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Dec 6, 1994, 5:45:19 PM12/6/94
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--- Friday --- December 2, 1994 --- Vol. 4 --- No. 149 ---
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THE DAILY EXECUTIVE BRIEFING ON THE ENVIRONMENT
282 North Washington Street, Falls Church, VA (703) 237-5130
=================================================================
__________ __________
GEARING UP FOR EVs | SPOTLIGHT |
Solectria plans 1997 | |
production of an electric car | A DECADE AFTER BHOPAL: |
made of lightweight-composite | LESSONS LEARNED? |
materials; GM electric-car | |
battery venture plans mass | Ten years after a poison- |
production next year. (#14) | gas leak killed some 2,000 |
| people living near a Union |
CLEAN AIR A LA CARTE | Carbide plant in Bhopal, |
The US EPA may offer states a | India, the Boston-based |
new "menu of options" for | National Environmental Law |
reducing air pollution. (#7) | Center argues a similar |
| accident still is possible |
ESA: A LEAKING ARK | in the US. Plants |
The Endangered Species Act | nationwide store 10 billion |
has helped very few species | pounds of "extremely |
recover, USA TODAY says. (#10) | hazardous" chemicals, the |
Western govs back plan giving | group says. (#1) |
states a chance to keep species | |
off the federal list. (#13) | In Bhopal, victims of the |
| disaster are beginning to |
GOING TO THE BENCH | receive compensation, but |
Enviros and the Clinton | few believe the 600,000 |
admin. -- but not the timber | claims will be settled by a |
industry -- tell fed judge what | judge's target date three |
they think should happen if he | years from now. |
rules the Clinton NW forest | |
plan to be illegal. (#11) | A Union Carbide director |
| sees two lessons for the |
RULER OF THE SEAS | chemical industry: better |
House Natural Resources panel | community relations and |
gets say over ocean dumping, | better procedures. (#2) |
marine refuges and more. (#4) |_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"There are any number of ways you can get from point A to point
B. We care less how people will get there, as long as we end up
with the same new result." -- EPA Regional Administrator Peter
Kostmayer, on a "menu of options" the agency is drafting for
states to comply with clean-air rules. (#7)
GREENWIRE/DATABASE INDEX
SPOTLIGHT STORY
TOXICS: US chemical storage poses threat, group says. (#1)
TOXICS II: Progress slow on redress for Bhopal victims. (#2)
SOCIETY AND POLITICS
GATT: Senate approves pact easily; debate moves to WTO. (#3)
CONGRESS: House Natural Resources gets oceans authority. (#4)
ENVIRO JUSTICE: Attorneys unite to help minorities, poor. (#5)
AWARD: Two North American botanists win Tyler prize. (#6)
AIR AND WATER POLLUTION
AIR PLANS: US EPA may offer states new menu of options. (#7)
REFORMULATED GAS: Fuel may harm older, smaller engines. (#8)
WASTES AND HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES
CHEMICAL WEAPONS: Secret Army report lists Tooele problems.(#9)
ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
ESA: Law falls short of goals, USA TODAY concludes. (#10)
NW FORESTS: Litigants submit interim plans to Dwyer. (#11)
NW FORESTS II: ONRC shifts focus to state, private lands. (#12)
LAND USE: Western govs see chance to slip federal control.(#13)
MARKETS AND MANAGEMENT
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Solectria, GM gear up for production. (#14)
STATE REPORTS
AL: Enviros unhappy with new enviro chief. (#15)
LA: Environmental education to be standardized. (#16)
MA: Legislature OKs bill to stifle SLAPP suits. (#17)
NY: Developer gets approval to build at Love Canal. (#18)
WA: Proposed tanker ban not enough, enviros say. (#19)
WORLDVIEW
TREATIES: Creative approaches strengthen enviro accords. (#20)
RUSSIA: Environmental party formed, elects leader. (#21)
CHILE: Enviro group fights planned generators. (#22)
CALENDAR
MORE CONFERENCES IN DECEMBER. (#23)
_______________________________________________________________
| (c) 1994 by the American Political Network, Inc. Any |
| reproduction -- by photocopy, fax, or other form -- in whole |
| or in part, is a violation of federal law and is strictly |
| prohibited without the consent of APN. All rights reserved. |
|_______________________________________________________________|
============== FACT OF THE DAY ==============
Of 912 US plants and animals listed as endangered or threatened
under the federal Endangered Species Act, six have been taken off
the list as fully recovered and seven have become extinct. (#10)
============== SPOTLIGHT STORY ==============
*1 TOXICS: US CHEMICAL STORAGE POSES THREAT, GROUP SAYS
Ten years to the day after a chemical leak killed 2,000
people in Bhopal, India, "activists say a similar threat exists
in the USA." More than 10 billion pounds of "extremely
hazardous" chemicals are stored in factories nationwide,
according to a study by the Boston-based National Environmental
Law Center (Rae Tyson, USA TODAY, 12/2). Manufacturers from
Louisiana, Texas, Tennessee, California, Florida and Ohio store
the greatest amounts of "extremely hazardous substances" in the
country, according to NELC. The figures are "conservative"
because federal data are available for only 57 of the 360
chemicals regulated as "extremely hazardous," NELC says.
Rather than trusting safety systems to contain accidents,
NELC argues, industry should switch to using safer chemicals and
production methods -- such as reducing storage of chemicals.
Five safety systems failed to contain the release of a deadly gas
from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, the group says (NELC
release, 12/2).
*2 TOXICS II: PROGRESS SLOW ON REDRESS FOR BHOPAL VICTIMS
A decade after the "world's worst industrial disaster,"
workers are dismantling the Union Carbide pesticide plant that
was at fault, and "progress is starting to be made in
compensating the victims." Special courts are hearing
applications from those who were injured by the gas leak and from
families that lost their breadwinners. A hospital will be built
with the funds from the sale of the "mothballed" plant.
But health monitoring for victims with long-term ailments
"has been neither systematic nor coordinated" and "allegations
abound" of corruption among medical and legal workers. Justice
A.G. Qureshi, who is overseeing the 600,000 compensation hearings
that began three years after the disaster, says "nobody believes"
him when he says he'll finish three years from now. While
critics say Qureshi has set up a "needlessly legalistic and
adversarial procedure," he counters that "'it's a messy job' with
many spurious applications."
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
"What went wrong that night has never been established."
Union Carbide still maintains the problem was sabotage by a
disgruntled employee. Many Bhopal residents charge the company
"cut corners" by storing unstable methyl isocyanate rather than
converting it directly to a less toxic final product. The
disaster's death toll also is still disputed, with estimates
ranging from 1,800 to 25,000.
LESSONS LEARNED
Since 1984, India has "enacted an environmental protection
law, but concerns remain that it is inadequately enforced."
While new facilities "receive close scrutiny," older plants
continue releasing wastes. Union Carbide director Robert Berzok
says Bhopal offers two main lessons for chemical makers: "better
dialogue with local communities, and continued improvements to
operational procedures." It also shows that a safety manifesto
like the one Union Carbide released in 1984, "however nobly
phrased, is not enough" (Gordon Cramb, FIN. TIMES, 12/2).
============== SOCIETY AND POLITICS ==============
*3 GATT: SENATE APPROVES PACT EASILY; DEBATE MOVES TO WTO
By a vote of 76-24, the Senate yesterday approved the bill
to implement the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
"Approval of the pact, by a far wider margin than expected," will
pave the way for creation of a new World Trade Organization to
govern commerce (David Sanger, N.Y. TIMES). Pres. Clinton:
"This vote for GATT shows once again that our country is moving
in the right direction, reaching out to the rest of the world and
looking at the best interests of our own people" (Helen Dewar,
WASH. POST). The budget rule waiver, "considered the biggest
hurdle for passage of GATT," passed with a vote of 68-32.
