Week 6/22 - 6/26
Supreme Court Allows Mining Company to Destroy Alaskan Lake
Earthjustice: Obama administration should rescind permit
 |
| Lower Slate Lake, Alaska |
The Associated Press reports the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to allow a mining company to dump waste from an Alaskan gold mine into a nearby 23-acre lake despite knowing the materials will kill fish and other aquatic life. The decision overturned a lower court ruling which found the dumping permit violated the Clean Water Act says Anchorage Daily News. The Los Angeles Times reports the Supreme Court’s ruling turned on the distinction between labeling the chemically-treated waste rock "fill material" and considering it "effluent." Earthjustice president Trip Van Noppen tells the New York Times the ruling could open the door for any polluter to dump chemically treated mine wastes into any water body. Reuters reports the mining company wants to start production in Kensington at the end of 2010. Earthjustice attorney Tom Waldo, who argued the case to the Supreme Court, tells Sustainable Business the decision flies in the face of the Clean Water Act, which was created to keep America’s water safe for drinking, fishing and swimming. The Washington Independent says the ruling was clearly a bow to the mining industry and was made possible by a rule created by the Bush administration in 2002. Earthjustice president Van Noppen tells the Grant Daily that the Obama administration can overturn the rule and restore the Clean Water Act to its original purpose.
Earthjustice Asks For Transparency in Permitting Process for Proposed Kansas Coal Plant
Kansas governor and Sunflower Electric attempt to avoid public input
The Associated Press reports Earthjustice and Sierra Club sent a letter to the to Kansas state officials reminding them the law requires public hearings before a permit is awarded to Sunflower Electric Power Corp. to build a plant near Holcomb. Prior attempts to construct the new coal plant were blocked by the Kansas Department of Environmental Health or vetoed by then-Governor Kathleen Sebelius. The Lawrence Journal World reports private meetings between Governor Mark Parkinson and Sunflower led to this most recent plan to build a new dirty coal plant. The Sierra Club tells the AP it has been three years since Sunflower first sought a permit to build the plant and the current plan is vastly different from the original, thus requiring a new permit. The Kansas City Star blogs about the sudden and secretive deal between the governor and Sunflower that shocked many residents.
California Cement Kiln Must Change its Polluting Ways
EPA’s new mercury emissions rules will effect one of the Bay Area’s heaviest polluters
The EPA is finalizing stricter emission limits which will require 163 cement kilns nationwide to reduce emissions of mercury and other harmful toxins by 2013. When the rules are finalized, they will be the first mercury emission standard on the cement industry. Earthjustice attorney Jim Pew tells the San Jose Mercury the cement industry has avoided strict emission limits from the coal they burn to make cement and they are one of the biggest polluters. The cement kiln near San Jose is the second biggest emitter of mercury in California. The mercury pollutes the bay and contaminates fish. Eating too much contaminated fish is a serious health risk, especially to pregnant women. The Center of Disease Control found that 8 percent of child bearing aged women have mercury levels high enough to cause serious damage to their baby. The EPA’s proposed rules are good news for every breathing creature.
Past Articles:
Week 6/15 - 6/19
Feds Rule to Maintain Endangered Species Protection Status for Rare Sea Bird
Declining populations reaffirm need to protect seabirds nesting grounds in old growth forest
|
| Marbled Murrelet |
Against the wishes of the timber industry and their allies in the former Bush administration, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has decided to keep endangered species protection for the marbled murrelet in California, Oregon and Washington. The marbled murrelet is a robin-sized seabird that nests in old growth coastal forests. The Associated Press reports the timber industry has been working hard to get protections removed in order to log murrelet habitat. Earthjustice attorney Kristen Boyles tells the AP the decision is further evidence that the Obama administration should withdraw a Bush timber cutting plan called the Western Oregon Plan Revision, which would authorize logging in murrelet habitat. These forests are critical habitat to the marbled murrelet, spotted owl, salmon and many other species.
 |
| Cultural ceremony at Makua site |
Army Finally Clears Makua Site for Public Access
Earthjustice wins lengthy court battle for Army to list cleanup sites
After nearly a decade of litigation the Army released a final list of 22 cultural sites on Makua Military Reservation deemed "high priority" for clearance of potentially dangerous explosives. The removal of the materials will restore access to these culturally significant sites which were considered off limits to any non-Army personnel. Earthjustice attorney David Henkin tells the Honolulu Advertiser he is pleased with the outcome but it should not have taken this long. Earthjustice will continue to monitor the Army’s progress in clearing the sites and restoring access.
