• Nuclear Plants Safe From Attack, Top Official Says
  
• Citizens' Right to Hear Nuclear Safety Issues Defended in Court
  
• Warm El Niño Weather Returns to the Tropical Pacific
  
• Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum Opens
  
• Wetland Habitat Conserved in U.S. and Canada
  
• Coal Impoundment Website Offers Emergency Information
  
• Wisconsin Loggers Embrace Sustainable Certification
  
• Measuring Gravity Yields Clues to Climate Change
  

Nuclear Plants Safe From Attack, Top Official Says

In a September 8 letter to Tom Ridge, secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, NRC head Nils Diaz says that, "Even in the unlikely event of a radiological release due to a terrorist use of a large aircraft against a nuclear power plant, the studies indicate that there would be time to implement the required on-site mitigating actions."

Additional studies are being considered to further enhance mitigative capabilities, and "we will continue to coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security on this initiative," Diaz writes.

"The studies to date also indicate that significant releases of radioactive material due to a terrorist attack on a spent fuel pool are very unlikely. The safety and security of spent fuel storage is ensured through many safety and security measures that provide protection against terrorist threats."

"In addition, the studies indicate it is highly unlikely that a significant release of radioactivity would occur from a dry spent fuel storage cask," the NRC head writes, "and no release of radioactive material is expected from an aircraft attack on a transportation cask."

"Measures are in place to adequately protect the public from attacks on spent fuel, in either wet or dry configurations," writes Diaz.

Since September 11, 2001, writes Diaz, the NRC has strengthened the requirements for security personnel, changes that must be implemented at the nuclear power plants by October 29, 2004.

To train nuclear plant safety officers, the NRC conducts force-on-force exercises. These exercises provide useful insights on communication, coordination strategies and tactics that would be used to respond to potential terrorist attacks, the NRC says.

The agency has conducted force-on-force exercises since 1991, but suspended them in 2001 so that nuclear power facilities could focus their security resources on safeguarding their plants during elevated homeland security threat levels.

The agency has conducted a pilot program to evaluate new force-on-force program elements put into place after September 11, 2001 and is currently conducting a transition program to evaluate the overall force-on-force process.

The full security performance assessment program is set to resume in November 2004. Under that program, the NRC will conduct approximately 22 force-on-force exercises per year, so that each site’s security will undergo an NRC evaluated exercise at least once every three years.

This is a significant increase in the exercise frequency, Diaz wrote, and in addition, each plant is required to conduct independent exercises at least once each year.

Citizens' Right to Hear Nuclear Safety Issues Defended in Court

The Citizens Awareness Network’s (CAN) lawsuit against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) seeking to overturn that rulemaking will be heard today by the First Circuit Appellate Court in Boston.

On January 14 of this year, despite over 1,400 comments in opposition from the public, the NRC announced the abolition of public hearings.

The nuclear industry lobbied for this rule change, which is consistent with Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham’s plan to push for the building of dozens of new reactors.

CAN is going to court is suing to "reinstate the hearing rights of reactor communities throughout the country," said the organization, which has chapters in seven states.

Joining CAN’s lawsuit as intervenors are Public Citizen, the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, and the National Whistleblowers Center.

Attorneys general from the states of Massachusetts, New York, California, New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Connecticut have filed briefs in support of CAN’s lawsuit.

The Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly stated in his brief that “The NRC seeks to restrict public and state participation in licensing matters just when licenses for these aging facilities are beginning to expire."

"The NRC’s position is unreasonable, and inconsistent with the Atomic Energy Act," Reilly claims.

The attorney general says, "The safety of their citizens is the states’ foremost concern when nuclear plants are being licensed or relicensed. In light of the magnitude of the potential impacts from an accident at one of these facilities, the Statss believe it is of the utmost importance to ensure that relicensing hearings include adjudicatory procedures designed to bring out a complete factual picture.”

“Under the old rules impacted communities could get a hearing and fight the industry’s grand schemes, but this is no longer possible," said Deb Katz, executive director of the Citizens Awareness Network. “Hearings are now granted at the whim of the NRC, fast-tracked and with no ability for people to get effective discovery or cross-examine witnesses. Democratic safeguards have been removed and there is no longer access to justice."