Enviros and labor groups "condemned" GATT. Randall Hayes of
the Rainforest Action Network called GATT "ecologically ignorant
and economically shortsighted" (David Sands, WASH. TIMES).
Consumer advocate Ralph Nader: "For American democracy and our
right to be first in safety and other standards of living, today
is a day of infamy" (Nader release, 12/1).
WHAT'S NEXT?
"WTO members will soon be caught up in arguments over the
new trade agenda, including the protection of the environment and
workers' rights and demands for greater public access to the
trade bureaucrats' closed-door decision making," writes Peter
Behr in the WASH. POST. (All cites 12/2 unless noted.)
*4 CONGRESS: HOUSE NATURAL RESOURCES GETS OCEANS AUTHORITY
In the continuing Republican shakeup of Congress, the House
Natural Resources Committee "is picking up ... much of the
jurisdiction" of the Merchant Marine subcommittee on
oceanography, GOP sources said. Natural Resources, which is
already slated to take authority over fisheries and wildlife
issues, also will take charge of the Coastal Zone Management Act,
deep sea-bed mining, the national marine sanctuaries, the outer-
continental shelf and ocean dumping, sources said. But "some
research components of that panel may move to the Science and
Technology Committee," sources said. International fisheries
agreements "are tentatively" set to move under the purview of the
Foreign Affairs Committee, but aides to Rep. Don Young (R-AK),
the incoming chair of Natural Resources, said he "may seek to
regain that jurisdiction" (CONGRESS DAILY, 12/1).
*5 ENVIRO JUSTICE: ATTORNEYS UNITE TO HELP MINORITIES, POOR
"In a first-in-the-nation program," more than 60 attorneys
have agreed to provide free services to low-income and minority
communities in Massachusetts that are fighting enviro hazards,
the Boston Bar Association announced on 11/30. The
"unprecedented" program, called the Massachusetts Environmental
Justice Network, will work on illegal-waste-dumping cases and has
already accepted three such cases in Roxbury. The development
suggests a new "niche" for enviro lawyers: cases that are "not
big enough for state or federal agencies, and too widespread for
city officials to investigate." Each year, the network will
provide "roughly" 20 "disadvantaged" clients with lawyers from
"prominent" firms as well as public health experts and
environmental consultants. Network founders say "scores of
people" across the state have "expressed interest" in using the
program (Scott Allen, BOSTON GLOBE, 12/1).
*6 AWARD: TWO NORTH AMERICAN BOTANISTS WIN TYLER PRIZE
Two North American botanists have won the 1994 Tyler Prize
for Environmental Achievement "for their efforts to understand
and protect tropical rain forests." Arturo Gomez-Pompa, a
professor of botany and plant sciences at the U. of California,
Riverside, and Peter Raven, director of the Missouri Botanical
Garden in St. Louis, will share the award. Gomez-Pompa is
"Mexico's most prominent voice for conservation." Raven was an
"early exponent" of the concept of biodiversity. The two
scientists will divide the $150,000 cash award to be presented
tonight in Los Angeles, CA. Robert Sullivan, chair of the Tyler
Prize Executive Committee: "No two individuals have done more in
helping us to understand the complexity and interdependence of
the tropical forest ecological systems, and no two individuals
have done more to protect them." The prize is administered by an
independent endowment at the U. of Southern California (USC
release, 12/2).
============== AIR AND WATER POLLUTION ==============
*7 AIR PLANS: US EPA MAY OFFER STATES NEW MENU OF OPTIONS
The US EPA will soon offer the states a new "menu of
options" for reducing air pollution because lawmakers in many
states, including PA, have rejected the agency's preferred
approach to auto-emissions testing. EPA Regional Administrator
Peter Kostmayer on 11/30 said that the agency may present the
options "in two weeks or less," and states will have perhaps six
months to consider them. Kostmayer declined to outline the
options, but noted: "There are any number of ways you can get
from point A to point B. We care less how people will get there,
as long as we end up with the same new result."
The EPA had threatened "immediate and harsh" sanctions
against Pennsylvania if it failed to adopt the stricter auto-
emissions tests. But after the PA legislature voted in 9/94 to
suspend the program, the agency "quickly backed off its threat."
Kostmayer "speculated" that the state might ultimately decide to
stick to its original plans because "new smog checks for cars ...
would look attractive compared with tougher restrictions on
businesses" (Robert Moran, PHILA. INQUIRER, 12/1).
*8 REFORMULATED GAS: FUEL MAY HARM OLDER, SMALLER ENGINES
Reformulated gasoline to be sold in smoggy cities beginning
on 1/1 could cause performance problems in older cars and damage
smaller engines that run on a mixture of fuel and oil, government
and industry officials concede.
The danger to the small engines that power everything from
snowmobiles to chainsaws is "largely unknown and only now being
examined," but it "appears confined to much older equipment,"
experts said. The reformulated gas, which contains oxygen-rich
additives meant to reduce ground-level ozone emissions, could
thin lubricating oil and raise temperatures in some two-cycle
engines, one theory says.
The fuel also could "hamper performance" in cars made before
1982 that have carburetors rather than electronic fuel injectors.
Fuel economy for older cars could drop by 4%, compared to 1.5%
for new and fuel-injected cars, according to William Berman of
the American Automobile Association. EPA's David Kortum
"downplayed the risk," noting that with every new fuel
introduction, "there's a mad rush to blame everything on it"
(Paul Foy, Schnectady [NY] GAZETTE, 12/1).
============== WASTES AND HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES ==============
*9 CHEMICAL WEAPONS: SECRET ARMY REPORT LISTS TOOELE PROBLEMS
A confidential US Army report "cites wide-ranging safety and
management deficiencies" at the Army's chemical-weapons
incinerator in Tooele, UT (Bruce Reid, Balto. SUN, 12/2). The
report, "leaked this week to opponents of the Army's
controversial chemical weapons disposition program," lists safety
problems ranging from the "seemingly trivial" to the "potentially
dangerous" (Thomas Lippman, WASH. POST, 12/2). Contractors did
not adhere to Army procedures for handling lethal chemicals,
ensuring safety, security and environmental protection, according
to the report. In addition, government oversight of contractors
was inadequate, safety inspections were not conducted or
documented, and medical screening programs were not in place to
detect workplace poisoning.
The report "echoes" many allegations made by inspector Steve
Jones, who was fired in 9/94 (Reid, Balto. SUN). Jones claims he
was dismissed because he refused to withdraw allegations that key
safety systems were inadequate and could lead to a "catastrophe."
Opponents said the report and Jones's allegations show the
incineration program is "flawed" and should be discontinued, but
the Army says the report "only demonstrates its determination to
find and correct deficiencies" before the Tooele plant begins
operations in 9/95 (Lippman, WASH. POST).
============== ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES ==============
*10 ESA: LAW FALLS SHORT OF GOALS, USA TODAY CONCLUDES
The Endangered Species Act, which is on the verge of being
"upended" by a GOP-controlled Congress, "has fallen far short of
its goals," a USA TODAY cover story claims. Of 912 US plants and
animals listed as endangered or threatened:
-- Only six are removed from the list as fully recovered;
-- Seven have become extinct, with at least 14 others
"feared extinct";
-- 304 have no plans drawn up to save them, while another
101 have draft plans and fewer than 500 have final
plans that are supposed to boost their recoveries.
Since the law began, "more than half the money spent ...
went to fewer than a dozen popular" species, meaning that "about
$5 million has been spent on every Florida Panther vs. $1 or less
for each of several endangered spiders, snails, mussels, rats and
bats." The US Fish and Wildlife Service insists the numbers
don't tell the real tale. Although new species are listed as
endangered every month, USFWS deputy administrator Robert Davison
says nearly 40% of the plants and animals now on the list "are
stabilized or improving. That's quite a remarkable
accomplishment." Supporters point out that the law has only been
in existence for 21 years, "shorter than some species'
reproductive cycles."
