1) Cahaba Wildlife Refuge Clears Congress
2) Birmingham Secures $1.2 Million Lead Grant
3) Decatur Fails to Meet New EPA Ozone Air Standards
4) National Women's Health Magazine Ranks Huntsville Water "Worst"
5) BEN Notes: Solar Home Tour, Children's Environmental Health Conference,
Rallies For Constitutional Reform, Critical Mass Takes Hold In Tuscaloosa,
Alabama's Next Natural Wonder "Mobile Tensaw Delta"

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1. Cahaba Wildlife Refuge Clears Congress - On Thursday, October 5th, the U.S. Senate approved legislation to create a 3,500 acre wildlife refuge along part of the Cahaba River in Bibb County. The bill now heads to the White House to be signed into law.

"This is a tremendous victory that is the first step in promoting the long-term conservation of the Cahaba. We must work to protect its unique combination of beauty and biodiversity for generations to come." stated Rep. Spencer Bachus, who introduced the bill, and led its passage in the House.

Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions championed passage of the Cahaba Wildlife Refuge in the Senate.

The area to be designated a wildlife refuge contains the greatest concentration of fish diversity of any river of its size in North America. The 3 1/2 mile stretch of the Cahaba boasts more freshwater fish than the entire state of California and has been identified by Nature Conservancy scientists as the place with highest concentration of biological diversity in the Cahaba River.

For more information about Alabama's newest wildlife refuge, contact the Nature Conservancy of Alabama at 205-251-1155 or the Cahaba River Society at 205-32-CLEAN.

2. Birmingham Secures $1.2 Million Lead Grant - In a victory for children, Jefferson County and the City of Birmingham have been awarded a $1.2 million grant to combat and reduce lead poisoning.

In Alabama, Jefferson County has the highest concentration of lead poisoning in children. Three of the worst zip codes, according to Citizens for Lead Education and Poison Prevention, are in Birmingham, which has more older homes containing lead-based paint. The program will target neighborhoods with above-average concentrations of lead, test children, clean up houses with lead paint and educate the public.

3. Decatur Fails to Meet New EPA Ozone Air Standards - Recent readings show the Decatur Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Lawrence and Morgan counties, is exceeding the Environmental Protection Agency's new ozone air pollution standards according to a Decatur Daily published report.

Under the new stricter health ozone standards, a reading exceeding 84 would place a county in non-attainment status. The monitoring stations at the Sipsey Wilderness and in Decatur both reported exceedences in the past two years.

The new tougher standard which is currently being challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court could effect many more urban and rural communities in Alabama.

4. National Women's Health Magazine Ranks Huntsville Water "Worst" - Self Magazine, a national women's health magazine has ranked Huntsville's drinking water as one of the dirtiest in the United States. The magazine based its assessment on raw rather than treated water.

Meg D'Incecco, publicist for Self, stated that the magazine based its ranking on a watershed report by the EPA. The report scored the Wheeler Lake watershed, which includes Huntsville, as a 6 on a scale of 1 to 6. The 6 rating indicates "more serious problems" and "high vulnerability."

The report was disputed by Huntsville Utilities, which pointed out its record on water treatment. Huntsville's water treatment plants have been judged best operated in Alabama's larger cities 12 of the last 13 years by the Alabama Water and Pollution Control Association.

5. BEN Notes: Solar Home Tour, Children's Environmental Health Conference, Rallies For Constitutional Reform, Critical Mass Takes Hold In Tuscaloosa, Alabama's Next Natural Wonder "Mobile Tensaw Delta"

Solar Home Tour - Here is your chance to see the "wave of the future." Visit six owner built homes that include passive solar, photo-voltaics, strawbale and underground features. The tour is set for October 21 at 10:00 a.m. in Blount County, and hour from both Huntsville and Birmingham. For directions contact Stephen Gusman at 205-819-6231.

Children's Environmental Health Conference - If you care about children's health and the environment, plan to attend a statewide Children's Environmental Health Conference on Wednesday November 1st at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. The conference fee is $7 which includes lunch. The event begins at 8:15 and ends at 2:30.If you plan to attend, send your registration to: Cynthia Whittaker, Jefferson County Extension System, 2121 Building, 8th Avenue North Suite 1700, Birmingham, Alabama 35203.

Rallies For Constitutional Reform - Learn why Alabama needs a new constitution and then join a rally to support this growing movement.

On Tuesday, October 17th at Samford University in Birmingham, there will be a "Forging a New State Constitution" event. The event begins at 9 a.m. and will end at noon. Noted constitutional experts, Lt. Gov. Steve Windom, Alabama Speaker of the House Seth Hammett and James Hayes, Governor Siegelman's Senior Advisor are scheduled to speak. For more information call Howard Walthall at 205-726-2412.

On October 22nd, there will be a South Alabama Rally for Constitutional Reform at Battleship Park outside of Mobile. The gates will open at 1:00, music starts at 1:30 and the speakers will begin at 2:00.

Critical Mass Takes Hold In Tuscaloosa - When a whole bunch of cyclists come together and start riding in one place, they can effectively show the public why we need our roads to be more "bike" friendly. With the spike in oil prices - what better way to declare your independence than cycling.

On the last Friday of every month, citizens, students, and staff meet in Tuscaloosa at 4:30 at Denny Chimes on the University of Alabama campus with their bicycles. At 5:00, the group "In Mass" takes a simple ride through the streets of Tuscaloosa. Your participation can send a powerful message. For more information about "Critical Mass" and a ride through Tuscaloosa, contact Jenny Dorgan at 205-349-3852.

Alabama's Next Natural Wonder "Mobile Tensaw Delta" - Please join the Alabama Environmental Council on October 28th, 12:00, at Blakeley State Park, to help celebrate the dedication of The Mobile Tensaw Delta as an Alabama Natural Wonder. There will be guided hikes, speakers and a boat tour. For more information about the event, contact the AEC at 1-800 982-4364.

Please share BEN with friends and fellow conservationists. If you have any questions or comments about this publication, contact Pat Byington, the author and publisher of BEN at 205-226-7739 or pkbyington@aol.com To receive back issues of BEN, please go to our website at: http://www.BamaNews.com