits, 26 are more stringent than the existing VOC content limits, 27 are unchanged, and 36 VOC content limits are for newly added categories or subcategories of products. Also, of the 89 categories or subcategories of VOC content limits, three - automotive windshield washer fluids, charcoal lighter material and structural waterproof adhesives - have been regulated under the federal rule but not under the existing state rules. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said that New Jersey is emitting VOCs in excess of federal standards - if approved the new rule will help bring VOC emissions into compliance and will help to implement the State Implementation Plan for Ozone commitment to the EPA. The proposed limits are expected to help reduce fine particulates and will potentially reduce toxics, that are VOCs or formed from VOCs. Distributors and retailers may be impacted, the DEP says, if the potential increase in costs of products dampen demand for the products. The potential consumer impact analysis assumes that manufacturers, distributors and retailers pass on any additional compliance costs to the consumers. This may be conservative because the manufacture may absorb some or all of the cost of compliance. Based on the potential consumer impact analysis, the DEP said it "does not anticipate any significant adverse economic impacts for distributors and retailers." Ground level ozone, or smog, is a reactive gas formed in the lower atmosphere from chemical reactions involving VOCs and other chemicals in the presence of sunlight. At high concentrations, it causes a variety of adverse human health effects as well as damage to crops and building materials. A public hearing on this proposal is scheduled for Thursday, November 13, at 1:30 pm at: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Hearing Room, 1st First Floor, 401 East State Street, Trenton, New Jersey 08625 View the entire proposed rule online at: http://www.nj.gov/dep/aqm/CPpropdist.htm
Croatan Sound Bridge Manager Guilty of Illegal Dredging RALEIGH, North Carolina, October 18, 2004 (ENS) - A project manager for Balfour Beatty Construction Inc. (BBC), a subsidiary of the United Kingdom company Balfour Beatty, PLC, has pleaded guilty to dredging a channel in Croatan Sound under cover of night and spewing dredged material across the floor of the sound.Croatan Sound has been designated as high quality waters, and covering habitat can injure fish and wildlife. Michael Hillyer entered his guilty plea in federal court in Raleigh, North Carolina admitting that he conspired to violate the Rivers and Harbors Act (RHA) and the Clean Water Act. As project manager for Balfour Beatty, Hillyer oversaw the dredging of a portion of the Croatan Sound and supervised the discharge of the dredged spoil into the sound in October 2002. BBC did not have a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to do this work. The violations occurred when BBC's employees removed a temporary load-out trestle that had been built in shallow water near Manns Harbor as part of the Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge construction project. The 5.2 mile bridge is the state’s longest, spanning the sound from Manns Harbor to Manteo. In order to get a crane to the trestle site, BBC employees used backwash from a tugboat propeller to cut a channel next to the trestle. They worked at night to avoid detection. As a result, 5,500 cubic yards of dredged spoil, about 500 dumptrucks worth, was expelled from the channel and deposited on 8.2 acres of habitat on the floor of the sound. Balfour Beatty already had completed the $89 million project when the violations took place from October 21 to 31, 2002. The environmental damage has been mitigated by the North Carolina Department of Transportation, according to a court document. Hillyer was indicted in May. Atlanta based Balfour Beatty Construction fired Hillyer when it found out about the violations, said a company spokesman. Hillyer faces a maximum sentence of up to four years in prison and/or a maximum fine of up to $500,000. BBC and two other BBC employees have already pleaded guilty in the case.
Pennsylvania Doubles Clean Electricity Buy to 10 Percent PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, October 18, 2004 (ENS) - Pennsylvania has doubled its purchase of electricity from cleaner sources to 10 percent, Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen McGinty said Thursday. She announced the 10 percent purchase at PennFuture’s fifth annual GreenPower: Turn It On! awards ceremony.The Department of Environmental Protection received the PennFuture award for a 100 percent green energy purchase that cut energy costs by about 35 percent at the new Southeast Regional Office, which opened earlier this year. Under four year contracts with Community Energy Inc. and Strategic Energy LLC, the state will purchase 100,000 megawatt hours a year, or 10 percent of the state government’s electricity needs, from sources such as wind, waste coal and hydroelectric energy, at a rate of 0.34 cents per kilowatt hour. Thirty-five percent of this purchase will come from new wind sources and 10 percent from burning waste coal in circulating fluidized bed facilities, which produces lower air emissions than conventional coal plants. The reminder will come from low impact run-of-river hydroelectric power from the Susquehanna River, McGinty said. The new purchase more than triples the amount of wind certificates purchased in the state. McGinty said the coal power purchase helps to clean up a major source of water pollution and reclaims otherwise useless land through the purchase of waste coal certificates. The action embraces one of the main environmental themes of the administration of Governor Ed Rendell, a Democrat - viewing environmentally harmful material as a potential resource that can be re-used rather than remain as a liability, McGinty said. McGinty, who headed the White House Council on Environmental Quality in the Clinton administration, said the purchase help to use state resources to develop a sustainable energy infrastructure that will help create jobs, enhance homeland security and register environmental improvements in Pennsylvania. The state Department of General Services and the Governor’s Green Government Council collaborated on contracts, which came in $163,690 below budget. “This contract proves that Pennsylvania has everything to gain and nothing to lose by investing in clean energy,” said General Services Secretary Donald Cunningham. Pennsylvania is considering an Advanced Energy Portfolio Standard requiring that in 10 years, 10 percent of all of the energy generated in the state comes from clean, efficient sources.
