Tag: earthjustice

Rural Voters Want Clean Water

  • Polls show that farmers do support the Clean Water Act and other government regulations to prevent water pollution. (Photo by Mark Brush)

A new survey finds a majority of rural voters believe the federal
government has not done enough to protect water quality. Rebecca
Williams reports:

Transcript

A new survey finds a majority of rural voters believe the federal
government has not done enough to protect water quality. Rebecca
Williams reports:


The survey found 55% of voters – more than half – said the government
has not done enough to stop water pollution. About a quarter of the
people polled thought regulations had gone too far.


Joan Mulhern is an attorney with Earthjustice. The environmental group
commissioned the survey:


“And the purpose of that was to test this notion of whether or not it
was true that farmers and other voters in rural, agriculturally-
dependent communities do not support the Clean Water Act… and it
turned out that the exact opposite is true.”


The Republican polling firm Bellwether Research & Consulting surveyed
900 rural voters in Ohio, Illinois and Tennessee.


Joan Mulhern with Earthjustice says the poll found farmers were just as
likely as non-farmers to say that stronger laws were needed.


For the Environment Report, I’m Rebecca Williams.

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Cement Kiln Pollution

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new rule regulating
mercury emissions from cement kilns is being challenged by both sides.
As Tracy Samilton reports, the cement industry says the rule goes too
far. Environmentalists say it doesn’t go far enough:

Transcript

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new rule regulating
mercury emissions from cement kilns is being challenged by both sides.
As Tracy Samilton reports, the cement industry says the rule goes too
far. Environmentalists say it doesn’t go far enough:


The rule regulates mercury emissions from new cement kilns only. The
EPA doesn’t think cement kilns are that big of a factor in mercury
pollution, but the EPA’s estimate is based on voluntary disclosure by
kiln operators. Some kilns were found to be emitting ten times what
they’d been claiming.


EarthJustice Attorney James Pew says he’s skeptical that the mercury
emissions are as low as the EPA thinks they are:


“There’s strong reason to believe that it’s a lot worse than that, in
fact it could be off by an order of magnitude.”


Meanwhile, the cement industry is challenging the EPA’s requirement
that new kilns install mercury-scrubbing technology. Industry officials
say more study is needed to show that it works.


For the Environment Report, I’m Tracy Samilton.

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New Rules for Haz Waste Burning

The EPA says tighter controls are coming for hundreds
of companies that burn hazardous waste. But the changes didn’t come without a fight. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:

Transcript

The EPA says tighter controls are coming for hundreds of companies that burn hazardous waste, but the changes didn’t come without a fight. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:


The new regulations apply to large boilers, incinerators, cement kilns, and other devices that burn hazardous waste. The EPA says it’s trying to reduce emissions of several toxic pollutants.


A few years ago, environmentalists won a legal fight to force tougher controls than the Clinton Administration had originally proposed. Earthjustice attorney Jim Pew says the EPA was told to do its job right.


“Now EPA really hasn’t done it right this time, but it’s done it better, and as the result of the work of environmental groups, we’re seeing less toxic pollution going into peoples’ homes and schools and communities.”


A group representing cement kiln owners says it’s generally satisfied with the new EPA rules, but warns that some kilns may have trouble reaching the tougher targets. The case could wind up back in court.


For the GLRC, I’m Chuck Quirmbach.

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Groups Sue Bush Administration Over Wildlife Rule

  • The Bush Administration has decided to make some changes on the National Forest Management Act, and many environmental groups are not pleased about it. (photo by Stefan Nicolae)

Environmentalists are suing the Bush administration for repealing rules that protect wildlife in national forests. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

Transcript

Environmentalists are suing the Bush administration
for repealing rules that protect wildlife in national
forests. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester
Graham reports:


During the Reagan administration, regulations were
put in place that required the Forest Service to
ensure non-timber resources such as water, wildlife
and recreation were given due consideration and that
the wildlife be managed to maintain viable populations.
Tim Preso is a staff attorney for Earthjustice, one of
the groups that filed the lawsuit in federal court.


“Now, through a quiet rule-making, the Bush
administration is proposing to strip that protection
away and make it legal to drive wildlife toward
extinction in the national forests. We don’t think
that’s right and we don’t think that’s what the
majority of Americans support and we’re going to
seek to overturn it in the federal courts.”


Without public notice or public comment, the Bush
administration set aside the rule in favor of a less
restrictive guideline that relies on what’s called
“best available science.” One Forest Service official
says it doesn’t change things that much.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester
Graham.

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Old Chlorine Plants Lose Track of Mercury

The Environmental Protection Agency is accused of ignoring the disappearance each year of tons of mercury at several processing plants. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

Transcript

The Environmental Protection agency is accused of ignoring the disappearance each year of tons
of mercury at several processing plants. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham
reports:


The plants make chlorine. Part of the process at these older plants involves putting an electric
current through big vats of mercury. Every year the plants buy tons more mercury, but don’t
report that it escapes as emissions. Three environmental groups have sued the EPA, saying the
agency isn’t protecting the public’s health when it allows that much mercury to just disappear.


Jim Pew is a lawyer with one of the groups, Earthjustice.


“The very simple question that came up is, ‘Gosh, where is all this mercury going?'”


“And nobody seems to be able to answer that?”


“No. The Environmental Protection Agency gave it a little bit of thought and then declared that –
and this is a quote, “…somewhat of an enigma.”


Mercury can cause neurological damage to humans. Fetuses and young children are especially at
risk. The environmental organizations want the EPA to find out what happens to all that mercury
and require the older plants to modernize to a process that doesn’t need mercury to make
chlorine.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.

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New Navy Officer Stirs Controversy

A controversial former Ohio EPA official has become the top navy official in charge of environmental clean up. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Natalie Walston has details: