|
 |
      
 
|
|
|
EPA exempts oil and gas industry from
stormwater pollution rules
December 30, 2002:
The Environmental Protection Agency wants to exempt the
oil and gas industry from new regulations governing runoff
pollution from construction sites. The EPA's phase II
stormwater requirements, issued during the Clinton
administration, force construction sites between one and five
acres to obtain a National Pollution Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) permit. The rule is slated to go into effect on
March 10, but the EPA proposal would exempt the oil and gas
industry from the requirements until 2005. The agency says
that too many -- close to 30,000 --sites per year may be
adversely affected because the time window for drilling is
usually much shorter than that of homebuilding or other
construction. But critics question EPA's number, and in any
case, they say that the industry has had three years to
prepare.
"There's simply no reason for the Bush
administration to let its favored industry off the hook for
complying with a rule that would help prevent stormwater
runoff that's polluting America's streams and waterways," said
Nancy Stoner, director of NRDC's clean water program.
|
|
|
Bush administration backtracking on policy of
'no net loss" of wetlands
December 26, 2002:
In response to criticism over the government's failure to
halt the massive loss of wetlands, the Bush administration
outlined a 17-point plan "clarifying" federal guidelines on
replacing wetlands lost or damaged by development.
Tens
of thousands of wetlands are destroyed each year, contributing
to flooding, pollution runoff into streams and rivers, and
loss of important habitat for fish and wildlife. The Clean
Water Act prohibits developers from filling in wetlands unless
the Army Corps of Engineers grants a permit. In those cases,
the permit holder must either restore the wetlands or create a
replacement as compensation. Last year, two separate reports
by the National Academy of Sciences and the General Accounting
Office concluded that wetlands replacement projects are
failures and are not well tracked by federal
agencies.
The new Bush plan to ensure the goal of "no
net loss" of the nation's wetlands -- set by the first
President Bush in 1989 -- emphasizes the ecological quality of
the wetlands replaced over quantity. In other words, the
administration's approach will focus on how and where
developers must create new wetlands to compensate for those
destroyed by highways, subdivisions or other construction
projects rather instead of achieving acre-for-acre
replacement. Bush officials said this approach to wetlands
replacement could result in a numerical loss, but an
ecological gain.
Environmentalists warned that the
administration's new strategy would do little to stem the loss
of valuable wetlands, particularly since 80 percent of
wetlands restoration or mitigation projects are
failures.
"The notion that the developers should create
better wetlands rather than replace all of the ones they
destroy is beside the point," said NRDC attorney Daniel
Rosenberg. "The Bush administration should be focusing on how
to better prevent the loss of our remaining wetlands."
|
|
|
Judge deals setback to Bush oil drilling plans
in Utah
December 23, 2002: In response to a
lawsuit by four environmental organizations, a federal court
late last Friday blocked the Interior Department from allowing
oil exploration in thousands of acres of public wildlands on
the eastern boundary of Utah's Arches National Park. The
Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) now will
have to complete a proper environmental review before
authorizing energy companies access to the area.
BLM
had approved a request by the world's largest seismic
exploration company, WesternGeco, to explore for oil and gas
in the Dome Plateau region just outside of Moab, Utah, also
known as the Yellow Cat 2-D Swath project area. The project
area encompasses more than 23,000 acres of scenic wildlands
popular with hikers, mountain bikers and other outdoor
enthusiasts. The region also provides habitat for several
threatened or endangered species, including the black-footed
ferret, the bald eagle and the Mexican spotted owl.
In
late October, the court issued a preliminary injunction
temporarily blocking the WesternGeco project so that it could
consider the environmental groups' claims. Last Friday, the
court agreed with the environmental groups that BLM, by
approving the exploration activity, violated the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This is the first time a
federal court has had the opportunity to review a Bush
administration-sponsored oil exploration project.
"The
court recognized that the project would have caused lasting
damage to Utah's canyon lands," said Sharon Buccino, an NRDC
senior attorney. "This should send a strong message that the
White House can't hand over our most sensitive wild lands
without considering the environmental consequences and giving
the public a say."
