September, 2002
Vol. 6, No. 7

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Table of Contents

Mine Site Purchase Stalls

Nicolet Minerals Closes Down
Background
Economic Claims Flawed
Sources

What You Can Do

What You Can Do

Prominent Attorneys Join Our Case

Mine Site Purchase Stalls

Nicolet Minerals lays off employees and closes office

In a sudden reversal, Governor McCallum recently announced that he has stopped negotiations to acquire the 5,000 acres of land and mineral rights owned by Nicolet Minerals near Crandon.  Three months ago, when negotiations started, the Governor had described the proposal as “intriguing.” 
 
Several Native American tribes, local governments, and conservation and environmental groups (including Clean Water Action Council) had urged state officials to explore the potential acquisition by tapping into the $241.8 million state Stewardship Fund earmarked for recreational and conservation land purchases.  It was expected that significant private donations and tribal funds would also help with the purchase. 
 
We know the mine project faces an uphill battle as the company attempts to qualify for permits from the DNR, but the purchase would help to permanently end the Crandon mining controversy which has dragged on for 26 years under a several different corporate owners.
 
Unfortunately, after two appraisals put the value of the property (including mineral rights) at $51.2 million to $94 million, Gov. McCallum rejected a possible deal as too expensive.   A McCallum representative said, “When mineral rights are factored in, the purchase price would require an overcommitment of the state’s limited Stewardship resources for a single acquisition.” 
 
Environmental leaders are concerned that the appraisals were never made publicly available for discussion before the decision to drop negotiations.  Citizens never had a chance to give feedback to their elected officials.
 
At the same time, the Governor also praised the proposed mine’s economic benefits and called mining an “important economic driver.”  He said he was responding to citizen concerns in Crandon [... while ignoring opinion polls showing widespread public opposition in Northeast Wisconsin to the mine].  The company still argues that mining can be done safely and will create jobs. 

Nicolet Minerals Closes Down

Ironically, the same day the Governor announced the end of negotiations and the economic benefits of mining, Nicolet Minerals laid off its Crandon headquarters’ employees. 
 
The company says it will continue seeking permits in the hope of selling a ready-to-go project down the road, but the project is looking much less viable every year.  Many people suspect the mine was for sale long before the offer to the state, but they could find no buyers. 
 
Several leaders in Wisconsin expressed dismay over the Governor’s cancelled purchase negotiations, particularly when the timing may never be better for acquisition and a permanent end to the struggle.
 
“We are committed to protecting our environment.  I am disappointed the state gave up so easily,” stated Harold “Gus” Frank, Chairman of the Forest County Potowatomi Community. “We are saddened to learn that Gov. McCallum believes mining is an ‘important economic driver’ in the Crandon area.  In reality, the proposed mine is an environmental and economic disaster that threatens Northern Wisconsin.”

 “Gov. McCallum announced this proposed purchase with much fanfare,” Doyle said. “Now, with little or no apparent work done on the issue, the governor has reversed his position. This was a leadership test for the Governor and he has failed,” 
 
Jim Young, the Green Party’s gubernatorial candidate, said, “the economy in northern Wisconsin is reliant upon clean water and a clean environment, and my administration won’t gamble with the environmental integrity and the strength of the tourism industry in northern Wisconsin for the short-term profits for international corporations.” 

Background

Many environmental and conservation groups have expressed their determination to work even harder and longer to protect Wisconsin from sulfide mining which often results in acid and toxic mine runoff.
 
Since 1994, Nicolet Minerals has sought state, local and federal permits to mine 55 million tons of metallic sulfide ore, primarily copper and zinc, in a huge underground mine just south of Crandon.  The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of  the Australian and South African mining conglomerate BHP Billiton, now the world’s largest mining company. 
 
After years of flawed technical studies and intractable site design problems, the DNR says the environmental impact statement will be completed by the first quarter of 2003.
 The proposed mine is in one of the most environmentally sensitive areas of the state, surrounded by wetlands, lakes and streams that feed the Wolf River, a “National Wild and Scenic River.” 
 
