Greenwire December 1, 1994

[General User]

--- Thursday --- December 1, 1994 --- Vol. 4 --- No. 148 ---

###### ##### ##### ##### ## ## ## ## ## ##### #####
## ## ## ## ## ### ## ## ## ## ## ## ##
## ### ##### #### #### ## # ## ## # ## ## ##### ####
## ## ## ## ## ## ## ### ####### ## ## ## ##
###### ## ## ##### ##### ## ## ## ## ## ## ## #####

THE DAILY EXECUTIVE BRIEFING ON THE ENVIRONMENT

282 North Washington Street, Falls Church, VA (703) 237-5130
=================================================================
__________ __________
BOOK 'EM, FINE 'EM, LOCK 'EM UP | SPOTLIGHT |
US EPA enforcement actions | |
set a new record last year, | ENVIRONMENT AND TRADE: |
collecting $652M in civil and | GATT, KANTOR AND NAFTA |
criminal fines. (#5) | |
| The Senate appears ready |
CHOICES FOR THE EVERGLADES | to approve the new GATT |
The Army Corps of Engineers | today, despite enviros' |
lays out six options for | fears the pact threatens |
replumbing south Florida. (#11) | US enviro laws. (#3) |
| |
ALYESKA PIPELINE TO GOP | US Trade Rep Mickey |
House oversight of the Trans- | KANTOR is thinking of |
Alaska oil pipeline may be | naming Peter SCHER, an aide |
centered in an industry- | to Sen. Max BAUCUS (D-MT) |
friendly panel. (#12) | who has helped develop |
| plans for linking trade |
HARD TIMES | deals to tough enviro |
Modern recycling plants offer | rules, as his new chief of |
Dickensian working conditions, | staff. (#1) |
the W.S. JOURNAL reports. (#15) | He'll be busy: at the |
| Summit of the Americas next |
EPA VS. STATE AIR-PLAN REBELS | week, Pres. CLINTON will |
In EPA's toughest move yet | call for uniting the |
against rebellious state | Americas in one trade |
officials, agency may take away | agreement -- subject to |
VA's air-permit power. (#21) | enviro and labor standards |
Nevada defies EPA, rejects | like those in NAFTA. (#2) |
tailpipe-testing plan. (#17) | A year after NAFTA, |
| charges persist that US- |
UK: "Greenest" budget plan | Mexico border pollution |
ever ties taxes to enviro | makes people sick. (#4) |
goals. (#22) |_____________________________|

============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"I threw up three times. Didn't stop working, though. I just
stepped back and vomited in the nearest can. There's stuff you
see here that would make even Superman sick."
-- Travis Foley, a former slaughterhouse worker, on his first day
of work at a recycling plant in Storm Lake, IA. (#15)

GREENWIRE/DATABASE INDEX

SPOTLIGHT STORY
TRADE: Kantor to name Baucus aide as chief of staff. (#1)
TRADE II: Clinton to call for hemispheric free trade. (#2)
GATT: Senate vote today; admin. optimistic about win. (#3)
NAFTA: US-Mexico border residents see few signs of cleanup.(#4)

SOCIETY AND POLITICS
ENFORCEMENT: EPA takes "record number" of actions in 1994. (#5)
CONGRESS: Chafee sees no challenge for env't cmte. chair. (#6)
LEGISLATION: FORTUNE polls Washington insiders. (#7)
AWARD: Alabama businessman wins nat'l conservation prize. (#8)

WASTES AND HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES
RADIATION: INEL workers may bear higher cancer risk. (#9)

ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
NUCLEAR POWER: Northeast plants face stricter scrutiny. (#10)
EVERGLADES: Corps unveils "ambitious" restoration plan. (#11)
ALYESKA: Congress easing oversight despite fresh concerns?(#12)
SALMON: Reservoir drawdown not needed, says Corps. (#13)
NW FORESTS: Governors urge Clinton to declare "emergency."(#14)

MARKETS AND MANAGEMENT
RECYCLING: Dangerous conditions exist for some workers. (#15)
ENVIRO INDUSTRY: GOP may cut federal cleanup spending. (#16)

