On September 23, 1999, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said that BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. pleaded guilty to one felony count related to the illegal disposal of hazardous waste on Alaska’s North Slope, and it agreed to spend $22 million to resolve the criminal case and related civil claims. According to the EPA:
BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc., or "BPXA," admitted in US District Court in Anchorage that it failed to immediately notify authorities of a release of hazardous substances to the environment, and it agreed to pay the maximum criminal fine of $500,000. As part of the plea agreement, BPXA also admitted that it failed to provide adequate oversight, audits and funding to ensure proper environmental management on Endicott Island, Alaska.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, the US subsidiary of BP Amoco p.l.c.—the third largest oil company in the world—will establish an environmental management system at all of BP Amoco’s facilities in the United States and Gulf of Mexico that are engaged in the exploration, drilling or production of oil. This system will be the first of its kind in the oil industry to result from a federal prosecution.
"This has been one of largest and most complex criminal investigations ever conducted in Alaska," said Robert Bundy, US Attorney for the District of Alaska. "The case underscores our commitment to investigate and prosecute violations of environmental laws. Corporations that benefit from Alaska’s resources must also be good stewards of Alaska’s environment."
The federal government and BPXA…also agreed to a civil settlement involving related environmental claims. The settlement, filed in federal court in Anchorage, requires BPXA to pay $6.5 million in civil penalties to resolve allegations that BPXA illegally disposed of hazardous waste and also violated federal drinking water law.
The criminal plea and civil claims stem from the injection of hazardous wastes on Endicott Island over a three-year period beginning in 1993. The manmade, gravel island northeast of Prudhoe Bay was built for the purpose of extracting and processing oil reserves under the Beaufort Sea. Endicott Island is operated by BPXA, which contracts with Doyon Drilling Inc. to drill oil-producing wells there.
From 1993 to 1995, Doyon Drilling employees illegally discharged waste oil and hazardous substances by injecting them down the outer rim, or annuli, of the oil wells. BPXA failed to report the illegal injections as soon as it learned of the conduct, in violation of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. The illegally injected wastes included paint thinner and toxic solvents containing lead and chemicals such as benzene, toluene and methylene chloride.
In April 1998, Doyon Drilling pleaded guilty to 15 counts of violating the Oil Pollution Act. Doyon agreed to pay a $1 million fine and spend $2 million to develop an environmental compliance program and environmental training program for employees. Three Doyon employees were convicted in 1998, and one was sentenced to a year in jail.
BPXA spent approximately $5 million to improve environmental management within Alaska during the criminal investigation, and the corporation has taken steps to cooperate with the government’s continuing investigation. Because of these efforts, additional criminal charges relating to the illegal injections were not filed, in accord with the Department of Justice’s 1991 Voluntary Disclosure Policy, which grants prosecutors the discretion to forego prosecution when certain conditions—including cooperation, remedial measures, and the existence of an adequate compliance program—are met, according to US Attorney Bundy.
As a result of the criminal plea agreement, BPXA must use best environmental practices to protect workers, the public, and the environment. The court will appoint an environmental monitor to oversee BPXA’s nationwide implementation of the $15 million management system during a five-year probation. Both the civil settlement and the plea agreement must be approved by the court before they become final.
On October 7, 1999, the Department of Interior (DOI) (i.e., the US Bureau of Reclamation and the US Fish and Wildlife Service) announced the availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (DEIS/EIR) for the Trinity River Mainstem Fishery Restoration. In addition to the DOI, the Hoopa Valley Tribe and Trinity County also helped prepare the DEIS/EIR.
According to the Federal Register notice concerning the document:
Construction of the Trinity River Division (TRD) of the Central Valley Project (CVP) was completed in 1963. The primary function of the TRD is to store Trinity River water for regulated diversion to the Central Valley of California for agricultural, municipal, and industrial uses. Construction and operation of the TRD resulted in the diversion of up to 90 percent of the average annual discharge in the Trinity River at Lewiston, and blocked access to 109 miles of salmon and steelhead spawning and rearing habitat. Reduced river flows, combined with excessive watershed erosion and encroachment of the river channel by riparian vegetation, caused major changes in the channel morphology resulting in the simplification and degradation of the remaining salmon and steelhead habitat of the Trinity River below the Lewiston. This, in turn, resulted in rapid declines of salmon and steelhead populations following completion of the TRD.
In response to declining fisheries and degraded habitat conditions, the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) decided in 1981 to increase flows in the Trinity River ranging from 140,000 acre-feet to 340,000 acre-feet annually, with reductions in dry and critically dry years. In addition, the Fish and Wildlife Service was directed to undertake a Flow Evaluation Study to assess fish habitat at various flows, summarize the effectiveness of other instream and watershed restoration activities, and recommend appropriate flows and other measures necessary to better maintain favorable habitat conditions. The Flow Evaluation Study began in October 1984 and was completed in June 1999. In October 1984, the Trinity River Basin Fish and Wildlife Management Act (Management Act) (Pub. L. 98-541) was enacted by Congress with the goal of restoring fish and wildlife populations to pre-TRD levels. The Act provided funding for construction, operation, and maintenance of the 11-item action plan developed by the Trinity River Task Force in 1982.
In 1992, the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) (Public Law 102-575) was passed. Section 3406(b)(23) of the CVPIA provides, through the TRD, an instream release of not less than 340,000 acre-feet of water into the Trinity River to meet Federal trust responsibilities to protect fishery resources of the Hoopa Valley Tribe and to meet the fishery restoration goals of Management Act. The recommendations for mainstem Trinity River fishery restoration will be developed after appropriate consultations with Federal, State, Tribal, local agencies, and affected interests, and after completion of the Flow Evaluation Study.
To restore the natural production of anadromous fish in the Trinity River in accordance with the 1981 Secretarial Decision, the Management Act, and the CVPIA, the DEIS/EIR analyzes the impacts of:
- Increased instream releases into the Trinity River to provide anadromous fish habitat and restore fluvial processes,
- Implementation of a channel rehabilitation program,
- Implementation of a spawning gravel supplementation program,
- Implementation of a watershed rehabilitation program, and
- Implementation of an Adaptive Management Program.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Comments on the DEIS are due December 8, 1999, and should be addressed to:
Mr. Joe Polos
US Fish and Wildlife Service
1125 16th Street, Room 209
Arcata, CA 95521
FAX: (707) 822-8411
Public Hearings have been scheduled as follows:
- Tuesday, November 16, 1999 at the Holiday Inn Appaloosa Room, 1900 Hilltop Drive, Redding, California.
- Thursday, November 18, 1999 at the Sacramento Grand Ballroom, 629 J Street, Sacramento, California.
- Tuesday, November 23, 1999 at the Eureka Inn Colonnade Room, 518 7th Street, Eureka, California.
The Trinity County Board of Supervisors will also hold a California Environmental Quality Act meeting to receive public comment on December 7, 1999, from 7-9 p.m. at Trinity County Library, 211 N. Main St., Weaverville, California.
The Technical Appendixes (TA) for the DEIS/EIR are available on compact disk and in hard copy upon request from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Arcata Office, 1125 16th Street, Room 209, Arcata, CA 95521; (707) 822-7201. The DEIS/EIR will be available at the Fish and Wildlife Service website at http://www.ccfwo.r1.fws.gov.
For Further Information Contact Joe Polos of the US Fish and Wildlife Service at (707) 822-7201.
On October 7, 1999, scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center said that ongoing La Niña conditions in the central tropical Pacific will impact temperature and precipitation patterns across the Pacific Northwest region of the United States during the next six months. La Niña conditions developed in May-June 1998, and have persisted since that time.