“You couldn’t find a more difficult place to mine,” stated a former Exxon Minerals engineer, before being fired.
 
The mining company  proposes to use between 5 million and 13 million pounds of cyanide to process the ore over the proposed 30 year life of the mine. The wastes from the mine would be stored untreated on-site in a single lined landfill-like facility covering an area larger than 200 football fields.

Economic Claims Flawed

Though the company claims the mine will last 30 years and provide 300 high-paid jobs, such mines typically experience multiple start-ups and shut-downs in boom and bust cycles which cause economic hardship for local communities. 
 
Mining boom towns buy new schools, fire protection, police cars, roads, street lights, sewer facilities, and other costly services, only to have the rug pulled out from under them.   State and local taxpayers are often forced to cover higher costs once the temporary mining employees leave or go on public assistance.
  
A recent Wisconsin example is the Kennecott Mine in Ladysmith, which promised major economic benefits, but was opened and closed in only 5 years. 
 
Such mines also tend to import skilled experienced mine workers from elsewhere, rather than hiring and training local people.
 
At the same time, the mine would threaten the long-term viability of thousands of tourism jobs in the area, while endangering valuable water supplies and wildlife habitat over a large region for many centuries.   Cultural values of Native Americans in the area would also be badly damaged.

Sources

“State won’t buy Crandon mine site, Land too costly, official says” by Lee Bergquist, Milw. Journ. Sent. 9/14/02

“Doyle Criticizes McCallum’s Sudden Reversal on the Purchase of the Crandon Mine.” News release by John Kraus for Doyle Campaign, 9/13/02

Statement of Forest County Potawatomi Community Chairman, 9/13/02

“Green’s Young derides Governor’s Crandon Mine decision.” News release by Amy Heart, WI Green Party Co-Spokesperson, 9/13/02

“State won’t buy Crandon mine, Mineral rights make land too expensive,” by the Associated Press, in the GB Press Gazette, 9/14/02

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The Growing Weakness of the Crandon Mine Proposal

Even if the state purchase effort is truly over, many legal and technical challenges lie ahead for the proposed Crandon mine. The company faces multiple physical site constraints which could easily prevent a  mine permit.  When recent financial, legal and regulatory developments are added, it’s clear this attempt to open a mine at the site is certain to fail. 
 
The following information is provided by the Midwest Treaty Network on their website: http://www.alphacdc.com/treaty/buyout.html

1. The Crandon mine is an increasingly risky investment

Zinc and copper prices have reached historic lows in the last year. BHP Billiton reported a 33% drop in profits for its most recent quarter (Dec. 2001-Feb. 2002). Weak copper prices pushed earnings from its base metals division down by more than one half compared to the same period a year earlier. 
 
BHP Billiton shut down its Arizona copper operations at the beginning of this year, and has recently begun significant cuts of copper outputs in its South American operations, including Peru and Chile.  Even if a permit were issued, the depressed state of metals prices has led to the closure of other mines around the world. The proposed Crandon mine is not economically viable. 
 
The mining company wrote the project down to zero on its books in 1999, and in 2000 declared the project a “non-core asset.” On June 19, 2002, BHP Billiton announced the sale of its only remaining operation in the U.S. (Wyoming’s Smith Ranch uranium mine)”...as part of its planned divestment of non-core businesses.”
 
Billiton will have a difficult time selling the Crandon property.  There may be only 6 mining companies capable of investing the $350 million needed to build the mine, according to Laura Skaer, Executive Director of the Northwest Mining Association, a 106-year-old group that represents the hard-rock mining industry.
 Some of those 6 have already owned the Crandon site and failed to get permits  (re: Exxon, Rio Algom, and Billiton).

2. The public increasingly opposes the Crandon mine 

New efforts to educate the public about the mine’s potential impacts have reawakened the public, the media and public officials to the threats of the mine. NMC’s inability or refusal to respond in kind to a statewide $250,000 ad campaign for the cyanide ban legislation is a strong signal that the project funding is unstable. 
 
A 2001 poll by Chamberlain Research Consultants, a respected Madison-based opinion research firm, found public support for the ban on cyanide in mining by a more than 3 to 1 margin, with 60% of those polled in favor. 
 