STATE REPORTS
NV: Legislature defies feds on stricter emissions. (#17)
NY: Toxic releases have dropped, report says. (#18)
NY II: Lawmaker wants out of clean-gas requirement. (#19)
OH: GOP gains affect state agenda, enviros say. (#20)
VA: EPA to take over state air-pollution program. (#21)

WORLDVIEW
UK: Chancellor presents "greenest budget ever." (#22)
BRAZIL: Sao Paulo sees more enforcement actions. (#23)
BRAZIL II: Monitoring system will keep tabs on Amazon. (#24)
INDONESIA: Timber cut 50% too high, World Bank says. (#25)

CORRECTION: Terri Swearingen has not been successful in stopping
the WTI hazardous-waste incinerator sited near a school in East
Liverpool, OH, as was reported in GREENWIRE 11/30.


GREENWIRE is seeking an intern for December through May. Please
fax resume and cover letter to Dale Curtis at 703-237-9100.


============== FACT OF THE DAY ==============
The US EPA brought 2,247 enforcement actions with sanctions in
fiscal 1994 -- a "record number" -- up 137 from last year. (#5)

============== SPOTLIGHT STORY ==============

*1 TRADE: KANTOR TO NAME BAUCUS AIDE AS CHIEF OF STAFF
US Trade Representative Mickey Kantor's new chief of staff
is "likely" to be Peter Scher, a top aide to Sen. Max Baucus (D-
MT) and staff director of the Senate Environment and Public Works
Committee, according to "sources familiar with the decision."
Scher authored Baucus' "ambitious agenda for linking future trade
agreements to tougher environmental rules in other countries."
According to several admin. officials, Scher will probably
"concentrate on political matters," including relations with
Congress and federal agencies.
Some business leaders "fretted" that the appointment
"presaged another effort to insinuate environmental goals into
new trade talks." But enviros "greeted the news warmly." Sierra
Club's Dan Seligman: "If that's the case, I would say it is a
promising appointment. Peter understands these issues
thoroughly" (John Maggs, JO. OF COMMERCE, 12/1).

*2 TRADE II: CLINTON TO CALL FOR HEMISPHERIC FREE TRADE
Pres. Clinton plans to extend the North American Free Trade
Agreement to Chile and call for the creation of a hemispheric
trade pact during next week's Summit of the Americas in Miami.
Under the proposed Americas Free Trade Agreement, five separate
free-trade pacts in North and South America would be combined.
Before formal negotiations can begin with Chile over NAFTA
membership, the US, Canada and Mexico must "reach a common
understanding on the terms for membership." The US will insist
that new partners adhere to NAFTA's side environmental and labor
agreements, according to an admin. official (Bob Davis, W.S.
JOURNAL, 12/1).

*3 GATT: SENATE VOTE TODAY; ADMIN. OPTIMISTIC ABOUT WIN
The Senate appears set to pass the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade today, "handing Clinton a desperately sought
legislative victory" (David Sands, WASH. TIMES). After "cajoling
the dozen or so senators still undecided," Pres. Clinton, VP Al
Gore and other admin. members found "their initial fear of
falling just short of the needed votes had melted away" (David
Sanger, N.Y, TIMES). "Though optimistic, White House aides
cautioned late yesterday that they still lacked sufficient firm
commitments" (John Harwood, W.S. JOURNAL).
DEBATE INCLUDES ENVIRO ISSUES
During the debate GATT yesterday, senators "described two
very different visions of the nation's economic future," with
proponents emphasizing the benefits of free trade and opponents
predicting job losses and changes in US environmental laws
(Sanger, N.Y. TIMES). (All cites 12/1.)

