1) Alabama's Drinking Water Rated "Safe"
2) Groups Protest Colonial Pipeline Proposal
3) Sen. Sessions Adds Additional Money Toward Cahaba Refuge
4) BEN Notes: Job Opening at Camp McDowell, Alabama Canoe Trails Initiative,
Alabama's Dismals Featured On Discovery Channel, Times Daily Outdoor Writer
Honored, Mid-Year BEN Appeal

1. Alabama's Drinking Water Rated "Safe" - According to a new report from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM), Alabama's drinking water is as safe as it has ever been.

In 2000, every drinking water system in the state met federal standards for chemical contamination in drinking water, and only three systems showed bacterial violations in the past year. The three systems are back in compliance after follow up tests, according to ADEM officials.

This is the first year since 1989 no Alabama water system has reported chemical violations. Alabama's steady improvement in drinking water quality earned the state a top ten ranking in Governing Magazine.

2. Groups Protest Colonial Pipeline Proposal - Several local community and environmental groups are protesting the location of a proposed 225 mile petroleum pipeline in North Alabama.

Opponents of Colonial Pipeline Company's "Talladega to Nashville" pipeline are questioning the company's environmental record and proposed location of the pipeline and tank farm. According to the federal Office of Pipeline Safety, Colonial has had 102 spills since 1985, ranging from less than a barrel to nearly 1 million gallons. The U.S. Justice Department sued the company in November claiming its leaks jeopardized waterways in Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, Tennessee, the Carolinas, Maryland, Virginia and New Jersey.

Huntsville, Madison, Arab, Joppa, Lacey's Spring and Toney are a few of the North Alabama cities in the path of the proposed $300 million pipeline. Last week, Mayors Loretta Spencer of Huntsville and Jan Wells of Madison, in a July 9th Huntsville Times article, expressed concern over Colonial's environmental record, but remain officially "neutral" on the project. The company says pipeline spills are rare and that the new pipeline would be the first major expansion in two decades.

The Alabama Environmental Council will be leading a rally on July 24th, 7:00pm, at Big Springs Park in Huntsville to protest Colonial Pipeline's proposal. Another local group, Secure Alabama's Valuable Environment (SAVE) will be sponsoring a rally at the Ruth Volunteer Fire Department in Marshall County on July 17th. For more information about the rallies contact Lynn Leach at 256-776-4015 or lynneleach@aol.com. The following links are recent "pipeline" stories that have appeared in the Huntsville Times.

"Pipeline Foes Fuel Protest Rallies" http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/news/99478951820116135.xml

"Pipeline Foes Plan Rally Downtown" http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/news/9950487175580123.xml

"Port Board Backs Pipeline Proposal" http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/business/9948795141441108.xml

3. Sen. Sessions Adds Additional Money Toward Cahaba Refuge - At the urging of Sen. Jeff Sessions, the U.S. Senate has approved an additional $500,000 to establish the Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge.

The Senate, on July 12th, approved a Session's provision to the Fiscal Year 2002 Interior appropriations bill to add $500,000 for the Cahaba Refuge, bringing total funding to $3 million. The House included $1.5 million for the Cahaba Refuge next year. Differences in the two chambers' bills will be ironed out by Senate and House conferees.

Conservationists and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimate it will cost $4.5 million to purchase the 3500 acres along the 3.5 mile stretch of the Cahaba River in Bibb County. The purchase of the land and creation of the refuge was authorized last year. This year's appropriation will help begin the process of purchasing the property.

4. BEN Notes : Job Opening at Camp McDowell, Alabama Canoe Trails Initiative, Alabama's Dismals Featured On Discovery Channel, Times Daily Outdoor Writer Honored, Mid-Year BEN Appeal

Job Opening at Camp McDowell - The Camp McDowell Environmental Center is seeking an Environmental Educator to direct the Birmingham Homeroom Habitat program for 5th grade classrooms, during the winter months and serve on the
Environmental Center staff during the fall and spring. This 9 month position provides health insurance as well as room and board during the fall and spring season at Camp McDowell. To apply, please send a resume to Jennifer Arnold, 105 DeLong Road, Nauvoo, AL 35578 or call 205-387-1806. Please also visit CampMcDowell's website at http://www.campmcdowell.com/cmec for more information.

Alabama Canoe Trails Initiative - Several Alabama outdoor groups have joined together in an effort to create an "Alabama Water Trails" coalition. The group which is part of the national North American Water Trails network is seeking volunteers and supporters. To learn more about Alabama Water Trails contact Paul Kennedy at 205-251-8139.

Alabama's Dismals Featured On Discovery Channel - The "Dismals" located near Phil Campbell, Alabama in Franklin County, is the backdrop for a 2 hour Discovery Channel special called "When Dinosaurs Roamed America." The area's unique canyon and vegetation won over the producers of the program who were looking for a "prehistoric - looking" background. The "Dismals" was used as a backdrop for approximately 30 minutes of the program. To view a little bit of Alabama on national television, tune into the Discovery Channel Wednesday night, July 18th at 8:00 pm.

Times Daily Outdoor Writer Honored - Times Daily Outdoor writer, Dennis Sherer was named last week Conservation Communicator of the Year by the Alabama Wildlife Federation. Sherer covers the environment for the Times Daily and writes a weekly outdoor column. Last year, Sherer wrote an amazing series of articles about the Natchez Trace titled "Travelling the Trace." You can read the entire series by visiting the following site - http://www.timesdaily.com/special/TRACE/mile0/default.html

Mid-Year BEN Appeal - In case you missed the appeal last week. In lieu of BEN subscriptions, we have asked our readers to make donations toward the following 3 nonprofit groups. Thank you for being a BEN reader!

Southern Environmental Center at Birmingham Southern College
900 Arkadelphia Road
Birmingham, Alabama 35254
205-226-4934
http://www.bsc.edu/sec
conserve@bsc.edu

* Proceeds go toward operation of the SEC's Ecoscape and Interactive Museum. Last year, more than 20,000 children visited the SEC. In order to provide all segments of the community with access to the center's programs, the SEC must rely on outside support. Your donation will also be matched by a local foundation. The SEC is truly a very special place. Make checks payable to the Southern Environmental Center.

Camp McDowell Episcopal Church Camp (Pat Byington Scholarship)
105 DeLong Road
Nauvoo, Alabama 35578
205-387-1806
http://www.campmcdowell.org

* The Pat Byington Environmental Scholarship Fund at Camp McDowell was created by the Alabama Environmental Council honoring my 8 years of service as the organization's Executive Director. Proceeds help children from low-income families attend Camp McDowell's environmental camps. Make checks payable to Camp McDowell (note the scholarship fund on the check)

American Lung Association of Alabama
900 18th Street South
Birmingham, Alabama 35205
205-933-8821
http://www.alabamalung.org

* Proceeds to the ALAA will go toward their statewide asthma screening program. The ALAA will screen more than 60,000 Alabama children for asthma during the next three years. Contributions to ALAA will also be matched by a local foundation. Make checks payable to the American Lung Association of Alabama.

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