On the question of sulfide mining in northern Wisconsin, 55% statewide were opposed to locating a sulfide mine in northern Wisconsin.  (The opposition increased  to 61% in northeastern Wisconsin, closer to the proposed mine site.) 
 
State residents strongly support “Bad Actor” mining legislation (70%) and “Equal Treatment” legislation requiring mining to meet the same environmental regulations as other state industry (90%).      Wisconsin Republicans supported a prohibition on the use of cyanide in all Wisconsin mines by 2 to 1. Republican Party supporters also opposed new metallic sulfide mines in northern Wisconsin by a plurality of 42% to 35%. 
 
Chamberlain surveyed 600 Wisconsin residents age 21 and over during the first two weeks of June, in 2001. The poll used standard polling techniques and can be projected to the population at large with a 95% degree of certainty.
 
In addition to polls, 5 county boards have passed resolutions supporting a cyanide ban in mining (Rusk, Langlade, Shawano, Brown and Milwaukee), joined by three tribes and at least 16 local governments in the Wolf-Fox river watershed. More than 13,000 Wisconsin citizens have signed a cyanide ban petition.  In addition, many environmental, sportfishing, tribal, union and student groups have signed on to the Wisconsin Campaign to Ban Cyanide in Mining.
 
The state Conservation Congress (primarily hunters and anglers), whose mission is to advise the Department of Natural Resources on policy issues, has twice voted overwhelmingly to oppose the use of cyanide in mining, and many individual conservation groups and unions have passed similar resolutions. 

3. Recent legal and regulatory developments render the project more difficult. 

The DNR has rejected the mining company’s single example of a mine that had been operated and closed for 10 years — a requirement that must be met under Wisconsin’s Mining Moratorium Law. The DNR rejected the company’s claim that the Sacaton mine in the deserts of Arizona was proof that mining could be conducted safely in a Wisconsin wetland environment.  This is a major victory for mine opponents. 
 
The U.S. Supreme Court also upheld the right of the Sokaogon Chippewa to adopt water regulations that have an impact on upstream, off-reservation activities - specifically the proposed mine. The right of the Chippewa to protect the resources of Swamp Creek and Rice Lake from the impacts of the mine creates tough new challenges for any mining applicant. 
 
Although the cyanide ban and no special treatment bills were blocked in the Assembly Environment Committee, both bills were passed by the State Senate, and attracted widespread bipartisan support in the Assembly. Both bills will be reintroduced in the next legislative session. 

4. The mine as proposed will be unlikely to receive permits

NMC’s most optimistic predictions show that the mine will violate state groundwater regulations when mining halts and the mine is reflooded with groundwater. NMC’s own predictions show violations of state groundwater standards at the compliance boundary. DNR-directed modeling of contaminants from the mine shows even greater contamination of the groundwater. 
 
NMC’s method for containing contaminants requires perpetual pumping of groundwater at the mine site. The contaminated groundwater would need to be treated at a wastewater treatment plant and discharged. The company assumes that contaminated groundwater can be pumped from the reflooded ore body forever. 
 
State modeling of contaminants traveling from the Tailings Management Area (TMA) shows violation of groundwater standards at the compliance boundary (edge of the regulated mine area).  Company calculations of TMA compliance with state groundwater standards unrealistically assume, among other things, that the TMA cap will be maintained and replaced every 100 years, forever. 
 
Air modeling by the state shows that NMC will be in violation of air standards for Total Suspended Particulates. The federal Environmental Justice Doctrine, as well as the fiduciary responsibility of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to protect cultural resources of American Indian tribes in the area create significant impediments to issuing permits for any mining applicant at this site. 
 
Mine opponents have retained a cadre of expert witnesses that are first class in the following areas: mining, solid waste, structural stability, air emissions, groundwater and surface water, wetlands, urban planning, etc. These experts provide important “fire power” in raising technical and legal issues in the federal and state permitting process.

1. Please call the Governor’s office at 608-266-1212 or e-mail him at wisgov@gov.state.wi.us to offer your reactions.

2. Ask the other gubernatorial candidates to clearly state their position on this issue, so voters can make informed choices.

