1) Lack of ADEM Funding Results in Reduction of Monitoring and Enforcement
2) Watch Out Illegal Dumpers: Trash Cam is Here
3) Johnnie Cochran Speaks to 5000 People About PCB Fight in Anniston
4) Governor Siegelman Calls for Gulf State Park Overhaul
5) GAO Report: Alabama Not Prepared For Chemical Weapons Incinerator Getting Political
6) BEN Notes: Governor Appointments to ADEM Commission, Forest Legacy Needs Public Involvement, Cahaba River Society's CLEAN Program, Mobile Bay Watch/Mobile BayKeeper to Host Symposium on Water Compacts

1. Lack of ADEM Funding Results in Reduction of Monitoring and Enforcement - Earlier this week, Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) director Jim Warr gave a sobering presentation to the Environmental Management Commission, the group that oversees ADEM. As a result of budgetary cutbacks and unfunded pay increases, ADEM will be reducing several of the agencies enforcement and monitoring activities. Some of these activities include:

* Reduction in the number of municipal solid waste inspections from 4 times a year to 3 times a year.

* Increased responsibility for groundwater monitoring. This monitoring program was once a shared responsibility with the Geological Survey of Alabama. The monitoring program is now entirely ADEM's responsibility. Unfortunately, the same staffthat will be burdened with this increased work will be ADEM staff doing fieldwork. Expect reduction in other field activities.

* Activities such as setting nutrient standards and watershed restoration projects originally scheduled for the Alabama/Coosa/Tallapoosa basins will either take longer to enact or be delayed because current resources are committed to conduct Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL's) studies.

* Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) inspections which are supported by the state General Fund will have to be reduced.

* EPA is proposing reductions in Superfund related activities and Underground Storage Tank efforts. This could mean a staff reduction of 12-15 staff years. Expect longer response times to potential superfund and leaking underground storage tank sites.

ADEM's general fund appropriation from the Alabama legislature has declined more than 20% in the past decade from a 1990 appropriation of $5.6 million to this year's $4.3 million.

2. Watch Out Illegal Dumpers: Trash Cam is Here - Here is an innovative approach to combat illegal garbage dumpers.

The Alabama Forestry Association and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management have joined forces to catch "dumpers in the act," setting up video cameras at illegal dump sites. The program, which has been named "Trash Cam" is funded by a $21,000 grant from the Alabama Forestry Association. With the money, ADEM has bought nine remote video cameras, three videocassette recorders, three battery packs and seismic and infrared sensors to activate the cameras. Alabama's project is modeled after a highly successful state of Kentucky "Trash Cam" program.

Last year, ADEM received more than 1000 illegal complaints about dumps and issued about $200,000 in fines.

3. Johnnie Cochran Speaks to 5000 People About PCB Fight in Anniston - Johnnie Cochran, the lawyer who successfully defended O.J. Simpson, addressed a crowd of over 5000 people in Anniston about the area's pollution problems.

According to the Anniston Star, Cochran is considering legal action against Monsanto, the chemical company that manufactured PCBs in Anniston until 1972. More than 13,000 Anniston residents have already filled out health surveys that are under review by Cochran's legal team.

4. Governor Siegelman Calls for Gulf State Park Overhaul - Last week, at a meeting with a Baldwin County delegation, Governor Don Siegelman proposed an initiative to overhaul Gulf State Park.

The park plan which aims to draw convention business to southern Baldwin County, will cost an estimated $79 million. A consultant's study calls for a 50,000 square foot convention center, a full service hotel with at least 200 rooms, an outdoor amphitheater and renovation of the golf course. Under the proposal the state would put up $32 million in cash from the state park renovation bond issue, with the rest of the monies coming from local cities and the county.

5. GAO Report: Alabama Not Prepared For Chemical Weapons Incinerator - A report released by the General Accounting Office (GAO) this week, found Alabama and two other states (Kentucky and Indiana) with chemical stockpiles, unprepared for an emergency. In June, the Army completed a $1 billion incinerator in Anniston to destroy aging chemical weapons. The incinerator is expected to destroy 2,254 tons of chemical munitions stored in earthen bunkers. The Army plans to begin trial burns this spring.

The GAO report found that thousands of communities surrounding Army sites that store the deadliest chemicals on earth are at greater risk for exposure because of inadequate preparedness. Alabama's lack of preparedness comes despite twice as many federal dollars ($108 million compared to $50 million in Oregon another state with a stockpile) being spent here than any other
state. Calhoun County officials were especially angry that the GAO found $41 million intended for Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program sitting in a federal account. FEMA has refused requests for staffing, software and equipment based on lack of money.

Governor Don Siegelman wrote a letter to President Bush on Thursday warning that he will not support next spring's start up unless safety measures are in place. The governor has the power to block the burning of chemical weapons because he must sign off on the incinerator before it is allowed to begin operation.

To learn more about the GAO report and groups with an opinion on this subject, visit the following websites.

GAO Report: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/ (d01850.pdf) http://www.fema.gov/ Chemical Weapons Working Group: http://www.cwwg.org

6. BEN Notes: Governor Appointments to ADEM Commission, Forest Legacy Needs Public Involvement, Cahaba River Society's CLEAN Program, Mobile Bay Watch/Mobile BayKeeper to Host Symposium on Water Compacts

Governor Appointments to ADEM Commission - This week, Governor Siegelman made two appointments to the Alabama Environmental Management Commission. The Governor reappointed current commissioner Dr. John Howard Lester of Enterprise to the veternarian/chemist position and appointed Pat Byington of Birmingham to the biologist/ecologist position. The terms will end September 30, 2006.

Forest Legacy Needs Public Involvement - If you are interested in protecting our environmentally important forests from development, you will want to attend one of the series of public meetings being held statewide next week to allow public involvement in Alabama's participation in the federally funded Forest Legacy Program. The meetings are sponsored by the Alabama Forestry Commission and the Alabama Forest Resource Center. Please try to attend a meeting near you.

Aug. 20, 2:00-4:30 - Birmingham - Jefferson State Manufacturing Center (Jeff State College
Aug. 21, 9:00am-11:30am - Troy - Troy State Arboretum
Aug. 22, 9:00am-11:30am - Thomasville - WJ Paul Bldg. - Alabama Southern Community College

To learn more about the Forest Legacy Program visit the U.S. Forest Service website at http://www.fs.fed.us/spf/coop/flp.htm or view Alabama's Draft Assessment of Need document and fill out a questionnaire at http://www.preceda.com or call 334-514-3000.

Cahaba River Society's (CRS) CLEAN Program - One of Alabama's most successful hands-on "river" environmental education programs is the Cahaba River Society's CLEAN program. In the past six months (Jan-June) CLEAN conducted 49 field trips reaching 968 participants (893 students and 75 teachers). Now that's getting out on the river! For more information about Cahaba River Society's CLEAN program call 205-32-CLEAN.

Mobile Bay Watch/Mobile BayKeeper to Host Symposium on Water Compacts - The Alabama Office of Water Resources and Mobile Bay Watch/Mobile BayKeeper are sponsoring a "Symposium on the Alabama-Coosa-Talladega Water Compact & Mobile Bay." The event will be held at the International Trade Club's Killian Room in Mobile, Alabama on August 27th at 1:00 pm. For additional information about the event and directions call the Office of Water Resources at 334-242-5499.

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