"But without solid statistical success, the law is
vulnerable," as critics charge that federal managers don't
consider effects on business and property when they decide to
protect a species. Sen Bob Packwood (R-OR): "We now have the
votes to change [the law] so people count as much as bugs" (Linda
Kanamine, USA TODAY, 12/2).
*11 NW FORESTS: LITIGANTS SUBMIT INTERIM PLANS TO DWYER
The Clinton administration, enviros and the timber industry
on 11/30 turned in their answers to a federal judge's question
about what he should do if he finds the administration's
Northwest forest plan illegal. The plan, which is being
challenged by both enviros and industry, "would take months" to
redraw if overturned. US District Judge William Dwyer last week
asked parties to the case what activities should be allowed in
the national forests that harbor the northern spotted owl if he
rejects the Clinton plan (GREENWIRE 11/28).
The Clinton admin. "pushed for its version of order in the
jumbled world of forest politics," asking Dwyer to let the plan
go forward even if the government is "forced to come up with a
more legally sound way to manage the federal forests." The
timber industry took no position, hoping to fight the issue in
Congress "and in a federal court in Washington, DC where it might
get a more sympathetic hearing" (Peter Sleeth, Portland
OREGONIAN, 12/1). Enviro leaders said they planned to recommend
the resurrection of "Option 1," which would preserve about 11.4
million acres from the saw compared to 7.4 million acres under
the Clinton plan (AP/Medford [OR] MAIL TRIBUNE, 11/30). But two
"small" enviro groups -- the Native Forest Council and Save the
West -- argued separately for "barring logging in all habitat for
any threatened or endangered species" (Rob Taylor, SEATTLE POST-
INTELLIGENCER, 12/1).
*12 NW FORESTS II: ONRC SHIFTS FOCUS TO STATE, PRIVATE LANDS
The Oregon Natural Resources Council "will soon begin
pushing for increased environmental protection" of state and
private forests, said ONRC Exec. Dir. Andy Kerr. Private forests
comprise 40% of the state's resources, and of those, the timber
industry owns 18%. The state owns only 3% of forests within its
borders. Kerr: "Private lands are in worse shape because
they've been cut more intensely and more often."
But Oregon's Forest Practices Act "has already taken major
steps" to protect private forests, said Sharla Moffett, executive
VP of the Southern Oregon Timber Industries Association. In
addition, private timber firms "are careful" to preserve their
valuable investment, she said. Kerr disagreed, arguing the state
provides only a 100 ft. no-logging buffer zone around streams
when "the best scientific evidence" shows 300 ft. is needed to
protect salmon.
Kerr said he predicts a "battle as difficult" as the one
over federal forests, but he says protecting private land will
take different strategies than those appropriate for public
lands. "The environmental movement needs to look toward tax
incentives and things like that," he said (Paul Fattig, Medford
[OR] MAIL TRIBUNE, 11/29).
*13 LAND USE: WESTERN GOVS SEE CHANCE TO SLIP FEDERAL CONTROL
A group of Western governors is preparing to fight the
federal government over public land issues, "starting with the
Endangered Species Act." The "handful of members" attending a
Western Governors' Assn. meeting on 11/29 endorsed a resolution
"aimed at giving states" a role in keeping plants and animals off
the federal list.
The governors also "dug their heels in" against federal
efforts "to rewrite rules by which states and counties can claim
rights-of-way over federal land." They plan to send a letter to
the US Interior Department asking it the agency to abandon such
plans. Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt (R): "We all have an interest in
[federal lands], but those of us who live here ought to have a
substantial involvement in how they ... are used and managed."
The 18-member group took no official action because only six
governors and two governors-elect attended the meeting. Those
present approved the wording of several resolutions and will seek
support from other governors (AP/Portland OREGONIAN, 12/1).
============== MARKETS AND MANAGEMENT ==============
*14 ELECTRIC VEHICLES: SOLECTRIA, GM GEAR UP FOR PRODUCTION
Three "significant" announcements are expected today at the
International Electric Vehicle Symposium in Anaheim, CA and may
demonstrate that "the technology is ready if Detroit will commit
itself to adopting it," the N.Y. TIMES reports. Solectria Corp.
of Wilmington, MA plans to display a four-passenger car that will
be the nation's first vehicle to be made of lightweight composite
materials and designed for mass production (Matthew Wald, N.Y.
TIMES, 12/2). Solectria will produce the "Sunrise" beginning in
1997 if it can gain 20,00 advance orders. The car, about the
size of a Honda Accord, should be able to go more than 100 miles
on a single charge (James Healey, USA TODAY, 12/2).
The German postal service will conduct a large-scale, $14.8
million trial test of EVs "that are recharged by replacing the
fuel pack rather than connecting the battery to an electrical
recharger." The service will buy more than 50 vans and light
pickup trucks from Mercedes-Benz that use zinc-air batteries made
by the Electric Fuel Corp., based in New York and Jerusalem.
The third announcement will be made by Canadian utility
Hydro-Quebec, which developed an "unusual all-in-one combination
of electric motor and automobile wheel." The wheel, which would
eliminate the transmission and axles found in conventional cars,
is under development, but the company says it will have
prototypes available in 1996 (Wald, N.Y. TIMES, 12/2).
GM VENTURE ANNOUNCES BATTERY PRODUCTION
In a move hinting that General Motors is moving to meet a
1998 California state deadline for electric-vehicle sales, GM
Ovonics plans to begin volume production late next year of its
nickel-metal-hydride battery for electric cars. John Adams, head
of the 9-month-old venture of General Motors Corp. and Energy
Conversion Devices Inc., is expected to announce today at the EV
symposium in Anaheim that the venture will be able to supply
batteries for 2,000 cars a year by 1996. The company claims that
recent vehicle tests show the battery to be a "viable near-term
option" for EVs, with the cost being "competitive and
acceptable." The tests "apparently confirmed" earlier claims by
inventor Stanford Ovshinsky that an EV powered by the battery can
travel more than 200 miles on a single charge. Most others have
difficulty going 80 to 100 miles on a single charge. General
Motors has "steadfastly opposed" the California rule mandating
that 2% of cars sold in 1998 produce zero emissions (Jerry
Bishop, W.S. JOURNAL, 12/2).
============== STATE REPORTS ==============
*15 ALABAMA: ENVIROS UNHAPPY WITH NEW ENVIRO CHIEF
By a 4 to 3 vote on 11/29, the Alabama Environmental
Management Commission named John Smith, "a controversial friend
of Gov. Jim Folsom's" (D), as director of the Alabama Department
of Environmental Management. Smith said his experience with the
US EPA Gulf of Mexico program prepared him for the post, but
enviros called his enviro record "spotty" or worse. Sheila
Holbrook-White, Alabama coordinator of the Sierra Club, said she
was "appalled" and would consider ways to "legally challenge" the
appointment. Former state Sen. Mac Parsons (D): "Any experience
he has dealing with the environment is a bad experience."
ADEM records show that in the early 1980s, Smith was a
public relations consultant for Ashvins Inc., a company that
proposed to transport barges of hazardous waste to other
countries without naming the companies that generated the waste.
The man who headed Ashvins was later sentenced to three years in
prison for illegally dumping hazwaste in Dalton, GA. Smith
denies having worked for the company. Ron Wise, a Montgomery
lawyer and one of the commissioners who supported Smith, said he
was "the best man for the job" (Greg Jaffe, MONTGOMERY
ADVERTISER, 11/30).