*4 NAFTA: US-MEXICO BORDER RESIDENTS SEE FEW SIGNS OF CLEANUP
One year after the passage of the North American Free
Agreement, the environmental cleanup remains "bogged down." Two
agencies set up to deal with environmental cleanup -- the Border
Environment Cooperation Commission and the North American
Development Bank -- are "barely functioning" (GREENWIRE 11/28).
Raul Urteaga, commercial counselor at the Mexican embassy's NAFTA
office in Washington: "Everybody, including myself, would like
to see the solution to many environmental problems. But these
things are not done overnight."
Critics say border residents "have waited too long and are
paying too high a price." According to Anna Acuna, president of
"activist group" LIFE, the town of Nogales's rate for multiple
myeloma, a rare bone cancer, is four times the national average
and its lupus rate is three times the national average. Acuna
and other activists link the diseases to the "infamous" Nogales
Wash -- "an open, rippling stream of sewage and chemicals."
"Under pressure from residents," Arizona is monitoring the
region's air and water for contamination. Maquiladoras "dispute"
the linkage. Nogales Maquiladoras Assn.'s Marco Valenzuela:
"There's been a lot of supervision ... to make sure
[maquiladoras] are not dumping the waste into the sewer or
ground" (Charlotte Grimes, ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 11/29).


============== SOCIETY AND POLITICS ==============

*5 ENFORCEMENT: EPA TAKES "RECORD NUMBER" OF ACTIONS IN 1994
The US EPA took a "record number" of enforcement actions in
1994, while launching several new approaches to ensure that
companies and individuals comply with enviro laws, US EPA
Administrator Carol Browner announced yesterday. The agency
brought 2,247 enforcement actions with sanctions in FY 1994, up
by 137 from last year. The actions occurred in 220 criminal
cases, 1,597 administrative penalty actions, 403 new civil
referrals to the Dept. of Justice and 27 civil referrals to
enforce existing consent decrees. The EPA said that in FY 1994:
-- Preliminary penalty estimates totaled a record $165.2
million for civil and criminal fines;
-- Preliminary estimates indicate that injunctive relief
and supplement environmental projects in non-Superfund
cases exceeded $747.5 million;
-- New Superfund private party cleanups exceeded $1.4
billion and another $206 million was returned to the US
Treasury through cost-recovery actions.
Browner: "We must level the playing field and make sure
that compliance is rewarded and that bad actors receive no gain
whatsoever from violations of the law" (EPA release, 11/30).

*6 CONGRESS: CHAFEE SEES NO CHALLENGE FOR ENV'T CMTE. CHAIR
Sen. John Chafee (R-RI), "a member of the Senate's dwindling
group of GOP moderates," says he is "fully confident" he will
become chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee.
Chafee's comments "came amid speculation" that GOP conservatives,
especially Westerners, might try to deny Chafee the chairmanship.
But Chafee told the PROVIDENCE JOURNAL-BULLETIN he knew of no
planned challenge. Chafee said Sen. Alan Simpson (R-WY), the
next senior Republican on the panel, had assured him "he would
not mount or be party to a challenge."
MERCY FOR CONSERVATIVE MEASURES?
Chafee said he will not use his power as chairman to block
measures favored by more conservative members of the committee --
"even if he personally opposes them." For their part, other
Republicans have told Chafee they have no plans to "gut" the
Endangered Species Act, which is up for reauthorization. Chafee
said his initial goals will be to move the Safe Drinking Water
Act "and other legislation that passed or nearly passed one or
both houses" last year. But he downplayed prospects for
Superfund and Clean Water legislation (CONGRESS DAILY, 11/30).
ENERGY AND COMMERCE SURVIVES
The House Energy and Commerce Committee "appears to have
beaten back attempts by some Republican leaders to kill the
committee of entirely." Committee officials say Rep. Thomas
Bliley (R-VA), incoming chairman of the committee, has persuaded
GOP leaders to let the panel keep its jurisdiction over "many
energy and environmental matters, including the Clean Air Act"
(Charles McCoy, W.S. JOURNAL, 12/1).