3. Write letters to the editor and call radio talk shows.  State your reaction to the Governor’s decision to leave the site in the hands of the mining company.   Tell others how you feel about the cyanide ban and no special treatment bills that will be reintroduced in January. Ask the public to visit  http://www.nocrandonmine.com

4. E-mail parent company BHP Billiton at mike.campbell@bhpbilliton.com
mandy.j.frostick@bhpbilliton.com, ariane.gentil@bhpbilliton.com to let them know their Nicolet Minerals subsidiary has made a  mistake in Wisconsin, and a growing global network of citizens will continue to expose their track record.  (See www.nocrandonmine.com)

5. Remember our principles for the natural and cultural preservation of the site, and a permanent end to mining plans there.  If the mining company proposes to sell the land to another public or private entity, we will follow the lead of the Mole Lake and Nashville communities in judging the proposal, because they are the local people who have to live with it. We will also insist that the mineral rights not stay in the hands of the company (whether directly or on a “first-right” basis).   We support multiple ownership and/or joint management to safeguard the land for future generations.  A single owner of the site (even the state) could let a mining company return in 5 or 10 years, so checks and balances are needed.

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Perrier Water Update

On Sept. 16, the DNR said that Perrier has decided not to renew its conditional permits to drill high-capacity wells for spring water near Big Springs in Adams County in central Wisconsin, despite a 3-year effort at the site. Perrier got permits but pulled back after strong opposition from local residents, local governments, conservationists, environmentalists and others.  They were concerned about the potential for Perrier to draw down groundwater levels, affecting other smaller wells, springs, and streams in the area.   Perrier at that time said it would concentrate on its Michigan operation, which from their perspective is going well.  The Wisconsin project would have required expensive studies of groundwater flows.
 
“That would have only made sense if we planned to build a plant there within the next two years,” a Perrier spokesperson told the Appleton Post Crescent.
 
This means that the company, even if it maintains land interests, will have to start the regulatory process all over again if it wants to operate in Wisconsin.
 
The company says it is committed to the property and will retain its legal rights, but a Perrier spokesperson said, “We just don’t need it for the next two years.”
 In the meantime, local residents are staying vigilant and efforts are underway to convince legislators to improve Wisconsin’s groundwater regulations to better conserve underground water supply quantity and quality, and to protect surface waters fed by underground recharge.     Currently, the DNR claims it can deny a high-capacity well permit only if it threatens a municipal water supply.  Private wells, springs, streams and lakes may be impacted or dewatered without DNR authority to take action.

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The River Budget

The River Budget is an annual project coordinated by American Rivers (a national organization based in Washington DC), bringing together hundreds of groups from across the country in support of increased federal funding for nationwide river protection and restoration. 
 
Rivers are a universal public resource, so common that we often overlook their daily impact on our lives.  Here are a few important things rivers do for us: 

 • Nourish our crops 
 • Provide important transporta-tion benefits 
 • Keep riverfront communities vibrant 
 • Supply over half of America’s drinking water 
 • Provide unparalleled outlets for boating, fishing, and other types of river-related    recreation 
 • Sustain natural systems and communities 
 • Provide critical habitat for fish and wildlife 

Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) A voluntary conservation program designed to help farmers and ranchers facing threats to soil, water, and other natural resources develop successful resource conservation practices. Recommend:  Congress should appropriate the $1 billion for EQIP found in the 2002 House-Senate Farm Bill Conference Agreement and increase the program to $5 billion.

Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program  (WHIP)  Offers landowners technical and financial assistance to voluntarily improve fish and wildlife habitat on eligible lands, helping improve quality of life and boost local economies. Recommend:  Congress should appropriate $60 mil for WHIP. 

Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP)  A volunteer program aimed at protecting and restoring the nation’s wetlands, bringing tangible economic and environmental benefits to rural communities, recreationists, landowners, and family farmers nationwide. Recommend:  Congress should fund the program at the $309 mil. level cited in the House-Senate Farm Bill Conference Agreement.

