THE GREEN SHEET

Vol. 8 - No. 11
November 2003

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

Fish Facts

Several recent studies have reported on the peril posed to the Earth’s environment by overfishing of the oceans. In just half a century, large, factory-style fishing fleets have wiped out 90 percent of important species like cod, halibut, tuna and swordfish. One way marine scientists have found to address the problem is to create marine sanctuaries where fishing is banned. Already, these protected zones have shown a remarkable ability to give fish the opportunity to reproduce and rebound.

One study, America’s Living Oceans, Charting a Course for Sea Change, was released by the PEW Oceans Commission in May. The 18-member commission was chaired by former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta. Natural Resources Defense Council president John Adams and New York Governor George Pataki both served on the panel as well. The study concludes that we face “an ethical, environmental and economic challenge that requires our nation to realign its posture toward the sea.”

Unfortunately, a bill has been introduced in the state Legislature that will only produce bad posture for New York’s oceans and marine resources. Inappropriately dubbed the “Freedom to Fish” bill, this measure would actually protect overfishing and threaten the future of the state’s commercial offshore fishery. Introduced by Sen. Owen Johnson and Assemblymember Robert Sweeney, S.5381/A.7299 would greatly limit the Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) ability to close waters to allow fish species to recover. Instead, a long-range planning effort is needed to determine whether or not marine reserve areas and fishing restrictions on the state’s rivers and lakes would help to conserve New York’s aquatic resources.

Ultimately, the crisis uncovered by the PEW report and others must be solved at the national and international level. New York currently lacks crucial information it needs to make the right decisions. The State University of New York at Stony Brook has a marine study program underway and support from the Legislature for the University’s work, as well as additional resources for the DEC, would be important. What should happen now is that all New Yorkers who care about the oceans and the state’s inland waters should learn more about the dangers that exist and what to do about them. It is obvious that the primary threat does not come from protecting these precious resources, but from abusing them.

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On the Alert

♦Bottles To the Rescue: With New York State facing a budget shortfall of up to nine billion dollars, the Legislature and the Governor are turning over every stone to find additional revenue sources. But one obvious strategy for helping close the gap is receiving scant attention: the millions of dollars of unclaimed nickel deposits on beverage containers that are not returned by consumers. Over the bottle bill’s 20-year history, beneficiaries of this oversight have included large bottling concerns. The state Attorney General has estimated the amount of their windfall as exceeding $150 million a year. Some of the nation’s 11 bottle bill states have already moved to correct this, since it would help fill state coffers with cash to pay for municipal solid waste programs (which are burdened by unreturned bottles) and other worthy environmental projects. Capturing this unclaimed deposit money for state environmental projects would be an obvious component of legislation to expand the bottle bill to include non-carbonated beverages that were left out of the original legislation. Since the bottling industry will not give up this undeserved perk without a fight, its opposition is formidable. Call the Governor and tell him it’s time to tune up the bottle bill and send the unredeemed deposits where they belong. For more information, contact David Higby, EANY, at 518-462-5526 ext. 239.

♦Burning Rubber: New York State recently passed legislation to address its waste tire crises. Instead of being the state with the most waste tires in piles, New York may soon have the nation’s best scrap tire management program. Unfortunately, state environmental officials are about to allow tire burning at an International Paper (IP) mill in the Adirondack Park. IP has applied for a permit to burn more than 7,000 tires a day in a boiler built to run on oil at its Ticonderoga plant. Urge Governor Pataki to turn the test burn application down. There are better ways to deal with waste tires.

♦Stop Sign: St. Lawrence Cement is proposing to build an 1,800-acre industrial cement and mining complex that would emit 20 million pounds of hazardous pollutants into the air every year. Smokestacks, a pit mine, a fleet of diesel trucks and a pollution plume stretching for miles would also ruin the scenic beauty essential to the region’s economic future. Tell Governor Pataki that you’re counting on him to stop the plant. Visit: www.stoptheplant.com to send a fax to the Governor. For more information, contact Alix Gerosa at Scenic Hudson, 845-473-4440.

♦Drums Along the Hudson: The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation has released a proposed Remedial Action Work Plan for the implementation of a cleanup at the BASF South 40 Site. The 88-acre Superfund site is located on Riverview Avenue in the City of Rensselaer. Over the past 120 years, drums buried at the site leaked arsenic, lead, chromium and other toxic metals into the soil and groundwater. For more information, contact Eric Daillie, the Coalition Against Riverfront Pollution, at 518-273-8970 or email: daillie@nycap.rr.com.

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For Your Information

♦U.S. Grants: The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is accepting proposals for brownfields grants. The application deadline for Brownfields Assessment, Clean-up and Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grants is December 4, 2003. The application deadline for the Brownfields Job Training Grants is December 1, 2003. Proposal guidelines can be found at www.epa.gov/brownfields. EPA Region 2 is holding application assistance conference calls for the Assessment, Cleanup and RLF grants. Calls for New York applicants will be held on 11/12 and 11/17. Register by calling 212-637-4291 or by emailing albucher.chelsea@epa.gov. For more information, contact Monica L. Abreu, Esq., Environmental Justice Coordinator, NYSDEC, at 518-402-8556 or 866-229-0497.

