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February 2003 -
In This Issue:
 Our Children's Earth (OCE) Insider Update
Urgent: Members Needed!
We Win!
New Lawsuits and other developments
Thank You!
Donations
Become a Member
OCE is a San Francisco-based non-profit dedicated to protecting
the public, especially children, against the harmful effects of
air pollution, primarily through enforcement of the Clean Air Act.
OCE collaborates with leading clean air advocates, law clinics,
and community organizations to empower the people, and teach them
about their right to clean air and good health. We do this through
a multi-dimensional strategy consisting of education, litigation,
and advocacy.
OCE publishes a semi-monthly on-line newsletter to inform our members
and other interested individuals of our efforts.
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We need you to become a Member of OCE! As OCE continues to push
for cleaner air through enforcement of the Clean Air Act and other
regulations, we are facing a new challenge in court. Opposing attorneys
are claiming that OCE lacks "standing," a legal term meaning
that OCE does not have a stake in the cases it brings. These challenges
are underhanded attempts by attorneys representing polluters to
have our cases thrown out of court without being heard. Of course
we have a stake in the cases we bring! As our victories-- like those
listed below-- continue to mount, we expect these challenges to
increase. We need individuals to take the time to sign up NOW and
show that OCE has a strong membership of individuals who believe
we deserve to be and should be heard in the US courts. Joining is
quick and easy.
To become a member, visit our membership
page and follow the simple instructions. With your help, we
can continue to make a difference in air quality.
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We win
OCE forces U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to
fix faulty air pollution permit program: EPA granted full
approval of the 34 California part 70 operating permit programs
(also known as ``title V'' permit programs) on November 29, 2001.
OCE and Communities for a Better Environment filed petitions challenging
EPA's approval of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District
(BAAQMD) part 70 program, based on deficiencies in the BAAQMD
program related to the exemption for portable equipment and the
definition of "administrative permit amendment." The
parties reached a settlement in December 2002. The settlement
agreement outlines rulemaking actions and deadlines to be met
by the BAAQMD. If the BAAQMD fails to take any of the outlined
actions or fails to meet any of the specified deadlines, the settlement
agreement provides that EPA will send a proposed Notice of Deficiency
(NOD) for publication to the Office of the Federal Register no
later than 30 days from the relevant deadline.
OCE Forces San Diego County Air Pollution Control District
to Take Action on Overdue Permits: The San Diego County Air
Pollution Control District and its air pollution control officer,
Richard Smith, agreed to take final action on nine long-overdue
operating permit applications no later than October 15, 2003,
a move which will force polluters to self-report air violations.
The action came in response to a lawsuit settlement agreement
with OCE. The suit arose because the District failed to comply
with federal law to issue the Major Facility Review permits. Many
of the applications were submitted as far back as 1995 and 1996
and the District should have denied or granted the permits in
1998.
The nine long-outstanding operating permit applications include
Cabrillo Power I LLC (Encina Power Plant), Duke Energy South Bay
LLC, GKN Aerospace Chemtronics, ISP Alginates Inc., National Steel
& Shipbuilding (NASSCO), San Diego City - Metro Wastewater
& Biosolids, USN - 32nd St (SIMA), USN North Island (NADEP),
USN North Island (NAS). These facilities are not required to abide
by compliance reporting, record-keeping and monitoring requirements
that such permits would mandate. Without these requirements, the
public has few ways of discovering whether these major sources
of air pollution are violating clean air laws.
OCE Forces San Joaquin Valley Unified County Air Pollution
Control District to Take Action on Overdue Permits: The San
Joaquin Valley Unified County Air Pollution Control District agreed
to take final action on long-overdue operating permit applications
no later than December 1, 2003, a move which will force polluters
to self-report air violations. The action came in response to
a lawsuit settlement agreement with OCE. The suit arose because
the District failed to comply with federal law to issue the Major
Facility Review permits. Many of the applications were submitted
as far back as 1995 and 1996 and the District should have denied
or granted the permits in 1998. Currently, several major sources
of air pollution do not have the permits and are not required
to abide by compliance reporting, record-keeping and monitoring
requirements that such permits would mandate. Without these requirements,
the public has few ways of discovering whether these major sources
of air pollution are violating clean air laws.
OCE Forces Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District
to Take Action on Overdue Permits: The Yolo-Solano Air Quality
Management District agreed to take final action on long-overdue
operating permit applications no later than December 1, 2003,
a move which will force polluters to self-report air violations.
The action came in response to a lawsuit settlement agreement
with OCE. The settlement agreement calls for the District to order
certain facilities without permits to comply with many of the
provisions that a Title V permit would mandate. These requirements
include: A notice requiring facilities to maintain records for
the next five years which will enable the District to determine
the emission levels from the facilities; ensuring compliance certifications
are filed in a timely manner and if they are not take actions
to assure compliance; and finally, establishing a repository that
will contain a information about pollution sources for public
review.