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)  One of the federal government’s largest and most effective environmental improvement programs, the CRP partners the USDA with farmers and ranchers to help protect millions of acres of the nation’s agricultural lands from erosion while increasing wildlife habitat and protecting water quality.  Recommend:  Congress should increase acreage limit to 54,000,000 acres and fund at the $103 mil level cited in the House-Senate 2002 Farm Bill Conference Agreement.

Fisheries Habitat Restoration Run by the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Fisheries Habitat Restoration program has forged partnerships to help communities restore fisheries habitat.  To date, the program has funded 179 projects in 25 states, promoting fishery habitat restoration in coastal areas with a grassroots, bottom-up approach.  Recommend:  Congress should provide the NOAA Fisheries Habitat Restoration Program with $18.5 mil to help more communities restore and protect the health and many benefits of estuaries and coastal habitats. 

Pacific Coast Salmon Recovery Fund  Helps to protect and recover Pacific salmon stocks.  Federal fund money is matched dollar-for-dollar by state and local contributions, and can be used for habitat restoration, preservation, and acquisition, as well as for monitoring the health of salmon populations and watersheds.  Recommend:  Congress should substantially increase funding for state, local, and tribal salmon recovery work up and down the West Coast.  By funding the Coastal Recovery Fund or replacement legislation at no less than $200 mil. Congress can add the state of Idaho to the program while ensuring that other participating states and tribes can maintain or increase the funds they receive through the Coastal Recovery Fund.

Environmental Management Program (EMP)  The primary habitat restoration and monitoring program on the Upper Mississippi.  When current projects are completed, it will protect more than 96,000 acres of habitat.  Recommend:  Congress and the Administration should increase funding to $33.17 mil.

Clean Water Act, Section 1135 (Project Modification for Improvement of  Environment) and Section 206 (Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration)  The Army Corps of Engineers increasingly has engaged in restoration of river systems degraded by existing Corps projects.  The Section 1135 program modifies dams and flood control projects to increase fish and wildlife habitat without interrupting a project’s original purpose.   Section 206 restores aquatic habitat regardless of past Corps activities. Recommend:  Congress should fully fund each  program with $25 mil. to each.

Flood Hazard Mitigation and Riverine Restoration (Challenge 21)  Designed to help relocate frequently flooded homes and restore riparian habitat, though it unfortunately has never been funded.  Recommend:   Congress should appropriate $50 mil 

Missouri River Fish and Wildlife Mitigation  Helps reverse impacts of lower river channelization and bank stabilization through land acquisition from willing sellers. Recommend:  Administration should request and Congress should appropriate $20 mil.

Lower Mississippi River Resource Assessment (LMRRA) The first step in consolidating information about the current status of aquatic habitat in the 954-mile long Lower Mississippi River, specific habitat development and enhancement opportunities to restore the river ecosystem, and recreational needs into one region-wide assessment. Recommend:  The Administration should request and Congress should appropriate $1.5 mil 

Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project  Funds water conservation through improvements to Bureau of Reclamation and on-farm irrigation works, water rights and land acquisition, and scientific research.  Recommend:  Congress should appropriate $15 mil. 

Water Conservation Field Services Program  This Bureau of Reclamation’s program encourages efficient water use in the West by offering grants and technical support for water conservation plans, demonstration projects and other conservation. Recommend:  Congress should increase support by providing $5 mil.

Upper Colorado River Basin Recovery Implementation Plan A partnership between state and federal agencies and interested stakeholders to recover endangered fish species in the Upper Colorado River Basin through instream flow, shallow river habitat protection and restoration, fish passage, genetic management, non-native fish control, and coordinated research and management.  Recommend:  Congress should increase funding by providing Fish and Wildlife Service with $1.144 mil and Bureau of Reclamation with $5.48 mil.

Low Impact Hydropower Certification Program  Helps consumers and power generators evaluate their options for creating and purchasing power.  The goals of the program are to reduce the environmental impacts of hydropower generation and create a credible and accepted standard for customer evaluation of hydropower for the benefit of river environments and energy consumers. Recommend:  Congress should provide the Dept. of Energy with $50 thousand.