*16 LOUISIANA: ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION TO BE STANDARDIZED
Environmental education in Louisiana "needs to be
standardized," said state Department of Environmental Quality
Undersecretary Mary Mitchell. Mitchell chairs a special
commission created by the state legislature in 1993 to develop a
"uniform and comprehensive" environmental education plan for LA
public schools. The initiative is due in part to the 1990
National Environmental Education Act, which requires the US EPA
and other federal offices to support environmental education
programs. With a $10,000 grant from the American Association of
Environmental Educators, a committee of teachers, government
officials and environmental professionals is surveying programs
in grades K-12 and advising the state commission (Sandra Barbier,
N.O. TIMES-PICAYUNE, 11/28).
*17 MASSACHUSETTS: LEGISLATURE OKs BILL TO STIFLE SLAPP SUITS
"In a move hailed by environmental activists," the
Massachusetts Legislature on 11/29 approved a bill that would end
"controversial legal tactics by developers who file libel suits
against critics of their projects." The House and Senate
approved the bill to stifle so-called Strategic Litigation
Against Public Participation by voice vote, "leading supporters
to declare they are confident" to override a "likely" veto by
Gov. William Weld (R). Weld vetoed the same bill earlier this
year, objecting to the way the bill shifted the burden of proof
to those who file defamation suits. Enviros have said developers
use suits to discourage citizens from speaking out. Opponents
said the bill deprives developers of their constitutional right
to sue for libel (Frank Phillips, BOSTON GLOBE, 11/30).
*18 NEW YORK: DEVELOPER GETS APPROVAL TO BUILD AT LOVE CANAL
Developer Samuel Tuchman received permission from the
Niagara Falls planning board on 11/30 to build 250 new homes
"within blocks of the former chemical dump site" at Love Canal.
Tuchman said he expects construction, which could begin within
weeks, to be completed within two years, and he "doesn't
anticipate any trouble selling" the homes, apartments and retail
plaza. "The stigma of chemical poisons that forced 700 families
to flee" in 1978 "has waned." More than 119 of the 225 surviving
homes have been sold (David Germain, AP/mult., 12/1).
*19 WASHINGTON: PROPOSED TANKER BAN NOT ENOUGH, ENVIROS SAY
An international marine-safety committee meets in London
next week to a US proposal "to declare Washington's wild Olympic
Coast off-limits to oil tankers and barges." But the Washington
Environmental Council, the state Office of Marine Safety and
Makah Tribal Council are "pushing" federal agencies to expand the
proposal to cover all ships larger than 500 gross tons. Since
"almost all" tankers and oil barges "voluntarily" avoid the area,
even federal officials admit the impact on shipping "is expected
to be minimal." Ships that carry oil as fuel "pose a greater
oil-spill risk" than tankers, enviros say. Foreign-flag bulk
carriers are of particular concern, said Nick Handy of the state
Office of Marine Safety. If the proposal is approved next week,
it will take effect in 6/95. The Coast Guard's Ed LaRue said
presenting a different plan in London next week would delay the
initiative a year (Eric Pryne, SEATTLE TIMES, 11/29).
============== WORLDVIEW ==============
*20 TREATIES: CREATIVE APPROACHES STRENGTHEN ENVIRO ACCORDS
"Inherent weaknesses in the rules of international diplomacy
render many environmental treaties virtually meaningless ...
[but] many negotiators have sought creative ways to toughen these
accords," writes Hillary French in SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN. For
example, the "tradition that international decisions be
unanimous" has "hindered" many enviro agreements. When countries
can't achieve consensus, some treaties use "innovative" voting
mechanisms to allow a "qualified majority" to add stronger
measures later. For example, in 1990, the member countries who
signed the Montreal Protocol in 1987 voted to ban CFC production
by using provisions which allow a two-thirds majority to pass
stricter controls.
Methods such as peer pressure also have "emerged as powerful
enforcement tools." NGOs can "embarrass remiss governments
publicly" with information drawn from countries' treaty progress
reports. While trade incentives can also "secure compliance,"
world trade rules could "jeopardize" their use. "If GATT can
preclude countries from restricting trade with nations that harm
the environment, then there are few means of inducing offending
countries to change their ways."
"Soft laws" such as the Agenda 21, adopted at the 1992 Earth
Summit, can create more "rapid action" than binding agreements.
"Paradoxically," countries are more willing to comply with
international commitments when they are not required to do so.
After the Earth Summit, more than 100 countries set up
sustainable development commissions. But providing financial
help to developing nations will be "key" to helping them act on
international treaties (12/94 issue).
*21 RUSSIA: ENVIRONMENTAL PARTY FORMED, ELECTS LEADER
The founding congress of the Russian Environmental Party was
recently held in Ekaterinburg. More than 300 delegates from 57
regions attended (Moscow IZVESTIA, 11/22). Anatoli Panfilov, a
"professional politician" who was elected as the party's leader,
said Russia was on the brink of an "unprecedented disaster worse
than any war" and noted that the rest of the world feared Russia
"not because of her military strength but because of her
potential pollution." Government and parliament representatives
also attended the congress (Moscow ROSSIISKIE VESTI, 11/29).
*22 CHILE: ENVIRO GROUP FIGHTS PLANNED GENERATORS
Proposed construction of seven thermal power generators in
Santiago, Chile has drawn protest from the Institute of Political
Ecology, a Chilean enviro group. According to the Institute's
president, Manuel Baquedano, the project would create a
"significant increase" in carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide
emissions. While the natural-gas-powered thermal generators
would be less polluting than the fossil fuels currently in use,
Baquedano said the added pollution from the new generators will
exceed "acceptable" emission levels and cause a "severe health
and environmental hazard" (Santiago EL MERCURIO, 11/29).
============== CALENDAR ==============
*23 MORE CONFERENCES IN DECEMBER
11/29-12/2 -- WATER QUALITY: US EPA convenes the Multi-
Regional Meeting on Water Quality Standards/Criteria and Related
Programs in Seattle, WA. Contact: Liz Hiett, (703) 385-6000.
1-2 -- REGULATION: Executive Enterprises Inc. presents the
4th Annual Environmental Regulation Institute in Orlando, FL.
Contact: (800) 831-8333.
5-7 -- MANUFACTURING: The Departments of Energy,
Agriculture and Defense sponsor the Biobased Products National
Exposition in Kansas City, MO. Contact: Barbara Detwiler,
(703) 734-4081.
5-8 -- POLLUTION PREVENTION: The Northeast Waste Management
Officials' Association and the US EPA sponsor the 1994 Toxics
Release Inventory Data Use Conference in Boston, MA. Contact:
Terri Goldberg, (617) 367-8558.
5-9 -- WATER QUALITY: US EPA convenes the Multi-Regional
Meeting on Water Quality Standards/Criteria and Related Programs
in Chicago, IL. Contact: Liz Hiett, (703) 385-6000.
11-13 -- SEWAGE SYSTEMS: The American Society of
Agricultural Engineers sponsors the 7th National Symposium on
Individual and Small Community Sewage Systems in Atlanta, GA.
Contact: (616) 429-0300.
12-13 -- NEGOTIATING: Environmental Policy Group of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology presents "Negotiating
Environmental Agreements: How Companies & Regulators Can Avoid
Escalating Confrontation, Needless Costs and Unnecessary
Litigation" in Cambridge, MA. Contact: (617) 239-1111.
13-14 -- MANDATES: "Conference on Federal Environmental
Mandates: Government and Funding" in Arlington, VA. Contact:
(800) 424-9868.
============== THE KICKER ==============
JAMES BOND, USFWS-STYLE
Ken Goddard, director of US Fish and Wildlife Service
Laboratory, has released his fifth novel, "Wildfire." The novel
continues the exploits of Henry Lightstone, a former San Diego
surfer and homicide detective who has become a member of Bravo
Team, "laying his life on the line to protect wildlife." In the
book, a covert team of USFWS agents trail industrialists bent on
destroying the environmental movement and a crazed group of
environmental terrorists who want to sent the world on fire --
literally. Goddard: "What I'm hoping to get out of these books
is get people to understand what these wildlife agents do" (Jeff
Barnard, AP/Portland OREGONIAN, 11/29).
