For Immediate Release
October 30, 1999
Contact:	Joan Moody 202-682-9400 x220 (Media)

B-roll, Reaction Quote on President's Radio Address Editors, please note: B-Roll of Lands Legacy sites including the California Desert, Florida Everglades, and other areas is available by calling 202-789-2844 x 220. Quote from Rodger Schlickeisen, President, Defenders of Wildlife and chair of a conservation coalition supporting full funding of the LWCF: "Once again President Clinton is facing down an anti-environmental Congress, sticking to his guns in refusing to sign an Interior appropriations bill loaded with riders destructive to public lands and wildlife. But the ramifications of President Clinton's radio address this morning go well beyond this year's budget battles. In FY 2000, the Administration proposed a $1 billion Lands Legacy Initiative to preserve natural treasures within the California Desert, the Florida Everglades, and other areas in every state. Congress cut that proposal by more than half. Such initiatives typically rely on monies from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which was created several decades ago to direct revenues from offshore oil leases to conservation of land and other resources. But each year Congress fails to appropriate anywhere near the authorized amount. That's why a broad conservation coalition is calling for legislation to provide permanent, full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. We can't eliminate every anti-environmental attack from future Congresses, but we should at least prevent raids on the LWCF and make sure it is used t to protect America's most precious wildlands and open space rather than to harm them." THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary (Atlanta, Georgia) Radio Address of the President To the Nation THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Two weeks ago, I reaffirmed our nation's commitment to environmental protection, and announced our plan to protect more than 40 million acres of roadless area in our national forests. Today, I'm announcing new actions we're taking to protect our air, our water, and some of our most precious lands. One of the simplest but most potent tools in our fight against pollution is public information. By requiring industries to tell communities how much they pollute the air and water, we empower citizens to fight back, and create a powerful incentive for industry to pollute less. Remarkably, in the decades since the public's right to know about chemical releases became the law of the land, industry's toxic pollution has fallen nearly 50 percent. Today, my administration is again expanding the public's right to know. We're acting to protect families against some of the most dangerous chemicals ever known -- including mercury, dioxin and PCBs. These chemicals are troubling for two reasons. First, they don't break down easily; instead they build up in the environment, and in our bodies. Second, many of them heighten the risk of cancer or other illness, even at very low doses. Right now, companies are required to disclose their uses of these chemicals only if they handle huge quantities. Beginning January 1st, we'll require companies to inform the public even if they're using much smaller quantities -- in some cases, just ten pounds a year. In the case of dioxin, a chemical that can cause harm even in minute quantities, companies must report if they produce as little as a tenth of a gram. By posting this information for all to see, we can speed the day when families no longer need worry about hidden dangers in the air they breathe and the water they drink. As we step up our fight against pollution, we must work as well to preserve lands across America that are still pristine. Today, I'm announcing a new effort to protect the incomparable California desert, so future generations can enjoy it in all its splendor. Five years ago I signed the California Desert Act, preserving millions of acres of stark but fragile landscape, rich with history and precious wildlife. Today, to mark the anniversary, the non-profit Wildlands Conservancy is donating to the federal government an additional 14,000 acres within the Joshua Tree National Park -- lands that otherwise might be developed. It's through partnerships like this that we can protect vital pieces of our national endowment. We have also just completed our agreement to preserve New Mexico's spectacular Baca Ranch, home to one of the largest herds of wild elk anywhere in the world. I'm working closely with Congress to secure the funding to complete this purchase so that we can preserve this extraordinary land for all time. In my balanced budget for this year, I proposed a $1 billion Lands Legacy Initiative to preserve other natural treasures, and to help communities protect local green spaces. Regrettably, Congress has failed to provide even half the necessary funding. And even more troubling, the Interior bill that Congress has produced once again is laden with provisions that would benefit special interests at the expense of our public interest and our environment. One of these provisions would allow excessive logging on our national forests. Another would let mining companies dump more toxic wastes on public lands. A third would grant a windfall to major companies that produce oil on federal lands. This makes no sense. Today, while I'm taking action to protect communities against toxic chemicals, Congress is giving special interests license to pollute our public lands. While I'm taking action to save some of our most treasured places, Congress is putting other precious lands at greater risk. So let me be clear: if Congress sends me this Interior bill, I'll veto it. Again, I urge Congress to work with me on a better bill that is unburdened by these anti-environmental provisions, and that has adequate funding to protect our natural landscape through the Lands Legacy Initiative. All through this century, since Theodore Roosevelt set us on the path of conservation, Americans have worked together across party lines to protect public health, and restore and protect our environment. As we begin the new millennium, let our gift to the future be a new effort, together across party lines, to clean our air, to ensure safe water, and to preserve healthy, thriving lands. Thanks