URANIUM GROUNDWATER POLLUTION CONTINUES
Even after uranium tailings have been removed from several closed uranium mills throughout the West, groundwater contamination continues as the plume below these sites expands. One such site is just south of Gunnison, Colorado. The Department of Energy moved the tailings to a lined burial site several miles from town and the State paid the county to replace all groundwater wells in the area with a surface water supply. This was Phase I of the cleanup. Phase II of the cleanup involves remediation of the groundwater contamination. Department of Energy is proposing “natural attenuation.” Besides uranium contamination, sulfates and nitrates from the refining process are a contaminant concern. An EIS on alternatives is due out soon.
UNION PARK AUTHORITY WITHDRAWS ITS FERC APPLICATION
When Arapahoe County withdrew its preliminary application for a permit with the Federal Energy Regulatory Administration in late 2000, the Union Park Authority replaced it with an identical one of its own. The permit would have been needed for the hydro pump-back component of their transmountain diversion proposal. Since the Union Park Project water right application was dismissed by the Colorado Supreme Court, the FERC permit application is no longer considered needed.
The Union Park Authority still holds a conditional water right for over 300,000 af of water for the pump back storage component of the larger transmountain diversion project. Diligence on the conditional water right is due in 2004. [We are hoping that the conditional water right will be dismissed at that time since the larger project has been dismissed.]
RIGHT TO FLOAT
Colorado District Court Judge Patrick ruled that the plaintiffs (the ranchers) can go to trial on the civil trespass issue. If the plaintiffs prevail, floating across private property will require permission from the landowner. The Gunnison Stockgrowers approved a policy that strongly supports the plaintiffs’ position. The defendant rafting company is raising several issues including a claim that the Lake Fork of the Gunnison is a navigatable river and also the public trust doctrine. Colorado is the only state in the country that doesn’t protect the public’s right to float rivers that cross private land.
TWO OPPOSING VIEWS ON WATER TRANSFERS IN THE ARKANSAS BASIN
PROGRESSIVE WATER MANAGEMENT CRITICAL TO ECONOMY – Aurora already owns land and water in the valley, has proven a good steward and has taken steps to offset economic and environmental impacts of buying most of the rest. <http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1002,73%257E276500,00.htm>
CITY’S WATER IS AT EXPENSE OF STATE’S BEST FARMS – Unlike Western Slope drainages, there is no extra water in the Arkansas Valley, and every drop that goes to Aurora dries up some of the state’s best farmland. <http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1002,73%257E276501,00.html>
COLORADO GROWTH WILL CONFLICT WITH CENTURY-OLD WATER LAW
Every drop of water in Colorado has already been claimed according to traditional water law, but experts say continued growth makes it clear a more flexible law is needed. Denver Post; Dec. 11
BOR CONSIDERING EXTENDING CONTRACTS
Gleaned from a personal conversation with Bennett Raley, Assistant Secretary of Interior for Water and Science, Reclamation is considering extending water contracts to 40 years again. Under the Clinton Administration, Reclamation shortened water delivery contracts to 25-year terms. Cities in New Mexico and elsewhere are seeking permanent contracts.
OTHER RECLAMATION AND INTERIOR POSITIONS BEING CONSIDERED
Also discussed at recent meetings with NGOs, Reclamation revealed its planning efforts to replace bypass water in the Welton-Mohawk Irrigation District, Interior’s lack of progress on implementing Minute 306 with Mexico and obstacles to implementation of California’s 4.4 Plan.
Even though NGOs, several water user groups and California do not agree with Reclamation’s contention that the Interim Period is over, Reclamation is proposing a model to account for the replacement of water that is currently bypassing the Yuma Desalting Plant (YDP). Authorized by the Salinity Control Act, Reclamation bypasses about 110,000 af of water destined for the YDP to a drain that forms the Cienega de Santa Clara, a 15,000 acre wetland in Mexico that has become home for several endangered fish and birds. The bypass is allowed until CA water delivery contracts are no longer being fully met. Reclamation is late on giving Congress an update on the status of the YDP. Instead of looking for replacement water, Reclamation is busying itself with devising an accounting system to determine how much water debt it is accumulating.
