THE GREEN SHEET

Vol. 9 - No. 3
March 2004

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

Energy Bills

Last summer, Governor Pataki announced that New York and other northeast states would develop a cap on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants as a regional global warming initiative. The announcement came on the heels of the release of the report from the Governor’s Greenhouse Gas Task Force, which showed that capping power plant carbon is not only the most effective step the state can take to slow global warming, but is virtually cost-free to consumers. A regional cap could become a great step forward in the fight against global warming, but EANY is concerned that delaying action in New York until a regional agreement is reached will allow carbon pollution to continue needlessly. EANY and the 60 partner groups in the Cap Carbon in New York Campaign are urging the Department of Environmental Conservation to begin a rulemaking in parallel with the regional discussions. Further, the campaign is urging Governor Pataki, initiator of the regional discussions, to deliver an agreement that achieves at least a 25% reduction in carbon pollution below 1990 levels from the power sector, consistent with the Task Force’s results. Meanwhile, Tom DiNapoli, chair of the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee, will soon introduce a carbon cap bill, heightening the pressure for the state to act. The discussions of a regional cap-and-trade program, including cap levels and trading rules, will continue throughout the year, leading up to an April 2005 deadline for agreement.

At the same time, the state Public Service Commission is working to increase the proportion of wind, solar, and other clean renewable sources in the electricity market. And the Legislature is considering a bill to make it more affordable for businesses and households to install wind and solar energy systems. Net metering allows homeowners who install solar panels to receive a credit on their bills for the electricity they supply to the grid. A fair net metering law guarantees that customers are credited for the electricity they supply to the grid at the full retail rate (the same rate they are charged when they consume electricity) and protects them from being penalized by utilities in the form of extra fees or requirements. One bill, A.4245 (Englebright)/S.3055 (Wright), would extend net metering protections to any customer – not just homes, but businesses, offices and schools – with a wind or solar generator. The Assembly has already passed the bill this year. Senator Wright has yet to move the companion bill. Expanding net metering is a sensible step that goes hand-in-hand with New York State’s commitment to promoting clean energy.

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On the Alert

♦Day Dreaming: Albany’s largest Earth Day event is Earth Day Lobby Day, scheduled this year for April 19. A coalition of groups, including EANY, NYPIRG, Citizens’ Environmental Coalition, Riverkeeper, Scenic Hudson, Federated Conservationists of Westchester County and Clearwater, have teamed up to bring citizens and students from around New York to the Capitol for a day of lobbying, learning and networking on the state’s most important environmental issues. Make plans now to attend. For more information, visit: www.eany.org/takeaction/earthday.html, or contact Laura DiBetta, EANY, at 518-462-5526 ext. 221 or edld@eany.org.

♦Last Resort: The comment period for the Belleayre Resort at Catskill Park Draft Environmental Impact Statement has been extended until April 23. The 537-acre development, proposed by Crossroads Ventures, LLC, is located in Shandaken and Middletown in the NYC Watershed and Catskill Park. The proposal includes two 18-hole golf courses, two hotels, a luxury housing development, restaurants, retail stores and more. To submit comments, write: Alexander F. Ciesluk, Jr., Deputy Regional Permit Administrator, NYSDEC, 21 South Putt Corners Rd., New Paltz, NY 12561-1620 or email: afcieslu@gw.dec.state.ny.us. To learn more, visit the Regulatory Watch section of www.eany.org. Or contact Judith Wyman, Friends of Catskill Park, at 845-688-7312 or catskillmtflower@msn.com, or visit: www.friendsofcatskillpark.org.