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THE DAILY EXECUTIVE BRIEFING ON THE ENVIRONMENT
282 North Washington Street, Falls Church, VA (703) 237-5130
=================================================================
__________ __________
GEARING UP FOR EVs | SPOTLIGHT |
Solectria plans 1997 | |
production of an electric car | A DECADE AFTER BHOPAL: |
made of lightweight-composite | LESSONS LEARNED? |
materials; GM electric-car | |
battery venture plans mass | Ten years after a poison- |
production next year. (#14) | gas leak killed some 2,000 |
| people living near a Union |
CLEAN AIR A LA CARTE | Carbide plant in Bhopal, |
The US EPA may offer states a | India, the Boston-based |
new "menu of options" for | National Environmental Law |
reducing air pollution. (#7) | Center argues a similar |
| accident still is possible |
ESA: A LEAKING ARK | in the US. Plants |
The Endangered Species Act | nationwide store 10 billion |
has helped very few species | pounds of "extremely |
recover, USA TODAY says. (#10) | hazardous" chemicals, the |
Western govs back plan giving | group says. (#1) |
states a chance to keep species | |
off the federal list. (#13) | In Bhopal, victims of the |
| disaster are beginning to |
GOING TO THE BENCH | receive compensation, but |
Enviros and the Clinton | few believe the 600,000 |
admin. -- but not the timber | claims will be settled by a |
industry -- tell fed judge what | judge's target date three |
they think should happen if he | years from now. |
rules the Clinton NW forest | |
plan to be illegal. (#11) | A Union Carbide director |
| sees two lessons for the |
RULER OF THE SEAS | chemical industry: better |
House Natural Resources panel | community relations and |
gets say over ocean dumping, | better procedures. (#2) |
marine refuges and more. (#4) |_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"There are any number of ways you can get from point A to point
B. We care less how people will get there, as long as we end up
with the same new result." -- EPA Regional Administrator Peter
Kostmayer, on a "menu of options" the agency is drafting for
states to comply with clean-air rules. (#7)
GREENWIRE/DATABASE INDEX
SPOTLIGHT STORY
TOXICS: US chemical storage poses threat, group says. (#1)
TOXICS II: Progress slow on redress for Bhopal victims. (#2)
SOCIETY AND POLITICS
GATT: Senate approves pact easily; debate moves to WTO. (#3)
CONGRESS: House Natural Resources gets oceans authority. (#4)
ENVIRO JUSTICE: Attorneys unite to help minorities, poor. (#5)
AWARD: Two North American botanists win Tyler prize. (#6)
AIR AND WATER POLLUTION
AIR PLANS: US EPA may offer states new menu of options. (#7)
REFORMULATED GAS: Fuel may harm older, smaller engines. (#8)
WASTES AND HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES
CHEMICAL WEAPONS: Secret Army report lists Tooele problems.(#9)
ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
ESA: Law falls short of goals, USA TODAY concludes. (#10)
NW FORESTS: Litigants submit interim plans to Dwyer. (#11)
NW FORESTS II: ONRC shifts focus to state, private lands. (#12)
LAND USE: Western govs see chance to slip federal control.(#13)
MARKETS AND MANAGEMENT
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Solectria, GM gear up for production. (#14)
STATE REPORTS
AL: Enviros unhappy with new enviro chief. (#15)
LA: Environmental education to be standardized. (#16)
MA: Legislature OKs bill to stifle SLAPP suits. (#17)
NY: Developer gets approval to build at Love Canal. (#18)
WA: Proposed tanker ban not enough, enviros say. (#19)
WORLDVIEW
TREATIES: Creative approaches strengthen enviro accords. (#20)
RUSSIA: Environmental party formed, elects leader. (#21)
CHILE: Enviro group fights planned generators. (#22)
CALENDAR
MORE CONFERENCES IN DECEMBER. (#23)
_______________________________________________________________
| (c) 1994 by the American Political Network, Inc. Any |
| reproduction -- by photocopy, fax, or other form -- in whole |
| or in part, is a violation of federal law and is strictly |
| prohibited without the consent of APN. All rights reserved. |
|_______________________________________________________________|
============== FACT OF THE DAY ==============
Of 912 US plants and animals listed as endangered or threatened
under the federal Endangered Species Act, six have been taken off
the list as fully recovered and seven have become extinct. (#10)
============== SPOTLIGHT STORY ==============
*1 TOXICS: US CHEMICAL STORAGE POSES THREAT, GROUP SAYS
Ten years to the day after a chemical leak killed 2,000
people in Bhopal, India, "activists say a similar threat exists
in the USA." More than 10 billion pounds of "extremely
hazardous" chemicals are stored in factories nationwide,
according to a study by the Boston-based National Environmental
Law Center (Rae Tyson, USA TODAY, 12/2). Manufacturers from
Louisiana, Texas, Tennessee, California, Florida and Ohio store
the greatest amounts of "extremely hazardous substances" in the
country, according to NELC. The figures are "conservative"
because federal data are available for only 57 of the 360
chemicals regulated as "extremely hazardous," NELC says.
Rather than trusting safety systems to contain accidents,
NELC argues, industry should switch to using safer chemicals and
production methods -- such as reducing storage of chemicals.
Five safety systems failed to contain the release of a deadly gas
from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, the group says (NELC
release, 12/2).
*2 TOXICS II: PROGRESS SLOW ON REDRESS FOR BHOPAL VICTIMS
A decade after the "world's worst industrial disaster,"
workers are dismantling the Union Carbide pesticide plant that
was at fault, and "progress is starting to be made in
compensating the victims." Special courts are hearing
applications from those who were injured by the gas leak and from
families that lost their breadwinners. A hospital will be built
with the funds from the sale of the "mothballed" plant.
But health monitoring for victims with long-term ailments
"has been neither systematic nor coordinated" and "allegations
abound" of corruption among medical and legal workers. Justice
A.G. Qureshi, who is overseeing the 600,000 compensation hearings
that began three years after the disaster, says "nobody believes"
him when he says he'll finish three years from now. While
critics say Qureshi has set up a "needlessly legalistic and
adversarial procedure," he counters that "'it's a messy job' with
many spurious applications."
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
"What went wrong that night has never been established."
Union Carbide still maintains the problem was sabotage by a
disgruntled employee. Many Bhopal residents charge the company
"cut corners" by storing unstable methyl isocyanate rather than
converting it directly to a less toxic final product. The
disaster's death toll also is still disputed, with estimates
ranging from 1,800 to 25,000.
LESSONS LEARNED
Since 1984, India has "enacted an environmental protection
law, but concerns remain that it is inadequately enforced."
While new facilities "receive close scrutiny," older plants
continue releasing wastes. Union Carbide director Robert Berzok
says Bhopal offers two main lessons for chemical makers: "better
dialogue with local communities, and continued improvements to
operational procedures." It also shows that a safety manifesto
like the one Union Carbide released in 1984, "however nobly
phrased, is not enough" (Gordon Cramb, FIN. TIMES, 12/2).
============== SOCIETY AND POLITICS ==============
*3 GATT: SENATE APPROVES PACT EASILY; DEBATE MOVES TO WTO
By a vote of 76-24, the Senate yesterday approved the bill
to implement the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
"Approval of the pact, by a far wider margin than expected," will
pave the way for creation of a new World Trade Organization to
govern commerce (David Sanger, N.Y. TIMES). Pres. Clinton:
"This vote for GATT shows once again that our country is moving
in the right direction, reaching out to the rest of the world and
looking at the best interests of our own people" (Helen Dewar,
WASH. POST). The budget rule waiver, "considered the biggest
hurdle for passage of GATT," passed with a vote of 68-32.