Bennett Raley revealed Interior has no intention to initiate another Minute to the Treaty with Mexico that would facilitate the transfer of water from the Untied States to meet environmental needs in the Colorado River delta in Mexico. NGOs have begun identifying and evaluating mechanisms that would allow water to be converted from current agriculture uses to environmental purposes on both sides of the border.
Both Raley and John Keys, Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, told water users in California not to expect much federal budgeting to help them reduce their current use of 5.2 maf of Colorado River water to their 4.4 maf allocation. A key mechanism of transferring water from the Imperial Valley to San Diego County is likely to cost hundreds of millions to mitigate the impacts to the Salton Sea. Unless Congress intervenes, Interior is suggesting California needs to solve its own problems.
INTERIOR QUESTIONS CALIFORNIA’S COMMITMENT TO WATER PLAN
An assistant Interior secretary said the agency is worried that California is doing too little to reduce the amount of Colorado River water it uses and won’t meet the deadlines in the so-called 4.4 Plan. Salt Lake Tribune; Dec. 14 He also minimized the federal responsibility for helping CA’s agencies to meet their environmental requirements.
CO RIVER FISH RECOVERY PLAN PANNED
Some environmental groups are critical of a USFWS recovery plan for 4 endangered fish in the upper Colorado River, the humpback chub, Colorado pikeminnow, razorback sucker and bonytail says the Rocky Mountain News 12/12. The groups, Living Rivers and Desert Fishes Council contend: that the numerical goals for delisting are not “set high enough;” there is “too much reliance on hatcheries to increase fish numbers; not enough habitat restoration, such as removal of dams that block fish migration;” inadequate attention to the importance of removing “non-native, invasive fish that out compete the rare species,” and “not enough emphasis on fish populations below Lake Powell.
TRIBAL RIGHTS
On November 26, the Arizona Supreme Court issued a ruling on a 1988 trial court ruling that Indian reserved rights would be quantified exclusively using the practicably irrigable acreage (PIA) standard in the Gila River adjudication. The court found the widely accepted PIA standard for measuring the amount of water reserved with the creation of an Indian reservation to be discriminatory and inequitable, because it does not weigh and consider the primary purpose of the reservation, which is to allow the Indians who live there to create an “Indian homeland.” In the US Supreme Court 1908 Winters decision (207 U.S. 564), the Court held that when the Congress created Indian reservations, it also implied a reservation of enough water to accomplish the purpose for which the land was set aside. In the past, based on the assumption that the Indians wanted to live an agrarian lifestyle, the PIA standard became accepted as the measure of the amount of water that all Indians needed to make the reservations their permanent home.
The Arizona Court pointed out the discriminatory effect of the PIA standard in limiting an Indian reservation’s purpose to agriculture, and completely disregarding the actual lifestyle of its inhabitants. The PIA standard does not allow a tribe to change and use its land and water in different ways as Indian society evolves. Instead it is static, unchangeable, and for many tribes it is entirely unusable due to geographic limitations. The PIA standard also forces Indian tribes to “pretend to be farmers,” subjecting them to the risk of establishing large agricultural projects, while the rest of the West is urbanizing and industrializing. When determining the amount of water needed to fill the purpose of a “homeland” for the tribes, the court determined that a personalized, reservation-by reservation analysis will be needed. Among other considerations, in determining the quantity of water needed to make a reservation a suitable “homeland,” a court should look at the tribe’s history, tribal culture, the reservation’s physical topography, the tribe’s economic base, past water use by the tribe, and the present and projected population of the tribe. A master land use plan for the reservation demonstrating actual water needs is to be considered. The court concluded that quantification of a tribe’s water rights has to be based on the “minimal need,” but that must “satisfy both present and future needs of the reservation as a livable homeland.”
