1) Florida Rejects Plan: Water War Talks Collapse
2) Huntsville Times Tackles Sprawl
3) Alabama's Editorial Boards Call For Smart Growth
4) Mobile Sewer Overflows Since Thanksgiving: 650,000 Gallons of Sewage
5) City of Huntsville Commits to Green Power Switch Program
6) Court Ruling Places Chemical Weapons Incinerator Permit in Jeopardy
7) BEN Notes: TNC Seeking Aquatics Expert, Tennessee Clean Water Network

Seeking Exec. Director, Help Victims of the Tuscaloosa Tornado

We travel together, passengers on a little spaceship, dependent upon its vulnerable reserves of air and soil, all committed for our safety to its security and place, preserved from annihilation only by the care, the work and, I will say the love we give our fragile craft.

We cannot maintain it half fortunate, half miserable, half confident, half despairing, half slave to the ancient enemies of mankind and half free in a liberation of resources undreamed of until this day. No craft, no crew, can travel safely with such vast contradictions. On their resolution depends the security of us all.

-Adlai Stevenson, July 1965

1. Florida Rejects Plan: Water War Talks Collapse - The state of Florida dashed hopes for a Alabama, Coosa, Tallapoosa (ACT) and Apalachicola, Chattahoochee and Flint (ACF) river basins agreement on Monday (Dec. 18th) by rejecting the latest basin proposal which had been agreed upon by Alabama and Georgia.

Last week in Montgomery, Georgia and Alabama negotiators agreed, in principal, on a proposal concerning the ACT river basin. The deal was contingent on their ability to negotiate a similar agreement with Florida over the ACF river basin. On Monday, Florida rejected Georgia's latest proposal for the ACF and expressed their intention to end the compact altogether.

Alabama's chief negotiator, Jim Campbell voiced his frustration with Florida's position, stating, "It pains me ... We have spent in excess of $20 million in state and federal dollars getting us to this point, and it seems a shame to drop it when we are so close."

To receive the latest info about the compacts visit the following websites: ADECA - http://www.adeca.state.al.us/ADECA/Pages/Pages_HTML/act-overview.html

or Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeepeers at:

http://www.ucriverkeeper.org/mmnavind.htm

2. Huntsville Times Tackles Sprawl - Last week, the Huntsville Times, published a four-part series special report on how Huntsville can handle its growth. This outstanding and well written series which is titled "Can bigger be better?", examines the problems with urban sprawl, the solutions, and Huntsville's future prospects. Here are a some factual tidbits from the series.

In 1982, 61,980 acres in Madison County were classified as urbanized. In 1999 about 80,000 acres are urbanized - an increase of 22.5%

In 1982, there were 292,873 acres of farmland in Madison County. That number included row crops and pasture. By 1997 farmland decreased to 210,455 acres - a 28.1% decrease.

To read the entire series online go to : http://www.al.com/huntsville/?/huntsville/growthseries.html

3. Alabama's Editorial Boards Call For Smart Growth - At the December 6th meeting of the Governor's Commission on Environmental Initiatives, a resolution was passed (25 to 7 and 5 abstentions) by the Commission calling for a "smart growth" commission. The commission passed the resolution in response to a "smart growth" speech given to the group by Alabama Speaker of the House Seth Hammett.

In support of Speaker Hammett's call and the Commission's resolution, the Huntsville Times, Anniston Star, and Birmingham News wrote editorials strongly favoring "smart growth." Here are some excerpts from the "News" and the "Star."

"In the latest issue of National Geographic, author Garrison Keillor provides a devastating view of urban sprawl. "Free enterprise in full riot," he writes, "the fast food, multiplex, warehouse cosmos adrift in its asphalt sea.

..."But there's no time to waste on trying to address how local communities and the state, can do a better job in reining in unplanned, uncontrolled and environmentally damaging development - the kind of runaway development that can tax the ability of public agencies, and private companies, to provide basic services to all who need them.

