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DEFENDING ENVIRONMENTAL AGENDA
June 26, 2000
"But by preventing new roads into Montana's roadless areas, [the plan to protect wild areas in National Forests] is a very positive step in the right direction for sportsmen and sportswomen. The hype about it closing existing roads is just not true, and in the end, protection of Montana's roadless areas will safeguard healthy fisheries and elk populations and ensure plentiful hunting and fishing opportunities for generations to come." -- Billings Gazette op-ed, "Roadless areas good for hunters, anglers," by David Dittloff, conservation director of the Montana Wildlife Federation.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1) TAKE ACTION:
A) Protect Wetlands, Halt Toxic Dredging v B) Senate Proposes Drilling the Treasured Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
2) South Carolina Victory to Stop Superport
3) Off-Road Vehicles Tearing Up Lewis & Clark Territory
4) Forests Win a Close One in Colorado
5) Baseball Fans for Clean Water
1A) Take Action: TAKE ACTION: ASK YOUR REPRESENTATIVES TO OPPOSE AN ANTI-ENVIRONMENTAL RIDER AND A WASTEFUL WATER PROJECT IN THE ENERGY AND WATER APPROPRIATIONS BILL
The Energy and Water Appropriations bill is expected to come to the House floor Tuesday or Wednesday. Please weigh in with your Representative to support amendments to address a damaging water project and an anti-environmental rider.
-- Support an amendment by Reps. Andrews/Kasich or others to withhold funds for a $311 million project to deepen the Delaware River. Dredging and disposing of dredge spoil may threaten drinking water, groundwater and aquatic habitat with toxic contaminants. The deepening project should not go forward without more complete assessment of the environmental consequences. The project is designed to benefit six oil refineries on the Delaware, but five of those facilities have opted not to participate, thus eliminated the purported economic benefits of the dredging.
-- Support an amendment by Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) or others to eliminate an anti-environmental rider designed to undo recent reforms to protect wetlands from rubber-stamp permitting by the Army Corps of Engineers. These reforms require more individual review and greater public scrutiny of applications by developers to destroy larger parcels of wetlands. Instead of the more careful review of permit applications contemplated by the reforms, the rider would force the Corps to expedite the processing of permits and push the Corps to rush to issue permits without adequate review, regardless of environmental impacts or the potential for increased flooding.
***TAKE ACTION***
Congress must end the practice of using must-pass funding bills to advance anti-environmental riders. Please call your Representative to support amendments to strengthen environmental and natural resource protection programs.
1B) Take Action: Protect the Arctic Refuge from Oil Drilling
Capitalizing on the recent price spikes at the gas pump, Senators Trent Lott (R-MS) and Frank Murkowski (R-AK), plan to attach their so-called "National Energy Security Act of 2000" (S.2557) as an amendment to the Labor Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill. This amendment could come up for a vote **tomorrow**, 6/27. Please call your Senators today and ask them to oppose S.2557.
Under the guise of addressing consumers concerns over the high price of gasoline, S.2557 would roll back environmental protections and offer a range of tax breaks and giveaways for the oil, coal, and nuclear industries. Most egregiously, the bill would mandate oil drilling in America's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge!
ACTION NEEDED: Call your Senators TODAY (Capitol Switchboard: 202/224-3121) and ask them to oppose S.2557 and any amendment to the Labor HHS Appropriations bill that would allow drilling in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Urge them to instead cosponsor legislation introduced by Senator William Roth (S.867) that will forever safeguard the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain and the spectacular wildlife that depend on it.
WHAT WOULD S.2557 DO?: S.2557 would allow an industrial drift net of development across the entire 1.5 million-acre coastal plain, which is the last 5 percent of Alaska's vast North Slope that remains off-limits to oil exploration and development. Drilling the Arctic Refuge would be as shortsighted as damming the Grand Canyon for hydropower or tap Old Faithful for geothermal energy.
In addition, S. 2557 would offer a range of gifts and giveaways for polluting fossil fuel industries. The bill would cut out public hearings for Nuclear Regulatory Commission actions, revive a coal-liquefaction program, and offer huge new tax breaks and subsidies to oil and gas producers.
America needs a comprehensive energy policy based on conservation, renewables, alternative energy sources and raising CAFE standards for our cars and light trucks. Such a sustainable long-term strategy would cut our dependence on oil, slash pollution, and allow us to protect national treasures like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for future generations.
2) South Carolina Victory to Stop Superport
One of the payoffs to this hard work came late last week.
For years, the South Carolina chapter of the Sierra Club has been fighting a proposed 1,300-acre "superport" in Charleston Harbor that would have devastating consequences for the environment. Last week, they achieved a major victory when no funds for the port were included in the state's 2001 budget.
The port's total cost is projected at $1.2 billion. Earlier this year the State Port Authority sought $26 million for the ongoing harbor dredging project; Governor Hodges proposed to partially fund this request in the amount of $13 million. However, members of the Sierra Club's Robert Lunz Group apparently sent a strong anti-port message, because the budget included not a dollar of funding.