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New Lawsuits and other
developments
OCE Sues EPA for Failing to Review Power Plant Emissions
Standards:
Our Children's Earth (OCE) and The Sierra Club announced a lawsuit
against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its refusal
to protect public health by acting against global warming pollution.
The lawsuit also charges that EPA has failed to update emissions
standards for other forms of pollution, as required by law. Under
the Clean Air Act, the EPA is required to regulate all air pollution
that affects public health. It must review emissions standards
for power plants and various other pollution sources every eight
years. The suit alleges that the most recent review took place
over twelve years ago, and included only a small number of the
pollution sources under contention. Standards for many other sources
covered under the Clean Air Act have not been looked at since
1979. The lawsuit was reported in the Wall Street Journal, the
New York Times, AP and covered by numerous smaller newspapers
throughout the country!
OCE and Other Environmental Groups continue to fight agricultural
industry loophole in air pollution programs: In Spring of
2002, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency settled a lawsuit
with OCE and other Environmental Groups that forced an end California's
permit exemption for agricultural operations under the Clean Air
Act. Subsequent to that settlement, the California Farm Bureau
filed a petition challenging the settlement and challenging EPA's
rulemaking on the agriculture exemption. OCE and several other
environmental groups moved to intervene, and the 9th circuit granted
the motion.
OCE Participates in Bay Area Clean Air Task Force meetings: OCE participated in two recent meetings as a member of the Bay
Area Clean Air Task Force. One meeting was to coordinate with
the Environmental Justice Air Quality Coalition (EJAQC). The two
groups discussed air quality issues in which both were involved,
and ways the groups could better cooperate. A second meeting provided
follow-up and a chance for members of the two groups to network
and exchange information. This is a positive step for improved
air quality in the Bay area, since improved cooperation between
all groups working on air pollution issues will enable more efficient
and effective leveraging of activities.
OCE Prompts BAAQMD on Notice of Hearings for Major Facility
Review Rules: On January 14, 2003, OCE and CBE sent a letter
reminding the BAAQMD of a settlement provision that BAAQMD would
publish notice of public meetings on four issues related to publication
of revised rules for Major Facility Reviews on air pollution permits
by January 15, 2003. The provision was part of a lawsuit settlement
between OCE and the U.S. EPA.
OCE Signs on to Letter Urging State "Action Agenda"
to Improve San Joaquin Air Quality : OCE joined a coalition
of other environmental groups that sent a letter to California
State legislators concerning extremely poor air quality in the
San Joaquin valley. The letter points out the severity of degraded
air quality in the valley-which has surpassed Los Angeles for
the title of dirtiest air in the Nation-and its associated health
effects. Meanwhile, the regulatory bodies responsible for cleaning
up the air have not taken adequate measures to address the problem.
Therefore, the State needs to intervene to strengthen enforcement
and develop more effective regulatory bodies.
OCE Participates in RECLAIM Media Event: On December
19, 2002, OCE Executive Director Tiffany Schauer was a featured
speaker at a Washington, DC, media event about pollution credit
trading programs. She spoke about OCE efforts to stop companies
from fraudulent trading practices in the Los Angeles area RECLAIM
program.. The event, sponsored by the Clean Air Trust, also included
a White Paper, authored by Curtis A. Moore, former Republican
Counsel to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
The Paper is perhaps the first comprehensive critical look at
pollution trading, which is also advocated by big polluters. Attendees
included representatives from Knight Ridder, Inside Washington,
The Energy Daily, Natural Resource News Service, Business Week,
Inside EPA, Environmental Defense, BNA, Oil and Gas Journal, National
Public Radio, Washington Report, Waterton Daily Times, and Greenwire.
OCE Employee Letter Published in Washington Post:
A letter from an OCE employee, Karen Burcham, was published in
the Dr. Gridlock column in the Washington Post on January 30,
2003. The letter cited the value of hybrid battery/gas vehicles
in fighting air pollution and urged others to obtain such vehicles.
New OCE Staff Members:
OCE welcomes three additions to our staff:
Catherine DeLuca provides VOLUNTEER! management reporting
support to the OCE executive directors on an "as needed"
basis. She is developing a system for cost tracking of cases
and providing financial projections/ budgets to the directors.
Catherine has a degree in International Business from San Jose
State University. She has an extensive finance background working
with major Silicon Valley Companies since 1974. In 2001, she
left the corporate finance world after 7+ years as Finance Manager
with Applied Materials. After taking a year off, she is building
an insurance business focusing on health care benefits for small
companies. Thank you!
