February-March 2005 -
In This Issue
 Current Projects & Initiatives
Members!
Reports and New Research
OCE Staff News
Thanks to Our Lawyers and Community Partners for Your Help!
Current Projects and Initiatives
Here comes the Sun
What do Tiffany and Charlene have in common with Ed Norton, Brad Pitt, Selma Hayek, Danny DeVito and Rhea Pearlman? We are all big supporters of solar energy and the Enterprise Foundation. We were in South Central Los Angeles on February 7th to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Enterprise Foundation's Solar Neighbors program. The program is the brain-child of actor Ed Norton. For every movie star Mr. Norton recruits to install solar on their home, BP Solar will donate a solar system to the Enterprise Foundation for installation on a low-income home. In November of last year, OCE gave the Enterprise Foundation a significant boost to the program by directing $500,000 to the program to install solar on 40 homes in LA! This money was from settlement monies from a previous enforcement effort against the South Coast Air Quality Management District. The Enterprise Foundation, which is the largest developer of affordable housing in the country.
Feel the Burn: Petitions Strengthen Monitoring of Refinery Flares
On March 15, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered the San Francisco Bay Area's air district to require four of the region's five oil refineries to improve the way they measure pollutants from flares, or the burning off of gases as a direct result of OCE's actions!
The EPA's order was issued in response to five petitions filed at its San Francisco office last year by two environmental groups and four labor unions, including Our Children's Earth. OCE filed the petition because neighbors of the refineries were complaining to local political leaders that the plants use flares to make up for inefficient operations instead of as a safety device to burn off excess gas only in emergencies. Believing that improved monitoring will lead refineries to flare only when it is absolutely necessary, OCE petitioned EPA to tell the air district to require the refineries to upgrade their flare monitoring to federal standards. The state's monitoring regulations are far less stringent.
After reviewing the petitions, the EPA identified several areas where permit improvements were necessary. The Bay Area refineries in question are Chevron in Richmond, Conoco Phillips in Rodeo, Tesoro in Martinez and Valero in Benicia. The fifth refinery, Shell in Martinez, isn't included in the order. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has 90 days to address the EPA's order, and the air district has already begun to comply.
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Members!
OCE would like to welcome its newest members & supporters -- Art, Suzie, Brooke, and Ryan Gillin, Michael Miller, Marissa Reinhardt and John P. Moran, Nikolas Wekworth, and Alexander Pujo. We also thank the following individuals for their continued support of our mission: Christopher and Carol Herter, Linda McDonald, Alwyn Farey-Jones, Amy Givens, and Erik and Vesna Plakanis.
Member Profile: Janice Landis
Janice Landis has been a licensed real estate agent in Florida since 1997, and a full-time happy West Palm Beach resident since 1991. For over twenty years, she has managed all aspects of residential and commercial properties, delighting clients with their homes, places of business and neighborhoods. Janice rolls up her sleeves to help with construction needs such as plumbing, heating and air conditioning, just as well as she digs her fingers into the earth (and keyboard) in helping the environment. As an active volunteer for Our Children's Earth Foundation, Janice donates her time serving as an advisor, in addition to her fundraising efforts through eBay's new Giving Works program. As a form of "compassionate commerce," Giving Works allows nonprofit organizations (i.e., OCE) to receive a percentage of proceeds from eBay listings.
Janice is just as passionate with her personal time. She is a burgeoning artist, specializing in oils, painting for her friends and family. She can also brandish a golf club with equal ease, holding her own on the back nine. And it would be safe to say that her pets, Sasha (German Shepherd) and Aspen (American Eskimo), are adored and dearly cared for. Janice's dedication, training and know-how have taught her the real value of life's landscape from the inside out.
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Reports and New Research
Mercury Found in Wildlife in the Northeast
Despite efforts during the last decade to scale back emissions from regional sources such as waste incinerators and coal-burning power plants, mercury levels in the environment remain stubbornly high. Recent studies have found that fish, birds and mammals have significant concentrations of mercury in their bodies, in habitats not normally considered to be troubled areas. The findings suggest that power plants in the Midwest, and along the eastern urban corridor, may be an unexpected source of mercury pollution in the Northeast.
New federally funded studies in the journal of Ecotoxicology report that there are nine areas where mercury contamination is especially high, ranging from southern Nova Scotia to northeastern Massachusetts. Many of these "hotspots" are downwind from urban centers, or near to acidic waters that promote mercury poisoning. In other areas, such as on dry mountaintops, researchers were surprised to discover mercury in rare species such as the forest-dwelling songbird Bicknell's Thrush. Without standing water or fish to eat - the normal route of exposure in birds - the mercury may be coming from dry particles of mercury settling into the vegetation. Insects eat the mercury-laden leaves, and then birds acquire mercury from consuming the insects.
It is unclear whether the elevated levels of mercury affect the health and conservation of mountaintop wildlife. However, it is clear that government computer models did not predict that dry particles of mercury should even be a concern. In studying how mercury moves through the air, it appears that polluted clouds are traveling to the Northeast from distant sources, oftentimes from power plants in the Midwest and sometimes from as far away as China. Mercury then precipitates into local ecosystems as rainfall or snow.