In an effort to stop the construction of the "Global Gateway" superport, many Club members have written hundreds of letters to their legislators asking them to deny any port authority funding requests, lobbied their legislators and birdogged the various processes, with evident success.
3) Off-Road Vehicles Tearing Up Lewis & Clark Territory
Sierra Club activists in the Northern Plains and the Pacific Northwest continue to make waves with their recently released report on off-road vehicles tearing up the pristine lands explored by Lewis and Clark.
The media is gobbling up their report, which found that in the eight-state region, dirtbikes and all-terrain vehicles have been given access to National Forest trails and roads out of all proportion to their numbers.
The report found that the growing recreation need is greatest for more non-motorized use, like hiking and horseback trails, not more dirtbikes. Non- motorized use is being crowded out for a privileged few.
The result of the heavy motorization of forest backcountry is that hikers, backpackers, and horse riders who seek to escape machines during their trips are crowded onto a limited number of trails--112 per mile each year in Idaho--while the much smaller numbers of dirtbike and ATV riders is spread out across huge areas--36 riders per mile yearly.
In an area extending from the Dakotas and Nebraska west to Oregon and Washington, it was found that 42 percent of all trails on the National Forests are open to dirtbikes and ATVs, yet only 14 percent of trail users ride these machines. An astounding 135,000 miles of roads are also available on these National Forests for riding dirtbikes and ATVs--enough to wrap around the Earth five times.
While ever increasing numbers of hikers have been crowded into the backcountry, the US Forest Service has happily spent huge amounts of money to 'improve' trails for dirt bikes and ATVs. Trail use by dirt bikes and ATVs spooks wildlife, creates erosion, introduces invasive weeds, and hounds out other hikers and horse riders who can't stand the noise, stench and damage the machines cause to the trails.
4) Forests Win a Close One in Colorado
On Thursday, about 75 people turned out in support of protecting our wild forests at the regional comment meeting in Golden, Colo. Fifty-five forest supporters attended the Sierra Club's pre-event press conference and barbecue -- complete with signs, banners, and an inflatable 10-foot-tall Smokey the Bear holding a sign reading: "Only You Can Save Our Last Wild Forests."
Conservationists dominated the first half of the comment meeting, and by 6 p.m. tallied 36 comments for protecting wild forests and 6 against and ultimately racked up 49 comments for wild forest protection to 36 against.
The set of environmental groups that pulled together to dominate the Boulder hearing also worked to make this event successful and will continue to work to make this week's hearings on the Western Slope successful.
5) Baseball Fans for Clean Water: EVEC Volunteers Roll Out Message in Grand Rapids
On Saturday, 15 volunteers, some from as far away as Detroit, joined the West Michigan Group in Grand Rapids to educate the public about Senator Spencer Abraham's anti-environmental record. Volunteers covered both the West Michigan Whitecaps minor-league baseball game and the African-American Festival with the Mackinac Chapter's very own Giant-Sized Collector's Edition Environmental Baseball Cards featuring Senator Abraham. Approximately 2,000 cards were distributed between the two events.
WOOD AM and FM and the Grand Rapids Press picked up the event to help spread the word to people in the Greater Grand Rapids area about Senator Abraham's poor voting habits on Great Lakes and Water protections.
Thanks to Sarah Houwerzl, Jan O'Connell and others in the West Michigan Group who helped organize and make this a success. A special thanks to those erstwhile and dedicated volunteers who made the journey, under the threat of thunder showers, from other parts of the state.
"My center is giving way, my right is in retreat; situation excellent, I will attack." --Marshall Foch, French Commander, World War I
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1) PROTECT OUR NATION'S AIR AND WATER FROM DIRTY RIDERS
2) RUNNING FOR ROADLESS AREAS
3) MAJORITY SPOKANE FOR PROTECTION AT HEARING
4) GREAT DAY FOR GOOD WOOD
5) GETTING TO THE CORPS OF THE PROBLEM
1) PROTECT OUR NATION'S AIR AND WATER FROM DIRTY RIDERS
The U.S. House of Representatives is about to vote on the VA-HUD-Independent Agencies spending bill for Fiscal Year 2001, which also contains Environmental Protection Agency funding. As in years past, the legislation this year also contains several dirty anti-environmental riders that would undermine our nation's environmental protection programs. Today, take a few moments to call or email your Representative and urge him or her to oppose all anti-environmental riders attached to the VA-HUD-Independent Agencies spending bill.
Several amendments will be offered that can remove some of the most egregious riders. One by Representatives Hinchey (D-NY) and Waxman (D-CA) would to strip three anti-environmental riders from the bill. The amendment would remove one rider that would prevent EPA from completing regulations to reduce levels of arsenic in drinking water and a provision to stop EPA from issuing a new standard for drinking water containing radon. It would also remove a third rider that is designed to halt EPA's cleanup of contaminated sediments in waterways until the completion of a National Academy of Sciences report, delaying action that could endanger the environment and public health.
