EPA PROPOSES LOWERING STANDARDS FOR WASTEWATER
by Sarah Morgan

If a new Environmental Protection Agency proposal is approved, our lakes, rivers, and coastal waters could contain inadequately treated sewage. The EPA is proposing to allow sewage treatment facilities to blend fully treated waste water with partially treated sewage during rainy or snowy weather. Treatment facilities could then discharge this water, which would contain bacteria, viruses, parasites, and other pollutants, and which would end up in drinking water supplies and recreational waters. Many are raising concerns that such partially treated water could make both people and aquatic life ill and could cause more beach closings, affecting tourism and fishing economies.

Currently, the Clean Water Act allows this blending process only during hurricanes or other extreme weather events. But if the change is approved, blending would be allowed during all "wet-weather" events, according to an article in Grist Magazine, "Blending the Rules."

According to "Blending the Rules," the blending method bypasses an important step in sewage treatment. The skipped treatment step is one that "kills bacteria, viruses, and pathogens known to cause infectious disease."

More than half of all waterborne disease outbreaks in the United States in the past 50 years were preceded by heavy rainfall, according to EnviroCitizen, an environmental nonprofit. The pathogens found in sewage-contaminated waters can cause gastrointestinal and respiratory illnesses, dysentery, and hepatitis.

"It doesn't make sense," Bart Stupak, D-Mich, told Grist. Stupak compared blending to a cup of water, saying, "Three-fourths of it will be clean, but one-fourth of it is going to be dirty. But [they argue] the whole glass isn't dirty. Therefore, it's all right to consume."

Stupak and other representatives have introduced the Save our Waters from Sewage Act, HR 1126, which would keep the EPA from adopting the proposed policy and push for implementation of existing Clean Water Act rules that require full sewage treatment under routine operating conditions. The Act also requires public notification of discharges of inadequately treated sewage.

According to "Blending the Rules," the EPA says the proposal is a response to municipalities’ and sewage treatment plants’ requests for a national policy. Under the Clean Water Act, a permit that establishes water-quality standards must be issued for wastewater discharges, but some agencies would not grant permits for blending at all, while others would. Grist also reported that the EPA has not conducted studies of the health risks associated with blended sewage or the impact of waste that does not undergo that important treatment step.

WHOLE FOODS ANNOUNCES GMO LABELING INITIATIVE
by Sarah Morgan

Whole Foods Market announced this week that it will begin labeling some products with regard to genetically modified organisms.

Whole Foods’ private-label brands will soon be labeled as to whether or not they are GMO free. The announcement was made at the store’s annual stockholder’s meeting in New York City.

"We've decided that we're going to take more of a leadership role on [this issue]," chief executive officer John Mackey said at a shareholders’ meeting, according to reports from Supermarket News.

Some shareholders have been pushing for such a decision on labeling since 2001. Until now, Whole Foods has been wary of beginning such a labeling process, as the Food and Drug Administration has no guidelines for labeling genetically engineered foods.

Although the company did not say when the new labeling would be implemented, Mackey said Whole Foods would move forward with the initiative and was already in the early stages of re-evaluating its ingredient auditing processes, according to reports from Trillium Asset Management, a Whole Foods shareholder advocating the change.

Whole Foods said that additional information and updates would be available on its Web site.

Mackey told shareholders that Whole Foods had its best year ever in 2004, with a 23 percent increase in sales over 2003 and is now listed as a Fortune 500 company, according to Supermarket News.

STUDY: ROUNDUP HIGHLY LETHAL TO AMPHIBIANS
From EurekaAlert, Science News

The herbicide Roundup is widely used to eradicate weeds, and anti-pesticide groups warn users about the dangerous effects chemicals such as roundup can have on the environment and human health. But a new study released this week by a University of Pittsburgh researcher finds that the chemical may also be deadly to amphibians.

Pittsburgh assistant professor of biology Rick Relyea found that Roundup, the second most commonly applied herbicide in the United States, is "extremely lethal" to amphibians, and these results may provide a link to global amphibian population decline. According to the University of Pittsburgh, this study is one of the most extensive studies of the effects of pesticides on non-target organisms in a natural setting.

Relyea examined how a pond's entire community -- 25 species, including crustaceans, insects, snails, and tadpoles -- responded to the addition of the manufacturers' recommended doses of two insecticides (Sevin and malathion) and two herbicides (Roundup and 2,4-D).

Relyea found that Roundup caused a 70 percent decline in amphibian biodiversity and an 86 percent decline in the total mass of tadpoles. Leopard frog tadpoles and gray tree frog tadpoles were completely eliminated and wood frog tadpoles and toad tadpoles were nearly eliminated. One species of frog, spring peepers, was unaffected.

The experiment was initially conducted to see whether the Roundup would have an indirect effect on the frogs by killing their food source, the algae.

Previous research found that the lethal ingredient in Roundup was not the herbicide itself, glyphosate, but rather the surfactant, or detergent, that allows the herbicide to penetrate the waxy surfaces of plants. In Roundup, that surfactant is a chemical called polyethoxylated tallowamine. Other herbicides have less dangerous surfactants: For example, Relyea's study found that 2,4-D had no effect on tadpoles.

WILDLIFE REHAB & EDUCATION OFFERS CLASS

The Texas Gulf Coast is a haven for birds and mammals, but because of the increasing number of people in this area, many of these animals are injured, poisoned, shot illegally, kept as pets, displaced by habitat destruction, or entangled in fences, traps, fishing lines, and other obstacles. In response to this problem, Wildlife Rehab & Education will offer two regional presentations that will introduce the field of wildlife rehabilitation and cover the procedures necessary to obtain the state and federal permits required to rehabilitate injured and orphaned animals. Topics will include an overview of wildlife rehabilitation, including how to become a wildlife rehabilitator, facility and permitting requirements, an introduction to the basics of caring for orphaned animals, the importance of educating the general public to peaceful co-existence with wildlife, and other ways to get involved. The first class will be Sat, April 9, from 10 am to noon, at the Houston SPCA, 900 Portway Drive. The second class will be Wed, April 13, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, at Challenger 7 Park, League City. Advance registration is required. For more information or to register for the Saturday class, contact Eliscia at (713) 664-9426 or erjinkins@yahoo.com. For information or to register for the Wednesday class, contact Sharon Schmalz at (281) 332-8319 or schmalz@houston.rr.com.

SUMMER OFFICE SPACE SUBLEASE AVAILABLE

The Texas Public Interest Research Group is looking to sublet an office space beginning April 18 until Aug 12. The space is located at 3100 Richmond, and is adjacent to the Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention/Mothers for Clean Air offices. The space is about 125 square feet and rent is $250 a month, including utilities, fax, phone, Internet, and printing. Contact Luke Metzger at (512) 479-7287 or luke@texpirg.org for more information.

BUFFALO BAYOU’S RESTORED TAPLEY TRIBUTARY

Join the Buffalo Bayou Partnership to celebrate the completed restoration of Buffalo Bayou’s Tapley Tributary on Saturday, April 16, at 11 am. Buffalo Bayou Partnership began restoration projects in the area in 2004, and new enhancements to this site include wetlands, a pond, native Texas prairie, wildflower and tree plantings, and riparian development to improve water quality. The tributary is located along the north side of Buffalo Bayou just west of Sabine Street. For more information, call (713) 752-0314.

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