ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS SAY NEW MERCURY RULE NOT ENOUGH
by Sarah Morgan

The US Environmental Protection Agency announced the nation's first rule to limit mercury emissions from coal-burning power plants this week, invoking a backlash from environmental groups that say the new rules are weak and could lead to mercury "hotspots."

The new rule, the Clean Air Mercury Rule, calls for a cap-and-trade system where mercury emissions would be capped at 38 tons each year by 2010, and 15 tons each year in 2018, compared with current annual emissions of about 48 tons for the nation's 1,100 coal-burning plants.

According to an EPA press release, "taken together, the recently issued Clean Air Interstate Rule and the new Clean Air Mercury Rule will reduce electric utility mercury emissions by nearly 70 percent from 1999 levels when fully implemented."

But, according to the Waterkeeper Alliance, an international clean water advocacy organization, 38 tons is the same amount of mercury that would be emitted if industry were simply to comply with the other provisions set forth in the Clean Air Act.

Instead of requiring emission reductions from each individual plant, the new rule allows utilities to swap pollution rights. Actual emissions could continue to be higher for several years because the new rule allows the EPA to distribute credits for years in which a company has reduced more than the required amount.

Bill O'Sullivan, director of air quality at New Jersey's state environmental agency, told Reuters that because of the trading system, some plants could continue to emit more mercury than others, creating dangerous hotspots or pockets of mercury.

According to Reuters, utilities say the cap-and-trade system allows them to keep electricity costs down by not forcing them to switch to more expensive natural gas, which burns cleaner than coal.

The EPA said the Clean Air Mercury Rule is a big step, but the problem goes beyond the United States' reach. An EPA press release stated that most Americans are exposed to mercury by eating fish, and close to 80 percent of the fish that Americans buy comes from other countries or waters "beyond our reach and control." EPA officials said they hope the new rule will be an example to the rest of the world.

In 2004, EPA estimated that 630,000 children are born each year in the United States with unsafe levels of mercury in their blood. Forty-five states have issued mercury fish advisories for many freshwater fish, and 35 percent of our lakes and 25 percent of our rivers contain unsafe levels of mercury. This includes 329,784 acres of Texas lakes that have posted health warnings due to mercury, according to the Texas Public Interest Research Group.

US power plants in Texas emit more mercury than plants in any other state, some five tons annually, versus 0.004 tons in California and 0.5 tons in New York, according to TxPIRG.

Mercury exposure can affect a child's memory, comprehension, and learning abilities, and can even lead to blindness, deafness, and mental retardation. Women who are pregnant, nursing, or of childbearing age are especially at risk.

Though EPA officials are standing by the new rules, Reuters and the Los Angeles Times reported that the EPA's inspector general and the Government Accountability Office both said that the EPA's process may have "put political motives ahead of scientific value."

OLD-GROWTH FORESTS NO LONGER PROTECTED FROM LOGGING
By Sarah Morgan

Despite multiple protests, logging began Monday in Oregon's largest roadless forest as part of the biggest logging project planned for an old-growth forest reserve since the creation of the Northwest Forest Plan more than ten years ago.

About 370 million board feet of trees in the Siskiyou National Forest in southwest Oregon, a federally protected old-growth reserve, are slated for cutting as part of the largest US Forest Service timber sale in modern history - the Biscuit Logging Project. The project plans to cut enough trees to fill 74,000 log-hauling trucks, including almost 13,000 acres of old-growth reserves, Late Successional Reserves in the Northwest Forest Plan. These reserves are areas that, until now, were off limits to large-scale commercial logging, according to the Heritage Forests Campaign. Also, the Biscuit logging project will cut over 8,000 acres designated as Inventoried Roadless Areas.

Monday, protesters lined up for the third time at the "green bridge" to the only access road into the Fiddler old growth reserve, in an effort to prevent trucks from entering the forests.

One of the protesters, 72-year-old Joan Norman, had already been arrested March 7 for protesting the logging.

"I'm sitting here to protect the land for my children. This is our home and this is our river that we swim in. We don't want to ruin it, not only for us, but for generations to come," Norman said in a phone interview before she was arrested for the second time. Norman said she has been an area resident since 1985.

"There's no law for the people, there's only law for the corporations," she said.

According to the Forest Service, the reason behind the extensive logging is the 2002 Biscuit fire, a naturally occurring, weather-driven fire that burned in a "mosaic" pattern, according to the HFC.

Forest Service officials say logging will help the restoration process by removing dead trees that could be fodder for future fires, and generate revenue that could be used to help pay for restoration projects in the burned areas, according to the Associated Press.

But Annette Rasch, another protester on Monday, said, "This place has evolved with fire. It is a very necessary process. . . This is not a dead forest by any means."

Environmentalists hold that burned trees, over time, transform into "legacy trees," which are critical for animal habitat and soil protection and restoration.

Also, critics say, the logging will choke salmon streams with erosion and the big trees that will be taken out are the building blocks of a new forest.

Old-growth reserves were set aside in the Northwest Forest Plan in order to safeguard habitat for rare plants and animals that depend on older forests to survive, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.

"It's insane to be cutting here," said Jem Mara, another protester at the bridge. "We set aside these places to be saved, and they're not saved. . . This land is for the whole country. When we cut down a whole forest, it really affects the whole world. I think about what my children will say. I want to be able to say that I did what I could."