FOR MORE
INFORMATION
Press Release: 12/23/02
|
|
|
Bush administration weakens federal program
for cleaning up dirty waters
December 21, 2002:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency formally withdrew
a Clinton administration rule that imposed federal oversight
on states' efforts to clean up some 20,000 of the nation's
"impaired" or polluted waterways -- a designation that applies
to about 300,000 miles of rivers and shorelines and 5 million
acres of lakes.
For three decades, national water
pollution control efforts have been guided by the fundamental
goals of the Clean Water Act: that rivers, lakes, estuaries
and coastal waters be safe for swimming and boating and any
fish caught should be safe to eat. Although there has been
progress, nearly half of the assessed waters nationwide are
still considered impaired for human or aquatic life use. The
key provision of the law governing the cleanup of these
polluted waters is the Total Maximum Daily Load program. The
TMDL program requires states and EPA to identify polluted
waterways, rank them for priority attention, and then develop
pollution limits for each water body. Despite the law, EPA and
states largely failed to clean up waterways under the program
until a wave of citizen lawsuits forced them to begin doing
so.
In keeping with the administration's disregard for
mandatory regulations and strict enforcement, EPA's proposed
rule stressed the need for flexibility and voluntary efforts
to achieve pollution cleanup. However, by making it easier for
states to remove waterways from the clean up list and making
it more difficult for additional waterways to be added to the
list, the new rule would ensure that America's dirty waters
remain polluted -- and perhaps become more so -- for decades
to come.
"Sure, the current program for cleaning up
America's dirty rivers, lakes and estuaries could be
strengthened, but the Bush administration's approach won't do
that," said Nancy Stoner, director of NRDC's clean water
program. "The new EPA plan will only delay and weaken cleanup
efforts."
|
|
|
Judge slaps restraining order on plan to
dredge Snake River
December 20, 2002: As
the Army Corps of Engineers prepared to begin its long-planned
dredging project on Washington's lower Snake River, a federal
judge saved the salmon in the nick of time. The endangered
fish, already facing extinction from a series of dams that
impede its spawning, faced additional risks from the project
to deepen the river's channel for barge traffic. Fortunately
for the salmon, the judge put the dredging project on hold,
pending the outcome of a lawsuit filed by
environmentalists.
"The Corps came up with this
dredging plan using sketchy biology and faulty economic
analysis, and certainly didn't consider how digging up the
river would hurt salmon that spawn in the river," said Karen
Garrison, co-director of NRDC's oceans program. "Fortunately,
the judge recognized the plight of the salmon and the agency's
bad analysis."
|
|
|
BLM denies drilling access in Colorado
wildlife range
December 20, 2002:
Environmentalists got some rare good news when the Bureau
of Land Management denied a company's request to allow natural
gas well drilling rigs and other equipment to cross big game
winter habitat in southeastern Colorado. BLM's Glenwood
Springs Field Office cited stress on elk and deer herd that
inhabit the Grand Mesa area during the winter
months.
EnCana Oil and Gas (USA) Inc. had sought
permission to use a recently completed access road to reach
leases on BLM-managed land so that it could drill up to 17 new
wells. The project would have violated the agency's "no
surface use" limitation period of December 1 through April 30,
which is in effect due to the presence of wildlife. In
particular, BLM officials were concerned about causing stress
on the wintering animals created by the expected large volume
of vehicular traffic.
"We applaud the local BLM
officials for basing its decision on the welfare of wildlife
in the face of the Bush administration's push to open up
public lands to energy companies without considering
environmental consequences," said NRDC attorney Sharon
Buccino.
|
|
|
Judge gives Department of Interior extension
on manatee plan
December 19, 2002: With
hundreds of Florida manatees congregating in their winter
sanctuaries and wildlife officials scrambling to mark new
protective zones for them, a federal judge granted Interior
Department officials more time to consider further safeguards.
Earlier this year, Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled that the U.S.
Department of Interior violated a settlement agreement signed
two years ago that promised a series of new manatee refuges
and sanctuaries throughout Florida. Apparently satisfied with
the government's progress in protecting manatees, particularly
the agency's recent efforts to post temporary notification
buoys in 11 of 15 newly designated safe zones throughout state
waters, Sullivan agreed to withhold judgment until next
month's hearing on whether Interior Secretary Gale Norton and
other agency officials should be held in contempt of court for
violating that deal.