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Programs   Reduce energy demand and impacts on rivers resulting from hydropower dams, groundwater pollution and runoff from fossil fuel extraction, acid rain from coal fired power plants, and the global-scale threats of climate change. Recommend:  A total appropriation of $700 mil toward Renewable Energy should include at least $120 mil for solar energy programs and $50 mil for wind energy programs.  Congress should appropriate $1.2 billion for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Program.  [May be amended]

Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF)   A key tool in protecting open spaces, provides needed dollars for purchasing ecologically important lands from willing sellers.  Using LWCF, the federal government has acquired more than 3.4 mil acres.  An appropriations shortfall by Congress has caused a backlog of $10-12 billion in unfulfilled projects. Recommend:  Congress and the Administration should fully fund at $900 mil to allow program to fulfill its congressionally mandated role. 

National Water Quality Assessment Program (NWQA), Toxic Substances Hydrology Program (TSH) and National Streamflow Information Program (NSIP)   The U.S. Geological Survey’s NAWQA and TSH programs assess historical and current water quality conditions, identify water-quality trends in representative river basins and aquifers nationwide and carry out long-term research on river and groundwater contamination.  Information provided by the nation’s streamgaging network under NSIP is essential for habitat preservation, water quality, recreation, agriculture, industry, water supply, navigation, and flood hazard identification. Recommend:  Congress should appropriate $65 mil for the NAWQA program, $13.9 mil for the TSH program and $28.4 mil for the NSIP.  [May be amended] 

Coastal Program  This Fish and Wildlife Service program is a highly effective partnership that brings together FWS experts, land trusts, biologists, and other conservation partners to protect and restore valuable fish and wildlife habitat in coastal regions.  Recommend:  To better protect valuable coastal habitats, Congress should appropriate $13.099 mil, with the total amount going to Coastal Program projects.

Partners for Fish and Wildlife  With two-thirds of U.S. land privately owned, private landowners play a key role in maintaining diverse ecosystems and wildlife.  This voluntary land stewardship program aimed at restoring and protecting important fish and wildlife habitat. Recommend:  Congress should provide $48.1 mil. 

River, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program (RTCA)   Provides valuable benefits to communities across the country for park, open space, trail, and watershed planning. Recommend:  Congress should provide $15 mil to enable the program to put staff closer to people they serve and help communities manage their recreational and natural resources.

Wild and Scenic Rivers Act   Protects free-flowing rivers by prohibiting dams, limiting inappropriate streamside development, managing growth, and maintaining essential natural values for designated rivers. Recommend:  Fish & Wildlife Service, National Wildlife Refuge System:  $1.787 mil,  Bureau of Land Management, Land Use Planning, National Landscape Conservation System:  $8.5 mil.  Forest Service, National Forest System, Recreation, Heritage & Wilderness:  $12 mil. National Park Service, Operation of National Park System, Park Management, Park Support:  $17.5 mil. National Park Service, National Recreation & Preservation, Rivers &Trails Studies:  $1 mil 

National Parks Dam Safety and Maintenance Program  Protects public safety, health, property and natural resources through regular inspections and deactivating unnecessary dams. Recommend:  Congress should fully fund the Program at $2 mil. 

Abandoned Mine Land Program, Clean Streams Initiative   Charges fees to coal producers.  The funds are then appropriated for abandoned mine closure and acid mine drainage clean up.  Recommend:  Abandoned Mine Land Program:  $300 mil, Clean Streams Initiative:  $20 mil, and Rural Abandoned Mine Program:  $10 mil. 

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF)   A federally chartered non-profit organization, provides challenge grants for on-the-ground conservation projects and creates partnerships among federal, state, and local governments, corporations, private foundations, individuals, and non-profit organizations to identify problems and potential solutions. Recommend:  Congress should fully fund the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation at $28 mil to enable the Foundation to meet the significant demand for on-the-ground conservation projects and partnership development.