Though only binding in Arizona, the decision may well be influential elsewhere. The full decision, No. WC-90-0001-IR, may be downloaded off the internet at: <http://www.supreme.state.az.us/opin/filed2001.htm>
ARIZONA GROUNDWATER POLICY NEEDS TO SHIFT TOWARD ENVIRONMENT
Arizona uses less groundwater than it did 20 years ago, a tribute to progressive policies drafted in 1980, but it’s time to pay more than lip service to the policy’s environmental requirements. Arizona Republic; Dec. 27
FARM BILL
In the Senate, after multiple failed attempts to invoke cloture, or limit debate on the Farm bill, it was eventually tabled. The Farm bill has been put on hold until next session. The revised Harken bill has an interesting new water conservation program for the permanent and temporary transfer of water rights to the Department on 1.1 million acres of land to help endangered fish. It provides for flexible options for water transfers – not simply permanent acquisition but short-term contracts and dry year option contracts. This program would help reduce and mitigate conflicts between farmers and fish in drought years while keeping farmers in farming. All transfers under this program would be subject to state law and must be approved by the state water engineer. In addition, states must affirmatively “opt into” the program. The program specifically provides that state water law is paramount.
BPA DECISIONS QUESTIONED
This summer’s decision by the Bonneville Power Administration to put power generation before protection of migrating salmon are being questioned in light of the abrupt end of the “power crisis of 2001,” the lowest electricity prices in two years, demand down by 15% and “young salmon dead at dams” says the Oregonian 12/9. “Tribes with treaty rights to salmon are furious that the spill program was largely abandoned” and Oregon’s representative on the Northwest Power Planning Council says BPA “caused too much harm to salmon.”
A YEAR LATE AND A FEW MILLION DOLLARS SHORT
The Bonneville Power Administration wants to “increase its total spending on salmon programs and dam improvements from $252 million to $345 million, a 37% increase” says Oregon.live, AP 12/11. The spending increase comes in lieu of removing the 4 lower Snake River dams and would help restore rivers and streams and modify “hatcheries to reduce the threat they pose to wild fish.” Conservationists and tribes contend that the money is an “inadequate substitution for breaching the dams,” especially when federal spending on salmon recovery is “about half what they think it should be.”
SHIPPING NEWS
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reiterated that at-risk salmon populations wouldn’t be further endangered by a project to deepen the Columbia River for more shipping. The Corps said environmental improvements that would be undertaken, along with the $188 million dredging project, would actually upgrade conditions for fish in the lower river. The Corps was forced to reexamine the topic after the National Marine Fisheries Service withdrew its support for the project in the summer of 2000, citing concerns about salmon protections. The NMFS will now issue a new opinion, based on the biological assessment released by the Corps. Enviros remained skeptical. Peter Huhtala of the Columbia Deepening Opposition Group said, “It’s a slight repackaging of a grossly destructive project.” <http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/news/1010148931278792.xml> <http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/134386831_dredging04m0.html>
WASHINGTON RESIDENTS SAY DAM PROVISIONS WILL CRIPPLE ECONOMY
A key dam in Washington’s Pend Oreille County, where unemployment pushes 20 percent, is up for relicensing, but environmental requirements could raise the price of electricity enough to close local industries. Spokesman-Review; Dec. 10 <http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=121001&ID=s1068524&cat=section.regional>
DAM BACKERS DECLARE VICTORY
In the wake of the election of George Bush, the “West’s energy crisis,” and a decision by the Army Corps of Engineers to oppose breaching 4 lower Snake River dams, the “leader of a pro-dams groups said its time to find other ways to save salmon,” reports the L.A. Times. AP 12/16. Although environmentalists disagree, the Columbia River Alliance, a group that “represents business interests on the Columbia-Snake system, including bargers, manufacturers, farmers and utilities” says “The dam breaching issue is over.”