“The future of nuclear power in America will be determined by this case,” said Harvey Schaktman, board member of the Citizens Awareness Network. “This is a pivotal time for reactor communities and the nuclear industry. While reactors across the country are nearing their closure date, nuclear corporations are intent on up-rates, increasing their power output, re-licensing and building new reactors on old sites to revive their obsolete industry.”

Warm El Niño Weather Returns to the Tropical Pacific

Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum Opens

The Forum is an international climate change initiative that focuses on the development of carbon capture and storage technologies.

"Our emphasis on carbon sequestration is of vital importance as the world's economies continue to expand," McSlarrow said.

"Coal is one of the world's most plentiful energy resources, and one of its cheapest," he said, "so it is in our best interest to emphasize the capture and permanent isolation of gases that otherwise could contribute to global climate change."

"Affordable and environmentally safe sequestration approaches could offer a way to stabilize atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide without requiring large-scale and potentially costly changes to our respective energy infrastructures."

Underlying the activities undertaken by the CSLF since its inaugural meeting in June 2003 is the recognition by all 16 Members that there are immense coal reserves in the world, that coal remains a relatively cheap source of energy, and that fossil fuels will continue to be widely used during the first half of this century if not beyond.

In Melbourne, ministers will consider for approval the 10 carbon capture and storage projects presented at the second meeting of the CSLF's Policy and Technical Groups held in Rome, Italy, in January. The ministers will also consider whether to approve a Technical Roadmap that provides future directions for activities through the CSLF.

CSLF Members have also been invited to participate in the U.S. FutureGen project, a $1 billion initiative to design and construct the first emission free coal fired power plant that will produce energy, capture and store emissions and also produce hydrogen.

Along with developments in other technologies, carbon capture and storage holds the promise of allowing the world to consume fossil fuels sustainably over the coming decades, and to lay the foundations for a potential post-petroleum era of zero net emissions.

Wetland Habitat Conserved in U.S. and Canada

At the same time, the Commission approved the acquisition of nearly 16,000 acres of migratory bird habitat to be added to units in the National Wildlife Refuge System.

The Commission's action will provide funding to states and other partners through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) to conserve habitat for migratory birds. The Commission used money from the sale of the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, the Duck Stamp, to purchase land in six states for the Service's National Wildlife Refuge System.

"With this round of NAWCA proposals," said Norton, "we are set to restore nearly 22,000 acres, enhance nearly 89,000 acres, and protect more than 217,000 acres of wetlands around the nation."

The NAWCA Standard Grants Program will fund 22 projects in 13 states for more than $20.5 million to protect or restore more than 1.1 million acres of wetlands and associated upland habitats.

Since 1990, more than 2,000 partners have been involved in more than 1,000 projects made possible through the Standard Grant Program. Canadian, Mexican and U.S. partners focus on protecting, restoring, and enhancing wetland habitat.

Project partners must minimally match the grant request at a one-to-one ratio.

The Commission also approved more than $6.4 million in funding for 13 projects in Canada. Partners there are adding more than $15.4 million to conserve 98,000 acres of wetlands.

"Since many of North America's waterfowl species are dependent on breeding habitat in Canada it is important that we use our NAWCA funds to conserve habitat there as well," said Service Director Steve Williams. "All of this work with partners will help us continue to improve habitat conditions and promote solution oriented conservation of migratory birds and other wildlife for future generations."

"Sportsmen and women have contributed a great deal to the development of the National Wildlife Refuge System," Norton said. "Money raised by the sale of Federal Duck Stamps pays for this land acquisition. Since the first Duck Stamp sale in 1934, nearly $700 million has been raised to purchase more than five million acres of wetlands for the refuge system."

In total, more than $600 million has been invested through the act and total partner contributions exceed $1.7 billion. More than 22 million acres of wetlands and associated uplands have been affected across the continent.

• Louisiana: Acquisition of 1,082 acres to provide habitat for waterfowl within the boundaries of Red River National Wildlife Refuge.