Speaking at the La Niña Forum during the annual Media and Emergency Management Workshop sponsored by the National Weather Service, Seattle-Tacoma, Ants Leetmaa, director of the Climate Prediction Center, noted that La Niña conditions will likely persist into March 2000. He noted that the La Niña will be a weak-to-moderate episode, and strong enough to impact weather patterns across the Pacific Northwest later this winter. According to Leetmaa:
The Pacific Northwest can expect an increased likelihood of above-normal precipitation during the upcoming winter season. Some areas, including the mountains and intermountain region, may see above-normal snowfalls as a result of an expected La Niña-related increase in storminess across the region. We also expect an increased likelihood of normal to below-normal temperatures in the Pacific Northwest this winter.
IN RELATED NEWS: on October 14, 1999, the Climate Prediction Center issued the following advisory:
At the present subsurface oceanic conditions continue to reflect the ongoing cold episode with no signs of an evolution toward a pre-warm episode state. Thus, it is likely that cold episode conditions will continue for the next several months. This assessment is supported by the most recent NCEP coupled model forecasts and other available coupled model and statistical predictions indicating cold episode conditions persisting through March 2000.
Please refer to the graphic below, comparing current conditions with other La Niña events.
For Further Information on NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center and its forecasts, log onto http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov.
ENSO (El Niño/Southern Oscillation phenomenon) Index: Comparison of current conditions with La Niña events
Source: http://www.cdc.noaa.gov/ENSO/enso.mei_index.html
The US Geological Survey (USGS) has made available the publication "The Quality of Our Nation’s Waters: Nutrients and Pesticides." This report summarizes major findings of the USGS’s National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA). The report presents findings on nutrients and multiple pesticides in surface and ground water from agricultural and urban sources and begins to address aquatic ecosystem health and drinking water issues that stem from these findings. West Coast basins in the study include San Joaquin-Tulare Basin, Willamette Basin, Central Columbia Plateau, and Upper Snake River Basin.
For a Copy of the Report write to the USGS, NAWQA Program, 413-N National Center, Reston, VA 20192; call Tim Miller of the USGS at (703) 648-5716; e-mail nawqa_info@usgs.gov; or visit the USGS homepage at http://www.usgs.gov.
Portland General Electric (PGE) will soon submit a proposal to the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) to offer customers Salmon Friendly Power™—electricity generated from salmon-friendly sources such as low-impact hydropower and renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy. Under PGE’s proposed plan, you can choose to have a portion of your power come from salmon-friendly sources starting in January of 2000. Salmon Friendly Power (SFP) will be one of PGE’s green energy choices.
If approved by the OPUC, you will be able to buy up to two 100-kilowatt blocks of SFP. The typical household uses about 1000 kilowatts per month. Each SFP block will cost an additional $5 per month. Half of that money will go to salmon habitat restoration projects in the Tualatin, Clackamas, Santiam, Sandy, Willamette, Johnson Creek and other local Oregon watersheds. The other half will go to pay for the costs associated with producing SFP.
PGE’s partner in the SFP project is For the Sake of the Salmon. For the Sake of the Salmon will be in charge of distributing the proceeds to salmon habitat improvement projects.
For Further Information Contact For the Sake of the Salmon at (503) 223-8511; by e-mail at info@4sos.org; or visit their website at http:// www.4sos.org.
EPA FUNDING PROPOSALS DUE 11/22
Applications are being taken by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for grants that can be used to develop "innovative ways" to educate the public about the environment. Schools, universities, not-for-profit organizations, tribal education agencies, and state and local governments are eligible for the grants. Applications fall into two categories—those for grants of more than $25,000, and those for less. Grants for the larger amounts are made by EPA headquarters; the smaller grants are made by EPA’s regional offices.
EPA gives special encouragement to applications for grants of $5,000 or less. In 1998, EPA funded projects in Oregon, Washington, and Alaska that had the following goals: Training teachers to be better environmental educators; building state, local and tribal capacity to better design and deliver environmental education; and motivating the public to become more environmentally conscious, and helping them to make responsible and informed environmental decisions.
Applications for the next round of grants must be postmarked by November 22, 1999.