Also within this spending bill is a rider that is being offered by Representatives Linder (R-GA) and Collins (R-GA) that would delay designation of regions not in attainment with more protective soot and smog standards. This rider would be a major step backwards for the Clean Air Act and would put people who live in smog areas at higher risk for respiratory diseases and keep information about health risks from the public.
So, call today and urge your Representative to vote for the Hinchey-Waxman amendment to protect our drinking water and cleanup our rivers, against the Linder-Collins rider that would delay new air standards and against all other anti-environmental riders the bill may contain. Also urge them to oppose the final passage if these anti-environmental riders are not stripped.
For more information, contact Dirk Manskopf at 202.675.7915 or dirk.manskopf@sierraclub.org.
2) RUNNING FOR ROADLESS AREAS
At least one Minnesota activist is going the extra mile for roadless areas... well, actually, an extra 26.2 miles. North Star Chapter Sierran Ken Bradley is going to run the annual Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota, on Saturday, just days before the Forest Service hearing being held there June 22nd.
Our Marathon Man Ken is running to commemorate the late GREAT Representative Willard Munger, one of our state's most cherished environmental heroes, who recently passed away and is already sorely missed at the Legislature. Ken will wear a T-shirt that says "Thank You Willard Munger" on the front and "Thank You for Protecting Our Forests" on the back. And, yes, he will be sporting one of our green, embroidered Wild Forest caps.
He... could... go... all... the... way...
Now... will the Forest Service?
3) MAJORITY SPOKANE FOR PROTECTION AT HEARING
The Sierra Club and Kettle Range Conservation Group did a good job of getting folks out to the Spokane, Washington hearing. As of about 8:30 pm 71 people had testified with 66-67 being ours.
The press conference before the hearing went well with one TV (KREM) and two radio stations (KGA and KPBX-Public Radio). The Conference included John Roskelly-Spokane County Commissioner, Steven Corker-Spokane City Councilman, Chase Davis-Sierra Club, and Hal Rowe-Kettle Range Conservation Group.
The hearing was a bit strange. The FS clearly anticipated some kind of circus event. They had two separate rooms and divided folks (even/odd) when they signed up and sent them to the respective rooms for their 3 minutes. There were 12-15 Forest Serice staff, and half dozen security police. They did an internal briefing before for staff/security before the hearing to talk about handling incidents and crowds. Neither of which as an issue.
Because of the long time frame for the hearing 2-10pm, we never really had a "crowd" of folks at the hearing. We had a steady dribble of folks coming in all day long doing written comments and then testifying. We had a small bubble of folks around 6pm. The cumulative number added up to a very respectable turnout with 71 speaking. Only real opposition was from a couple of ORV folks on access issues. Otherwise they were all ours.
4) GREAT DAY FOR GOOD WOOD
On Thursday, June 15, after a long year of public education, bill writing and lobbying, Sierra Club's Good Wood Campaign rolled out "Good Wood" legislation at a press conference in City Hall Park, New York City. Alongside Carl Pope and Susan Holmes stood four of the most influential City Council members to announce the introduction of the Selective Purchasing bill into the City Council. The bill would protect forests by making NYC the first major city country to go to wood alternatives and FSC certified wood. The sponsoring Council members are: Speaker Peter Vallone; Contracts Committee Chair, Kathryn Freed; Finance Committee Chair, Herb Berman; and Council Member A. Gifford Miller.
Following a meeting with Speaker Vallone, Pope, Holmes and representatives from other eight other national environmental organizations, Sierra Club joined with members of the City Council in City Hall Park at a press conference. The Good Wood Volunteer Committee (led by Stephan Chenault) stood behind the podium with a 20 foot long banner filled with letters from around the country -- generated from the PLANET -- asking New York to adopt the policy. We also placed a blow-up of a clearcut on a non-FSC certified bench and a blow-up of sustainable forestry on an FSC-certified bench showing that the difference is in the forest, not the bench. In addition to the press (which included Bloomberg News, Voice of America, WCBS, WFUV-Radio, the Christian Science Monitor and the New York Post), in attendance were the executive directors of the Rainforest Alliance, FSC-US, the Consumers' Choice Council, representatives from LCV, American Lands Alliance, Rainforest Foundation, Rainforest Relief, EPA, Feldman Lumber, NRDC and National Audubon Society.
But the work is only beginning, by 10:00am on the 16th, Forest Alliance of BC-- an industry group -- was calling the City Council!
A very special thanks to the yeoman work of Maiya Shaw -- lead campaigner -- and Lori Herpen who came in from NJ to help out!
5) GETTING TO THE CORPS OF THE PROBLEM
Continuing efforts to bring greater accountability to the Army Corps of Engineers was aided on Friday by a rally staged by the Sierra Club and other environmental organizations on Friday in St. Louis.
The rally, outside a Corps meeting, was picked up in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Carl Zichella cited numerous examples of the Corps' untrustworthiness, including altered studies and illegal spending on locks. He refused to work with the Corps until it is brought under civilian control.
Creative use of puppets and costumes was key in gaining prominence for the story... not to mention a photo.
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