New York Invests $8.7 Million in Recycling NEW YORK, New York, October 18, 2004 (ENS) - New York City streets are known around the world for their glittering shops but also for the litter blowing across the pavements or piling up in the gutters. That could be about to change. New York City's renewed recycling program is receiving a $2 million grant from the state to educate New Yorkers about recycling and encourage more participation.The grant is part of a set of waste reduction and recycling grants to 27 municipalities across the state totaling more than $8.7 million. Announcing the grants on Friday, Governor George Pataki, a Republican, said, "Recycling is one of the easiest and most effective ways to reduce waste, prevent pollution and help protect New York's precious natural resources." "I'm proud that these grants will build on our efforts to help local governments - like New York City - expand and enhance recycling efforts in their communities and provide a cleaner, healthier environment for all New Yorkers," the governor said. The New York City Department of Sanitation collects recyclables from residents, public schools, government agencies and institutions. The $2 million grant will help fund efforts to continue extensive public outreach and education initiatives targeting individuals and communities across the city in an effort to promote and expand recycling activity. Some of the other large grants on the list include $2 million to the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency for a materials recovery facility including the construction of a pre-engineered metal building and the purchase of equipment for processing paper recyclables and commingled containers - plastics, metals and glass. The Town of Southold will receive $1.6 million for the acquisition of a site, the development of a yard waste composting facility, and for the purchase of a windrow turner to be used at the facility. The Rockland County Solid Waste Management Authority will get $1 million for a wood storage and drying system at the Authority's co-composting facility. The grants are being provided through the Environmental Protection Fund, 1996 Clean Water/Clear Air Bond Act, and the 1972 Environmental Quality Bond Act. In 1996, Governor Pataki proposed and New York voters approved the $1.75 billion Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act. To date, the Bond Act has provided more than $1.5 billion to more than 2,100 environmental projects, including $50 million for municipal recycling projects.
U.S. Trains 11 Countries to Stop Nuclear Smuggling WASHINGTON, DC, October 18, 2004 (ENS) - The smuggling of nuclear and radiological materials is a threat to peace and security worldwide, and the U.S. agency responsible for securing these materials is expanding its efforts to train border guards and customs officials in other countries to combat the threat.The export control office of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has designed a new Commodity Identification Training curriculum to educate and train customs inspectors and border enforcement personnel in techniques of detection and interdiction. By the end of November, these trainings will be conducted in coordination with 11 countries, including Lithuania, Latvia, Georgia, Turkey, Thailand and Ukraine. "NNSA initiates these partnerships with our experts at the national laboratories with the ultimate goal of preventing dangerous nuclear material from falling into the hands of terrorists," said NNSA Administrator Linton Brooks. Latvia is NNSA's most recent partner and has added the training to the curriculum for its customs personnel, with plans to provide it to on-duty customs personnel on a rotating basis. After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, NNSA's export control office, together with the Department of State, expanded its cooperation with major supplier states like China and Turkey. When Pakistani bomb designer A.Q. Khan confessed on February 4, 2004 that he was solely responsible for operating an international black market in nuclear weapons materials, the level of concern at the NNSA intensified. NNSA established new partnerships with technical and enforcement organizations in a number of Asian countries. NNSA works in these and other countries in the Mediterranean and Middle East that may serve as transshipment points for proliferation sensitive equipment. These projects reflect NNSA's core missions to promote international nonproliferation and reduce the global danger from weapons of mass destruction. The Commodity Identification Training program is new, and expands NNSA's longstanding cooperation with Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan to support outreach to industries and scientific entities and improve nuclear licensing practices.
Grants to Developing Nations Target Indoor Air Pollution WASHINGTON, DC, October 18, 2004 (ENS) - For the first time, grants to find alternatives to fuels that cause indoor air pollution in developing countries are being offered by by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).Indoor air pollution causes 1.6 million deaths a year, according to international estimates. The culprits are the wood and coal used for heating and cooking. In support of World Rural Women's Day, October 15, and the Partnership for Clean Indoor Air, the agencies Friday announced grants worth $1.3 million to cover 11 projects that will introduce cleaner technologies in both urban and rural areas. The grants are being issued to nongovernmental agencies in China, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Mexico, Nigeria and Uganda. Mauritania and South Africa will be included in the program in the future, the agencies said. China will be funded for two projects. The Nature Conservancy will promote solar water heaters, biogas units, and biomass stoves in northwest Yunnan Province, China. And the Institute for Environmental Health and Related Product Safety will promote improved coal and biomass technology in rural Guizhou and Gansu provinces. Two projects will be funded in India. Development Alternatives will get a grant to provide improved wood burning stoves in rural areas of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, India. And the Alternative Rural Technology Institute will introduce biogas technology in rural areas of Maharashtra. In Guatemala, HELPS International will encourage the use of the retained heat cooker in rural areas. And in Honduras, the organization Trees, Water & People will promote more efficient wood burning stoves in an urban area. In Mexico, Solar Household Energy will manufacture and sell 2,000 solar panel ovens in rural areas. And in Nigeria, the Centre for Household Energy and Environment will introduce methanol stove-fuel cooking system. In Uganda, Venture Strategies, in collaboration with Center for Entrepreneurship in International Health and Development, will promote local technology and more efficient wood stoves in urban areas. Projects in Mauritania and South Africa will soon be announced. More information on each of the projects is online at: http://www.pciaonline.net/grantees.cfm In a 2002 report the World Health Organization said indoor smoke from solid fuels is a major risk factor contributing to the global and regional burden of disease. More than two billion people, almost half of the world's population, still burn traditional fuels like firewood, coal, crop residues, and dung indoors for home cooking and heating.
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