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Environmental Quality Activist
March 2002 Issue
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. President Bush's New "Clear Skies" Proposal: A Smokescreen for More
Pollution
2. Tell the Bush Administration Not to Bury Our Streams and Wetlands with
Waste
3. Sierra Club Joins Campaign to Reduce Threat of Chemical Releases
4. Urge Congress to Restore Funding to our Nation's Passenger Rail System
5. Sierra Club's Ken Midkiff Tours Industrial Livestock Factories
6. Big Win For Clean Water in Illinois
7. Senate Passes Improved Farm Bill - Debate Continues
8. Sierra Club Environmental Quality Contacts and Other Resources
1. President Bush's New "Clear Skies" Proposal: A Smokescreen for More
Pollution
On February 14, President Bush unveiled his plan to reduce air pollution,
the "Clear Skies Initiative." Instead of reducing air pollution, the
President's plan will actually result in more air pollution than allowed
under current law.
In addition, the Administration is considering weakening New Source Review,
an important Clean Air Act program that requires antiquated power plants
and factories to install modern pollution control equipment when they
expand.
It is vital that we educate both the public and members of Congress on the
true merits of Bush's new "clean air" plan. Please visit
http://www.sierraclub.org/cleanair/action/clear_skies.asp to find a sample
letter to the editor and talking points.
2. Tell the Bush Administration Not to Bury Our Streams and Wetlands with
Waste
What happens when the tops of mountains are blown off to mine for coal? 1.
Streams are smothered underneath millions of tons of mining waste -- more
than 1,000 miles of streams in West Virginia alone have been buried so far.
2. The landscape is severely and permanently altered due to the filling of
entire valleys. 3. Surrounding neighborhoods are inundated with noise,
dust, and debris from blasting. 4. Drinking water becomes polluted. 5. The
quality of life of people living near these mines is severely diminished.
Blasting off the tops of mountains to reach coal seams is known as
'mountaintop removal coal mining' and is widespread in West Virginia,
Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
The legality of mountaintop removal has been called into question time and
time again since the passage of the Clean Water Act; however, the Bush
Administration is poised to finalize a rule that would legitimize
mountaintop removal. The rule would not only further degrade the
environment and public health in regions where mountaintop removal occurs,
but could also lead to the degradation of rivers, streams and wetlands all
across the nation.
To find out more information and how you can take action, please visit
http://www.sierraclub.org/wetlands/mining.asp, or contact George Sorvalis
at [log in to unmask] or (202) 675-6693.
3. Sierra Club Joins Campaign to Reduce Threat of Chemical Releases
Earlier this month, with the release of the "Safe Hometowns Guide", the
Sierra Club joined in the kick-off of the Safe Hometown Initiative. The
Safe Hometowns Initiative is a coalition of environmental and public health
organizations that share a common concern about the threat posed by the use
and storage of hazardous chemicals in thousands of communities across the
country.
The best way to protect families from the risk of chemical exposure is to
ensure that communities identify nearby chemical facilities and reduce the
threat that disastrous chemical releases pose to nearby residents. This
information enables communities to participate in environmental
decision-making and to hold companies accountable. Using inherently safer
technologies to reduce the amount of hazardous chemicals produced and
stored at facilities is the best way to reduce risks.
"This is an excellent project for the Sierra Club for many reasons," says
Doris Cellarius, Sierra Club's volunteer leader who has worked to involve
Sierra Club in the Safe Hometowns Initiative. "We have a long history of
promoting "Right to Know". This initiative is an exciting new opportunity
for citizens to work together to reduce chemical hazards in their
communities."
To download the report, please visit http://www.safehometowns.org. For
more information on chemical plant safety issues, please visit
http://www.sierraclub.org/toxics/. To become involved in the Safe
Hometowns Initiative, please contact Doris Cellarius at [log in to unmask]
4. Urge Congress to Restore Funding to our Nation's Passenger Rail System
Congress established the National Railroad Passenger Corporation in 1971 to
provide energy-efficient and cost-efficient passenger transportation
between urban and rural areas throughout the country. Unfortunately, our
nation's passenger rail service, Amtrak, is severely underfunded and may be
facing another budget cut. Amtrak currently receives $521 million per
year, but it needs $1.2 billion per year to continue to offer nationwide
services that many citizens expect and need.
Amtrak serves nearly 50 million riders each year while diverting traffic
from highways and eliminating tons of air pollution. The Northeast
Corridor yearly ridership between New York City and Washington, DC equates
to 7,500 fully booked 757 airplanes. The Acela service, Amtrak's high-speed
service, alone reduces acid rain-forming nitrogen oxide emissions by 15%
and significantly reduces other harmful air pollutants by taking people out
of their cars and airplanes.
Further cuts to Amtrak's budget will eliminate jobs and reduce the already
limited, but important services Amtrak provides. Americans deserve a safe,
efficient, and reasonably priced rail service. Investing in the national
rail system will reduce the need to build expensive new airports and add
more lanes to already-crowded highways. A better Amtrak with a fully
functional nationwide network would provide an environmentally friendly
transportation choice to all Americans.
To send a letter to your Senators and Representative, urging them to
restore funding to Amtrak, please visit
http://whistler.sierraclub.org/action/?alid=74
5. Sierra Club's Ken Midkiff Tours Industrial Livestock Factories
Ken Midkiff, lead staff on the CAFO/Clean Water Campaign, helps communities
organize against the threat of industrial livestock factories, otherwise
known as CAFOs (Confined Animal Feeding Operations). CAFOs are massive
agribusiness operations, usually housing tens of thousands of "animal
units" in a single facility. This practice generates massive amounts of
waste that pollutes local streams and rivers and is a terrible nuisance for
neighbors. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, hog, chicken
and cattle waste are responsible for polluting 35,000 miles of U.S. rivers.