SCIENTISTS SAY NONE OF SALMON PLANS WILL REVIVE SPECIES
A panel of independent scientists that reviewed two regional and two federal plans for restoring Columbia Basin salmon runs concluded that none of them will work. Spokesman-Review; Dec. 14 The review did conclude that the plans “offer a sound scientific foundation for restoring salmon,” especially the recognition that “widespread restoration of rivers and streams is needed,” but warned that “purely technical fixes, such as building hatcheries or barging young fish past dams, will be inadequate.” <http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=121401&ID=s1070390&cat=section.regional>
FEDERAL COURT BLOCKS JUDGE’S DELISTING OF OREGON SALMON
A federal appeals court nullified a federal judge’s ruling that took Oregon coastal coho salmon off the threatened species list. The two-sentence decision from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stops any logging in the Umpqua and Siskiyou national forests along the salmon’s habitat that was authorized under U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan’s ruling in September. The circuit’s decision will remain in place until it makes a final ruling, which could take months or years. <http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2001/12/12172001/ap_salmon_45894.asp>
WILD VERSUS STOCKED
Following the 9th Circuit Court decision to reinstate Endangered Species Act protection for Oregon coast coho salmon, pending a Court appeal, a coalition of conservation groups submitted a set of detailed biological arguments to the National Marine Fisheries Service to buttress the argument for keeping ESA protection exclusively for wild, naturally producing coho stocks. <http://www.enn.com/direct/display-release.asp?id=5857>
STUDY SAYS RACISM, LACK OF LEADERSHIP PREVENT SOLUTIONS TO OREGON WATER DISPUTE
University scientists offered a draft report this week on area water wars, saying a lack of leadership and an undercurrent of racism were blocking solutions. The report was conceived last July after protests broke out over the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation decision to shut off irrigation water to about 90 percent of the 200,000-acre Klamath Project irrigation system. The water was conserved for endangered suckers in Upper Klamath Lake and threatened salmon in the Klamath River. <http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2001/12/12212001/ap_45949.asp>
THREE ARRESTED IN SHOOTING SPREE TIED TO KLAMATH WATER WAR
Three white men were arrested and accused of taunting Native Americans and firing shotguns at signs and buildings during an hour-long spree stemming from a conflict over scarce water supplies. Witnesses said the men drove through the town of Chiloquin in a pickup on Dec. 1, yelling, “Sucker lovers!” – a reference to fish considered sacred by the Klamath Tribes. Chiloquin, a town of about 800, is home to the offices of the Klamath Tribes.
<http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2001/12/12212001/ap_45943.asp>
BUSINESS SPRINGS UP FOR WELL DRILLERS IN DROUGHT-STRICKEN AREAS OF MONTANA
Water well drillers are prospering for the very reason so many others who work the land in Montana are not: drought. Much of the state has struggled through a third straight year of drought, with a swath of central Montana the hardest hit. The effects have been disastrous for an area that relies heavily on ranching and wheat production. <http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2002/01/01042002/ap_46030.asp>
LACK OF SNOW EVAPORATES HOPES OF RAISING GREAT LAKES’ WATER LEVELS
The Great Lakes are at their lowest point in 35 years, and experts say the water levels are likely to drop even more because of the unusually warm winter weather. Solid ice sheets are only now spreading over the bays and inlets of Lake Erie, the shallowest of the Great Lakes which is usually frozen by late December.
<http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2002/01/01042002/ap_46032.asp>
NOAS FUNDING FOR DAM REMOVAL AND FISH PASSAGE PROJECTS
American Rivers is seeking proposals for community-based river restoration grants as part of its new partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Community-Based Restoration Program. The grants are designed to provide support for local communities that are using dam removal or fish passage to restore and protect the ecological integrity of their rivers and improve freshwater habitats important to migratory (anadromous) fish. Grants will be limited to projects in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and California. Successful applicants will be given non-renewable grants to assist in the technical application of fish passage or dam removal. Applications will be considered in two cycles in fiscal year 2002 with the second deadline falling on April 1 in 2002. Check this web site for more information: <http://www.amrivers.org/feature/restorationgrants.htm> For more information on the NOAA Community-Based Restoration Program (CRP) see <http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/restoration/community/index.html>
ALASKA INSISTS ON PROTECTING TAKU SALMON FROM MINING
Saying nothing has been done to address Alaska’s concerns over protecting salmon from a proposed mine on a Canadian tributary to the Taku River, Governor Tony Knowles renewed the state’s insistence on a watershed review of the Tulsequah Chief mine project. Proposed by Redcorp, a publicly traded company formerly known as Redfern Resources, Ltd., the Tulsequah project would reopen a historic underground mine for copper, lead and zinc about 40 miles northeast of Juneau.