Andrew Finkelstein serves as a law clerk working on
CAA, CWA, and corporate accountability issues. He also provides
IT assistance for the organization. Andrew has a J.D. from Widener
University School of Law and a B.S. in Information Management
and Technology from Syracuse University. Prior to joining OCE,
he worked briefly for Friends of the Earth as an Environmental
Grassroots intern. While in law school, Andrew spent three months
in East Africa, where he studied international environmental
law at the Nairobi International Law Institute in Nairobi, Kenya.
Charlene Garland is a Consultant on Organizational Capacity
Building for OCE. She holds a B.S. in Environmental Conservation
from the University of New Hampshire and a Masters in Environmental
Policy from Tufts University. After several years of consulting
work with environmental groups, Charlene left the East Coast
and moved to San Francisco in May 2002. She began consulting
for OCE in the fall of the same year. Charlene's primary area
of work for OCE is organizational development, troubleshooting,
and strategic planning.
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Thank You!
We would like to thank our lawyers and community partners for participating
in our recent successes:
A Walk in the Woods
American Lung Association
Bayveiw Hunters Point Community Advocates
Communities for a Better Environment
Danielle Fugere
Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund
George Hays
Golden Gate University Environmental Law & Justice Clinic
GreenAction
Latino Issues Forum
Marc S. Chytilo
National Parks Conservation Association
Natural Resources Defense Council
Reed Zars
Sierra Club
Chris Sproul
Transportation Solutions Defense and Education Fund
Union Of Concerned Scientists
Urban Habitat, a project of the Tides Center
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Donations
Anne Elisco-Lemme
Barbara Elkus
Elizabeth Goltry
Shoshanna Greenberg
Amy Johnson
Alwyn Jones
Sherman Lewis
Amanda J. McHugh
Theodore Purcell, Jr
Alan Ramo
Jane Ross
Alexander J. Rubin
Sandra A. Spelliscy
Saskia Traill
Pamela Wellner
Monica Winter
Z.V.C, Inc.
Janice Landis
Brett Harvey
Ron and Joanne Strand
Grace Lee
Arthur Burns
Gladwyn O d'Souza
Parker Blackman
Randall De Rijk
Thomas Van Dyck
Shannon Parott
Marc Chytilo
Sondra Bishop
Larry Landes
The Palmers
Kathleen Welsh
Jess Taylor
KC Beachy Bryan and Cindy Davis
Katie and Dave Minkus
Thanks to all of you!
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OCE Needs
YOU TO BECOME A MEMBER TODAY!
Members: Joining
is easy. Just click on our website at www.ocefoundation.org and follow the simple directions! Remember becoming a member -
sends a message that OCE's mission is important and we have a
right to be heard in government proceedings and in COURT!
TOP TEN REASONS TO JOIN OUR CHILDREN'S EARTH AND FIGHT
AIR POLLUTION
10. Smoggy air affects us all, especially kids. On code red days,
children with asthma are 40 percent more likely to suffer asthma
attacks compared with days of average pollution levels, according
to the American lung Association.
9. Common air pollutants slow children's lung development. Lung
capacities of children who breathe smoggier air tend to be smaller
than the lungs of children who breathe cleaner air, according
to a USC study.
8. Diesel school bus exhausts accounts for 10 million missed
school days every year
7. Do you know where your children are playing? The American
Lung Association (ALA) estimates that 27.1 million children are
exposed to unhealthful levels of ozone each day
6. Exposure to air pollution can actually cause children to develop
asthma. A recent study by the California Air Resources Board has
shown that children playing sports in smoggy areas are three times
more likely to develop asthma than those playing in non-smoggy
areas
5. Asthma is the country's most prevalent childhood illness.
More than 14 million Americans suffer from the debilitating decease,
according to the ALA.
4. American childhood asthma-related deaths have nearly doubled
in the past 20 years, according to ALA.
3. Indoor and outdoor air pollution have been linked to infant
mortality, bronchitis, pneumonia, aggravation of asthma, and impaired
lung function, according to the National Environmental Trust.
2. The EPA estimates that every year 60,000 premature deaths
occur due to power plant pollution and half of all Americans --
approximately 121 million -- live in areas with unhealthy air.
AND THE NUMBER ONE REASON TO JOIN OCE IS:
1. Air pollution kills nearly twice as many people as do traffic
accidents each year in the United States, and deaths from air
pollution equal deaths from breast cancer and prostate cancer
combined, according to new statistics from the World Health Organization
(WHO).
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Donations:
We are in need of additional funds to continue our work to
improve air quality nationwide. Your tax deductible donation will
enable OCE to continue to push for cleaner air for all of us.
Donating is easy. Just click on the OCE website www.ocefoundation.org/donate.html and follow the directions.
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