♦ Darkness Falls: The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) began installing new dark skies-friendly lighting fixtures at its Bridgehampton yard in October. These will significantly reduce the amount of light pollution from the facility and help improve the view of the night sky in the area. The Island-wide program will lead to the installation of fixtures that direct light downward, onto the property that needs to be illuminated. For more information, call LIPA at 1-800-692-2626.

♦ Pesticide Threat: The Environmental Working Group has released its newest findings on pesticides in produce. EWG researchers analyzed over 100,000 US government pesticide test results and found 192 different pesticides on 46 popular fresh fruits and vegetables. Stonyfield Farm, the nation’s leading organic yogurt manufacturer, has created a wallet-size Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce. Downloadable from both www.foodnews.org and www.stonyfield.com, the guide lists the 12 produce items that are consistently most and least contaminated with pesticides. For more information, visit: www.ewg.org.

♦ Green Greatness: The NYC Department of Environmental Protection and EPA Region 2 are sponsoring a Green Building Design Competition in an effort to establish the city as the leader in America’s green building movement. The deadline for expressing intent to submit is November 10, 2003. The deadline for submissions is January 15, 2004. For more information, visit: www.epa.gov/region02 or www.nyc.gov/html/moec/html/competition.html.

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Activists' Corner

Hot Spot: Residents for Responsible Government (RRG) was formed in 2001 after the Niagara County town of Porter approved the expansion of a toxic waste dump despite public opposition.

Expansion of Western New York’s largest hazardous waste landfill, operated by Chemical Waste Management (CWM), would involve, among other things, diversion of a section of Twelve Mile Creek through a CWM property. The land was once used as a dump for high level uranium ore residues left over from the atomic Manhattan Project.

RRG is involved in a lawsuit and a public education campaign to raise awareness about the project and the potential dangers of creek diversion.

For more information, write Residents for Responsible Government c/o R.O.L.E., Box 44, Lewiston, NY 14092; email: info@rrg-wny.org; or visit: www.rrg-wny.org.

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The Month Ahead

October

1: Citizens’ Environmental Coalition’s 20th Anniversary Celebration in Buffalo. Keynote addresses by Congressman John LaFalce and NYS Assemblymember David Koon. Buffalo Convention Center, Convention Center Plaza, Buffalo. 6:00PM. $25.00 in advance; $30.00 at the door. For tickets, email Amy at cecamy@choiceonemail.com. Call Mike Schade at 716-885-6848.

5: Key to the Global Thermostat: The Architects Role in Global Warming, symposium developed by Metropolis magazine and architect/author Edward Mazria. Panelists include Ashok Gupta, National Resources Defense Council; Brian Henderson, NYS Energy Research Development Authority; and Andy Revkin, the New York Times. Pratt Manhattan Center, Room 214, 144 West 14th St., NYC. 6:30PM-8:30PM. Call 212-886-2519.

6: Brownfields Redevelopment in New York: What the New Legislation Means for You, a discussion of the recently enacted brownfields law, sponsored by the Environmental Business Association of NYS and others. SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse. Also: 11/19-3 West Club, 51st Street & 5th Avenue, NYC; 11/20-SUNY Farmingdale, Long Island. CLE Credits: 6 (pre-registration required for CLE credits). Additional $50 fee. Call 518-432-6400.

10: 2003 Advocate Awards, Environmental Advocates’ annual gala. This year’s honorees are Carol Ash, Tim Barnett and Robert Pirani. The Yale Club, Manhattan. 5:30PM-9:00PM. Contact Patti Kelly at 518-462-5526 ext. 224 or pkelly@eany.org.

12: Walk & Witness for Climate & Creation, an interfaith Service of Repentance and Renewal on global warming sponsored by Religious Witness for the Earth. Gather at the Community Church of New York, 40 E. 35th St., at 11:00AM and walk to the Dag Hammarskjold Plaza at the United Nations for a public worship service, followed by an action workshop and visits to diplomatic missions. Contact Rev. Kate Stevens at nov12@religiouswitness.org or 413-625-6967.

13: Greening an Existing Facility, sponsored by the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association. This full-day workshop will focus on practical and cost-effective solutions to actual situations and will provide participants with an overview of building science in the process. Albany, NY. 9:00AM-4:00PM. Call 413-774-6051.

15: America Recycles Day, a national day of recognition focusing on reducing waste and conserving resources sponsored by EPA, Ford and others. Visit: www.americarecyclesday.org.

15: America Recycles Day Open House at the Rogers Environmental Education Center featuring activities and exhibits. 2721 State Highway 80, Sherburne. 1:00PM-4:45PM. Call 607-674-4017.

15: Centers of Attention: Strengthening Our Hamlets, Villages and Cities, Hudson Valley Smart Growth Alliance 2003 Conference. Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel & Conference Center, Poughkeepsie. $45. Pre-registration required. Call Mary Ann Johnson at 845-473-4440 ext. 267.

17: Recycling and Sustainability Program, sponsored by Rochester Regional Group of the Sierra Club. Brighton Town Hall, 2300 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo. 7:00PM. Call 585-244-2625.

18: Personal Watercraft, Snowmobiles, and ATVs - Recent Developments to Curb Emissions and Use, part of Albany Law School’s ongoing Environmental Forum series. Albany Law School, Albany. 3:30PM-5:30PM. Call 518-445-3220.

December

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

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THE GREEN SHEET
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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

US Capitol Switchboard
202.224.3121