Enviros and labor groups "condemned" GATT. Randall Hayes of
the Rainforest Action Network called GATT "ecologically ignorant
and economically shortsighted" (David Sands, WASH. TIMES).
Consumer advocate Ralph Nader: "For American democracy and our
right to be first in safety and other standards of living, today
is a day of infamy" (Nader release, 12/1).
WHAT'S NEXT?
"WTO members will soon be caught up in arguments over the
new trade agenda, including the protection of the environment and
workers' rights and demands for greater public access to the
trade bureaucrats' closed-door decision making," writes Peter
Behr in the WASH. POST. (All cites 12/2 unless noted.)
*4 CONGRESS: HOUSE NATURAL RESOURCES GETS OCEANS AUTHORITY
In the continuing Republican shakeup of Congress, the House
Natural Resources Committee "is picking up ... much of the
jurisdiction" of the Merchant Marine subcommittee on
oceanography, GOP sources said. Natural Resources, which is
already slated to take authority over fisheries and wildlife
issues, also will take charge of the Coastal Zone Management Act,
deep sea-bed mining, the national marine sanctuaries, the outer-
continental shelf and ocean dumping, sources said. But "some
research components of that panel may move to the Science and
Technology Committee," sources said. International fisheries
agreements "are tentatively" set to move under the purview of the
Foreign Affairs Committee, but aides to Rep. Don Young (R-AK),
the incoming chair of Natural Resources, said he "may seek to
regain that jurisdiction" (CONGRESS DAILY, 12/1).
*5 ENVIRO JUSTICE: ATTORNEYS UNITE TO HELP MINORITIES, POOR
"In a first-in-the-nation program," more than 60 attorneys
have agreed to provide free services to low-income and minority
communities in Massachusetts that are fighting enviro hazards,
the Boston Bar Association announced on 11/30. The
"unprecedented" program, called the Massachusetts Environmental
Justice Network, will work on illegal-waste-dumping cases and has
already accepted three such cases in Roxbury. The development
suggests a new "niche" for enviro lawyers: cases that are "not
big enough for state or federal agencies, and too widespread for
city officials to investigate." Each year, the network will
provide "roughly" 20 "disadvantaged" clients with lawyers from
"prominent" firms as well as public health experts and
environmental consultants. Network founders say "scores of
people" across the state have "expressed interest" in using the
program (Scott Allen, BOSTON GLOBE, 12/1).
*6 AWARD: TWO NORTH AMERICAN BOTANISTS WIN TYLER PRIZE
Two North American botanists have won the 1994 Tyler Prize
for Environmental Achievement "for their efforts to understand
and protect tropical rain forests." Arturo Gomez-Pompa, a
professor of botany and plant sciences at the U. of California,
Riverside, and Peter Raven, director of the Missouri Botanical
Garden in St. Louis, will share the award. Gomez-Pompa is
"Mexico's most prominent voice for conservation." Raven was an
"early exponent" of the concept of biodiversity. The two
scientists will divide the $150,000 cash award to be presented
tonight in Los Angeles, CA. Robert Sullivan, chair of the Tyler
Prize Executive Committee: "No two individuals have done more in
helping us to understand the complexity and interdependence of
the tropical forest ecological systems, and no two individuals
have done more to protect them." The prize is administered by an
independent endowment at the U. of Southern California (USC
release, 12/2).
============== AIR AND WATER POLLUTION ==============
*7 AIR PLANS: US EPA MAY OFFER STATES NEW MENU OF OPTIONS
The US EPA will soon offer the states a new "menu of
options" for reducing air pollution because lawmakers in many
states, including PA, have rejected the agency's preferred
approach to auto-emissions testing. EPA Regional Administrator
Peter Kostmayer on 11/30 said that the agency may present the
options "in two weeks or less," and states will have perhaps six
months to consider them. Kostmayer declined to outline the
options, but noted: "There are any number of ways you can get
from point A to point B. We care less how people will get there,
as long as we end up with the same new result."
The EPA had threatened "immediate and harsh" sanctions
against Pennsylvania if it failed to adopt the stricter auto-
emissions tests. But after the PA legislature voted in 9/94 to
suspend the program, the agency "quickly backed off its threat."
Kostmayer "speculated" that the state might ultimately decide to
stick to its original plans because "new smog checks for cars ...
would look attractive compared with tougher restrictions on
businesses" (Robert Moran, PHILA. INQUIRER, 12/1).
*8 REFORMULATED GAS: FUEL MAY HARM OLDER, SMALLER ENGINES
Reformulated gasoline to be sold in smoggy cities beginning
on 1/1 could cause performance problems in older cars and damage
smaller engines that run on a mixture of fuel and oil, government
and industry officials concede.
The danger to the small engines that power everything from
snowmobiles to chainsaws is "largely unknown and only now being
examined," but it "appears confined to much older equipment,"
experts said. The reformulated gas, which contains oxygen-rich
additives meant to reduce ground-level ozone emissions, could
thin lubricating oil and raise temperatures in some two-cycle
engines, one theory says.
The fuel also could "hamper performance" in cars made before
1982 that have carburetors rather than electronic fuel injectors.
Fuel economy for older cars could drop by 4%, compared to 1.5%
for new and fuel-injected cars, according to William Berman of
the American Automobile Association. EPA's David Kortum
"downplayed the risk," noting that with every new fuel
introduction, "there's a mad rush to blame everything on it"
(Paul Foy, Schnectady [NY] GAZETTE, 12/1).
============== WASTES AND HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES ==============
*9 CHEMICAL WEAPONS: SECRET ARMY REPORT LISTS TOOELE PROBLEMS
A confidential US Army report "cites wide-ranging safety and
management deficiencies" at the Army's chemical-weapons
incinerator in Tooele, UT (Bruce Reid, Balto. SUN, 12/2). The
report, "leaked this week to opponents of the Army's
controversial chemical weapons disposition program," lists safety
problems ranging from the "seemingly trivial" to the "potentially
dangerous" (Thomas Lippman, WASH. POST, 12/2). Contractors did
not adhere to Army procedures for handling lethal chemicals,
ensuring safety, security and environmental protection, according
to the report. In addition, government oversight of contractors
was inadequate, safety inspections were not conducted or
documented, and medical screening programs were not in place to
detect workplace poisoning.
The report "echoes" many allegations made by inspector Steve
Jones, who was fired in 9/94 (Reid, Balto. SUN). Jones claims he
was dismissed because he refused to withdraw allegations that key
safety systems were inadequate and could lead to a "catastrophe."
Opponents said the report and Jones's allegations show the
incineration program is "flawed" and should be discontinued, but
the Army says the report "only demonstrates its determination to
find and correct deficiencies" before the Tooele plant begins
operations in 9/95 (Lippman, WASH. POST).
============== ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES ==============
*10 ESA: LAW FALLS SHORT OF GOALS, USA TODAY CONCLUDES
The Endangered Species Act, which is on the verge of being
"upended" by a GOP-controlled Congress, "has fallen far short of
its goals," a USA TODAY cover story claims. Of 912 US plants and
animals listed as endangered or threatened:
-- Only six are removed from the list as fully recovered;
-- Seven have become extinct, with at least 14 others
"feared extinct";
-- 304 have no plans drawn up to save them, while another
101 have draft plans and fewer than 500 have final
plans that are supposed to boost their recoveries.
Since the law began, "more than half the money spent ...
went to fewer than a dozen popular" species, meaning that "about
$5 million has been spent on every Florida Panther vs. $1 or less
for each of several endangered spiders, snails, mussels, rats and
bats." The US Fish and Wildlife Service insists the numbers
don't tell the real tale. Although new species are listed as
endangered every month, USFWS deputy administrator Robert Davison
says nearly 40% of the plants and animals now on the list "are
stabilized or improving. That's quite a remarkable
accomplishment." Supporters point out that the law has only been
in existence for 21 years, "shorter than some species'
reproductive cycles."