• Louisiana: Acquisition of 10,948 acres to protect bottomland hardwood forest for migratory waterfowl within the boundaries of Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge.

• Maine/New Hampshire: Acquisition of 1,073 acres to protect wetlands for waterfowl within the boundaries of Lake Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge.

• Maine: Acquisition of 34 acres to provide breeding habitat for waterfowl within the boundaries of Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge.

• New Jersey: Acquisition of 28 acres to protect wintering and nesting waterfowl habitat within the boundaries of Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.

• New Jersey: Acquisition of 92 acres to conserve wetland habitat within the boundaries of Wallkill National Wildlife Refuge.

• New Hampshire: Acquisition of 622 acres to provide habitat for waterfowl within the boundaries of Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge.

• Texas: Acquisition of 1,681 acres to provide habitat for waterfowl within the boundaries of San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge.

• Texas: Acquisition of 255 acres to provide habitat for wintering waterfowl within the boundaries of Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge.

• West Virginia: Acquisition of 486 acres to conserve wetland habitats within the boundaries of Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

Coal Impoundment Website Offers Emergency Information

The number of impoundment spills appears to be increasing over the past two decades, yet the people who need to know the most about the dangers of coal impoundments - nearby residents - often know the least.

Now there is an online source of information - the Coal Impoundment Project - to alert residents to emergency situations and evacuation plans, and examine alternatives for impounding coal waste and sludge.

The project is under the direction of J. Davitt McAteer, director of the Coal Impoundment Project at the Robert C. Byrd National Technology Transfer Center, located at Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling.

Work began on the Coal Impoundment Project in June 2003 in an effort to identify coal impoundments in West Virginia. Today, over 100 of the 550 estimated coal impoundment sites in West Virginia are accounted for on the Coal Impoundment Project website: www.coalimpoundment.org

One of the major features of the website is the listing of coal impoundment information such as locations, evacuation plans and emergency phone numbers. The site includes detailed and interactive mapping of coal impoundments and their related evacuation plans and what areas would likely be affected should a spill occur.

A new feature of the site is the documentation of failures that have occurred dating from 1972 to the most recent in January 2004.

On January 26, a frozen slurry line at Massey Energy Company's Bandmill subsidiary burst, causing water to back up into the thickener vat, which overflowed, sending slurry into sediment ponds and Rum Creek, and into the Guyandotte River. Two miles of streams were contaminated.

There have been at least nine major spills in the Appalachian coalfields since the deadly Buffalo Creek spill in 1972. A detailed list of all spills is on the site at: http://www.coalimpoundment.org/spill/spillList.asp

The first priority of the Coal Impoundment Project is to provide information to citizens in the mining communities of West Virginia about coal impoundments and emergency evacuation plans for each site.

Identifying technologies to enable the re-mining and dismantling of these impoundments is the second objective of this project.

A third component of the project is finding a long-term solution that will lead to safer and cleaner communities.

The project team includes the Erma Ora Byrd Center for Educational Technologies, Wheeling Jesuit University, Clifford M. Lewis, S.J. Appalachian Institute at Wheeling Jesuit University, West Virginia University/National Mine Land Reclamation Center, International Union of Operating Engineers and the U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory.

Wisconsin Loggers Embrace Sustainable Certification

Loggers say that their move toward professionalism will make them more competitive, and will inspire confidence and trust in their work by mills, and by the woodlot owners who depend on their services to harvest their timber and get it to the mill.

Gene Francisco, head of the Wisconsin Professional Logger Association (WPLA) and a retired chief state forester, says loggers serve a critical role in helping provide the many wood products that consumers demand.

Speaking at the Lake States Logging Congress in Green Bay last week, Francisco said the logging profession is maturing and that WPLA members know how important it is to build a track record of confidence by living up to its Code of Standards every day, on every job.

“The professional example set by WPLA members and Wisconsin’s Master Loggers will raise the bar of expectations and performance; and all loggers will benefit,” he said.