"The administration got a last
reprieve from the judge, and had better live up to its end of
the bargain to protect the manatees," said Karen Garrison,
co-director of NRDC's oceans program.
|
|
|
White House begins process of relaxing
government regulations for
industry
December 19, 2002: The Bush
administration released a report on how it plans to overhaul
more than 300 federal regulations targeted by industry. The
White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will direct
the review that could significantly weaken rules safeguarding
America's environment and public health.
Under the Bush
administration, the OMB has enjoyed unprecedented new power to
undermine existing environmental rules and bottle up new ones
indefinitely. Last year the agency reached out to polluters
and the think tanks they fund to develop a specific "hit list"
of dozens of environmental and public health safeguards, many
of which were weakened. Corporations again dominated the
nominating process this year, placing many of their
suggestions for changing regulations on OMB's "hit list" for
2003. The federal agency with the largest number of rules
targeted for review (65) is the Environmental Protection
Agency.
"While the Bush administration claims the aim
of its hit list is to reform regulations, its objective in
rewriting rules for corporations is really to roll back
important safeguards for public health and the environment,"
said Wesley Warren, NRDC's regulatory expert. "Corporations
can expect the White House to fulfill their Christmas wish
list, and everyone else will get a lump of coal."
|
|
|
Bush administration faces tough time tapping
oil in the Rockies
December 18, 2002: The
Bush administration's effort to boost domestic energy
development may have hit a snag in the Rocky Mountains. The
latest analysis by the U.S. Geological Survey estimates that
the region contains much less oil -- 844 million fewer barrels
-- than it had projected in 1995. That leaves roughly 1.9
billion barrels of crude oil in the five basins covering
western Montana, much of Wyoming, parts of eastern Utah and
western Colorado, and northwestern New Mexico. The United
States uses about 18 million barrels of crude oil a day. Not
only is there less oil in the Rockies, but the USGS did not
consider the economic feasibility of tapping it.
"Most
of the resource deposits that are easiest to tap have already
been developed," said Patricio Silva, an NRDC attorney in the
energy program. "Developing the remaining oil reserves in the
Rockies would be possible only if companies were willing to
spend whatever it takes to get it. That's not likely because
it's much cheaper to drill for oil in other places."
|
|
|
Bush administration optimistic about Powder
River Basin energy supplies
December 18, 2002:
The Bush administration, which has made the Powder River
Basin a cornerstone of its energy policy, is delighted to find
out that there may be far more coal-bed methane gas available
in the region than previously thought. The U.S. Geological
Survey's latest analysis of the basin, which straddles Montana
and Wyoming, holds that the region has a whopping 14 times
more gas -- totaling 14.3 trillion cubic feet -- than was
estimated in 1995. Environmentalists point out that the gas
reserves are only an estimate, not proven fact, and that USGS
figures reflect all gas in the region, not what would be
economically feasible to extract.
"Even if the Powder
River Basin does contain huge gas reserves, the tremendous
difficulties involved with actually getting it out of the
ground mean that energy companies would have a hard time
turning a profit," said Patricio Silva, an attorney in NRDC's
energy program. "The Bush administration needs to realize the
immense environmental harm to the basin's air, water, wildlife
and other natural resources that would result from full-scale
energy development."
|
|
|
White House discounts human life in
cost-benefit analysis
December 18, 2002:
The White House Office of Management and Budget has
sparked a scientific and ethical debate with its position
that, when it comes to evaluating proposed federal
regulations, some human lives warrant less protection than
others. While it is standard practice for the government to
run cost-benefit analyses before implementing regulations,
selectively lowering the value of human life can lead to
extremely biased and unfair results. Under OMB's approach, the
lives of senior citizens (70 years or older) are worth much
less than younger people. Twice this year, the OMB told the
Environmental Protection Agency to apply the discounted value
of 63 percent for elderly Americans when it was assessing
whether to impose new air pollution restrictions on the
polluting industries.