"But without solid statistical success, the law is
vulnerable," as critics charge that federal managers don't
consider effects on business and property when they decide to
protect a species. Sen Bob Packwood (R-OR): "We now have the
votes to change [the law] so people count as much as bugs" (Linda
Kanamine, USA TODAY, 12/2).
*11 NW FORESTS: LITIGANTS SUBMIT INTERIM PLANS TO DWYER
The Clinton administration, enviros and the timber industry
on 11/30 turned in their answers to a federal judge's question
about what he should do if he finds the administration's
Northwest forest plan illegal. The plan, which is being
challenged by both enviros and industry, "would take months" to
redraw if overturned. US District Judge William Dwyer last week
asked parties to the case what activities should be allowed in
the national forests that harbor the northern spotted owl if he
rejects the Clinton plan (GREENWIRE 11/28).
The Clinton admin. "pushed for its version of order in the
jumbled world of forest politics," asking Dwyer to let the plan
go forward even if the government is "forced to come up with a
more legally sound way to manage the federal forests." The
timber industry took no position, hoping to fight the issue in
Congress "and in a federal court in Washington, DC where it might
get a more sympathetic hearing" (Peter Sleeth, Portland
OREGONIAN, 12/1). Enviro leaders said they planned to recommend
the resurrection of "Option 1," which would preserve about 11.4
million acres from the saw compared to 7.4 million acres under
the Clinton plan (AP/Medford [OR] MAIL TRIBUNE, 11/30). But two
"small" enviro groups -- the Native Forest Council and Save the
West -- argued separately for "barring logging in all habitat for
any threatened or endangered species" (Rob Taylor, SEATTLE POST-
INTELLIGENCER, 12/1).
*12 NW FORESTS II: ONRC SHIFTS FOCUS TO STATE, PRIVATE LANDS
The Oregon Natural Resources Council "will soon begin
pushing for increased environmental protection" of state and
private forests, said ONRC Exec. Dir. Andy Kerr. Private forests
comprise 40% of the state's resources, and of those, the timber
industry owns 18%. The state owns only 3% of forests within its
borders. Kerr: "Private lands are in worse shape because
they've been cut more intensely and more often."
But Oregon's Forest Practices Act "has already taken major
steps" to protect private forests, said Sharla Moffett, executive
VP of the Southern Oregon Timber Industries Association. In
addition, private timber firms "are careful" to preserve their
valuable investment, she said. Kerr disagreed, arguing the state
provides only a 100 ft. no-logging buffer zone around streams
when "the best scientific evidence" shows 300 ft. is needed to
protect salmon.
Kerr said he predicts a "battle as difficult" as the one
over federal forests, but he says protecting private land will
take different strategies than those appropriate for public
lands. "The environmental movement needs to look toward tax
incentives and things like that," he said (Paul Fattig, Medford
[OR] MAIL TRIBUNE, 11/29).
*13 LAND USE: WESTERN GOVS SEE CHANCE TO SLIP FEDERAL CONTROL
A group of Western governors is preparing to fight the
federal government over public land issues, "starting with the
Endangered Species Act." The "handful of members" attending a
Western Governors' Assn. meeting on 11/29 endorsed a resolution
"aimed at giving states" a role in keeping plants and animals off
the federal list.
The governors also "dug their heels in" against federal
efforts "to rewrite rules by which states and counties can claim
rights-of-way over federal land." They plan to send a letter to
the US Interior Department asking it the agency to abandon such
plans. Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt (R): "We all have an interest in
[federal lands], but those of us who live here ought to have a
substantial involvement in how they ... are used and managed."
The 18-member group took no official action because only six
governors and two governors-elect attended the meeting. Those
present approved the wording of several resolutions and will seek
support from other governors (AP/Portland OREGONIAN, 12/1).
============== MARKETS AND MANAGEMENT ==============
*14 ELECTRIC VEHICLES: SOLECTRIA, GM GEAR UP FOR PRODUCTION
Three "significant" announcements are expected today at the
International Electric Vehicle Symposium in Anaheim, CA and may
demonstrate that "the technology is ready if Detroit will commit
itself to adopting it," the N.Y. TIMES reports. Solectria Corp.
of Wilmington, MA plans to display a four-passenger car that will
be the nation's first vehicle to be made of lightweight composite
materials and designed for mass production (Matthew Wald, N.Y.
TIMES, 12/2). Solectria will produce the "Sunrise" beginning in
1997 if it can gain 20,00 advance orders. The car, about the
size of a Honda Accord, should be able to go more than 100 miles
on a single charge (James Healey, USA TODAY, 12/2).
The German postal service will conduct a large-scale, $14.8
million trial test of EVs "that are recharged by replacing the
fuel pack rather than connecting the battery to an electrical
recharger." The service will buy more than 50 vans and light
pickup trucks from Mercedes-Benz that use zinc-air batteries made
by the Electric Fuel Corp., based in New York and Jerusalem.
The third announcement will be made by Canadian utility
Hydro-Quebec, which developed an "unusual all-in-one combination
of electric motor and automobile wheel." The wheel, which would
eliminate the transmission and axles found in conventional cars,
is under development, but the company says it will have
prototypes available in 1996 (Wald, N.Y. TIMES, 12/2).
GM VENTURE ANNOUNCES BATTERY PRODUCTION
In a move hinting that General Motors is moving to meet a
1998 California state deadline for electric-vehicle sales, GM
Ovonics plans to begin volume production late next year of its
nickel-metal-hydride battery for electric cars. John Adams, head
of the 9-month-old venture of General Motors Corp. and Energy
Conversion Devices Inc., is expected to announce today at the EV
symposium in Anaheim that the venture will be able to supply
batteries for 2,000 cars a year by 1996. The company claims that
recent vehicle tests show the battery to be a "viable near-term
option" for EVs, with the cost being "competitive and
acceptable." The tests "apparently confirmed" earlier claims by
inventor Stanford Ovshinsky that an EV powered by the battery can
travel more than 200 miles on a single charge. Most others have
difficulty going 80 to 100 miles on a single charge. General
Motors has "steadfastly opposed" the California rule mandating
that 2% of cars sold in 1998 produce zero emissions (Jerry
Bishop, W.S. JOURNAL, 12/2).
============== STATE REPORTS ==============
*15 ALABAMA: ENVIROS UNHAPPY WITH NEW ENVIRO CHIEF
By a 4 to 3 vote on 11/29, the Alabama Environmental
Management Commission named John Smith, "a controversial friend
of Gov. Jim Folsom's" (D), as director of the Alabama Department
of Environmental Management. Smith said his experience with the
US EPA Gulf of Mexico program prepared him for the post, but
enviros called his enviro record "spotty" or worse. Sheila
Holbrook-White, Alabama coordinator of the Sierra Club, said she
was "appalled" and would consider ways to "legally challenge" the
appointment. Former state Sen. Mac Parsons (D): "Any experience
he has dealing with the environment is a bad experience."
ADEM records show that in the early 1980s, Smith was a
public relations consultant for Ashvins Inc., a company that
proposed to transport barges of hazardous waste to other
countries without naming the companies that generated the waste.
The man who headed Ashvins was later sentenced to three years in
prison for illegally dumping hazwaste in Dalton, GA. Smith
denies having worked for the company. Ron Wise, a Montgomery
lawyer and one of the commissioners who supported Smith, said he
was "the best man for the job" (Greg Jaffe, MONTGOMERY
ADVERTISER, 11/30).
*16 LOUISIANA: ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION TO BE STANDARDIZED
Environmental education in Louisiana "needs to be
standardized," said state Department of Environmental Quality
Undersecretary Mary Mitchell. Mitchell chairs a special
commission created by the state legislature in 1993 to develop a
"uniform and comprehensive" environmental education plan for LA
public schools. The initiative is due in part to the 1990
National Environmental Education Act, which requires the US EPA
and other federal offices to support environmental education
programs. With a $10,000 grant from the American Association of
Environmental Educators, a committee of teachers, government
officials and environmental professionals is surveying programs
in grades K-12 and advising the state commission (Sandra Barbier,
N.O. TIMES-PICAYUNE, 11/28).