*7 LEGISLATION: FORTUNE POLLS WASHINGTON INSIDERS
The 12/12 issue of FORTUNE presents the "Washington
insiders' view" of the upcoming Republican Congress, based on a
poll of 113 heads of trade associations. Here are insiders'
guesses concerning the prospects for passage of environment-
related legislation:

SUPERFUND reform: Requiring RISK AND COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS
Pass: 38% of proposed regs:
Fail: 23% Pass: 65%
Undecided: 39% Fail: 6%
Undecided: 29%

TORT Reform: LOBBYING and CAMPAIGN FINANCE Reform:
Pass: 29% Pass: 41%
Fail: 35% Fail: 33%
Undecided: 36% Undecided: 26%

*8 AWARD: ALABAMA BUSINESSMAN WINS NAT'L CONSERVATION PRIZE
Arthur (Skipper) Tonsmeire, a developer and construction
company owner from Fairhope, Alabama, will receive the seventh
annual Alexander Calder Conservation Award. Tonsmeire is being
honored for "building alliances" between local businesses, public
agencies and conservation groups to protect more than 25,000
acres of wetlands on the Gulf Coast. Over the past 20 years,
Tonsmeire helped create the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge
and the Weeks Bay Reserve. As director of the Coastal Land
Trust, he helped protect more than 18,000 acres at the head of
Mobile Bay. The Conservation Fund and Union Camp Corporation are
presenting the award, including a $10,000 grant (The Conservation
Fund release, 12/1).




============== WASTES AND HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES ==============

*9 RADIATION: INEL WORKERS MAY BEAR HIGHER CANCER RISK
As many as 18 of the 60,000 people who worked at the Energy
Dept.'s Idaho National Engineering Laboratory between 1951 and
1990 could develop cancer from their exposure to radiation on the
job, a new federal study estimates. INEL workers with the
highest lifetime exposures to radiation may have about a 0.5%
increased risk of fatal cancer compared to the general
population, the study says. "These values are only estimates
since the data cannot support any findings linking fatal cancers
to exposures at the INEL," said the study's author John Horan, a
retired INEL health physicist. Horan says radiation has harmed
INEL workers on only one occasion: a mid-1950s incident when a a
radioactive particle in steam blast ruptured a worker's eardrum.
Horan's three-year risk review, the "first of its kind done
at a government site," is based on records of occupational
radiation exposure. Meant to help DOE and its contractors
protect INEL workers from radiation, the study also will "serve
as a road map" for Centers for Disease Control scientists who
will examine worker health records to correlate INEL workers'
actual radiation and toxic-chemical exposures to disease
(AP/Idaho Falls POST-REGISTER, 11/30).

============== ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES ==============

*10 NUCLEAR POWER: NORTHEAST PLANTS FACE STRICTER SCRUTINY
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission will consider placing
Northeast Utilities' troubled Millstone 2 nuclear power plant in
Waterford, CT on its "watch list," an official said on 11/29.
Thomas Martin, administrator of the NRC Northeast region,
"refused to speculate" on whether Millstone 2 would make the
list, but said "NU has failed to resolve long-standing" issues at
the Millstone plant. Problems with "management oversight,
employee complaints, procedural compliance and attention to
detail" -- exist "to some degree" at the Connecticut Yankee power
plant and the New Hampshire Seabrook facility, he said.
If put on the watch list, the Millstone plant will "operate
-- if at all -- under the highest degree of NRC scrutiny." NU's
plants "are operating safely," Martin said. But, he added, the
utility "has given us a lot of commitments that they are going to
change. Time's running out."
John Opeka, NU executive vice president for nuclear
operations, said the company wants to regain "its former position
as a leader in the nuclear industry." By "emphasizing more
consistency, team building, standardization between the five
plants and rotations of people between plants," Opeka's goal is
to operate "safely and economically" to 2000 and beyond (Susan
Kinsman, HARTFORD COURANT, 11/30).

