American Rivers Policy Update For the week of November 9, 1998

VIEW THIS ON THE AMERICAN RIVERS WEBPAGE WITH DIRECT LINKS TO THE ACTUAL BILLS!! http://www.amrivers.org/policynew.html

This information presented with the permission of American Rivers.

With Congress out of session until January, action on the legislative front will be slow. As a result, I will use this window of opportunity to bring you other kinds of river conservation information - news, science, and resource tools.

MOST ENDANGERED RIVER NOMINATIONS
APPROPRIATIONS
ELECTIONS 1998
MINING
PARKS AND PUBLIC LANDS
- San Rafael Ranch Protection Pushes Ahead
WATER RESOURCES
- Chesapeake Bay Initiative
WEBPAGES OF INTEREST
- Ecosystem Information and Maps
- National Library for the Environment
COURT CASES
- NWF Sues to Block Corps Dredging Plan
- Water Rights Court Battle in Idaho

MOST ENDANGERED RIVER NOMINATIONS

American Rivers is beginning preparations for identifying America's Most Endangered Rivers of 1999. This year's early start is in large part due to the overwhelming response to the 1998 report. Rivers such as the Columbia, Kern, Blackfoot, Chattahoochee, Apple, Taku, Passaic, and Pinto Creek continue to draw national media attention. The impact of the 1998 report and national and regional press conferences reverberates to this day.

To nominate a river for America's Most Endangered Rivers of 1999, please complete the nomination package found on our webpage at http://www.amrivers.org/99nominate.html and return it to American Rivers no later than December 1, 1998. Read the directions carefully to ensure your nomination package is complete. As you are preparing your nomination, please do not hesitate to contact Suzy McDowell, Outreach Coordinator, at (202) 347-7550 x3040 with questions. To learn more about our Endangered Rivers Report, check out the 1998 report on our webpage at www.amrivers.org/endanger.html.

APPROPRIATIONS

American Rivers Releases The River Budget for FY 2000

Calling attention to the need for increased federal attention to the health of the nation's rivers, American Rivers released its River Budget National Priorities for Local River conservation in FY 2000.

The River Budget 2000, supported by 165 local river conservation groups, focuses on 15 federal programs that play a critical role in the health of the nation's rivers. The goals of the programs cover a wide range of river restoration and protection efforts, including reversal of channelization impacts, support for agency involvement in the relicensing of hydropower dams, cleanup of acid-mine damaged streams, acquisition of ecologically important land from willing sellers, assistance to landowners in controlling polluted runoff, and river habitat restoration. The requested funding increases for the programs will more be more than offset by their benefits by reducing the environmental impacts of current and future activities and protecting both human and ecological health.

For a copy of the River Budget: National Priorities for Local River Conservation in FY 2000, contact Suzy McDowell at smcdowell@amrivers.org or go to American Rivers' webpage at http://www.amrivers.org/rbudget.html.

ELECTIONS 1998

How Environmentalist-Backed Candidates Fared

Candidates supported by environmentalists fared better than expected in on November 3rd, gaining or retaining seat in a number of close races.

Democrats gained 5 seats in the House and picked up several key Senate and gubernatorial races. Overall, Democratic candidates came out with 211 House seats, 45 Senate seats, and 17 gubernatorial races. Republicans retained the majority in the House and Senate, with 223 and 55 seats respectively, as well as claiming victory in 31 gubernatorial contests.

Among the most notable environmental races were the re-election of Governor Parris Glendening (D-MD), Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and Representative Helen Chenoweth (R-ID), and the defeat of Senator Alfonse D'Amato (R-NY) and Launch Faircloth (R-NC). Cousins Tom and Mark Udall won their respective races for House seats from New Mexico and Colorado. Overall, eight of thirteen candidates targeted for defeat by the DC-based League of Conservation Voters lost their election races.

Some Environmental Ballot Initiatives

Arizona

Voters approved a statewide land conservation initiative known as the Growing Smarter Act, allocating $20 million a year for 11 years to buy open space. The controversial measure, which received support from banks, developers, and the Arizona Legislature, bans statewide laws that charge developers fees, growth boundaries that limit development to defined areas, and other slow-growth strategies.

Arkansas

Voters approved a bond measure that will provide $300 million to improving water, waste disposal, and pollution control systems and implementing wetlands and flood control projects.

California

By an overwhelming majority, voters pushed through Proposition 1 to amend the state constitution to allow polluted property to be remediated without increasing the tax valuation of the land. Californians defeated Proposition 96, an effort to force utilities to pay the full costs of their investments in nuclear power, alternative energy, and costly long-term power contracts.

Colorado

Voters strongly supported Amendment 14, "demanding stricter environmental regulations for factory hog farms," and defeated competing Amendment 13 that would have outlawed such measures.

Florida

Voters easily passed Amendment 5 to amend the state constitution to require the state to abate air and water pollution and conserve and protect natural resources. The measure also calls for the creation of a Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission with regulatory powers. Floridians also rejected a constitutional amendment to allow local and municipal governments to grant tax exemptions to property owners who use their lands for conservation purposes.

Maine

With a wide margin, voters approved a bond measure to proved state matching funds for water pollution control facilities and drinking water systems.

Massachusetts

In Cape Cod, voters supported Question 5 to create and finance a land bank to preserve undeveloped space on the Cape. A 3 percent surcharge on property tax bills will pay for the fund.

Michigan

Continuing their traditional support of environmental initiatives, voters approved the Clean Michigan Initiative, a $675 million bond measure to clean and redevelop brownfields, monitor water quality, implement non-point and point source pollution efforts, and cleanup contaminated sediment in lakes and rivers.

Montana

Voters pushed through a controversial measure to ban new or expanded open-pit gold or silver mines that use cyanide to process ore. The measure will affect four proposed mines, including the McDonald Gold Project on the Blackfoot River. (see "Mining" below for more on this issue).

New Jersey

Governor Christine Whitman's (R) proposal to borrow $1 billion to preserve half of the state's remaining 2 million acres of farmland and woodlands over the next ten years passed by a wide margin.

New Mexico

Voters narrowly rejected a $620,000 bond measure to allow the state to purchase and preserve habitat for rare species.

Oregon

A measure to ban clearcutting in state and private forest lands was soundly defeated. On the brighter side, voters approved Measure 66 to amend the state constitution to direct 15 percent of net lottery proceeds to protect species habitat and watersheds.

Rhode Island

With a wide margin, voters supported a $15 million bond measure to build bike paths and to protect forests and farmlands from development.

South Dakota

Voters pushed through an anti-corporate farm initiative to restrict ownership of agricultural land and livestock by non-family entities.

Utah

In a blow to animal-rights and conservationists, voters approved an amendment to the state constitution to require any future ballot initiatives dealing with wildlife and hunting to pass with a 2/3 vote, instead of 51 percent. Utah residents also voted in favor of a measure to amend the state constitution to emphasize that school trust lands are only for the benefit of educational institutions and not to be sold or used for less than fair market value.

MINING

Montana Voters Save Blackfoot River

On November 3, Montana voters enacted a ballot initiative that would prohibit the use of cyanide leaching technology at new open-pit mines.

Unofficial returns in 99% of precincts indicate that Initiative 137 was approved by 53% of Montana voters, preventing the construction of a cyanide heap-leach gold mine on western Montana's pristine Blackfoot River.

Pollution from cyanide leaching operations can devastate water quality and fish populations. The threat of an enormous open-pit gold mine near the Blackfoot spurred American Rivers to name the river one of the most endangered in the country in April.

In cyanide leaching operations, the ore is placed in heaps and sprayed with sodium cyanide-114 million pounds of the solution over the life of the proposed Blackfoot mine-to extract the gold. A plastic liner is placed beneath the heaps to protect against cyanide leaks, but the Environmental Protection Agency has found that such liners spring one leak per acre, on average. Every cyanide heap-leach mine in Montana has had cyanide spills, leaks, or discharges that have violated its environmental permit. The financial instability of the gold industry would have made long-term cleanup of the mine uncertain.

In July, American Rivers and the Mineral Policy Center supported the state of Montana's decision to stop the environmental review of the mine, based on the threat of pollution, the declining price of gold, and the declining value of the mining company's stock.

For more information about American Rivers and the Blackfoot River, visit our web site at www.amrivers.org.

Backlash Over Montana Ballot Initiative on Mining

Responding to the citizen-based effort to reduce the environmental degradation caused by mines in the state, Montana State Sen. Chuck Swysgood (R) announced that he will introduce legislation to repeal Initiative 137, a ballot measure passed on November 3 to ban new or expanded cyanide mines in Montana. A number of groups representing the mining industry have already filed suit to repeal the new law, claiming that it violates the Federal Mining Law of 1872.

Controversy Over West Virginia Mining Permit

Bill Maxey, the director of West Virginia's Division of Forestry, resigned from his position on October 31 in protest against Governor Cecil Underwood's attempt to stop his opposition to mountaintop removal strip mining. Maxey stated that he also felt pressure from the state Division of Environmental Protection and the US Office of Surface Mining to approve regulations justifying mountaintop mining practices. Arch Coal, Inc. has been pushing for the state to issue the permits for its mine in Logan County, WV, claiming that almost 400 miners will lose their jobs if the permit is not approved.