for listening. October 30, 1999 President Clinton and Vice President Gore: Protecting Our Environment, Not Special Interests Today, in his weekly radio address, President Clinton will announce three executive actions to protect public health and environment: a new rule strengthening the public's right to know about highly toxic chemicals released to the environment; the protection of 14,000 protected acres in the fragile California Desert; and a new agreement to preserve New Mexico's spectacular Baca Ranch. The President also will call on Congress to fund his environmental budget priorities, including the historic Lands Legacy initiative, and to drop anti-environmental riders that would allow oil companies and other special interests to profit at the expense of public lands. Protecting Communities Against Toxic Risks. One powerful tool against pollution is information -- letting people know what's being put in their water and air. The Clinton Administration has strengthened the public's right to know about chemical risks by expanding the number of industries required to report toxic releases to air, water, and land, and by nearly doubling the number of chemicals subject to reporting. Under a rule announced last year by the President, most American households now receive regular reports from their water utilities telling them whether their drinking water meets federal health standards -- and if not, why not. And a new partnership with the chemical industry and the environmental community will for the first time provide complete data on the potential health effects of the 2,800 most widely used chemicals. In the decade since the public's right to know was established, industry's reported toxic releases have fallen nearly 50 percent. Today, the President will announce a new step further expanding the public's right to know. The new Environmental Protection Agency rule establishes or strengthens reporting requirements for 27 "persistent bioaccumulative toxics," including mercury, dioxin, and PCBs. These chemicals are especially risky because they do not break down easily. Instead, they build up in the environment and may be passed up the food chain, just as the pesticide DDT threatened bald eagles and other birds by accumulating in their eggs. Beginning January 1, 2000: Seven "persistent bioaccumulative" chemicals and two categories of chemical compounds, including dioxin, will be subject to reporting requirements for the first time. Companies will be required to report releases of most "persistent bioaccumulative" chemicals if they use as little as 100 pounds a year -- or, for those that are highly persistent, 10 pounds a year. Currently, companies must report releases only if they manufacture or process more than 25,000 pounds, or use more than 10,000 pounds, a year. In the case of dioxin, an industrial byproduct that is toxic in very low does, companies will be required to report if they generate as little as a tenth of a gram. Preserving Our Lands Legacy. The Clinton Administration has made preserving America's natural heritage a top priority. Over the past seven years, nearly 150 million acres of public and private lands, from the red-rock canyons of Utah to the Florida Everglades, have been protected or enhanced. Two weeks ago, the President directed the Forest Service to protect more than 40 million acres of roadless areas in our national forests. Today, the President will announce two new efforts to preserve America's most treasured places. To mark the fifth anniversary of the California Desert Act, the President will announce federal acquisition of an additional 14,000 acres within the Joshua Tree National Park -- lands that otherwise might be developed. These lands are being donated by the nonprofit Wildlands Conservancy, becoming part of a multimillion-acre network of federally protected lands in the Mojave and Colorado Deserts in Southern California, a spectacular but fragile landscape rich with history and diverse wildlife, including the endangered desert tortoise. The President also will announce completion of a final purchase agreement to preserve New Mexico's spectacular Baca Ranch. Under the agreement, the Forest Service will acquire the 95,000-acre ranch in the Jemez Mountains west of Santa Fe for a purchase price of $101 million. The ranch contains the world-renowned Valles Caldera, the collapsed crater of an ancient volcano, and sustains one of the nation's largest herds of wild elk. Under proposed bipartisan legislation authorizing the acquisition, the ranch would continue to be operated in a way that demonstrates conservation and sustainable land use practices, while providing new recreational opportunities to the public consistent with those practices. The President is working closely with Congress to secure the necessary authorization and funding before the agreement expires on April 30, 2000. Protecting Our Environment, Not Special Interests. Once again, Congress is launching a stealth attack on the environment, underfunding key environmental priorities and loading up budget bills with legislative riders that would roll back protections already in place. In his balanced budget for this year, President Clinton proposed a $1 billion Lands Legacy to preserve natural treasures and to help communities protect farms, forests, urban parks and other local green spaces. But the Interior budget bill passed by Congress provides only a third of the funding requested by the President, jeopardizing efforts to protect the Everglades, Civil War battlefields, and the Mojave Desert, and depriving communities of the help they need to fight sprawl and save open space. In addition, anti-environmental riders buried in the Interior budget bill that would reward special interests at the expensive of public lands. Among other things, they would: -- Pave the way for excessive logging in national forests; -- Grant a windfall to major oil companies by allowing them continuing paying below-market royalties on oil produced on federal lands; -- Let mining companies dump more toxic waste on federal lands; and, -- Deprive communities of assistance for voluntary river restoration efforts. The President will again call on Congress to send him a clean bill that adequately funds his environmental budget priorities, including the Lands Legacy initiative.