For Further Information and for application forms, write or call:
Environmental Education Grants
US Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Sixth Avenue (EXA-142)
Seattle, WA 98101
(800) 424-4372
For Further Information about the grants program, contact Pam Emerson of EPA’s regional environmental education program in Seattle at the 800 number above or (206) 553-1287; information is also available on the web at http://www.epa.gov/ enviroed/grants.html.
- Several bills have been introduced in Congress which would direct Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas revenues to fund coastal restoration efforts, state fish and wildlife programs, and federal land purchases (including funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund). Two OCS bills receiving the most attention are S. 25, introduced by Senator Mary Landrieu (D-La.), and H.R. 701, introduced by Representative Don Young (R-Alaska) (see Habitat Hotline Number 42). Further negotiations are expected on these bills in the waning days of first session of the 106th Congress. However, with the target adjournment date for Congress set for October 29, 1999, it appears unlikely that this important legislation will be finished in 1999. Expect efforts to continue in 2000.
- President Clinton’s "Lands Legacy" initiative, announced last January, seeks just over $1 billion in a one-time allocation to fund wilderness, parks and coastal areas in Fiscal Year 2000 (beginning October 1, 1999) (See Habitat Hotline Number 41). On 10/21/99, the House and the Senate passed the Interior and related agencies appropriations bill (H.R. 2466) for FY ‘00. This bill includes the appropriations for the Lands Legacy program. According to Environment & Energy Newsline (10/25/99): "The White House at press time issued a statement saying President Clinton will veto the measure because it ‘contains numerous objectionable riders’ and underfunds ‘critical priorities’ [including Clinton’s Lands Legacy program]."
- S. 835, the Estuary Restoration Partnership Act, will not be passed by Congress this year. The bill, introduced by the late Senator John Chafee (R-R.I.) (who passed away on 10/24), creates an Estuary Habitat Restoration Collaborative Council (council). The council would develop an estuary habitat restoration strategy to "ensure a comprehensive approach to the selection and prioritization of estuary habitat restoration projects and the coordination of Federal and non-Federal activities related to such restoration." If enacted this year, the bill would have provided $315 million in local restoration grants over five years. The bill would also authorize $25 million in appropriations for the National Estuary Program.
- On 09/29/99, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that an $11,000 civil penalty is being sought from Smith Brothers Dairy in Kent because EPA inspectors observed manure-laden dairy wastes enter a nearby drainage ditch that flows into the Green River, home to endangered Puget Sound chinook salmon. The inspection of the Smith Brothers Dairy last spring was part of ongoing efforts by EPA and the Washington Department of Ecology to ensure that Washington dairies and other concentrated animal feeding operations are in compliance with the federal Clean Water Act. Dairy waste typically contains large amounts of nutrients and other organic material that can degrade water quality and harm wildlife. The wastes can also contain E. coli and salmonella bacteria, plus other health-threatening microorganisms—for example, the cryptosporidium parasite—that can seriously affect human health and can even cause death.
- On 10/15/99, Danny Westneat of The Seattle Times reported that the rebuilding of the Keechelus Dam on the upper Yakima River basin near Snoqualmie Pass will not include fish passage. The federally-owned earthen berm irrigation storage dam did not include fish passage when it was built over eighty years ago, and cut off access to excellent sockeye, steelhead and chinook salmon habitat. The US Bureau of Reclamation (Bureau) is scheduled to decide by 11/19/99 on a plan for rebuilding Keechelus Dam. Fish passage is not one of the options being considered. According to the article, Bureau officials say there is no provision in federal law for adding a fish passage when repairing a government-owned dam. They have drawn up three tentative plans for what to do with the weakened dam, none of which would permit fish to swim upstream. According to Rick Parker, manager of the Bureau’s Yakima field office, "We are not opposed to having fish passage, but we view this as simply repairing an existing dam, not building a new one. Also, there is no money under the dam-safety program to pay for a fish facility." However the Yakama Indian Nation, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and State of Washington are advocating for fish passage. Ellensburg area farmers are opposed to fish passage because they fear it would result in less irrigation water, especially in dry years.