That's the basic idea behind smart growth, to encourage reasonable, high quality development while at the same time preserving the best of what a community has to offer. "Slowing Sprawl" Birmingham News Editorial - December 8, 2000

"There are numerous examples of growth done the wrong way. The once proud native beauty of this state has all too often fallen victim to the blight of the strip mall or the next cell phone tower." "Smart Growth: Looking at ways to curb sprawl" Anniston Star Editorial - December 14, 2000

Please visit the following websites to read these "smart growth" editorials.

http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/Dec2000/8-e434278b.html

http://www.annistonstar.com/opinion/opinion_20001214_0217.html

http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/Dec2000/15-e35407.html

4. Mobile Sewer Overflows Since Thanksgiving: 650,000 Gallons of Sewage - According to the Mobile Register, since Thanksgiving, seven sewer overflows in the Mobile area have spilled more than 650,000 gallons of sewage into area waterways, most of it in the Dog River watershed. The overflows have prompted numerous health warnings, urging caution in the vicinity of the spills.

The spills come in the midst of a lawsuit filed by Mobile BayWatch claiming that Mobile's water and sewer system has been responsible for more than 2000 violations of the Clean Water Act over the last six years.

For more information about the Mobile water and sewer system lawsuit, contact Mobile BayWatch at 334-476-0328.

5. City of Huntsville Commits to Green Power Switch Program - Last month, the city of Huntsville became the second city government (Knoxville was the first) in the Tennessee Valley region to join TVA's "Green Power Switch." The city has bought billboards and radio ads promoting citywide this innovative renewable energy program.

For info on how to signup for the "Green Power" program in your area (this program is only for TVA customers) contact the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy at 865-637-6055 or visit their website at http://www.tngreen.com/greenpower/

6. Court Ruling Places Chemical Weapons Incinerator Permit in Jeopardy - In a published November 30th Anniston Star story, Circuit Court Judge Tracey McCoovey ruled that the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) did not abide by state law when it issued a permit to build and operate the chemical weapons incinerator at Anniston Army Depot.

The case, which was brought by the Coosa River Basin Initiative, Inc., a Georgia-based watershed advocacy group, against ADEM, the Army and Westinghouse stated that ADEM should have followed Alabama's Administrative Procedure Act when it determined the acceptable odds of contracting cancer from toxic emissions. In the permit, ADEM said the acceptable odds are one in 100,000.

According to the Star, "The Administrative Procedures Act requires state agencies to seek public comment in implementation of administrative rules. When ADEM determined the acceptable cancer odds, it was making a rule, Judge McCoovey said. Therefore the decision-making process should have been opened up to a public hearing, she said. Instead, ADEM officials made the decision without public discussion. The agency based its decision on federal Environmental Protection Agency guidelines, which declare the odds of one in 100,000 a minimum level of safety."

Judge McCoovey has encouraged the defendants to appeal her ruling directly to the Alabama Supreme Court.

7. BEN Notes: TNC Seeking Aquatics Expert, Tennessee Clean Water Network Seeking Exec. Director, Help Victims of the Tuscaloosa Tornado

TNC Seeking Aquatics Expert - The Nature Conservancy of Alabama is seeking a qualified person to fill its Upper Mobile Basin Aquatic Biologist position. An applicant must have a Masters degree in freshwater aquatic ecology, watershed hydrology, environmental management or a closely related field with an emphasis on aquatic systems or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Minimum of 3 years experience in the assessment and/or conservation of freshwater ecosystems is expected.

Please send resume and cover letter to: The Nature Conservancy Human Resources, 2821 2nd Ave. South, Suite C, Birmingham, Alabama 35233.

Tennessee Clean Water Network Seeking Exec. Director - The environmental movement in Tennessee is growing, with the birth of the Tennessee Clean Water Network. This new and exciting group has begun to search for an executive director. To learn more about the organization and the position, visit the TCWN website at http://www.tcwn.org Interested applicants can send a resume, cover letter, three writing samples and three references to Executive Director Search Committee, Tennessee Clean Water Network, Box 1521, Knoxville, TN. 37901.

Help Victims of the Tuscaloosa Tornado - On Saturday, December 16, a F 4 tornado hit South Tuscaloosa along highway 69. Over 500 structures were destroyed or severely damaged and there were 12 deaths. There will be substantial rebuilding needs to be addressed in the next 4 to 6 months. Financial needs are great. The Episcopal Church has set up a "Tuscaloosa Relief Fund" to assist the victims of this tragedy. If you wish to help you can send money to the diocesan office at 521 North 20th Street, Birmingham,

Alabama 35203 Please make checks payable to "Tuscaloosa Relief Fund." If you have any questions about the fund, contact Nanci Warner, Episcopal Diocese of Alabama at 205-715-2060. Thank you for your help and support.

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