*11 EVERGLADES: CORPS UNVEILS "AMBITIOUS" RESTORATION PLAN
"Unveiling what could be the most environmental ambitious
restoration project ever attempted," the Army Corps of Engineers
proposed six "increasingly complex" options for restoring the
Everglades in a report released 11/30. The Corps did not
"endorse" any one of the six options it laid out, however.
Enviros "hope" agencies involved in the restoration will endorse
the Corps' "most ambitious" plan, which calls for a broad
"flowway" of water through the Everglades Agricultural Area and
the construction of large water reserve areas between Biscayne
Bay and Everglades National Park.
The option could encounter "significant opposition" because
of its $2 billion federal costs, $1.5-billion local and state
costs, and its removal of "tens of thousands of acres of
agricultural land" from production. But "a large-scale plan"
enjoys broad political support from the Clinton admin., FL Gov.
Lawton Chiles (D), the state's congressional delegation and the
South Florida Water Management District. Because the restoration
would also provide "a more secure water supply" to FL urban
areas, support from development interests is expected. Ron
Tipton of the World Wildlife Fund: "This report is the first
clear indication in the public sense that the Corps is going to
engage itself in a comprehensive restoration of the ecosystem"
(WASH. POST, Tom Kenworthy, 12/1).

*12 ALYESKA: CONGRESS EASING OVERSIGHT DESPITE FRESH CONCERNS?
House GOP leaders plan to transfer oversight of the Trans-
Alaska pipeline to a committee "that is likely to be more
sympathetic to the oil industry," say congressional aides and
oil-industry executives. The decision comes as a new audit finds
more potential safety and enviro problems with the pipeline.
Sources say jurisdiction over pipeline matters, now shared
by several committees, will be consolidated under the House
Natural Resources Committee. The likely new chairman of that
panel, Rep. Don Young (R-AK), "is regarded as a supporter of the
oil industry and has defended its practices." A spokesman for
Young acknowledged "there's some maneuvering" over pipeline
jurisdiction but said further comment would be "premature."
EASING THE PRESSURE?
Enviros and congressional staff who have investigated the
pipeline "fret" that Young "won't keep the pressure on industry
to overhaul its Alaska operations." A recent confidential audit
of the Trans-Alaska pipeline by Arthur D. Little Inc. criticizes,
"among other things," the pipeline operators' ability to respond
to fires and other emergencies. It found inadequate safeguards
in case of earthquakes. A spokeswoman for Alyeska Pipeline
Service Co., the consortium that runs the pipeline, said
addressing problems identified to date will take several years
and cost some $250 million (Charles McCoy, W.S. JOURNAL, 12/1).

*13 SALMON: RESERVOIR DRAWDOWN NOT NEEDED, SAYS CORPS
The US Army Corps of Engineers has halted its plans to lower
water levels in the Lower Granite reservoir on the Snake River
near the Washington-Idaho border. The news "caused rejoicing
among electric utilities, barge operators and others who oppose
drawdowns as disruptive and expensive." The four-year, $113-
million test had been scheduled to begin in 1996 and would have
dropped water levels by 45 feet for two months each spring to see
if salmon survived better in a "faster, narrower channel." But
the project was "derailed" by preliminary research which showed
the test would not have provided valuable information.
The Corps' announcement does not preclude future drawdowns.
Merritt Tuttle, a spokesman for the National Marine Fisheries
Service, said his agency is holding its options open and "might
call for lowering more than one reservoir." Under orders from a
federal judge, the NMFS must outline "dramatic" changes in the
hydropower system in 1/95 to help the salmon. Drawdowns also
could be recommended in 12/94 by the Northwest Power Planning
Council. But the "real power" lies with the corps because they
control the dams, said Andy Brunelle, a new council member.
Enviros and biologists agreed the test would have been "too
limited" and would only "delay" permanent drawdowns and dam
improvements. Drawdown opponents like Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID)
say money "would be better spent on improving fish passage at the
dams" (Julie Titone, Spokane SPOKESMAN-REVIEW, 11/30).

*14 NW FORESTS: GOVERNORS URGE CLINTON TO DECLARE "EMERGENCY"
The Western Governors Assn. on 11/28 endorsed a resolution
by Idaho Gov. Cecil Andrus (D) urging Pres. Clinton to declare a
"state of forest health emergency" in the West. In the wake of
the past year's "catastrophic" fire season, Andrus, a former
Interior Secretary, wants the federal government to move forward
with "massive" sales of dead and dying trees "to preserve the
health of the remaining forests" (Mike Carter, AP/SALT LAKE
TRIBUNE, 11/29).