To make matters worse, the industry is largely unregulated and out of
control. In many cases, unless local communities organize against the big
livestock operations, the pollution goes unchecked.
That's where Ken comes in, concluding a tour of CAFOs. He has made his way
across the flatlands, up and over the Continental Divide, all the way to
the Central Valley of California. During his journey he brought
information and advice to local organizers to help them protect their
communities and periodically reported back with news of his doings. Sierra
Club has documented his travels online at
http://www.sierraclub.org/roadtrip/lowplainsdrifter/.
6. Big Win For Clean Water in Illinois
The Sierra Club's Illinois Clean Water Campaign won its biggest victory to
date on February 5, when the Illinois Legislature's Joint Committee on
Administrative Rules (JCAR) approved new rules proposed by the Illinois
Pollution Control Board (Illinois PCB) to keep clean Illinois waters clean.
This approval caps almost five years of efforts by the Sierra Club, the
Environmental Law and Policy Center, Prairie Rivers Network, and other
clean water advocates to obtain Illinois regulations providing protections
against the degradation of water quality in Illinois rivers, lakes and
streams.
On December 6, 2001, the Illinois PCB had issued proposed rules that are
among the strongest rules in the country protecting rivers, lakes and
streams from new or expanded sources of pollution. These rules should have
been approved by JCAR in January, but were stalled for a month by backdoor
lobbying by the organization representing Illinois' biggest polluters.
However, with only non-substantial changes, these rules have now been
approved for final adoption. Thanks to everyone who contacted members of
JCAR to approve the rules.
Illinois now has rules that give substantial protection against new
pollution to every river, lake and stream in the state. The rules do not
contain loopholes for small additions of new pollution. In addition, the
Illinois rules contain procedural safeguards requiring the Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency to make sure that new permits will not harm
drinking water, swimming, or aquatic life. The rules also require
applicants seeking permission for any new or expanded discharges to prove
that the new pollution is really necessary after considering alternatives.
Further, the Illinois rules allow a fair chance for designation of
exceptionally high quality waterways as "outstanding resource waters"
through a citizen petition process.
For more information, please contact Albert Ettinger. Albert Ettinger is
the Illinois Chapter Water Issues Coordinator, Senior Staff Attorney at the
Environmental Law and Policy Center, Chair of Sierra Club's Clean Water
Committee and author of this article. He can be reached at
[log in to unmask]
7. Senate Passes Improved Farm Bill - Debate Continues
The Senate recently passed a farm bill that is a major improvement over the
House bill and current law. The Senate Farm Bill would provide more money
to help farmers safeguard clean water, protect wetlands, and prevent
suburban sprawl and would double funding for conservation programs, which
the House Farm Bill sorely neglected.
The farm bill is currently in conference committee where the differences
between the House and Senate versions are being worked out. If your
congressional representatives are members of the conference committee,
please call them and urge them to support the Senate version of the farm
bill. The Senate conservation provisions: limit subsidies to polluting
corporate livestock factories; provide for more conservation incentives for
smaller farmers and ranchers; and require that operations receiving
commodity and crop insurance payments forfeit their benefits if they bring
wetlands or grasslands into agricultural production.
House Conferees:
Boehner(OH), Chambliss(GA), Clayton(NC), Combest(TX), Dooley(CA),
Everett(AL), Goodlatte(VA), Hansen(UT), Holden(PA), Kind(WI), Lucas(OK),
Moran(KS), Peterson(MN), Pombo(CA), Stenholm(TX)
Senate Conferees:
Bachus(MT), Cochran(MS), Conrad(ND), Daschle(SD), Harkin(IA), Helms(NC),
Leahy(VT), and Lugar(IN)
The farm bill will authorize billions of dollars in spending. How this
money is spent will have a substantial impact on America's landscape. To
find out more about the farm bill, please visit
http://www.sierraclub.org/cleanwater/waterquality/farmbill.asp
8. Sierra Club Environmental Quality Contacts and Other Resources
COMMITTEE CONTACTS:
Air Committee, Bob Palzer, [log in to unmask]
Wetlands Working Group, Robin Mann, [log in to unmask]
Water Committee, Albert Ettinger, [log in to unmask]
Environmental Justice Committee, Phaedra Pezzullo, [log in to unmask]
Genetic Engineering Committee, Laurel Hopwood, [log in to unmask]
Waste Committee, Jim Mays, [log in to unmask]
Sprawl Committee, Tim Frank, [log in to unmask]
CAFO/Clean Water Committee, Hank Graddy, [log in to unmask]
Community Health Committee, Michael McCally, [log in to unmask]
Workplace Environment Committee, Libby Samaras, [log in to unmask]
OTHER RESOURCES:
This newsletter and links to all pollution campaigns are available at
www.sierraclub.org/eqst
Sierra Club Legislative Hotline - 202-675-2394
Sierra Club National Headquarters - 415-977-5500
Sierra Club World Wide Web - http://www.sierraclub.org
Sierra Club Vote Watch Website - http://www.sierraclub.org/votewatch
White House Comment Line - 202-456-1111
White House Fax Line - 202-456-2461
Bush's e-mail - [log in to unmask]
Cheney's e-mail - [log in to unmask]
White House Address - 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington, DC 20500
US Capitol Switchboard - 202-224-3121
To contact your senators - http://www.senate.gov/contacting/index.cfm
To contact your representative - http://www.house.gov/writerep/
To subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter, or for more information on
Sierra Club's Environmental Quality Campaigns, please email George Sorvalis
at [log in to unmask]
Erin Jordahl
Director, Iowa Chapter Sierra Club
3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280
Des Moines, IA 50310
515-277-8868
[log in to unmask]
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