NEW BILL TO ADDRESS AIR TOXICS IN HOUSTON REGION
From GHASP

State Rep. Joe Moreno, D-Houston, filed a new bill yesterday created to address the public health concerns the East End communities in Houston face because of their proximity to many of the area's chemical plants and refineries.

The bill, House Bill 2792, would require the state to adopt screening levels for air contaminants where currently there are only unenforceable guidelines in place. Under HB 2792, polluters who exceed the standards would be subject to fines and injunctions, as the state would be given the power to force companies to lower air pollutant emissions.

"This is the first time someone has taken such a positive step," said John D. Wilson, executive director of the Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention.

Under the new bill, larger plants that are major sources of emissions would have to install daily fence-line monitoring and report the obtained data to the state. HB 2792 would also require companies to monitor their actual pollution rather than just assume low emissions.

Speaking about the bill to the Houston Chronicle, Moreno said, "Many will classify this as an environmental issue, (but) I see it as more of a public health and economic development issue." Moreno's district includes many communities bordering plants along the ship channel.

TPWD ENDANGERED SPECIES CONSERVATION FUNDS AVAILABLE

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is seeking proposals through April 16 from universities, cities and counties, private conservation groups, and others interested in acquiring land or conducting conservation planning for endangered species. This spring, TPWD will accept proposals and award grants using federal funds made available to state wildlife agencies through the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund, under Section 6 of the Endangered Species Act, for the conservation of threatened and endangered species. Any grant proposals submitted by TPWD will compete with other proposals from around the nation; there are no funds earmarked for Texas. These are generous 75:25 matching grants that require applicants to provide only 25 percent of total project costs from non-federal funding sources. Project proposals must concern a fish or wildlife species (or a suite of species) that is on the federal threatened or endangered species lists or that is a candidate for federal listing. The deadline to submit a grant proposal is April 16. TPWD anticipates awarding grants in late spring. For grant proposal guidelines, visit
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/grants/section_6_proposals/competitive.phtml.

JAPHET CREEK RESTORATION: AN EXTREME ECOLOGICAL MAKEOVER

A stream meandering through an eastside neighborhood is trashed. Plastic, Styrofoam, tires, scrap metal, and concrete rubble share the flowing water with fish, turtles, frogs, wading birds, and bugs. Also, a family of beavers has been spotted where the creek empties into Buffalo Bayou. In an effort to improve their habitat and our neighborhood, the Japhet Creek Restoration Coordinating Team is engaging in a clean up of Japhet Creek. Some of the team participants who have pledged support of the project include Buffalo Bayou Partnership, Harris County Pollution Control, the Bayou Preservation Association, and the Japhet Civic Association. They will need lots of help over the year to complete this project successfully. For more information, or to follow the progress of the restoration, visit http://japhetcreek.blogspot.com/. All who are interested in preserving and restoring this green space can help with this project, by attending The First Big Clean Up of Japhet Creek at the Emile Street bridge (one block south of the 4400 block of Clinton), at 8 am, Saturday, March 19. Wear boots or sturdy shoes and long sleeves. For additional information or directions contact Brian Herod at myth@thegloaming.net, (713) 480-6303, or Jim Ohmart at JMOhmart@aol.com, (713) 674-2528.

HELP NEEDED FOR SEA TURTLE SATURDAY

Organizers of the first Sea Turtle Saturday are looking for people to assist with staffing booths and the refreshment station, selling t-shirts, and gathering signatures for a petition. Sea Turtle Saturday will be April 9 at the Galveston Campus of Texas A&M University. The event is being sponsored by the Sea Turtle Restoration Project and HEART (Help Endangered Animals-Ridley Turtles), Texas A&M University at Galveston, and the NOAA Fisheries Service (formerly National Marine Fisheries Service). Registration will begin at 8 am, with presentations starting at 9 am. Andre M. Landry, Jr., professor of Marine Biology, Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, and Marine Sciences of the Texas A&M faculty, will open with remarks about "Sea Turtles of the Gulf and Galveston," followed by Joe Flanagan, senior veterinarian of the Houston Zoological Gardens, known as the "sea turtle doctor." The event will feature presentations on sea turtle recovery, program status, and more. It will also be a great opportunity to ask questions about Kemp's ridleys and other sea turtles of the Gulf. There will also be a special training for anyone interested in patrolling for sea turtles this spring and summer, followed by a tour of the turtle house at the NOAA Fisheries Service. Those interested in volunteering should e-mail JuneRodriguez@aol.com by Saturday March 20. For further information on the event, visit http://www.ridleyturtles.org/.

EDUCATION FOUNDATION OF HARRIS COUNTY SEEKS ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANT/ADOPT-A-SCHOOL BUS PROGRAM COORDINATOR

The Education Foundation of Harris County, an independent nonprofit organization, seeks an environmental consultant/Adopt-A-School Bus Program coordinator. Specific duties include managing the Adopt-A-School Bus Program to help public school districts replace and retrofit old diesel buses with clean fuel technologies; performing as environmental consultant between various entities, including local independent school districts, Houston-Galveston Area Council, EPA, and other state agencies; preparing monthly programmatic and financial reports for federal and state grants; maintaining records for school district fleets and grant applications, and more. Candidates must have a bachelor's degree and relevant experience in environmental programs, preferably with clean air related initiatives. Applications for the position will only be accepted via e-mail. Please send e-document with attached MS word resume, e-mail titled as Environmental Consultant to: AASBjobs@educationfoundation.info. More information about the foundation can be found at
http://www.educationfoundation.info.

--

--