♦Water Park: Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx - the City’s third largest park - is the proposed site for the Croton Water Treatment Plant. The facility, requiring more than 40 acres of parkland for construction, would treat the 10 percent of New York City’s drinking water that comes from the East-of-Hudson Croton Watershed. The NYC Department of Environmental Protection will hold a public hearing on the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the plant on March 3 from 7:00PM-9:30PM at Dewitt Clinton HS Auditorium, 100 West Mosholu Parkway South, Bronx. Written comments should be sent by March 19 to: Mark Page, Jr., EIS Project Manager, Office of Environmental Planning & Assessment, NYC DEP, 59-17 Junction Blvd., 11th Floor, Flushing, NY 11373. For more information, contact the Croton Clean Water Coalition at 914-234-6470 or crotonwshed@aol.com. Visit: www.newyorkwater.org for more information.

♦Animal Farm: The DEC has proposed a permit to apply to all farms with concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) under the Clean Water Act. CAFOs would be subject to the requirements in this permit to control their contamination of stormwater runoff and other waters. The public is invited to submit comments before March 31. Four public meetings are scheduled: 3/12, Syracuse-Liverpool Holiday Inn, 1:30PM; 3/16, Batavia Holiday Inn, 1:00PM; 3/17, Canton Best Western, 1:00PM; 3/19, NYSDEC, Albany, 12:45PM. For more information, email Rob Foster, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, at 518-434-8171 or rfoster@citizenscampaign.org.

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For Your Information

♦Healthy Schools: The NYS Energy Research and Development Authority has teamed up with the Environmental Business Association of NYS and the Healthy Schools Network to promote high performance school design and construction practices for K-12 schools in New York. High performance school design integrates daylighting, indoor air quality, energy efficiency and other features to create a school building that runs efficiently, saves money, protects natural resources, and provides superior visual, acoustical, and thermal comfort. Four free regional community forums are planned (see The Month Ahead) for school board members, administrative personnel, school facility managers, local school building committee members, parents and teachers. For more information, call 518-432-6400 or email info@eba-nys.org.

♦Great Grants: The Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund (GLAHNF) is accepting proposals for its Small Grants Program until March 31. Grants are available for up to $3,500. The goal of the grants program is to provide financial support to advocacy activities that strengthen the role of citizens working locally to protect and restore shorelines, inland lakes, rivers, wetlands, and other aquatic habitats in the Lake Erie and Lake Ontario Basins. For more information, including application format and summaries of past grant projects, visit: www.glhabitat.org.

♦Good Neighbors: Grants of up to $500 are available for block, tenant, community garden and neighborhood associations through Citizens for NYC’s Building Better Neighborhoods grant program. New York City groups with budgets under $100,000 can apply for grants for beautification projects, neighborhood safety and security activities and projects that work to strengthen groups less than 18 months old. For more information, contact Emma de Caires at 212-989-0909 ext. 412 or edecaires@citizensnyc.org, or visit: www.citizensnyc.org.

♦Bad Neighbors: Ever wondered what kind of pollution is in your community? Citizens’ Environmental Coalition has a new website where you can find out. At www.ecoTHREATNY.org,, interactive maps let you zoom in on your neighborhood and get information about more than a dozen different types of pollution sources. Information is also available about the types of pollution and what you can do.

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Activists' Corner

Watershed Event: Hudson Valley communities face many threats to water quality and habitats – escalating population growth, sprawling development, reindustrialization and more. To help address these local challenges, Mohonk Consultations and Hudson River Sloop Clearwater are convening a forum to launch a new regional alliance of groups, agencies and individuals actively working to protect the Hudson Valley’s freshwater resources.

The first meeting of the Hudson River Watershed Coalition will be held March 14 from 4:00PM to 6:00PM at Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz to define the structure and function of such an alliance and to identify the most pressing water issues facing the region. Space is limited and reservations are required.

For more information, contact Clearwater at 845-256-2726 or info@clearwater.org.

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The Month Ahead

March

2: Public hearing on Adirondack Draft Snowmobile Plan. Tupper Lake HS Gym, 25 Chaney Ave., Tupper Lake. 5:00PM-8:00PM. Also: 3/3, Queensbury Town Hall, Glens Falls, 5:00PM- 8:00PM; 3/10, Park Avenue Offices (Gym), Old Forge, 5:00PM-8:00PM; 3/11, State Office Building, 207 Genesee St., Conference Rooms A & B, Utica, 5:00PM-8:00PM. Contact David Higby, EANY, at 518-462-5526 ext. 239 or dhigby@eany.org.