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OCE Staff News
Jennifer Su, Administrative Assistant
Jenn Su recently came on board with OCE to provide support for the staff and office. She moved back to the Bay Area (where she grew up) not too long ago, after receiving her BA in Anthropology (with emphases on biological/physical anthropology) at New York University. She is glad to be breathing California air again and just as excited to be a part of the OCE team. "I am looking forward to working with the people here at OCE, all of whom are incredibly committed to the environmental cause and well-versed in what they do," she says. "I've already learned a tremendous amount from them about environmental policy and action, and I only expect to learn more."
Jenn has previously worked at the American Museum of Natural History as well as in various capacities in the music industry in New York, NY. She is a fan of all things French, including pains aux chocolats, Edouard Manet, the cinema of the French New Wave and 1960s French Yeye music.
Sarah Taylor Grilli - Volunteer
Working to protect the environment has always been a primary interest of Sarah, and it was her primary motivation in attending law school. At Suffolk University Law School in Boston, she was the founding member and first president of the Environmental Law Society. Additionally, during school, she held several clerkship positions within the field of environmental law including summer placement at the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and school year clerkships at a few other small Boston environmental law firms.
Sarah was then sworn into the Massachusetts bar and subsequently practiced briefly at McGregor & Associates, a small plaintiff's environmental law firm in Boston representing citizens and local conservation groups in their appeals to the DEP. Sarah then moved to San Francisco to pursue a career in environmental law, and has recently been sworn into the California bar. She is dedicated to protecting the environment and willing to work hard for this passion. She was drawn to OCE because of their reputation for forging ahead on difficult CAA and CWA cases. When she is not working, Sarah plays in the Golden Gate Women's Soccer League and practices Anusara yoga. She feels fortunate to live in the Bay Area and she tries to get out into nature as much as possible to enjoy the spectacular natural beauty of the area. She also feels fortunate to be assisting OCE and helping to further its mission.
National Title V Task Force February San Francisco Meeting
OCE Staff Attorney and Equal Justice Works Fellow Marcie Keever participated in a meeting of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Title V Task Force in San Francisco, CA on February 6-8, 2005. The Task Force is reviewing the efficacy of the Title V Operating Permits Program and will make recommendations for improvements to the program to the Clean Air Act Advisory Council (CAAAC) in 2005. In San Francisco, the Task Force heard testimony from industry representatives, government agencies including the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and environmental and public interest groups. Environmental groups, including law students from the Environmental Law & Justice Clinic on behalf of OCE, testified about Title V's strengths and areas where Title V could be improved.
The deadline to submit written comments to the Task Force is March 31, 2005. The Task Force continues to sift through the many important comments it has received and will make recommendations to the CAAAC in late 2005/early 2006.
Public Interest Environmental Law Conference - Living as if Nature Mattered - Eugene, Oregon
OCE Staff Attorney and Equal Justice Works Fellow Marcie Keever was invited to speak at the 2005 Public Interest Environmental Law Conference at the University of Oregon in Eugene. The PIELC is the premier annual gathering for environmentalists worldwide, and is distinguished as the oldest and largest of its kind. Now in its 23rd year, the Conference unites more than 4,000 activists, attorneys, students, scientists, and concerned citizens from over 50 countries around the globe to share their experience and expertise. Ms. Keever, with her co-presenter Robert Ukeiley, led a workshop about the Clean Air Act which provided a general overview of the various parts of the Clean Air Act and then discussed opportunities for public involvement in the Act's permitting and enforcement programs. The workshop also provided a discussion of recent developments in CAA case law.
Earth Week eBay Auction
Beginning Monday April 18th, OCE will be hosting an EARTH WEEK Auction in honor of Earth Day on April 22nd. All items will be auctioned through eBay. The OCE team is now accepting donated items that we can feature on the eBay auction. Current items include luggage, Italian suits for men, and 100% of the proceeds will go directly to supporting OCE's mission of protecting public health and the environment. If you have items that you would like to contribute to the auction, please contact Charlene Schachter at cschachter@ocefoundation. Tell your friends and clean those closets!
Member Recruitment Drive
Members are crucial to our ability to protect the air you breathe and the water you drink. We are actively recruiting members in all 50 states. We are especially looking for members in Texas and Florida. One of the best ways you can help support OCE is to recruit a friend or family member to join! Spread the word today!
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Thanks to Our Lawyers and Community Partners for Your Help!
Altshuler, Berzon, Nussbaum, Rubin & Demain
American Lung Association
A Walk in the Woods
Bay Area Clean Air Task Force
Bayveiw Hunters Point Community Advocates
Bushnell, Caplan, & Fielding
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
Marc S. Chytilo
Clean Air Council
Clean Water Action
Coalition for Mercury-Free Dentistry
Communities for a Better Environment
Earth justice Legal Defense Fund
Ecological Rights Foundation
Environmental Advocates
Environmental Defense
Environmental Integrity Project
Environmental Law Foundation
Environmental Working Group
Get Oil Out
Golden Gate University Environmental Law & Justice Clinic
Matthew Hagemann
George Hays
Hilton Kelley
Latino Issues Forum
Planning and Conservation League
Montana Environmental Information Center
William Moore
National Parks Conservation Association
Natural Resources Defense Council
Nevada Environmental Coalition, Inc.
Northwest Environmental Defense Center
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles
Santa Barbara ChannelKeeper
Sierra Club
Chris Sproul
Transportation Solutions Defense and Education Fund
Union of Concerned Scientists
Urban Habitat, a project of the Tides Center
Reed Zars
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