July 22, 2002

#181

1) Clean Air Ruling Could Mean Tougher Standards In B'ham
2) Group Removes "Beach Bum" Titled From Alabama
3) TVA Plant Accused Of Violations: Groups File Intent To Sue
4) Tons of Garbage Removed From Smith Lake
5) BEN Notes: Camp McDowell Job Opening, Cahaba Tunnel Public Hearing,
Legacy Environmental Media Resource Guide, Alabama Urban Forestry Association Website

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Mobile Register "Perdido River Preservation" editorial excerpts

"Alabama's plunge into conservation plans for Baldwin County's Perdido River
shows unusual foresight and abundant good sense.

... If fully funded, the first phase of the Perdido River project will
protect stands of Gulf white cedars (used for 19th century ship building),
as well as various plants and creatures, fish and animals that find it ever
harder to survive in a developed environment. That's an admirable legacy,
and one that can only be left because Alabamians have wisely agreed to act
now before it's too late."

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1. Clean Air Ruling Could Mean Tougher Standards In B'ham - Last week, a
federal judge gave the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 120 days to act
on Jefferson and Shelby county's ozone air pollution problems. The order
could mean additional air pollution controls on businesses and residents.

In a suit brought by Earthjustice, the court ruled that EPA must decide
within four months whether to reclassify Birmingham to a more stringent air
pollution category under the Clean Air Act. The Birmingham area currently
violates federal health standards for ozone. Reclassifying the region could
bring about additional pollution controls including vehicle emissions
inspections, vapor recovery systems at gas stations and requirements on
industries emitting volatile organic compounds such as painting companies,
to implement the latest technologies to reduce emissions.

According to the Birmingham News, despite seven years of ozone violations,
state and federal officials are leaning toward declaring the Birmingham area
clear of the ozone problem because the region met the ozone standard in
1991, 1992 and 1993. The area could have been declared in "attainment" of the
standard in 1994, but because the EPA did not make a formal declaration at
the time, the region remained in non-attainment. State officials also claim
the region will reach attainment for ozone in 2003, as a result of
additional pollution control measures on Alabama Power's power plants and
the use of cleaner gasoline.

Earthjustice has called the state and federal response to the court order a
"nonsensical reading of the law." The following is Earthjustice's press
release on the issue - http://www.earthjustice.org/news/display.html?ID=401

2. Group Removes "Beach Bum" Titled From Alabama - Prior to implementing
Alabama's beach monitoring program in 2000, the Natural Resources Defense
Council (NRDC) had listed the state a "Beach Bum" in one of it's national
reports. That dubious honor has now been lifted as a result of the Alabama
Department of Environmental Management's (ADEM) comprehensive beach
monitoring program.

Two years ago, the agency began phasing in the beach monitoring program.
Data collected since 2000 indicates that levels of indicator bacteria, such as
enterococcus bacteria are uniformly low all year at Alabama's beaches.
Periodically, high concentrations of enterococcus bacteria are found around
towns on the coast. This occurs primarily after heavy rains, but according
to ADEM's monitoring data the bacterial counts usually recede to acceptable
levels a day or two after the rainfalls.

Presently, Alabama seems to be ahead of neighboring states in this area of
environmental protection. Louisiana continues to be on NRDC's "Beach Bum"
list. Mississippi recently started a coastal monitoring program, which has
revealed high levels of bacteria in the Biloxi and Gulfport areas resulting
in closed beaches.

To learn more about Alabama's coastal monitoring program and to follow it
throughout the year, visit the following ADEM website -
http://www.adem.state.al.us/FieldOps/Monitoring/monitoring.htm

3. TVA Plant Accused Of Violations: Groups File Intent To Sue - Attorneys
for the Sierra Club and the Alabama Environmental Council notified the Tennessee
Valley Authority (TVA) last week, their intention to sue the utility,
alleging the Colbert Fossil Plant in Tuscumbia, Alabama has had at least
8000 air quality violations within the past five years.

"These violations have led to the unnecessary degradation of air quality in
Northwest Alabama around the Colbert Plant, the Sipsey Wilderness Area and
the impairment of visibility and other related air quality values in the
Great Smokey Mountains." The attorneys claimed in an Associated Press story.

The Colbert plant is the only coal-burning plant in the Southeast that the
groups are threatening to sue for violating clean air regulations.

4. Tons of Garbage Removed From Smith Lake - Talk about a "Spring
Cleaning!"

According to the Smith Lake Environmental Preservation Committee's Summer
newsletter, volunteers removed more than 7 tons of garbage (mostlystyrofoam)
from the Cullman County portion of Smith Lake. Over the years more than 100
tons of trash has been removed from Smith Lake. This year's Spring cleanup
was made possible by volunteers from the Smith Lake Environmental
Preservation Committee, the Smith Lake Civic Association, Alabama Power, the
city of Cullman and numerous local sponsors and supporters.

5. BEN Notes: Camp McDowell Job Opening, Cahaba Tunnel Public Hearing,
Legacy Environmental Media Resource Guide, Alabama Urban Forestry Association
Website

Camp McDowell Job Opening - The Camp McDowell Environmental Center, a
residential environmental education center in Northwest Alabama, is seeking
an enthusiastic educator to serve as the center's Education Program
Coordinator. The position is full time with benefits and paid vacation. No
teaching certificate is required. Please contact Jennifer Arnold to apply,
205-387-1806 or cmec@campmcdowell.com . To learn more about the center visit
their website at http://www.adem.state.al.us/FieldOps/Monitoring/monitoring.htm

Cahaba Tunnel Public Hearing - Jefferson County has agreed to hold a public
hearing about the Cahaba tunnel sewer, a $141 million project that is being
paid for with public funds from the sewer rate increase. Opponents to the
tunnel believe the sewer will be a catalyst for dense new development that
will degrade the region's water quality and drinking water source. The
hearing is set for Tuesday, July 23rd, 3:00 to 5:00 at the Commission
Chambers of the Jefferson County Courthouse. To learn more about this
project visit the Cahaba River Society's website at http://www.cahabariversociety.org

Legacy Environmental Media Resource Guide - Legacy, Inc., Partners in
Environmental Education, is in the process of developing an environmental
resource guide for television stations, newspapers, magazines and specialty
publications within Alabama. The guide is being developed as a resource for
the media to use when they are covering various environmental issues.
Please help Legacy by providing names and contact information. Click on
http://www.legacyenved.org/froms/media.htm to fill out an online form.

Alabama Urban Forestry Association Website - Here is a new website to
bookmark. If you care about protecting Alabama's urban forests and want to
learn how to properly plant trees and take care of them - this site is for
you. The Alabama Urban Forestry Association website can be found at
http://www.aufa.com

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