2: Long Island Sound Study’s Stewardship Initiative meeting. Share ideas about how to preserve open space, increase access to the Sound, protect and manage habitats, and resolve use conflicts. Alley Pond Environmental Center, 229-06 Northern Blvd., Queens. 7:00PM. Also: 3/ 3, Marine Sciences Research Center, Endeavor Hall, SUNY at Stony Brook, 7:00PM; 3/16, Town Hall, 100 Main St., Huntington, 7:00PM. Visit: www.longislandsoundstudy.net.

3: Healthy & High Performance Schools, forum sponsored by the NYS Energy Research and Development Authority, the Environmental Business Association of NYS and Healthy Schools Network. North Syracuse Junior HS, 5353 W. Taft Rd., N. Syracuse. 4:00PM-6:00PM. Also: 3/10, McKinley HS, 1500 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, 4:00PM-6:00PM; 3/15, Ithaca HS, 1401 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca, 4:00PM-6:00PM; 3/24, Albany HS, 700 Washington Ave., Albany, 4:00PM-6:00PM. RSVP to info@eba-nys.org. Call 518-432-6400. (See FYI.)

7: Mock public hearing on EPA’s proposed mercury regulations for power plants. No official hearing is being held in NYS, so this forum provides the opportunity to speak out for clean air. SUNY Albany Uptown Campus. 12:00PM. Call Jason K. Babbie, NYPIRG, at 1-212-349-6460.

10: Birding at the Met, free lecture and slideshow sponsored by NYC Audubon and The Nature Conservancy. Nature writers, an artist and a Metropolitan Museum of Art curator discuss where and how birds feature in paintings at the Met and other museums. The Lighthouse Auditorium, 111 East 59th St., NYC. 6:00PM. Call 212-691-7483.

10-13: Building Energy 2004, conference sponsored by the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association featuring workshops, speeches, walking tours, bus tour of some of New England’s greenest sites and more. All sessions, tours and workshops are eligible for A.I.A. continuing education credits. Boston University, Boston, MA. Visit: www.nesea.org.

16: Hearing on DEC’s draft Hazardous Waste Facility Siting Plan, used in the review of proposals for new or expanded hazardous waste management facilities. Lewiston-Porter Senior HS Auditorium, Youngstown. 6:00PM. Visit: www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dshm/hzwstman/hazsiteplan.htm.

18: The Harlem River and Us, Bronx Council for Environmental Quality’s 3rd Annual Water Conference. Manhattan College, Leo Engineering Building, 3825 Corlear Ave., Bronx. 3:00PM-7:00PM. Call 718-885-3074 or visit: www.bceq.net/annual_meeting.htm.

20: Adirondack Spring: a Gathering of Stars, a concert presented by the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks. Proctor’s Theater, Schenectady. 7:30PM. VIP Champagne Reception from 6:00PM-7:00PM. Ticket prices vary. To purchase tickets call 518-346-6204, visit: www.proctors.org or visit the Proctor’s Box Office.

23: Land Trust Lobby Day, sponsored by the Land Trust Alliance. Join land conservationists to advocate for the NYS Conservation Partnership Program, the Environmental Protection Fund and new conservation tax incentives. Albany. 9:30AM-4:30PM. Email newyork@lta.org or call 518-587-0774.

24: SW²: Save Water/Safe Water, conference sponsored by The Water-Wise Council of NY. Westchester County Center, White Plains. 8:00AM-4:30PM. $40. Call 914-742-2086.

April 19: Earth Day Lobby Day. Contact Laura DiBetta at 518-462-5526, ext. 221 or edld@eany.org. (See On the Alert.)

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THE GREEN SHEET
is produced monthly by
Environmental Advocates of New York.
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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

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202.224.3121