============== MARKETS AND MANAGEMENT ==============

*15 RECYCLING: DANGEROUS CONDITIONS EXIST FOR SOME WORKERS.
"While American industry reaps the benefits of a new, high-
technology era," some workers are stuck in a "Dickensian time
warp, laboring not just for meager wages but also under
dehumanized and often dangerous conditions," reports the W.S.
JOURNAL. For example, environmental workers sometimes salvage
metal, glass and paper from trash that harbors "dead animals,
used hypodermic needles and other potential hazards."
Travis Foley, 20, who previously worked at a pig
slaughterhouse, described his first day of work at a recycling
plant in Storm Lake, IA: "I threw up three times. Didn't stop
working, though. I just stepped back and vomited in the nearest
can. There's stuff you see here that would make even Superman
sick." The facility was cited last year by the state
Occupational Safety and Health Administration for a "range of
violations," including exposing workers to unlabeled hazardous
chemicals and failing to train workers to guard against "blood-
borne pathogens." The company was fined $1,320 -- "typical of
the small penalties OSHA usually doles out."
There are now about 400 "materials recovery facilities," or
MuRFs, nationwide -- roughly triple the number in 1990. At some
"dirty MuRFs," workers retrieve materials from plastic bags that
"often burst and mix with other refuse," and some bags
"frequently" contain garbage that shouldn't be there.
Some MuRFs employ prisoners at 40 to 75 cents an hour plus
time off for their sentences, while others hire the mentally
handicapped. Generally, though, MuRFs hire unskilled laborers
"who accept work that many others disdain in exchange for steady
hours and pay that typically starts a dollar or so above the
minimum wage." Algie Bullion, an Omaha worker: "The work can be
nasty but you fell like it's secure -- people are always going to
throw things away" (Tony Horwitz, W.S. JOURNAL, 12/1).

*16 ENVIRO INDUSTRY: GOP MAY CUT FEDERAL CLEANUP SPENDING
"Laboring under a campaign promise to increase support for
the defense budget," Republicans may try to cut programs that
clean up toxic wastes at Defense and Energy Department
facilities, reports the G-7 DAILY BRIEFING. One idea that has
"caught fire is to cut to the bone those programs" that are
considered "peripheral" to the Pentagon's war-fighting mission.
Incoming House Budget Committee Chairman John Kasich (R-OH) "has
his staff preparing deep cuts in environmental accounts in order
to transfer funds to procurement and readiness accounts." Senate
counterpart Pete Domenici (R-NM) "will want to steer" DOE funding
toward those high energy and environmental technology research
projects underway at DOE research labs in his home state. Such
efforts will be a "big hit on companies" depending on federal
cleanup contracts (11/30).

============== STATE REPORTS ==============

*17 NEVADA: LEGISLATURE DEFIES FEDS ON STRICTER EMISSIONS
The Nevada legislature's decision "to block tougher auto
emissions" standards in Clark County "almost assures a loss of
federal funds" earmarked for highway and industrial development,
local officials said this week. Under the Clean Air Act, the Las
Vegas Valley must comply with the US EPA's smog program,
including tougher auto emissions-inspection rules. But the
legislature's Interim Finance Committee on 11/28 voted 12 to 4
"to defy" the EPA.
The legislature had approved the tougher testing system in
1993, but after California and other states pushed the EPA to
relax some requirements, Nevada officials "negotiated a
compromise" with the EPA. But now the lawmakers have rejected
the $1-million program after learning that motorists who failed
the tests would have to pay up to $450 for repairs. Michael
Naylor, director of the Clark County Health District's Air
Pollution Control Division, "estimated" the EPA could take more
than 18 months to halt Nevada's funds. "But right now we're kind
of stuck if we don't obey the rules," he said (Mary Manning, LAS
VEGAS SUN, 11/30).

*18 NEW YORK: TOXIC RELEASES HAVE DROPPED, REPORT SAYS
"Thanks to increased scrutiny, reduction programs, decreased
production and other factors," the amount of toxic chemicals that
companies released in New York has dropped "for the fifth
consecutive year," according to the state's toxic release
inventory review. The report shows that air emissions decreased
55% from 1988 to 1993, while land disposal fell 62% during the
same period. Water discharges showed no change. State
regulators and industries claim "business is cleaning up its
act," but some enviros are skeptical. "It's an overly simplistic
approach to say that because the numbers have changed, there's a
reduction," said Clearwater's Bridget Barclay, adding that she
had not analyzed the report. State Environmental Commissioner
Langdon Marsh said more public scrutiny gives firms incentives to
cut releases (Yancey Roy, Albany TIMES UNION, 11/30).

*19 NEW YORK II: LAWMAKER WANTS OUT OF CLEAN-GAS REQUIREMENT
Kenmore Assemblyman Robin Schimminger (D) is seeking "a one-
year delay in the use of reformulated gas" because of possible
supply disruptions. But the industry is already gearing up to
supply the new gas by 1/95, meaning there may not be a chance to
opt out for six to eight months. Schimminger has asked both Gov.
Mario Cuomo (D) and Gov.-elect George Pataki (R) for help.
Cuomo's office is "reviewing the issue," while Pataki's office
"did not return a telephone call."
The US EPA "has said it would entertain requests" by areas
wishing to opt out of the new gas plan, if they receive formal
requests from government officials. Pennsylvania lawmakers have
also considered opting out, "but no formal request has been
filed" Schimminger: "Consumers will see higher gas prices, as
well as possible shortages and disruption of supply. I think
there is only a marginal benefit vs. a significant burden." (Alan
Assey, Albany TIMES UNION, 11/30).

*20 OHIO: GOP GAINS AFFECT STATE AGENDA, ENVIROS SAY
Despite "landslide" GOP gains in Ohio, the election outcome
was not a mandate to "sweep away" environmental protections,
state enviros say. Some enviros "cling to a fear" that the GOP
will give priority to business concerns. Among the issues to be
addressed next year, enviros "are not happy with the so-called
'brownfields bill' that promotes industrial reuse and cleanup of
contaminated urban property." The Earth Day Coalition's Chris
Trepal also dislikes the proposed anti-degradation law that
"would allow municipal wastewater treatment plants to increase
discharges." GOP leaders and enviros said the main issue will be
a proposed bill to establish guidelines on site selection and
contracting for a low-level radioactive waste storage site. The
Ohio EPA will continue to press the US EPA to declare Greater
Cleveland and other cities to be in compliance with federal ozone
limits (T.C. Brown, Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 11/27).

*21 VIRGINIA: EPA TO TAKE OVER STATE-AIR POLLUTION PROGRAM
US EPA officials said yesterday they will "cut off"
Virginia's authority to issue air pollution permits for power
plants, incinerators and commercial sites "because the state does
not let the public challenge the permits in court." The move,
the "harshest yet against any state permit program," would take
effect 11/15/95. Gov. George Allen's (R) admin. said it would
fight the takeover through "administrative appeals, in the
courts," or in the new Congress. The decision is a "victory" for
enviros, who are barred from initiating "most suits" unless they
can prove "immediate major financial loss." If the state takes
over the program in 11/95, a second sanction could be imposed six
months later that would restrict "development that would increase
pollution" or freeze the state's $500 million a year in
transportation funds (D'Vera Cohn, WASH. POST, 12/1).

============== WORLDVIEW ==============

*22 UK: CHANCELLOR PRESENTS "GREENEST BUDGET EVER"
UK Chancellor of Exchequer Kenneth Clarke "made the most
specific linkage yet between taxation and the environment in a
package described [on 11/29] by delighted pressure groups as the
'greenest ever budget,'" reports the London GUARDIAN's Paul
Brown. The proposed budget would create a new landfill tax,
raise duties on gasoline and diesel and increase grants to
homeowners to conserve energy. Friends of the Earth's Charles
Secrett: "It looks like the treasury is finally beginning to
understand what sustainable development means." The "main
disappointment" for enviros was that a $300 million cut in the
road-building program was "more than matched" by a $450 million
cut in railway funds (11/30).
But the idea of a landfill tax "brought a cautious welcome"
from enviros, who worry that it could lead to more waste
incineration (Roger Cowe, London GUARDIAN, 11/30). Britain's
waste-disposal industry described the landfill tax as "futile"
and said it could increase solid waste disposal costs by 50%.
Miguel Pestana of Waste Management International: "Imposing a
levy in no way addresses the environmental performance of
landfills" (Nicholson-Lord/Hellier, London INDEPENDENT, 11/30).

