VIEW THIS ON THE AMERICAN RIVERS WEBPAGE (American Rivers)WITH DIRECT LINKS TO THE ACTUAL BILLS!! http://www.amrivers.org/policynew.html
American Rivers Policy Update For the week of November 16, 1998
With Congress out of session until January, action on the legislative front will be slow. I will use this window of opportunity to bring you other kinds of river conservation information - news, science, and resource tools.
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American Rivers has begun preparations for America's Most Endangered Rivers of 1999. To nominate a river for America's Most Endangered Rivers of 1999, 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. If you have questions, contact Suzy McDowell, Outreach Coordinator, at (202) 347-7550 x3040 or smcdowell@amrivers.org. To learn more about our Endangered Rivers Report, check out our webpage at www.amrivers.org/endanger.html.
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In the wake of the recent elections, Newt Gingrich (R-GA) announced that he will step down from his position as Speaker of the House and Representative from Georgia at the end of the year. House Appropriations Committee Chair Bob Livingston (R-LA) intends to assume Gingrich's role as Speaker. The shakeup in the House followed an unexpectedly strong showing by Democrats in the November 3 elections. Democrats maintained their 45 seats in the Senate and gained five new seats in the House.
Livingston has gained a reputation as a budget hawk in his years in Congress. Last February, Livingston criticized President Clinton's proposed FY'99 budget and the number of environmental programs included in the proposal. He argued against increasing funding for projects administered by the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Bureau of Reclamation, a new solar Programs Support program, a disaster information network, and resurrection of the Solar Technology, Climate Change and University and Science Educators programs. Livingston also denounced Clinton's budget for a number of revenue raisers, including user or permit fees for the Surface Transportation Board, hazardous waste transport, commercial use of wetlands, meat and poultry inspection, the Farm Service Agency Data Collection program, the Conservation Operations Technical Assistance program, and a new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration program focusing on landings from commercial fishing vessels.
The League of Conservation Voters's "1998 National Environmental Scorecard" gave Livingston an 8 percent rating. In 1997, Livingston received a 6 percent rating. The criteria used by LCV include votes on private property takings, logging in national forests, Alaskan roadbuilding, Gulf of Mexico fisheries, global warming, removing anti-environmental riders, funding energy efficiency programs, and several other issues. In 1996 and 1995, Livingston received a 0% rating on environmental issues from LCV.
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To gather feedback on their draft Unified National Strategy for Animal Feeding Operations, the USDA and the US EPA have scheduled joint "listening sessions" in 11 cities between November 16 and December 15. The first session was scheduled in Tulsa on November 16. On deck are hearings in Harrisburg, PA; Ontario, CA; Madison, WI; Seattle, WA; Des Moines, IA; Chattanooga, TN; Indianapolis, IN; Fort Worth, TX; Denver, CO; and Annapolis, MD. The goal of the AFO is to improve water quality and reduce health risks associated with runoff from animal feeding operations.
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On November 6, a panel of eight independent economists strongly criticized a study conducted by the Oregon Natural Resources Council that said breaching four lower Snake River dams would result in a net economic benefit to the Pacific Northwest of $86.7 million. The panel claimed that although the ONRC study raised key issues about dam-breaching, it underestimated the cost of replacing lost hydropower and was wrong to assume that $194 million in annual salmon-recovery costs would be eliminated. ONRC Director Ken Rait said that his group stands behind its conclusions.
The city of Portland, Oregon, Portland General Electric, and the National Marine Fisheries Service are close to an agreement to remove PGE's dam on the Little Sandy River as part of a broad strategy to improve dwindling steelhead runs. They hope to have a preliminary agreement by the end of November, followed by removal of the dam within 18 months. In exchange for removal, the city would consider negotiating lower prices for PGE to buy power from two Bull Run dams and might give PGE and its parent, Houston-based Enron, priority to purchase power from a third dam if one is built.
Environmentalists, concerned about dwindling salmon and steelhead populations, have fought long and hard for removal of the dam. Local landowners have fought back, seeking to retain the reservoir behind the dam.
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After receiving numerous protests from the fish and game departments of Oregon and Washington state and by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bonneville Power Administration last week reluctantly agreed to release enough water to inundate gravel beds below the Bonneville Dam. The gravel beds were out of reach for salmon returning this month to spawn.
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3-R Minerals, a Utah mining company, was granted permission from the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration to begin exploratory work inside the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The mining company hopes to mine for zirconium and titanium deposits. The operation, located on a five-acre lease on school trust land near the town of Escalante, will be transferred to the federal Bureau of Land Management under a land swap authorized by President Clinton. Under the terms of the land swap, the federal government promised to honor existing leases like the one 3-R has on the parcel.
