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November 2002 -
In This Issue:
 Our Children's Earth (OCE) Insider Update
Urgent: Members Needed!
We Win!
New Lawsuits and other developments
Thank You!
Donations
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 and other Community Groups Force the San Francisco Metropolitan
Transportation Commission to Increase Public Transportation Usage!:
Settling the penalty phase of a lawsuit brought by OCE and other
community and environmental groups, the Metropolitan Transportation
Commission (MTC) delivered a $100,000 check to The San Francisco
Foundation in October 2002 that will help increase low-income
and minority community participation in public transit planning.
Our courtroom victory in this lawsuit earlier this year requires
MTC to achieve a region-wide increase in transit ridership of
15% above 1983 levels by 2006. We sued to compel MTC to implement
TCM 2, a transportation control measure the agency adopted 20
years ago to meet its Clean Air Act obligations. TCM 2 requires
MTC to increase transit ridership in the Bay Area by 15 percent
over 1983 levels. The lawsuit was necessary because transit ridership
today is only slightly higher than it was in 1983, despite a 30
percent increase in population.
OCE Forces Placer County, California, Air District to Take
Action on Overdue Permit Applications: On October 22, 2002,
The Placer County Air Pollution Control District ("PAPCD)
and its Air Pollution Control Officer agreed to take final action
on four long-overdue operating permit applications no later than
Dec.1, 2003, a move that 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 both federal law and the agency's own generous
internal deadline 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, four major sources of air pollution, including
Formica Corporation, Rio Bravo, Sierra Pacific Industries, and
SierraPine Ltd., 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.
Judge Denies City of Burbank's request to throw out OCE's
RECLAIM Case: A US District Court judge denied a City of Burbank
motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed earlier this year by OCE and
Communities for a Better Environment (CBE), charging that the
City emitted nitrogen oxide ("NOx") at its power plant
without purchasing sufficient pollution credits. The Judge ruled
that dismissal of the case, filed last March in Los Angeles, is
not warranted at this time.
The City of Burbank filed to dismiss the lawsuit, which challenges
the air pollution-trading program called RECLAIM, on three grounds.
First the City argued that the Mobile Source Emission Reduction
Credits, which the City used in lieu of federally approved credits,
were valid. The city also challenged the Court's jurisdiction
over the action, saying that the lawsuit alleges only past violations
of the Clean Air Act. And finally the City contended that the
US Department of Energy's orders during California's energy crisis
created a conflict in federal law. The Judge denied the City's
motion, ruling that factual issues are outstanding in the case.
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New Lawsuits and other
developments
OCE and National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) Report
-- Ranks dirtiest National Parks:
A report issued by OCE, NPCA, and Appalachian Voices in September
2002 shows that air in national parks is more polluted than that
of many urban areas. Code Red: America's Five Most Polluted National
Parks ranks the most polluted parks as follows: 1. Great Smoky
Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina, 2. Shenandoah
National Park in Virginia, 3. Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky,
4. Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks in California, 5. Acadia
National Park in Maine.
Release of this report was covered extensively in print and
broadcast media throughout the United States.
OCE Letter to the Editor Published in Fortune Magazine:
In its September 2, 2002 issue, Fortune Magazine ran an article
entitled "Hog Wild for Pollution Trading," in which
the author touted the benefits of pollution trading credit schemes
such as RECLAIM in Los Angeles, CA. In response, OCE sent a letter
to the editor explaining the drawbacks of such schemes and some
of the impacts trading systems have on our air quality. The letter
was published in the October 14, 2002 issue of Fortune.