North American Wetlands Conservation Act Grants Program   By providing matching grants to private or public organizations or to individuals who have developed partnerships to create wetlands conservation projects in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the NAWCA grants program has played a major role in protecting and restoring wetland ecosystems throughout North America. Recommend:   Congress should reauthorize this program and provide the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with $60 mil in order to continue restoring and protecting wetlands through this effective partnership between public and private entities.

National Fish Passage Program  Provides an excellent opportunity for communities to voluntarily join efforts with the Fish and Wildlife Service to restore natural river functions and native fish populations by removing or circumventing barriers to fish passage including dams, culverts, etc.  Recommend:  Congress should provide the National Fish Passage Program with $5 mil to restore fish populations and the natural functions of rivers.

Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL)  One of the most powerful tools to reduce water pollution from all sources is the Clean Water Act’s (CWA) TMDL provision, which requires states to identify waters that do not meet state water quality standards and develop and implement a plan (a TMDL) to correct the violations. Recommend:  Congress should appropriate $250 mil for EPA’s State Program Management Grants (Section 106, Clean Water Act) for grants to states for TMDL development and implementation.

Non-Point Source Management Program (Section 319)  Non-point source pollution degrades more water bodies than any other source of  pollution.  This program helps states, territories, and Tribes reduce polluted runoff.  Recommend:  Congress should appropriate $250 mil. 

Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP)  The ecological integrity and productivity of the Chesapeake Bay watershed have been severely compromised by development, agriculture, over-harvesting of resources, and more than 2,500 small dams and other obstructions that block fish from their historic spawning habitats.  The CBP focuses on restoring tributaries, underwater Bay grasses, and fish passage and on reducing agricultural runoff pollution and toxics. Recommend:  Congress should provide $30 mil.

Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program   According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, flood damages average more than $4 billion a year.  This program (formerly Project Impact) helps communities dramatically reduce disruption and loss caused by floods and other natural disasters by restoring and protecting healthy, more natural ecosystems. Recommend:  Congress should appropriate $50 mil. 

Enforcement of Discharge Permits Under the Clean Water Act  Enforcement activities by EPA, including inspections, sampling, testing, and civil and criminal enforcement actions, ensure Clean Water Act compliance and reduce pollutant discharges.  Recommend:  Congress should appropriate $485 mil. 

EPA Watershed Assistance Grants  Support efforts that build capacity of community-based partnerships to conserve and restore watersheds. Recommend:   Congress should provide $2 mil. 

State Revolving Fund Programs (Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act)   The State Revolving Fund programs have been used to fund projects that reduce non-point pollution, protect estuaries, prevent contamination of drinking source waters, and reduce polluted runoff by protecting natural areas and other “green infrastructure,” such as stream buffers. Recommend:  Congress should appropriate $320 billion to the Clean Water SRF program and $150 billion to the Drinking Water SRF 
program.

Everglades Restoration  The 17,000-sq mile Everglades ecosystem of South Florida is one of the world’s most diverse and productive wetlands.  The Everglades Restoration Program, led by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Interior, is a large-scale initiative aimed at reversing the Everglades’s decline and loss of the many ecological and economic services it provides. Recommend:  Congress should appropriate $190 mil.

Individual River Restoration Projects  Several individual dam removal proposals have been endorsed by a wide range of stakeholders and approved for federal action. Recommend:   Congress should provide the National Park Service with $45.6 mil to continue with the restoration of the Elwha River ecosystem and its fisheries.  In addition Congress should provide the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with $1.45 mil to continue their feasibility study to assess how best to remove the Matilija Dam, $7 mil to notch Elk Creek Dam for the purpose of providing fish passage to species on the Endangered Species list and $7.4 mil to restore the Rappahannock River through the removal of Embrey Dam.  [May be amended]

Estuary Restoration and Protection Programs   For more than a century, development, alteration of natural flows, dredging, dams, mining, logging, and irrigation have all transformed the ecology of estuaries.  Three programs help local communities stem the tide of degradation by protecting and restoring our nation’s estuaries.  Recommend: Congress should appropriate $10 mil for the Northwest Coastal Estuary Program to help manage and restore critical habitat on the Lower Columbia River and in Tillamook Bay.  For the National Estuary Program, $35 mil is needed to sustain the current level of funding for this community based program dedicated to protecting and restoring the nation’s estuaries through local, on the ground partnerships.  In addition, Congress should appropriate $27.5 mil for the Estuary Restoration Act in order to establish the program of the Estuary Habitat Restoration Council.