<http://enn.com/news/enn-stories/2001/12/12112001/salmon_45836.asp>
POTABLE WATER WILL BE CENTURY’S HOT COMMODITY
Corporate boards are already maneuvering and manipulating to corner markets on fresh water, and the U.S. shows the biggest potential profit. Albuquerque Tribune (Scripps-Howard); 12/28 <http://www.abqtrib.com/archives/news01/122701_news_water.shtml>
ALBERTA OFFICIALS CONSIDER SHIPPING WATER FROM NORTH TO SOUTH
Provincial officials next month will begin discussions about building pipelines and canals to send water from northern Alberta lakes and rivers to parched southern Alberta farms and communities, but northern residents are already leery. Edmonton Journal; Dec. 28 <http://www.canada.com/edmonton/edmontonjournal/story.asp?id=%7BF8E87580-C09E-4826-9486-0B05F8237308%7D>
TIJUANA WASTE
For decades, raw sewage from Tijuana has flowed into the Tijuana River, north through the United States, and into the Pacific Ocean, violating U.S. clean water standards. Efforts to clean up the waste have bogged down in the double-bureaucracy that plagues cross-border negotiations, with fully one dozen Mexican and U.S. municipal, state, and federal agencies weighing in. Now, though, there’s a glimmer of hope that the sewage problem could be solved once and for all. This month, officials from both countries are meeting to discuss a plan to pipe millions of gallons of sewage from an existing but only semi-effective treatment plant in the U.S. back into Mexico, where a U.S.-funded plant would further cleanse the waste before piping it to the sea. The plan has met with cautious optimism from some environmental organizations, city officials in San Diego and Tijuana, and marine-sports enthusiasts, who are sick of surfing in sewage. <http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-000000318jan02.story?coll=la-headlines-california>
UNITED NATIONS: FISH FARMING COULD REDUCE FAMINE
Aquaculture, or fish farming, is expected to boost food fish supplies worldwide over the next 20 years the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says. The report represents the most comprehensive and authoritative review of the status of aquaculture development in the world assembled to date. The FAO says its report reflects increased recognition that sustainable use of aquatic resources can only be achieved through “vigorous and combined efforts by all sectors involved: farmer cooperatives and agencies, regulators, policy makers and planners, scientists, nongovernmental organizations and other aquatic resource users.” <http://ens-news.com/ens/dec2001/2001L-12-10-10.html>
According to a 1997 report by Environmental Defense, though, there are environmental consequences of aquaculture. “Murky Waters: Environmental Effects of Aquaculture in the United States.” <http://www.ed.org/pubs/Reports/Aquaculture/> Fish escaping from net pens contaminate the wild fish gene pool, and fish waste contaminates the ocean floor beneath the pens with chemicals fed to keep the fish healthy. Also, wild fish are ground into fishmeal to raise farmed fish. “In many aquaculture systems, more protein, in the form of fishmeal, is used to feed farmed fish than is obtained from harvest of the farmed fish. In other words, farming of highly carnivorous species such as salmon, trout, and sea bream can result in a net loss of fish protein, not a net gain.
CRAWFISH HYBRIDIZATION A PROBLEM
New research indicates that hybridization between introduced and native crayfish is threatening “almost a third of North America’s 390 crayfish species” says ENS 11/30. The research in the December issue of Conservation Biology finds introduced species “genetically assimilates and morphologically extirpates” native ones, a problem when the species play “different ecological roles” creating changes that have “severe impacts on lakes and streams.”
