THE GREEN SHEET

Vol. 8 - No. 12
December 2003

Lead Story: Fund Appeal
On the Alert
For Your Information
Activists' Corner
The Month Ahead
Contact Information

Fund Appeal

For ten years, New York’s Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) has provided financing to help protect the state’s clean water and air, conserve open space and build parks, close landfills and promote recycling. For the past three years, the Legislature has approved annual EPF appropriations of $125 million. That support has been appreciated, especially during tough fiscal times. Over the last two years, however, more than $400 million has been transferred from the EPF into the state general fund, even though it is supposed to be a locked box. That has left many important environmental projects unfunded. Now New York must adopt a more realistic approach to environmental spending.

For Fiscal Year 2004-2005, Friends of the EPF, a coalition of some 50 groups working on a wide range of environmental projects, is calling on the Governor and the Legislature to commit to spending $250 million on environmental projects. The coalition is urging new appropriations of at least $125 million for traditional EPF projects and it is urging the state to proceed with previously authorized bonding to support spending of an additional $125 million. Adding together all of the current year applications to the various EPF-funded project categories indicates a statewide need of approximately $500 million. It is not unreasonable to ask state lawmakers to meet a greater percentage of that amount in the coming year.

In addition to its $250 million spending goal, the EPF coalition is also urging the following:
– Appropriate EPF funds to support traditional programs only. EPF money should not be used to pay for staff salaries or capital projects, which belong in the general fund.
– Hold 10th anniversary legislative hearings on the EPF. After a decade of existence, there are many EPF success stories that can be told. A look at its history will help determine what its future should be.
– Oppose further reductions in agency environmental staffing. State agencies with primary responsibility for the environment have faced extreme staff and capacity reductions in recent years. The Department of Environmental Conservation alone has lost over 800 staff positions in the past nine years.

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On the Alert

♦Monumental Task: The National Park Service (NPS), owner of the 22-acre Governors Island National Monument, and the city/state public development corporation which owns the island's remaining 150, are embarking on a cooperative planning blueprint for its future. These plans are to be completed by 2006. The NPS is currently accepting public comments on the future of the Governors Island National Monument, which includes Fort Jay and Castle Williams. Tell the NPS that final plans and redevelopment proposals should guarantee public access, park programming and historic preservation. Submit your comments online at: www.governorsislandnationalmonument.org.

♦Environmental Justice Denied: In response to pressure from the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a draft policy statement that would make it more difficult to effectively bring up environmental justice issues in nuclear siting and operations hearings. The NRC is now seeking public comment on its proposal. The 60-day comment period ends January 5, 2004. Write the NRC to demand an extension of the public comment period and to ask for public hearings. Email hearingsdocket@nrc.gov or fax to 301-415-1101 (reference the Policy Statement on the Treatment of Environmental Justice Matters in NRC Regulatory and Licensing Actions, Federal Register, November 5, 2003, V. 68, No. 214, pp 62642-62645). The draft policy statement is available at: www.nirs.org.

♦Get the Point: Putnam County Executive Robert Bondi has restated his support for the Indian Point nuclear power plant and has praised Entergy, the plant’s owner. Entergy recently donated $500,000 to the county’s new Emergency Operations and Training Facility, a facility needed in large part because part of the county is within Indian Point’s emergency evacuation zone. Riverkeeper and the Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition are asking residents and non-residents of Putnam County to contact Bondi and urge him to support the immediate closure of Indian Point and join with over 300 other elected officials who have called for the plant’s shutdown. Contact County Executive Bondi by mail: Putnam County Office Building, 40 Gleneida Avenue, 3rd Floor, Carmel, NY 10512; phone: 845-225-2212; or fax: 845-225-0294. Also ask him to call on Entergy to protect local taxpayers by covering the full costs of the county’s nuclear emergency planning. For more information, contact Lisa Rainwater van Suntum, Riverkeeper, at 845-424-4149 ext. 221 or lisa@riverkeeper.org.

♦Fight Club: The Chester Golf Club Community plans to develop nearly 400 acres in the Town of Chester in Orange County, including 384 homes and townhouses. A public hearing on the Draft EIS will be held on January 7, 2004 at 7:30PM at the Chester Town Hall, 1786 Kings Highway, Chester, NY. To submit comments, write Thomas Bell, Town of Chester Planning Board, 1786 Kings Highway, Chester, NY 10918, or call 845-469-7000.

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For Your Information

♦Time to Come Clean: In his 2003 State of the State address, Gov. Pataki announced a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) to guarantee that, within 10 years, 25 percent of the electricity sold in the state will come from clean renewable sources like wind and solar. The Public Service Commission is leading a collaborative process involving stakeholders working on the details of implementing the RPS. Industries and electric power companies are trying to derail the process by calling for endless analysis, despite the fact that the state has already made the commitment to steer the power sector toward cleaner sources. To keep tabs on the RPS, see www.dps.state.ny.us/03e0188.htm, or contact Christine Vanderlan, EANY, at 518-462-5526 ext. 234 or cvanderlan@eany.org.

♦Hot Stuff: Information on radioactive waste produced in New York is now available online. Facilities in the state that produce low-level radioactive waste are required by law to file annual reports with the NYS Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) detailing the types and quantities of waste generated. NYSERDA then prepares annual reports summarizing this information. The 17th annual report, which covers calendar year 2002, can be viewed at www.nyserda.org/llrwreportjune2003.pdf.