*23 BRAZIL: SAO PAULO SEES MORE ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
Each of the 900 municipalities in Sao Paulo -- the "most
advanced, industrialized and therefore polluted" state in Brazil
-- has its own environmental prosecutor. "Selected by public
examination and independent of government, they have an autonomy
that allows them to take on both public and private companies."
At first, prosecutors "scoured the newspapers" to fine
enviro crimes, but now they are "inundated" with cases brought to
their attention by residents' associations, unions and the
forestry police. More than 4,000 complaints are under
investigation, with 1,000 of those being prepared for court
action. The prosecutors recently won an out-of-court settlement
from the French petrochemical "giant" Rhone-Poulenc for 150
employees exposed to toxic chemicals, and they currently are
suing CBA, one of Brazil's largest private companies, for over
$10 million in enviro damage from a hydroelectric dam (Jan Rocha,
London GUARDIAN, 11/30).

*24 BRAZIL II: MONITORING SYSTEM WILL KEEP TABS ON AMAZON
Consisting of a network of radars, satellites and ground
sensors, planned System for Vigilance over the Amazon (Sivam)
will provide "accurate and widespread" information on the
Amazon's environment "for the first time." Sivam's 300
monitoring stations will be able to monitor "up to 17
characteristics such as air and water quality or humidity,"
providing data to help track down illegal mining, assess cities'
water pollution and record climatic change. Enviros say Sivam
will be "constrained" without greater government enforcement, but
Marcos Antonio de Oliveira, soon-to-be president of a commission
to oversee Sivam, says it will "strengthen" government
coordination. The $1.39 billion project should take five years
to install (Angus Foster, FIN. TIMES, 11/30).

*25 INDONESIA: TIMBER CUT 50% TOO HIGH, WORLD BANK SAYS
Harvests of Indonesia's tropical forests, "the world's
largest after Brazil's," are about 50% higher than the estimated
sustainable cut, the World Bank warns. In 9/95, Forestry
Minister Suryohadikuomo Djamaludin, the first minister to take
action on the problem, announced a restructuring of forestry
management rules that would "crack down" on companies that log
trees outside their concession areas, illegally convert forest
land for agriculture or fail to replant. Under the plan, as 20-
year concessions expire, forest areas will be "converted into a
new type of management unit, operating on a long-term basis" that
will likely encourage replanting.
The plan could take 25 years to develop, and some
consultants say independent policing would be more effective.
The Institute of Eco-labeling could develop a label for products
from sustainably managed forests, but there is much debate "on
how the institute should be managed or what its purpose should
be" (Manuel Saragosa, FIN. TIMES/Sydney AUSTRALIAN, 11/26).
_______________________________________________________________
| (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. |
| Phone: 703/237-5130 Fax: 703/237-9100 |
| e-mail address: ygre...@apn.com |
| PUBLISHERS: Philip Shabecoff, Dale Curtis |
| EDITOR: Anna Hebner |
| INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Anne Freeh |
| STAFF WRITERS: Bill Ghent, Kevin Foley |
| EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS: Wendy Taylor, Mike Matz |
|_______________________________________________________________|

============== THE KICKER ==============

MORE DIGESTIBLE THAN POLLUTION PANCAKES
At a Denver news conference last week on reformulated gas
requirements, Camilla Course, special events coordinator for
Total Petroleum, tried a little humor on reporters "to keep them
awake." Course had the restaurant serve coffee named "high
octane roast," "ethanol roast" and "light olifin blend," which
was decaffeinated. Foods included "benzene-free quiche," "low-
carbon monoxide bagels," and the favorite of Total Petroluem
President and CEO Daniel Valot, "mandate muffins." Valot:
"They're hard to swallow" (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 11/27).
-30-