Critics have blasted the Bush
administration for discounting human lives in an apparent
attempt to relieve industry from the cost of complying with
requirements intended to safeguard public health. Moreover,
the cut-rate standard being applied by OMB is based on faulty
science that is out-of-date and doesn't even apply to U.S.
regulations. The 63 percent value is based on a 20-year old
scientific survey in Britain, in which citizens were asked how
much they would pay for a safer bus system. More recent
studies have concluded that there is little difference between
the value that the elderly and younger people place on saving
their life.
"Inevitably, cheapening the value of life
leads to an unacceptable loss of life," said Wesley Warren,
NRDC's senior economics fellow. "Helping industries avoid
cleaning up their pollution is what's motivating the White
House, when protecting the lives of the old and young should
be their first priority."
|
|
|
Government doing big business with lawbreaking
companies
December 16, 2002: During the
2000 budget year, the federal government awarded more than
$855 million worth of contracts to companies that had violated
at least one federal law in the three previous years,
according to the General Accounting Office. GAO's
investigation revealed that 39 companies winning contracts of
$100,000 or more were guilty of violating federal labor,
employment, antitrust, or environmental laws. The lawbreakers
included a waste-disposal company that illegally dumped nearly
23 million gallons of waste and falsified documents to avoid
paying higher dumping fees; a safety equipment manufacturer
that illegally stored hazardous waste; and a poultry company
that illegally discharged 11 million gallons of polluted storm
water into a federal wildlife refuge. The practice is not
likely to end any time soon, since the Bush administration
last year revoked a rule enacted by the Clinton administration
barring companies in violation of federal laws from receiving
lucrative government contracts.
"Apparently the Bush
administration has no problem using doing business with
polluters and other lawbreakers and paying them with our tax
dollars," said Wesley Warren, NRDC's senior economic
fellow.
|
|
|
EPA factory-farm rule favors
polluters
December 15, 2002: The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency announced a final rule on
controlling factory farm pollution that will allow
agribusinesses to continue to foul the nation's waterways with
animal waste. Large-scale animal factories, which raise
thousands of animals and produce 220 billion gallons of manure
annually, now dominate animal production across the country.
These large-scale operations routinely over-apply liquid waste
on land, which runs off into waterways, killing fish,
spreading disease, and contaminating drinking water supplies.
They also emit toxic fumes into the air.
Thirty years
ago, Congress identified concentrated animal feeding
operations (CAFOs) as point sources of water pollution to be
regulated under the Clean Water Act's water pollution
permitting program. However, the scale of animal production at
individual operations has dramatically increased since then.
As a result, the regulations that EPA developed in the 1970s
are outdated and inadequate. In 1992, EPA was forced to
finalize a new rule by December 15, 2002, under a judicial
consent decree between NRDC and the
agency.
Environmental groups had urged EPA to adopt a
rule that would keep animal waste out of rivers and lakes,
hold corporate owners responsible for spills, and guarantee
adequate public participation. The Clinton EPA proposed a new
rule featuring several initiatives that would have protected
the environment, but the Bush administration stripped them
from the final rule after agribusinesses complained. As a
result, the new rule will:
- legalize discharges of runoff contaminated with
nitrogen, phosphorus, bacteria and metals into already
polluted rivers and streams;
- fail to update technology standards to tighten controls
on water pollution, allowing factory farms to continue
discharging raw waste;
- allow factory farms to write their own permit
conditions;
- shield corporations that own the livestock from
liability for the environmental damage they cause;
- create new loopholes in the law, shielding factory farms
from liability for animal wastes running off the land into
waterways.
"The Bush rule puts polluters
first," said Melanie Shepherdson, an attorney with NRDC's
Clean Water Project. "The EPA gave agribusiness increased
protection from liability for polluting our waterways. It's a
sweet deal for factory farm polluters, but it stinks for the
rest of us."