OCE Comments on Clean Air Act Title V Air Pollution Permits
for Refineries:
OCE and Golden Gate's Environmental Law and Justice Clinic continued
efforts to monitor the California Clean Air Act Title V air pollution
permitting process by reviewing and providing comments on proposed
air pollution permits for several refineries and other facilities
in northern California. Refinery permits included: Valero Refining
Company, Shell Martinez Refining Company, Tesoro Refining &
Marketing Company (technical assistance provided by Alex Sagady
of Alex Sagady & Associates), Chevron Products Company, Phillips
66 Company, Kern Oil & Refining, Equilon, Bakersfield Refinery,
Tricor Refinery, and Aera Energy Refinery. Other facilities included
McKittrick Ltd., Chalk Cliff, Chemical Waste, Castle Peak, Equilon
Bakersfield Terminal, Delano Cogeneration, and New United Motor
Manufacturing, Inc., the only automobile manufacturing facility
in California (technical assistance provided by Ecology Center
of Ann Arbor, Michigan).
OCE Signs on to Comments Supporting the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) Revision to Air Pollution Permit Rules
(Title V):
On October 17, 2002, OCE and several other organizations sent
comments supporting EPA's proposed revision to the Clean Air Act
Title V air pollution permit monitoring rules. EPA has proposed
a revision to its rules to clarify its interpretation that Clean
Air Act Title V air pollution permits must include monitoring
sufficient to assure compliance for all permit terms and conditions.
Industry is currently suing EPA, arguing that the current rules
only allow EPA to add such monitoring to certain permit conditions.
Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) Hearing
Board to Finalize Unfavorable Rule Changes:
On October 1, 2002 OCE and other organizations sent a public comment
letter to the BAAQMD concerning proposed changes to the BAAQMD
Hearing Board rules that may make it public participation more
difficult. The Hearing Board met in late October to discuss the
proposed changes, and adopted some of the comments submitted by
OCE and the other groups that oppose the changes. This appears
to be at least a partial victory for us. The final changes will
be decided upon at a Hearing Board meeting later in November.
OCE Signs on to Letter of Protest to the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency:
In October, OCE joined a coalition of environmental groups in
sending a letter of protest to the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency concerning power plant waste.
OCE Signs on to Comments on the Draft Amendment to MUNI's
2002-2012 Short Range Transit Plan (SRTP Amendment):
As a result of a lawsuit brought by OCE and other environmental
groups, MUNI was required to prepare an amendment to its SRTP
that included descriptions and ridership projections, timelines,
cost estimates, and demographic analyses, of a list of projects
from its Vision Plan.. The draft is currently available for comment.
Our comments acknowledge that the draft complies with many of
the requirements in the settlement agreement, but identifies three
outstanding issues that need to be addressed in the final document.
In the Dark Documentary Film Shown at Red Vic:
On September 17-18, 2002, the documentary film In the Dark was
shown at the Red Vic in downtown San Francisco. This important
film highlights some of the issues that are central to the OCE
mission: The role power plants play in poor air quality that affects
our health, and the link between power plant location and low
income populations. In particular, the documentary focuses on
the Mirant Power Plant. OCE director Tiffany Schauer was interviewed
in the documentary.
OCE Comments on Proposed Revisions to California's State
Implementation Plan (SIP):
On November 6, 2002, OCE submitted comments to the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency concerning proposed changes to California's
SIP that would lower air quality standards in the Bay Area. In
particular, OCE commented that EPA should not approve the submitted
sections of Regulation 9-10 into the SIP because these portions
of the rule do not meet the Reasonably Available Control Technology
requirements of the Federal Clean Air Act.
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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
Rajesh Arora - Fremont, CA
Glen Besa - Richmond, VA
Cheryl Cisneros - Bonita, CA
Maggie Costa - Hilmar, CA
Miguel Costa - Hilmar, CA
Patricia DeZern - Richmond, VA
Cynthia Hubbard - Sausalito, CA
Christian Lagier - SF, CA
Julie Rath - SF, CA
Susan Ross-Kawar - La Mesa, CA
Allison Marsh - La Jolla, CA
Marjory Crawford - Kings Beach, CA
Joseph Lyou - Hawthorne, CA
Robert Mullen - Fremont, CA
Kathleen Spillane - Knoxville, TN
Michael Steinbacher - SF, CA
Kathy Hammond - Doylestown, PA
John Lazo - Basking Ridge, NJ
Terri Sullivan - Westbrook, CT
Barbara Moyer - Stratton, Maine
Thanks to all of you!
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