WATER QUALITY TRENDS IN U.S.
A report titled Environmental Indicators of Water Quality in the United States is available from the National Small Flows Clearinghouse. This EPA Office of Water report shows trends in water quality over time. It describes our nation’s water resources, human activities, and natural events, as well as their impact on water quality. The 18 indicators used to measure progress toward water goals and objectives are also explained.
The 28-page report is free, but shipping charges still apply. To place an order, call the National Small Flows Clearinghouse at 800-624-8301 or 304-293-4191, and request item #GNBLGN13. You also may e-mail <nsfc_orders@mail.nesc.wvu.edu>
MORE WATER DATA ON THE WEB
The US Geological Survey’s (USGS) National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) website is using a new Web mapping application that has chemical, biological and physical water quality data collected over the last 10 years and maps it to show water quality conditions. The public can access the data to determine water quality conditions in a specific area and compare it with other regions throughout the country. <http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/> and <http://orxddwimdn.er.usgs.gov/servlet/page?_pageid=543&_dad=portal30&_schema=PORTAL30>
INTERIOR SECRETARY URGES CONGRESS TO REFORM MINING RULES
Durable yet outdated, the little-changed 1872 Mining Law crafted to help pick-and-shovel prospectors open up the West may get a serious look next year in Congress. The Bush administration wants a bigger role for states in enforcement, inspections and managing permits, while some members of Congress want stronger environmental controls and nearly everyone agrees the government should start collecting royalties.
<http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2001/12/12112001/ap_mining_45844.asp>
DOWNSTREAM OFFICIALS DON’T WANT LOGS SALVAGED FROM IDAHO LAKE
Idaho officials are expected to decide in the next month whether to allow a Washington firm to salvage logs from the bottom of Lake Coeur d’Alene, but local officials protest it would stir up toxic sediments and send them downstream. Spokesman-Review 12/11 COOLING WATER INTAKE STRUCTURE REGS – A final rule has been published that implements section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) for new facilities that use water withdrawn from rivers, streams, lakes, reservoirs, estuaries, oceans or other waters of the United States (U.S.) for cooling purposes. <http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/316b>
EPA ISSUES FINAL INTEGRATED WATER QUALITY MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT REPORT GUIDANCE
On Nov. 19, 2001, EPA issued its final 2002 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report Guidance which recommends an “Integrated Report’ which will satisfy Clean Water Act requirements for both section 305(b) water quality reports and section 303(d) lists. The objectives of this guidance are to strengthen State monitoring programs, encourage timely monitoring to support decision making, monitor increased numbers of waters, and provide a full accounting of all waters and uses. The guidance encourages a rotating basin approach, strengthened State assessment methodologies, and will lead to improved public confidence in assessments and lists.
EPA issued a rule on October 18, 2001 revising the date for submission of 2002 lists of impaired waters by 6 months to October 1, 2002. The date for submission of 2002 lists was extended 6 months to allow States, Territories and authorized Tribes time to incorporate some or all of the recommendations suggested by EPA in this 2002 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report Guidance. For a copy of this guidance, visit <http://www.epa.gov/owow/tmdl/policy.html> .
NEW NONPOINT SOURCE 319 GUIDANCE MEANS DOLLARS FOR TMDLS
EPA has developed new guidelines for Section 319 nonpoint source funding. Section 319 is the Clean Water Act’s main program for addressing nonpoint source pollution. This program provides funding for voluntary nonpoint source control measures. The federal government grants funding to the states and the states then grant it to specific projects.
The new guidelines identify the process and criteria to be used in distributing grant monies for nonpoint source projects. The changes create a more concentrated focus on the implementation of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) related to nonpoint source pollution.