Hydropower Relicensing  Dams   can benefit society, but they also deplete fisheries, degrade river ecosystems, and diminish recreation opportunities.  When deciding whether to issue a 30-50 year hydropower license, FERC, with involvement from key resource agencies, must give equal consideration to power and to protection of fish and wildlife, recreation and other aspects of environmental quality.  Thus, the relicensing process offers a unique opportunity to improve the condition of rivers.  Recommend:  [May be amended]  FERC Energy Project:  $46 mil, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:  $2.35 mil, U.S. Forest Service:  $11.6 mil, National Park Service:  $1.5 mil, Bureau of Land Management:  $1.125 mil, Bureau of Indian Affairs:  $2 mil, National Marine Fisheries Service:  $2 mil increase

Federal Salmon Recovery Plan for the Columbia and Snake Rivers  Once 10 to 16 million wild adult salmon and steelhead returned from the Pacific Ocean to the Columbia and Snake river basin each year. Today, twelve Columbia and Snake river salmon and steelhead stocks require protection under the Endangered Species Act.  Under the Federal Salmon Plan, the federal government pledged new action, short of removing the lower Snake River dams, to recover these legendary fish.  The Salmon Plan’s non-dam removal recovery measures must be funded and implemented if reconsideration of stronger salmon recovery measures is to be avoided. Recommend:  Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill:  $205.4 mil, Commerce, Justice, State and the Judiciary Appropriations Bill:  $69.8 mil, Interior-Related Agencies Appropriations Bill:  $189.5 mil, Agriculture Appropriations Bill:  $19.4 mil, VA-HUD-Independent Agencies Appropriations Bill:  $12.3 mil. 

What You Can Do

Please write a brief letter to your elected federal representatives and tell them how you feel about the River Budget proposed by American Rivers.   Your letter doesn’t need to be fancy or typed; it’s just important that you write:

Senator Russ Feingold
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C.   20510

Senator Herb Kohl
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C.   20510

Congressmen Mark Green or Thomas Petri
House of Representatives
Washington, D.C.  20515

President George W. Bush
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C.  20500

For more information, please visit  American Rivers’ website: http://www.amrivers.org/riverbudget/ default.htm 

Refer to this website in your letter.

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Fox River Issue Update

As this newsletter is printed, the Restoration Plan has still not been released, nor has the final Record of Decision for the comprehensive sediment cleanup plan.  Both were supposed to be released this summer for public response.
 
We fear politics may be delaying these announcements until after the Gubernatorial election. 
 
Our federal court case challenging the Georgia-Pacific PCB damage settlement is continuing, with our opponents recently filing their arguments against our intervention.  Our lawyers will respond over the next few weeks, then the judge will decide how to proceed.

Prominent Attorneys Join Our Case

Recently, two attorneys with a well-known Washington lawfirm have joined our legal efforts.
 
Clean Water Action Council has retained Michael D. Hausfeld and R. Joseph Barton, of the firm Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll to act as co-counsel with our attorney Melissa Scanlan, Executive Director of Midwest Environmental Advocates, in order to increase the settlement amount owed the community for natural resource damages caused by PCBs.  They have filed their “notice of appearance” with the court. 
 
This combination of legal strengths will greatly help our case by blending local environmental legal experience with high powered negotiators.  Michael Hausfeld has fought corporate criminals throughout the world, and is responsible for negotiating the largest race discrimination settlement in the history of the United States.  He exposed the Swiss Banks scandal to recover money stolen by Nazi Germany from Jewish victims of the Holocaust.  He also represented Native Alaskans in their fight to recover compensation from Exxon for the Valdez Oil Spill, another natural resource damages case with  similarities to the Fox.
 
The website for their firm is: http://www.cmht.com   The website for Midwest Environmental Advocates is http://www.midwest-e-advocates.org