♦School Spirit: The National Wildlife Federation is accepting proposals for its Campus Ecology Fellowship Program until December 19, 2003. The program offers a nationally recognized opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to green their campuses and communities, gaining practical experience in the conservation field and first-hand knowledge of the challenges and opportunities inherent in conservation efforts. Visit: www.nwf.org/campusEcology/dspFellowships.cfm.

♦Virtual Store: The Worldwide Freecycle Network is an online forum open to all cities and to all individuals who want to recycle something rather than throw it away. Everything posted must be free. The network is organized by Downtown Don’t Waste It, a nonprofit RISE recycling organization in Tucson, Arizona. It is run by local volunteer moderators across the globe. Visit www.freecycle.org to browse the items and to learn how to start your own Freecycle Network.

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Activists' Corner

The High Ground: Over 110 local, state, regional and national conservation groups make up the Highlands Coalition, a four-state collaboration to preserve the eastern-most range of the Appalachian Mountains. This forested region in PA, NJ, NY, and CT parallels the densely populated urban corridor from Philadelphia, to NYC, to Hartford. It provides pure drinking water and offers unparalleled scenic and recreational opportunities for upwards of 14 million visitors annually to such jewels as Sterling Forest, Harriman State Park, the Hudson Highlands and the Great Swamp.

In 2002 the US Forest Service published a comprehensive analysis documenting the need to immediately protect the Highlands from encroaching sprawl. The Highlands Conservation Act is pending federal legislation to authorize $100 million to help the states protect the region. For more information, visit: www.highlandscoalition.org or email highlandsco@earthlink.net.

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The Month Ahead

December

1-21: Beauty and the Beast: Invasive Plants in our Area, educational art exhibit presented by Friends of Lasdon Park and Arboretum. The artists are all members of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators- Greater NY. Main House, Lasdon Park and Arboretum, Somers. Call 914-864-7270.

1-1/19: Big and Green: Toward Sustainable Architecture in the 21st Century, art exhibit on the need to create large-scale development that is energy-efficient, healthful for its inhabitants, and economically viable. Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street, New York City. Call 212-534-1672.

2: Toxic Releases, Sierra Club meeting to demonstrate the Toxic Release Inventory and other free online federal environmental resources. Room 110, Moon Library, SUNY-ESF, Syracuse. Call 315-428-1905.

2: Statewide teleconference on the new Superfund/brownfields bill, sponsored by NYSDEC. 7:00PM-10:00PM. A detailed agenda and locations where the public may attend and participate in the teleconference are available at: www.dec.state.ny.us/website/der/telecon.html.

3: Community Liaison Committee meeting for the South Brooklyn Transportation Investment Study, a three-year, multimodal transportation planning study being undertaken by the NY Metropolitan Transportation Council. 25 4th Ave. (above Pacific Street Subway station). 6:00PM. Call 212-799-8803 ext. 24, email: southernbrooklyntis@zetlin.com, or visit: www.southernbrooklyntis.com.

5-6: Alternative Craft Fair, sponsored by Metro Justice. Annual fair features a mix of locally made and fairly traded crafts and gifts, food, storytellers and the Golden Link Folk Singing Society. First Unitarian Church, 220 Winton Road South, Rochester. 12/5: 5:00PM-10:00PM; 12/6: 9:00PM-3:00PM. Call 585-325-2560.

9: Tracing Dioxins and Other Chlorinated Contaminants in New York Harbor, seminar featuring Dr. Damon Chaky, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, sponsored by the Hudson River Foundation. 17 Battery Place, Suite 915, Manhattan. RSVP: 212-483-7667 or info@hudsonriver.org.

14-1/5: Christmas Bird Count, organized by the National Audubon Society. Join with thousands of birders in Audubon’s longest-running winter-time tradition. Visit: www.audubon.org.

16: West Valley Citizens Task Force Meeting. Tentative Topic: Risk-Based End States and Long-Term Stewardship. 10282 Rock Springs Road, West Valley. 7:00PM. Contact Tom Attridge, NYSERDA, at 716-942-2453 or tha@nyserda.org.

January

6: How “Soot” Carbon Affects the Release of Organic Contaminants from Lower Hudson River Sediments During Resuspension, seminar featuring Dr. Philip Gschwend, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, sponsored by the Hudson River Foundation. 17 Battery Place, Suite 915, Manhattan. RSVP: 212-483-7667 or info@hudsonriver.org.

7: Public Hearing on Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the proposed Chester Golf Club Community. Chester Town Hall, 1786 Kings Highway, Chester. 7:30PM. Call Thomas Bell, Town of Chester Planning Board, 845-469-7000. (See On The Alert.)

22: Report from Albany. Join Environmental Advocates of NY for a Western New York dialogue on 2004 state legislation. Allen Hall, University at Buffalo. 7:00PM-9:00PM. Contact Karen De Vito at 518-462-5526 ext. 242 or kdevito@eany.org.

24: Just Food Conference, Hunter College, NYC. Visit: www.justfood.org,/a> or email Ruth Katz at ruth@justfood.org.

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THE GREEN SHEET
is produced monthly by
Environmental Advocates of New York.
The Green Sheet is a benefit of EANY membership.
Free subscriptions are available
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Send calendar events, action alerts & available publication information to:
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Managing Editor • Jeff Jones
Editor • Laura DiBetta

To Contact Elected Officials:

Governor George E. Pataki
Executive Chamber
State Capitol
Albany, NY 12224
518.474.8390
www.state.ny.us/governor

New York State Senate
Albany, NY 12247
518.455.2800
www.senate.state.ny.us

New York State Assembly
Albany, NY 12248
518.455.4100
www.assembly.state.ny.us

US Capitol Switchboard
202.224.3121