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The Environmental Protection Agency announced that it will move ahead on a plan to limit pollution in the Coeur d'Alene Basin without first considering the state's plan for limiting total maximum daily loads of heavy metals.
Idaho has yet to produce the plan, due to the agency a year ago. The state wants a delay because EPA has not removed Idaho from the National Toxics Rule, which the state claims holds it to national standards impossible to meet in the metals-rich basin. Federal agencies must conduct an endangered species consultation prior to removing Idaho from the National Toxics Rule.
Many have criticized the South Fork total maximum daily loads, claiming that the standards give mining companies a license to pollute because they allow 280 times more lead in the South Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River than the national standard. Others contend that lead levels in the river are several times above the national standards, even in the headwaters of the South Fork where there are no mining impacts. Geoff Harvey, Division of Environmental Quality senior surface water analyst, stated that he believes the matter will end up in court.
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The National Marine Fisheries Service is broadening its responsibilities beyond the traditional focus on assessment of stocks and determination of whether catch limits are needed on a species-by-species basis. The NMFS will now pay greater attention to the problems of overfishing and wastage via bycatch, as well as identifying and protecting essential fish habitat (EFH), defined as "those waters and substrate necessary for fish spawning, feeding, or growth to maturity."
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EPA has made some recent additions to their Office of Water webpage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/WhatsNew.html, including the newest release of Surf Your Watershed and the Index of Watershed Indicators. A few of the new features are :
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The mission of the Center for Watershed Protection -- http://www.pipeline.com/~mrrunoff/ -- is to provide objective and scientifically sound information on effective techniques to protect and restore urban watersheds. The Center also acts as a technical resource for local and state governments around the country to develop more effective urban stormwater and watershed protection programs.
The Center currently is working under several grants with US EPA to perform research on effective methods for watershed protection and restoration, identification of environmental indicators, innovative erosion control methods, urban BMP manuals, technical outreach, and watershed public education.
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The House of Representatives' Legislative Process webpage at http://www.house.gov/house/Legproc.html provides access to roll call votes, bill text, bill status, amendment status, committee jurisdiction, committee reports, current House floor proceedings, congressional record, and a summary explanation of the legislative process.
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On November 16, Atlantic Richfield Company agreed to settle a legal dispute with the federal, Montana, and tribal governments at a cost of $260 million.
The case focused on liability allegations and cleanup costs associated with mining and smelting activities in the Clark's Fork River Basin in Montana.
US EPA, the state of Montana, and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation will pay the state $118 million for damages and restoration projects in the upper river basin. Atlantic Richfield will pay $80 million to the state to fund cleanup of Silver bow Creek; $18.3 million to the tribes for natural resource damages and bull trout recovery programs; $15 million to Montana for legal and scientific study costs; and $4 million to the EPA recover Superfund costs. Funding for the cleanup of the Grant Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site in Deer Lodge, MT, where the Clark Fork River has deposited mine tailings, was not addressed in the settlement.
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A coalition of environmentalists and rural Westerners have filed suit against the federal government to remove the largest, most toxic nuclear dump located next to a major US river. The nuclear dump, owned by the Atlas Corp., is a 41-year old waste site on the edge of Moab, Utah. The 130-acre mound, which sits just 750 feet from the Colorado River, leaches tens of thousands of gallons of radioactive and poisonous liquid into the river every day, as reported by federal scientific studies. An underground plume of pollutants one mile wide and 40 feet deep reaches to the river, killing aquatic life, including two endangered species of fish. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City by the Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, accuses the US Fish and Wildlife Service of recklessly allowing Atlas and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to move ahead with plans to cover the 130-acre mound of gunk with a clay-and-rock cap rather than haul it away. Representatives of Atlas, based in Denver, claim that scientific studies show no measurable risk to human health from the pollution. The corporation also asserts that the cost to remove rather than cap the pile is prohibitive -- an estimated $155 million vs. $19 million. Under nuclear cleanup laws, the federal government pays 56% of the cost because that is how much of the mill's uranium went to military and government uses. American Rivers, 1025 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 720 Washington, DC 20005, (202) 347-7550 CHECK OUT OUR HOMEPAGE!! http://www.amrivers.org, at American Rivers
QUESTIONS? Contact Suzy McDowell, Conservation Outreach Coordinator, at smcdowell@amrivers.org or 202-347-7550x3040. Legislative information taken from many sources including: Congressional Green Sheets, Environment and Energy Weekly, Greenwire, and Roll Call.
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Suit Filed to Remove Largest Toxic Dump Next to Major US River:
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