For more detail on the elements, see the new guidance at: <http://www.epa.gov/owow/nps/Section319/fy2002.html>
NEW YORK CITY WATER SUPPLY THREATENED BY DROUGHT
A drought emergency has been declared for the New York City reservoirs in the Upper Delaware basin. The drought could effect the over 17 million people who rely on the waters of the Delaware River Basin. New York City, which lies outside the watershed, gets roughly half its water from its Upper Delaware reservoirs.
<http://enn.com/news/enn-stories/2001/12/12102001/drought_45828.asp>
EXXON MOBIL CORP. TO PAY $11.2 MILLION FOR ILLEGALLY POLLUTING NEW YORK WATERS
Exxon Mobil Corp., in one of the largest hazardous waste case settlements ever negotiated, will pay $11.2 million for illegally polluting New York waters with benzene, the government said this week. The corporation will be barred under law from trying to argue anywhere in the United States that hazardous waste laws should not be applied to a single release or spill, Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency officials said.
<http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2001/12/12142001/ap_45888.asp>
SCIENTISTS RECOMMEND IRON SUPPLEMENTS FOR SOUTHERN OCEAN TO CURB GLOBAL WARMING
An international team of scientists thinks that increasing iron levels in the Southern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans could help it absorb carbon dioxide and curb global warming. Returning this week from an expedition to the Antarctic to study climate change, chief scientist Steve Rintoul said the trip confirmed earlier evidence that iron, a key nutrient for phytoplankton, or single-celled plants, was scarce in surface waters and sea ice.
<http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2001/12/12142001/ap_45882.asp>
HONDURAS RATIONS DRINKING WATER DUE TO LACK OF RAIN
The Honduran government initiated a seven-month rationing program for drinking water in the capital due to unseasonably low rainfall that has left aquifers practically dry. Instead of having water available from 12 to 16 hours each day, Tegucigalpa residents will have to go three days a week with no water at all, said water works director Humberto de Jesus Puerto. The program will last through July. <http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2001/12/12112001/ap_rain_45839.asp>
WATER, AT YOUR SURFACE
A water shortage in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, has grown so severe that authorities have called in the army to distribute drinking water to the city’s residents. The shortage is fueled by 6 percent annual population growth, mushrooming housing complexes, and severe pollution of the nearby Buriganga River. Riverside industries dump hundreds of tons of waste and toxic chemicals directly into the water, making it unsuitable for human use — but as the city’s clean water supply runs short, some people have no choice but to drink from the river. Groundwater levels have been falling by six feet per year, largely because of pumping from deep wells for irrigation and other purposes. A surface water treatment plant scheduled to open next June could help matters, but it will only have a daily capacity of 59 million gallons of water, compared to the 420 million gallons needed each day by residents. <http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/13708/story.htm>
SCIENTISTS SPOT A NEW TYPE OF SQUID LIVING AT EXTREME DEPTHS IN THE WORLD’S OCEANS
A bizarre creature with 20-foot (6-meter) -long spidery legs who lives in the cold, inky black three miles (4.8 kilometers) below the surface of the ocean has been discovered in photographs taken by deep sea submersibles. “I call it a mystery squid,” said Mike Vecchione, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration researcher. “It’s unlike any other squid I’ve ever seen.” <http://enn.com/news/wire-stories/2001/12/12212001/ap_45944.asp>
THIRD ANNUAL LAW OF THE RIO GRANDE CONFERENCE
January 17-18, Albuquerque, New Mexico. This two day conference includes an outstanding faculty of experts from Texas Center for Policy Studies, International Boundary and Water Commission, University of New Mexico School of Law, National Heritage Institute, Environmental Defense, Defenders of Wildlife and the leading law firms from New Mexico and Texas. In addition, featured presentations include: Christopher Rich from the Office of the Field Solicitor, U.S. Department of the Interior and Alberto Szekely, Ambassador Advisor to the Foreign Minister and Transboundary Waters Negotiator, Republic of New Mexico. For a complete copy of the brochure or registration call 800 873-7130 or check it out online at <www.cle.com>