*17 MASSACHUSETTS: LEGISLATURE OKs BILL TO STIFLE SLAPP SUITS
"In a move hailed by environmental activists," the
Massachusetts Legislature on 11/29 approved a bill that would end
"controversial legal tactics by developers who file libel suits
against critics of their projects." The House and Senate
approved the bill to stifle so-called Strategic Litigation
Against Public Participation by voice vote, "leading supporters
to declare they are confident" to override a "likely" veto by
Gov. William Weld (R). Weld vetoed the same bill earlier this
year, objecting to the way the bill shifted the burden of proof
to those who file defamation suits. Enviros have said developers
use suits to discourage citizens from speaking out. Opponents
said the bill deprives developers of their constitutional right
to sue for libel (Frank Phillips, BOSTON GLOBE, 11/30).
*18 NEW YORK: DEVELOPER GETS APPROVAL TO BUILD AT LOVE CANAL
Developer Samuel Tuchman received permission from the
Niagara Falls planning board on 11/30 to build 250 new homes
"within blocks of the former chemical dump site" at Love Canal.
Tuchman said he expects construction, which could begin within
weeks, to be completed within two years, and he "doesn't
anticipate any trouble selling" the homes, apartments and retail
plaza. "The stigma of chemical poisons that forced 700 families
to flee" in 1978 "has waned." More than 119 of the 225 surviving
homes have been sold (David Germain, AP/mult., 12/1).
*19 WASHINGTON: PROPOSED TANKER BAN NOT ENOUGH, ENVIROS SAY
An international marine-safety committee meets in London
next week to a US proposal "to declare Washington's wild Olympic
Coast off-limits to oil tankers and barges." But the Washington
Environmental Council, the state Office of Marine Safety and
Makah Tribal Council are "pushing" federal agencies to expand the
proposal to cover all ships larger than 500 gross tons. Since
"almost all" tankers and oil barges "voluntarily" avoid the area,
even federal officials admit the impact on shipping "is expected
to be minimal." Ships that carry oil as fuel "pose a greater
oil-spill risk" than tankers, enviros say. Foreign-flag bulk
carriers are of particular concern, said Nick Handy of the state
Office of Marine Safety. If the proposal is approved next week,
it will take effect in 6/95. The Coast Guard's Ed LaRue said
presenting a different plan in London next week would delay the
initiative a year (Eric Pryne, SEATTLE TIMES, 11/29).
============== WORLDVIEW ==============
*20 TREATIES: CREATIVE APPROACHES STRENGTHEN ENVIRO ACCORDS
"Inherent weaknesses in the rules of international diplomacy
render many environmental treaties virtually meaningless ...
[but] many negotiators have sought creative ways to toughen these
accords," writes Hillary French in SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN. For
example, the "tradition that international decisions be
unanimous" has "hindered" many enviro agreements. When countries
can't achieve consensus, some treaties use "innovative" voting
mechanisms to allow a "qualified majority" to add stronger
measures later. For example, in 1990, the member countries who
signed the Montreal Protocol in 1987 voted to ban CFC production
by using provisions which allow a two-thirds majority to pass
stricter controls.
Methods such as peer pressure also have "emerged as powerful
enforcement tools." NGOs can "embarrass remiss governments
publicly" with information drawn from countries' treaty progress
reports. While trade incentives can also "secure compliance,"
world trade rules could "jeopardize" their use. "If GATT can
preclude countries from restricting trade with nations that harm
the environment, then there are few means of inducing offending
countries to change their ways."
"Soft laws" such as the Agenda 21, adopted at the 1992 Earth
Summit, can create more "rapid action" than binding agreements.
"Paradoxically," countries are more willing to comply with
international commitments when they are not required to do so.
After the Earth Summit, more than 100 countries set up
sustainable development commissions. But providing financial
help to developing nations will be "key" to helping them act on
international treaties (12/94 issue).
*21 RUSSIA: ENVIRONMENTAL PARTY FORMED, ELECTS LEADER
The founding congress of the Russian Environmental Party was
recently held in Ekaterinburg. More than 300 delegates from 57
regions attended (Moscow IZVESTIA, 11/22). Anatoli Panfilov, a
"professional politician" who was elected as the party's leader,
said Russia was on the brink of an "unprecedented disaster worse
than any war" and noted that the rest of the world feared Russia
"not because of her military strength but because of her
potential pollution." Government and parliament representatives
also attended the congress (Moscow ROSSIISKIE VESTI, 11/29).
*22 CHILE: ENVIRO GROUP FIGHTS PLANNED GENERATORS
Proposed construction of seven thermal power generators in
Santiago, Chile has drawn protest from the Institute of Political
Ecology, a Chilean enviro group. According to the Institute's
president, Manuel Baquedano, the project would create a
"significant increase" in carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide
emissions. While the natural-gas-powered thermal generators
would be less polluting than the fossil fuels currently in use,
Baquedano said the added pollution from the new generators will
exceed "acceptable" emission levels and cause a "severe health
and environmental hazard" (Santiago EL MERCURIO, 11/29).
============== CALENDAR ==============
*23 MORE CONFERENCES IN DECEMBER
11/29-12/2 -- WATER QUALITY: US EPA convenes the Multi-
Regional Meeting on Water Quality Standards/Criteria and Related
Programs in Seattle, WA. Contact: Liz Hiett, (703) 385-6000.
1-2 -- REGULATION: Executive Enterprises Inc. presents the
4th Annual Environmental Regulation Institute in Orlando, FL.
Contact: (800) 831-8333.
5-7 -- MANUFACTURING: The Departments of Energy,
Agriculture and Defense sponsor the Biobased Products National
Exposition in Kansas City, MO. Contact: Barbara Detwiler,
(703) 734-4081.
5-8 -- POLLUTION PREVENTION: The Northeast Waste Management
Officials' Association and the US EPA sponsor the 1994 Toxics
Release Inventory Data Use Conference in Boston, MA. Contact:
Terri Goldberg, (617) 367-8558.
5-9 -- WATER QUALITY: US EPA convenes the Multi-Regional
Meeting on Water Quality Standards/Criteria and Related Programs
in Chicago, IL. Contact: Liz Hiett, (703) 385-6000.
11-13 -- SEWAGE SYSTEMS: The American Society of
Agricultural Engineers sponsors the 7th National Symposium on
Individual and Small Community Sewage Systems in Atlanta, GA.
Contact: (616) 429-0300.
12-13 -- NEGOTIATING: Environmental Policy Group of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology presents "Negotiating
Environmental Agreements: How Companies & Regulators Can Avoid
Escalating Confrontation, Needless Costs and Unnecessary
Litigation" in Cambridge, MA. Contact: (617) 239-1111.
13-14 -- MANDATES: "Conference on Federal Environmental
Mandates: Government and Funding" in Arlington, VA. Contact:
(800) 424-9868.
============== THE KICKER ==============
JAMES BOND, USFWS-STYLE
Ken Goddard, director of US Fish and Wildlife Service
Laboratory, has released his fifth novel, "Wildfire." The novel
continues the exploits of Henry Lightstone, a former San Diego
surfer and homicide detective who has become a member of Bravo
Team, "laying his life on the line to protect wildlife." In the
book, a covert team of USFWS agents trail industrialists bent on
destroying the environmental movement and a crazed group of
environmental terrorists who want to sent the world on fire --
literally. Goddard: "What I'm hoping to get out of these books
is get people to understand what these wildlife agents do" (Jeff
Barnard, AP/Portland OREGONIAN, 11/29).
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