This rule is yet another example of how
contributors to the Bush-Cheney campaign are getting what they
paid for, Shepherdson added. She pointed out that during the
2000 election, the Bush-Cheney campaign received $2,636,625
from agribusiness, including $647,285 from the dairy,
livestock, and poultry and egg industries. President Bush
received more livestock industry contributions ($506,085) in
the 2000 election campaign than any other federal candidate
received between 1990 and 2000.
|
|
|
Judge puts blocks Snake River dredging plan to
evaluate risk to salmon
December 13, 2002:
A federal judge blocked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
from dredging the lower Snake River until he has a chance to
decide whether the project will unduly harm threatened salmon
runs. The agency was a few days away from deepening the
14-foot navigation channel along the river by three feet to
facilitate barge traffic. The judge ruled in favor of
environmentalists who had filed suit, arguing that dredging
would destroy valuable spawning habitat and harm or kill
salmon and steelhead. They also accused the Corps of violating
environmental laws -- the National Environmental Policy Act
and the Endangered Species Act -- by refusing to consider a
less environmentally damaging alternative: promoting healthier
streamside habitat to naturally reduce sediment flowing into
the river, and flushing sediment downstream during high spring
flows to mimic a more natural river system. The judge's
decision is only a temporary reprieve, as he plans to make a
final ruling within several months after another
hearing.
"The judge realizes what the Corps refuses to
admit, that there is a way to achieve both goals of improving
the shipping channel and protecting federally protected fish
and wildlife," said NRDC attorney Joel Reynolds.
|
|
|
White House proposes minor increase in
automobile fuel economy
December 12, 2002:
Reaching for a fig leaf in the growing debate over
America's foreign oil dependence, the Bush administration
today announced a paltry measure that would boost SUV and
light-truck fuel-economy standards by just 1.5 mpg over the
next five years. The mileage requirement for other passenger
cars will remain at 27.5 miles per gallon, the standard set
more than a decade ago.
American automakers have
successfully lobbied against every fuel-economy standard ever
proposed. The administration has helped them fight progress by
opposing real fuel savings offered in the Senate earlier this
year. According to the National Academy of Sciences,
fleet-wide fuel economy could be raised by more than 10 times
the amount proposed by the administration. Because passenger
vehicles use about 40 percent of the 19 million barrels of oil
consumed in the United States each day, the administration's
proposal will perpetuate the nation's dangerous dependence on
foreign oil.
"The president's plan would save just a
few drops from the ocean of Middle East oil," said Dan Lashof,
policy director for NRDC's Climate Center. "We have the
technology to improve safety and fuel economy in cars and
trucks of all sizes. Detroit and the White House are standing
in the way."
FOR MORE
INFORMATION
Press Release: 12/12/02
|
|
|
U.S. appeals court upholds Roadless Area
Conservation Rule
December 12, 2002: In a
victory for the environment and a major setback for the Bush
administration's forest policy, a federal appeals reinstated a
Clinton administration ban on logging and road construction in
58.5 million acres of remote or "roadless" national forests.
The Roadless Area Conservation Rule, issued by the U.S. Forest
Service on January 12, 2001, applied to nearly one-third of
federal forest lands. In response to a lawsuit filed by the
state of Idaho, the Kootenai Indian tribe and logging groups,
U.S. District Court judge in Idaho issued a preliminary
injunction blocking the rule on May 10, 2001. The Bush
administration declined to appeal the ruling. But
environmental groups, including NRDC, intervened and convinced
the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the rule should
stand. In overturning the lower court's ruling, the appeals
court noted that "the Forest Service held over 400 public
meetings about the Roadless Rule and that it received over
1,150,000 written comments."
"As of today, the roadless
rule is once again the law of the land," said Nathaniel
Lawrence, director of NRDC's forest programs and co-counsel
for environmental intervenors in the case. "This decision is a
ray of hope at a time when the Bush administration is
relentlessly hacking away at the nation's forest protections.
The question now is whether the administration will enforce
the rule or continue trying to gut it."
The court
victory came a day after the Bush administration proposed new
forest management rules aimed at boosting logging by
eliminating environmental reviews and curtailing public
input.
FOR MORE
INFORMATION
Press Release: 12/12/02
|
|
|
White House fire plan would boost logging and
at expense of environment, public
input
December 11, 2002: Congress rejected
President Bush's forest fire-prevention legislation this fall,
but that didn't stop the administration from moving ahead. The
White House simply sidestepped lawmakers by proposing a
far-reaching series of rules to reduce wildfire risk on
millions of acres of national forests and other public lands
by cutting more trees. This sweeping forest-policy revision
would speed up logging projects by curtailing public input and
eliminating environmental review, as required under the
National Environmental Policy Act.