Staten Island Brookfield Landfill Gets Funding for Cleanup
Earthjustice is cautiously optimistic
Staten Island Advance reports the city designated $241 million to cleanup the Superfund Brookfield landfill site in a new budget proposal for fiscal years 2010-2013. If passed, the cleanup could start by the end of the summer. Environmentalists and local communities welcomed the news, which is the first time in decades money has actually been allocated for the Brookfield site cleanup. Earthjustice attorney Keri Powell tells the Staten Island Advance an Earthjustice lawsuit on behalf of North Great Kills Civic Association is still pending and she is cautious about the changes the plan will have on the community at risk.
|
| Oil and gas development on public and private lands at the base of the Roan Plateau |
| Jeff Widmen |
Some Environmentally-Damaging Bush-Era Policies Persist
Earthjustice hopes new administration changes bad policies
The Associated Press reports that although the Obama administration has reversed some Bush-era environmental decisions, many remain left unchallenged. Some Bush-era policies being defended by the Obama administration in court and in implementation, include the mountaintop removal mining, oil and gas drilling in Colorado's Roan Plateau and pumping of polluted water into Florida's Lake Okeechobee. Earthjustice President Trip Van Noppen voices his concern to the AP over the Obama administration's stance and dissent from Obama’s campaign message.
Week 6/1 - 6/5
 |
| Tongass National Forest, AK |
| Katerina Zelena |
Obama Administration Calls a "Time Out" for Roadless Area Development
Earthjustice welcomes the closer examination of road construction in protected forests
The New York Times reports the Agriculture Department will not approve of any new road or logging projects proposed in regions covered by the Roadless Area Conservation Rule for the next year without personal approval from Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack. The McClatchy Newspaper Group reports the one year moratorium reinstates the 2001 Bill Clinton era rule, which protects 58.5 million acres of woods in 10 western states. Another New York Times report says the Agriculture Department wants more scrutiny of new permits and to bring consistency and clarity to the legal decisions disputing the 2001 Clinton rule. The Washington Post reports the Obama administration and Congress could use this “time-out” to create a more permanent policy on roadless regions. The Los Angeles Times reports the move is welcomed by conservationists as a step away from Bush-era policies that weakened or exempted large areas from protections, including Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. Earthjustice attorney Tom Waldo tells the Juneau Empire that the decision probably has the most effect on the Tongass. We hope Obama will live up to his campaign promises and protect the roadless areas in national forests.
Removal of Endangered Species Act Protections for Gray Wolves Challenged
Earthjustice back in court fighting to restore ESA protections for wolves
|
| Gray Wolf |
| Shutterstock |
Earthjustice filed a lawsuit challenging a federal decision to take wolves off the endangered species list in Idaho and Montana. The Associated Press reports the lawsuit aims to restore protections for more than 1,300 wolves in both states and block scheduled wolf hunts in the fall. This marks the second time Earthjustice has sued to challenge gray wolf delisting in the Northern Rockies. Sustainable Business says conservationists are worried that without ESA protections, wolf populations will fall below recovery numbers and could disappear from the lower 48 states completely. Earthjustice attorney Jenny Harbine tells the AP that Idaho in particular seems eager to reduce wolf populations. Gray wolves in Wyoming maintain federal protections due to their aggressive anti-wolf policies including a “predator zone” rule which allows wolves to be shot on site in 90 percent of the state.
 |
| Aerial photograph of pumping station S-2 with Lake Okeechobee in the background |
| South Florida Water Management District |
Federal Court OK’s Dumping Polluted Waters into Lake Okeechobee
Earthjustice will appeal
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled on June 4 that dumping polluted water into Florida’s Lake Okeechobee doesn’t require a Clean Water Act permits. The ruling reverses a 2007 federal court ruling that banned the pumping of polluted water off farmlands and into Lake Okeechobee. The 2007 ruling found the toxic byproducts of farm pollution threatens public health. The Associated Press reports federal appeals court found the language of the Clean Water Act ambiguous. Earthjustice attorney David Guest tells the AP Earthjustice will sue again and the case is important enough to possibly reach the Supreme Court.
|
Print this page
Email this page