The week following Maxey's resignation, the director of the Department of Environmental Protection of West Virginia approved the permit for Arch Coal Inc.'s proposed five-square-mile addition to its Hobet mine, making it the largest mine in the history of the state. The US Army Corps of Engineers must also give its approval before Arch Coal Inc. can begin work on the expansion.

Last June, the EPA filed a formal objection to the permit, stating that the company must reduce or avoid the use of valley fills during mining, provide assurances of adequate mitigation for water resource loss, and implement environmental safeguards.

PARKS AND PUBLIC LANDS

San Rafael Ranch Protection Pushes Ahead

On November 2, Arizona released a draft agreement to preserve from development the 34-square-mile San Rafael Ranch in the southeastern part of the state. Funds for the plan were earmarked by the Arizona State Parks Board in September -- $8.3 million to purchase sections of the ranch outright and to pay for a conservation easement on other portions of the land.

WATER RESOURCES

Chesapeake Bay Initiative

In an effort to reduce non-point source pollution entering the Chesapeake Bay, EPA Administrator Carol Browner announced on November 5 that the US Environmental Protection Agency will lead a 20-agency agreement to improve open space protection, wetlands restoration, and ecological research efforts. The agreement, part of the Clinton Administration's Clean Water Action Plan, requires federal agencies to adopt many of the same pollution control measures used by states and private industries. The agencies involved in the cooperative agreement include the EPA, NASA, and agencies within the Departments of Interior, Agriculture, and Defense. The initiative will affect more than 2.2 million acres of federal land located within the bay's watershed.

The goals of the agreement are to restore 100 acres of wetlands per year on federal lands beginning in 2000, plant forest buffer strips to help control polluted runoff, reduce the flow of nutrients from federal land, and open up 200 miles of federally-owned shoreline and tidal waters for public access by 2005. Unfortunately, the joint agency plan does not include increased funding for restoration efforts on the bay, with the exception of $1 million to support state-based efforts to reduce pfiesteria. A number of environmental organizations have expressed doubt as to whether the agreement would alter how the agencies review road and construction projects.

WEBPAGES OF INTEREST

Ecosystem Information and Maps

Robert Gailey of the US Geological Survey has put together a webpage on the ecosystems of the United States at http://www.fs.fed.us/land/ecosysmgmt/ecoreg1_home.html This volume, updated in 1995, was originally published in 1978 to provide a general description of the ecosystem geography of the nation. The technique of mapping eco-regions was subsequently expanded to include the rest of North America and the world. This volume updates the knowledge of the subject. The goal in preparing this edition, like its predecessor, was not to present information, but to strive for synthesis, i.e., the illustration of interrelationships. The webpage allows you to click on maps divided into domains, divisions, and provinces to explore various eco-regions.

National Library for the Environment

The National Library for the Environment provides free online access to understandable and unbiased information on a wide range of environmental issues including public access for the first time to Library of Congress reports on issues such as agriculture, biodiversity, energy, forestry, pesticides, toxics, trade, water pollution, and wetlands.

The National Library for the Environment also has a webpage on "Your Neighborhood" (http://www.cnie.org/neighborhood.htm) where you can search for information about the environmental status of your region and "Surf Your Watershed." You can search the site by zip code, county, city, state, or region. The site has access to selected reports, national and state maps in color, chemical scorecard data and maps, "State of the Environment" reports, and environmental profiles.

COURT CASES

NWF Sues to Block Corps Dredging Plan

The National Wildlife Federation has taken the federal government to court inn an effort to block a controversial federal flood control plan in the Big Sunflower River Basin, claiming the $62 million project would destroy one of the most biologically rich areas in the nation. NWF hopes the suit will bar the Army Corps of Engineers from dredging and clearing more than 133 miles of the Mississippi Delta river and its tributaries. According to NWF, the dredging would degrade important fish and wildlife habitat and ignores requirements that local interest pay 35 percent of the project costs. The Corps has acknowledged that, even with plans to avoid certain stretches, the dredging plan would destroy 40 percent of the Big Sunflower's mussel population. The river harbors 28 mussel species, including the pyramid pigtoe which is listed as endangered in the state.

Water Rights Court Battle in Idaho

Water rights is the focus of a court battle between the Nez Perce Tribe and the Idaho Power Co., the state of Idaho, and other Snake River water users .

The tribe has filed over 1,100 claims in the Snake River Basin Adjudication to protect its fishing rights promised in 1855 treaty between the tribe and the federal government. The rights claimed by the tribe cover most of the water in the river. The court must decide whether the Nez Perce fishing right entitles the tribe to a water right, and, if it does, how much water the tribe is entitled to. At a recent hearing, 5th District Judge Daniel Hurlbutt, who presides over the Snake River Basin Adjudication court, encouraged the parties to settle the issue by mediation. They are scheduled to report to Hurlbutt again on Tuesday.

American Rivers
1025 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 720
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 347-7550

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