Under the proposed
"streamlining" rules, which will be finalized after a 30-day
public comment period, federal agencies could claim that
almost any kind of logging is reducing fire risk. The ability
of citizens to oppose logging projects on public lands would
be limited, as only people or groups that raised objections at
early hearings on those projects will have standing to lodge
administrative appeals. The proposed new rules also would
impose deadlines on when those appeals must be decided, in an
effort to expedite projects.
The proposal being forced
by the administration contains loopholes that would allow
large trees -- more fire resistant and worth more money -- to
be logged instead of the more flammable and problematic brush
and young, thin trees. Numerous studies show that the way to
save houses from forest fires is to remove trees and bushes in
close proximity to at-risk communities and to use
fire-resistant building materials. By concentrating logging
efforts on commercially valuable large trees in remote
sections of national forests, the president's plan could
actually increase fire risk to homes and communities in need
of forest thinning.
"This plan is yet another example
of how politics trumps science with this administration," said
Amy Mall, a forest and land specialist at NRDC. "This plan is
nothing more than a payback to the timber industry, allowing
it to remove trees far from where people live and cutting the
public out of the decision-making process."
FOR MORE
INFORMATION
Press Release: 12/11/02
|
|
|
Army Corps of Engineers misses deadline on
rules for Everglades restoration
project
December 11, 2002: The U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers missed a key deadline for completing
regulations that will guide the $8.4 billion Everglades
restoration project. The agency gave no reason for the delay
and indicated that the rules would be ready early next year.
In July, the Corps issued draft programmatic regulations that
failed to provide a clear outline for implementing the
ambitious restoration plan.
"The delay is not a problem
if it means the Corps will develop a better plan to meet the
restoration needs of the Everglades," said NRDC attorney Brad
Sewell.
|
|
|
GAO suit against Cheney energy task force
rejected
December 09, 2002: A federal judge
dismissed a lawsuit filed by Congress's General Accounting
Office (GAO) seeking records related to Vice President
Cheney's energy task force. The ruling represents a victory
for the Bush administration and a significant setback for
congressional oversight of White House activities. Legal
scholars expressed dismay over the ruling because it goes
beyond the Cheney matter to state that the investigative arm
of Congress has no right to bring almost any lawsuit -- an
interpretation that could make it very difficult for the GAO
to enforce requests for information from any federal agency.
The Bush administration, however, is not off the hook yet. Two
lawsuits are pending, including one by NRDC, to force the
White House to turn over the information it continues to hold
secret from the public. While agencies such as the Department
of Energy have released records in response to earlier court
orders, the White House has refused to disclose the records of
the energy task force. The NRDC lawsuit awaits a decision by
Judge Paul Friedman.
The judge's decision was not a
complete surprise, given that President Bush appointed Judge
John Bates to the U.S. District Court in December 2001.
Critics noted that Judge Bates' ruling contrasts with his
previous experiences as a deputy to Whitewater prosecutor,
when he led the fight to force the White House to disclose
information.
"Judge Bates' decision to shield the
activities of Vice President Cheney's secretive energy task
force seems to be more about politics than the law," said NRDC
Senior Attorney Sharon Buccino. "No doubt the GAO will appeal
the case, as well it should."
|
|
|
Bush administration approves limited river
restoration plan for Glen Canyon
December 09,
2002: Three federal agencies -- the Bureau of Reclamation,
the National Park Service and the U.S. Geological Survey --
signed off on a plan to restore a six-mile stretch of the
Colorado River to its pre-dam condition in an effort to save
an endangered fish. Next month, a flood of water will be
released from the Glen Canyon Dam near the Arizona-Utah border
to "shock" spawning non-native rainbow and brown trout to the
surface, where they will be removed from the river. The trout
have overwhelmed and eaten the native humpback chub, reducing
the population to fewer than 2,000 adults. The second phase of
the plan, scheduled for early 2004, involves releasing another
torrent of water to flush sediment stored at the mouth of the
Paria River into the Colorado to rebuild beaches and sandbars
in the Grand Canyon.