- For a number of years, efforts have been made to station a dedicated rescue tug at the mouth of the Strait of San Juan De Fuca. Proponents of the rescue tug, including the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, argue that an environmental disaster awaits if action is not taken soon. For example, during the November 1998 through April 1999 winter period, at least five vessels have gone adrift in Washington waters, including one fishing boat, two oil barges and two cargo/container ships. Four of the incidents occurred off the Washington coast, and one in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. In addition, according to the environmental group People for Puget Sound:
Oil tankers carrying more than 3 times as much oil as was spilled by the Exxon Valdez transit 70 miles into the Strait of Juan de Fuca to a point east of Port Angeles before current laws (state and federal) require them to have "escort tugs" and a local pilot the rest of the way to the Anacortes and Ferndale refineries. Thus, some 600 tankers a year move through the outer Strait with no special protection at all. Other shipping with large amounts of bunker oil create oil spill risks, too. There is a documented history of spills and near-misses in the outer Strait and its ocean approaches arising from mechanical failures, human error and other risk factors.
According to People for Puget Sound, interim measures are needed now to station a dedicated rescue tug in the Straits, remaining year-round until an even better safety program supplants it. Governor Gary Locke supported a full-time tug stationed at Neah Bay, but the Legislature did not approve the spending in 1999. A rescue tug, funded by the Navy, was stationed on a trial basis for two months at the mouth of the Straits earlier in 1999.
Most recently, some good news came when US Secretary Rodney Slater said that initial funding of $250,000 had been identified as a down payment to help get a rescue tug stationed at the mouth of the Straits. For further information contact People For Puget Sound at (206) 382-7007.
- On 10/01/99, the Associated Press reported that 24 timber sales in Oregon in the Umpqua National Forest cannot go forward until the federal government ensures that they will not harm fish listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The ruling, by Judge Barbara Rothstein, came as a result of a lawsuit filed in January by the Oregon Natural Resources Council, Umpqua Watersheds Inc., Coast Range Association, Headwaters, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association, and the Institute for Fisheries Resources. Fish stocks listed under the ESA in the basin are the Umpqua River cutthroat trout and Oregon Coast coho salmon.
- Information from all 50 states on the closest pumpout or dump station to dispose of onboard sewage is now available by calling 1-800-ASK FISH. The toll-free hotline, sponsored by the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) and BassPro Shops, allows callers to identify the state they want information from and prompts callers for locations of local disposal sites. According to the ASA, there are 3,000 pump and dump sites across the country.
- On March 23-26, 2000 "Beyond El Niño: A Conference on Pacific Climate Variability and Marine Ecosystem Impacts, from the Tropics to the Arctic", will be held in La Jolla, California at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. The conference is organized by the North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES).
The Conference will look at interannual, decadal, and interdecadal scales of variability in the Pacific from the tropics north to the Arctic. In each case, it will review the evidence for variability, the ecosystem consequences of such variability, the mechanisms of interaction with the ecosystems, and the implications for fishery production and management. It will also examine the impacts of human activities on our ability to detect and interpret these effects. Participation of scientists from countries around the Pacific Basin will be welcome. For further information call (250) 363-6366 or visit the PICES website at http://pices.ios.bc.ca and click on "what’s new."
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EDITOR’S NOTE: We welcome information on habitat news in your area. Information should pertain to habitat of marine, estuarine, or anadromous fish or shellfish. Feel free to fax us newspaper articles, copies of letters, press releases, public hearing notices, etc., to (503) 650-5426. Funding for this publication comes in part from Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration. If you have any questions regarding the contents of this publication, or about our habitat education program, please contact: Stephen Phillips, Editor, Habitat Hotline, 45 SE 82nd Drive, Suite 100, Gladstone, Oregon 97027-2522. Phone: (503) 650-5400, Fax: (503) 650-5426. Messages can also be e-mailed to Stephen_Phillips@psmfc.org. Editorial assistance and layout by Liza Bauman. Printed on 100% recycled post-consumer paper. Date of Issue: 10/27/99.