One of the organizations providing certification for loggers is the Master Logger Certification Program that started in Maine, and in 2002 was unanimously adopted as the national model for logger certification by the 27 state associations in the American Logging Council.

This program certifies logging companies, not individual loggers; and serves as a marketing tool, distinguishing Master Logger Certified companies from other companies.

There were 26 Master Logger companies evaluated and 24 of those were certified in Wisconsin’s first class in 2003. A 2004 class of companies is currently being evaluated.

“Both loggers and foresters need more cross-training to understand elements of each other’s discipline and point of view.” says Tim Mulhern, deputy administrator for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Division of Forest and the Division’s representative on the WPLA Board of Directors. He adds that 80 percent of logging on private, non-industrial land in Wisconsin is being done without the advice of professional foresters.

“Professional foresters are working hard to provide technical assistance to a larger percentage of the 262,000 private, nonindustrial forest landowners in Wisconsin. Cross-training between professional foresters and loggers will help them work together to ensure that timber harvesting is done well on these private forestlands,” Mulhern said.

As an organization, WPLA is committed to sustainable forestry. They are in it for the long haul, and committed to continuing education and logger certification. “WPLA is building their organization on solid ethical, operational and environmental standards that can be trusted by the public and the industry,” said Mulhern.

A growing number of loggers, Francisco says, feel that staying current is their best way to stay competitive as more and more landowners seek certified loggers to harvest their trees, and the companies that purchase forest products make sustainable forestry and certification a must in today’s global market place.

In today’s market, said Francisco, "if timber can’t be certified as sustainable, it’s often a deal-breaker for the buyer; and the seller must peddle his logs down the street." at a lower price.

Measuring Gravity Yields Clues to Climate Change

The finding comes from more than a year's worth of data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) a two-spacecraft, joint partnership of NASA and the German Aerospace Center.

Results published in the journal "Science" show that the researchers could estimate monthly changes in the distribution of water and ice masses by measuring changes in Earth's gravity field.

The GRACE data measured the weight of up to 10 centimeters of groundwater accumulations from heavy tropical rains, particularly in the Amazon basin and Southeast Asia. Smaller signals caused by changes in ocean circulation were also visible.

"The GRACE gravity measurements will be combined with water models to sketch an exceptionally accurate picture of water distribution around the globe. Together with other NASA spacecraft, Grace will help scientists better understand the global water cycle and its changes," said Michael Watkins, Grace project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.

Launched in March 2002, GRACE tracks changes in Earth's gravity field. GRACE senses minute variations in gravitational pull from local changes in Earth's mass.

GRACE maps these variations from month to month, following changes imposed by the seasons, weather patterns and short-term climate change.

"Measurements of surface water in large, inaccessible river basins have been difficult to acquire, while underground aquifers and deep ocean currents have been nearly impossible to measure," said Dr. Byron Tapley, GRACE principal investigator at the University of Texas Center for Space Research in Austin, Texas.

"GRACE gives us a powerful new tool to track how water moves from one place to another, influencing climate and weather. These initial results give us great confidence GRACE will make critical contributions to climate research in the coming years," Tapley said.

Understanding how Earth's mass varies over time is important for studying changes in global sea level, polar ice mass, deep ocean currents, and depletion and recharge of continental aquifers.

GRACE monthly maps are up to 100 times more accurate than existing maps, and they improve the accuracy of many techniques that oceanographers, hydrologists, glaciologists, geologists and other scientists use to study climate influencing phenomena.

Dr. Michael Watkins, GRACE project scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said the results mark the birth of a new field of remote sensing. "Over the past 20 years, we've made primitive measurements of changes in Earth's gravity field over scales of thousands of kilometers, but this is the first time we've been able to demonstrate gravity measurements can be truly useful for climate monitoring," he said.

"The GRACE gravity measurements will be combined with water models to sketch an exceptionally accurate picture of water distribution around the globe. Together with other NASA spacecraft, GRACE will help scientists better understand the global water cycle and its changes," Watkins said.

View GRACE on the Internet at: http://www.csr.utexas.edu/grace or http://www.gfz-potsdam.de/grace