The Glen Canyon Dam, which was
built 40 years ago to create the reservoir known as Lake
Powell, tamed the Colorado River by altering its seasonal
characteristics, bottling up sand, silt and clay from spring
flooding, and preventing warm summer waters from reaching the
chub. In April, a panel of scientists proposed the artificial
flooding plan to restore natural conditions to the river. Some
environmentalists worry that the plan doesn't go far enough,
and that more aggressive action is needed to protect the
river's health and save endangered fish.
"So far four
native fish species have succumbed to the dam, and the chub is
on its last fin," said NRDC attorney Joel Reynolds.
|
|
|
Bush administration fosters policy of delay on
global warming
December 04, 2002: Ignoring
a decade of peer-reviewed global warming science, the Bush
administration has called for at least five more years of
study before taking any substantial action to stem the problem
-- delay that will make it harder and more expensive to solve
the problem. In fact, the most critical issues in the new
scientific agenda have been extensively analyzed over the past
10 years by thousands of experts, including the National
Academy of Sciences. Last May, the White House itself conceded
that global warming poses a significant and costly threat to
the U.S., and acknowledged that heat-trapping carbon dioxide
(CO2) pollution is the leading culprit. The most important
questions about global warming have been asked and answered,
making additional study in lieu of real action pointless.
According to a majority of the world's leading experts, the
verdict is already in: Global warming has begun and, if left
unchecked, it threatens to wreak havoc.
The answer is
cleaner cars and cleaner energy. The White House opposes any
mandatory limits on carbon pollution from either source. New
measures to reduce emissions from power plants and other
industrial polluters require years to fully implement. While
the U.S. delays, investors around the world are building
expensive new energy plants using outdated, highly polluting
technologies. Every year of delay locks in more outmoded
investment and increases the ultimate costs of protecting the
environment. The International Energy Agency forecasts that
$4.2 trillion will be spent on new electric generating plants
alone between now and 2030 -- an average investment rate of
$140 billion a year. In the year 2020, half the electric
generating capacity in the world will be in plants that are
not yet built.
"The Bush plan takes us backwards in
time at precisely the moment when forward progress is
critical," said Dan Lashof, science director of the NRDC
Climate Center. "The important thing is to get rules in place
and start investing in clean technologies to reduce carbon
pollution."
FOR MORE
INFORMATION
Press Release: 12/4/02
|
|
|
Bush administration loses appeal in California
offshore drilling case
December 02, 2002: A
federal appeals court dealt a blow to the Bush
administration's plan to allow new oil drilling off
California's coast. A panel of judges upheld a lower court
ruling that the government illegally extended 36 undeveloped
oil leases off the central California coast. The panel agreed
with the state of California and environmental groups who had
sued the federal government because of the environmental risks
posed by oil drilling.
In June 2001, U.S. District
Judge Claudia Wilken ruled that the federal Minerals
Management Service (MMS) failed to comply with the Coastal
Zone Management Act, a law that grants states the authority to
review federal actions that may affect their coasts. The judge
also found that the lease extensions were illegal because the
service did not study the environmental consequences of
drilling the leases, as required by the National Environmental
Policy Act. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San
Francisco heard the case after the Bush administration
appealed Judge Wilken's ruling. It upheld the lower court
ruling in all respects. In a 33 page opinion, the appeals
court wrote that the lease extensions "represent a significant
decision to extend the life of oil exploration and production
off of California's coast, with all of the far reaching
effects and perils that go along with offshore oil
production." It noted that the 36 leases "are located between
the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and the Monterey
Bay National Marine Sanctuary, which contain many species that
are particularly sensitive to the impacts of spilled oil." The
only higher authority that the Bush administration can appeal
to is the U.S. Supreme Court. The case (No. 01-16637 D.C. No.
CV-99-04964-CW) is State of California v. Gale Norton,
Secretary of the Department of Interior.
"This is a
victory for the millions of people who visit, live and work by
California's coast," said Drew Caputo, a senior attorney with
NRDC. "After losing twice in federal court, it's time for the
Bush administration to stop fighting for more oil drilling and
to start protecting California's coast."
FOR MORE
INFORMATION
Press Release: 12/2/02
|
|
|
| |
