Complete list of press releases

(9 September 2004 - Oakland, CA)  Environmental Defense today urged Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign the California Ocean Protection Act (COPA), a bill that passed the California Legislature in August 2004. COPA was designed as a solution to the urgent need for restoration and additional zones of protection for our oceans as outlined in two prestigious national reports by the Pew Oceans Commission and the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy.  “With the Governor’s signature on this bill, California can lead nationwide in restoring our marine environment and bringing back damaged fisheries,” said Environmental Defense marine conservation advocate Richard Charter. 

COPA would create a California Ocean Council, comprised of state agency leaders, that coordinates the activities of the Resources Agency, the California Environmental Protection Agency, and the State Lands Commission to address major threats such as pollution, overfishing and habitat damage. 

COPA would implement the Ocean Protection Trust Fund that pays for ocean conservation projects such as pollution control, scientific research, monitoring, and enforcement programs.  According to Environmental Defense senior scientist Dr. Rod Fujita, “the Ocean Protection Trust Fund’s innovative revolving loan program would provide seed money for fisheries reform measures and business plans that will repay the state’s investment both financially and with healthier ocean ecosystems and coastal communities.”

Environmental Defense also praised the Governor, the Department of Fish and Game, the Resources Agency and the Legislature for funding and implementing California’s existing landmark Marine Life Protection Act. The Act manages the state’s network of marine protected areas and creates an inclusive science-based stakeholder process to consider new protected areas in nearshore coastal waters.  “Environmental Defense urges Governor Schwarzenegger to push forward with positive ocean legislation,” said Charter.  “His leadership is critical in keeping our oceans alive.”

(01 September 2004 - Colorado)  Environmental Defense and Colorado Trout Unlimited today petitioned the U.S. Department of the Interior to carry out its legal responsibilities to protect Rocky Mountain National Park from harmful air pollution.   A body of scientific research shows that high pollution levels threaten human health, fisheries, forests and at times cloak the park’s grand vistas in a veil of haze.   The petition requests the Interior Department to formally declare that the park is threatened by air pollution, to establish limits on pollution levels, to call for clean up action by state and federal officials, and to take action to clean up air pollution within the park’s borders.   Each year, there are more than 3 million visitors to Rocky Mountain National Park who go there to fish, hike, and enjoy the park’s inspiring vistas.  Action by the Interior Department would establish pollution limits to protect the Park, curb increasing pollution levels, and spur cleanup action by the state.

“There is a compelling body of scientific research showing that the Rocky Mountain National Park is being hard hit by air pollution that harms human health, threatens its lakes and forests, and pollutes scenic vistas.   We are calling for immediate action to protect Colorado’s crown jewel before lasting damage is done,” said Environmental Defense senior scientist Dr. Jana Milford.  

“Rocky Mountain National Park has been a centerpiece of restoration for Colorado’s state fish, the greenback cutthroat trout, ” said David Nickum, the Executive Director of Colorado Trout Unlimited.  “But if current trends continue, the Park’s waters will acidify and we could lose greenbacks and the other Park fisheries enjoyed by thousands of anglers every year.  We’ve seen the early warning signs, and we now have the opportunity and responsibility to make changes that will preserve the Park for future generations.”
 
Nitrogen Pollution
Total nitrogen deposited into the Park’s forests, lakes and streams has increased to more than 15 times its natural level, exceeding the critical load that the Park’s ecosystems can bear.   Nitrogen deposition rates on the eastern side of the Park are more than double those on the western side of the Continental Divide, and are increasing.  The increased nitrogen has altered forests, aquatic species and soil chemistry.   If nitrogen deposition continues to increase at current rates, high-altitude lakes in the Park are expected to soon become acidic, causing a dramatic deterioration of Park resources and putting the threatened greenback cutthroat trout at further risk.

Harmful Ozone Levels
Since the summer of 1998, the federal health-based standard for ground-level ozone has been exceeded 19 times at the Park.  High ozone threatens human health and vegetation.  Over recent summer ozone seasons, ozone pollution exposure at the Park has been higher than in urban Denver.  Children, the elderly and individuals with asthma are particularly at risk to high levels of ozone.   Quaking Aspen, which draw numerous Fall visitors to the Park, are also sensitive to high ozone.  

Pollution of Scenic Vistas
Visibility at the Park is severely degraded relative to natural conditions.  The National Park Service monitoring data indicate that visibility on the haziest days has significantly worsened over the past decade. 

Clean Air Solutions
Scientific studies point to urban, agricultural and industrial activities to the east of the Park as important sources of the nitrogen-related pollution problems.   Federal and state actions are needed to lower nitrogen pollution from oil and gas development activity, coal- and gas-fired power plants, transportation activities, animal feedlots, and heavy fertilizer use in agriculture.   The Park itself should become a model for cleaner, healthier air through the use of cleaner transportation and equipment.

(August 26, 2004 ? Washington) Environmental Defense today praised the U.S. Department of Interior for awarding more than $7 million in grants to 97 landowners in 39 states who are voluntarily restoring habitat for rare wildlife on their land. 

“Private Stewardship Grants are exactly the sort of conservation initiative this country needs,” says Tim Male, an ecologist with Environmental Defense.  “The grants provide crucial assistance to farmers, ranchers, and other private landowners to conserve and restore important natural habitats.  People all around our country want to make their land a better home for rare wildlife, and this program helps them do just that.”

Unfortunately, just as the Administration is announcing 2004 Private Stewardship Grants, Congress has proposed to cut the size of this already small program in half in 2005.  The Appropriations Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives recently voted to reduce funding by $5 million from President Bush’s budget, and proposed cutting funding for the similar state-led Landowner Incentive Program by 70 percent.  The fate of the programs may depend upon whatever course of action the U.S. Senate takes.

“Private Stewardship and Landowner Incentives are innovative, incentive-based programs that focus on exactly what many members of Congress always talk about ? voluntary and cooperative conservation,” says Michael Bean, an Environmental Defense attorney.  “It is truly bizarre that the House of Representatives now wants to cut funding severely.  You would expect them to applaud the programs and increase funding so hundreds of already interested private landowners can participate.”

The Private Stewardship Grants Program has been very popular with landowners and received requests for 500 percent more funding than money was available in 2004.  More information on the Private Stewardship Grants awarded to 97 landowners today can be found at the Department of Interior website (www.doi.gov).

The related Landowner Incentive Program has provided funding that allowed 48 states to staff and set up their own programs to give grants to private landowners to restore habitat for rare and endangered plants and animals.   

For more information on the Private Stewardship Grants Program or Landowner Incentives Program, contact Tim Male, scientist at Environmental Defense at 202-387-3500. 

(17 August 2004 - Raleigh, NC)  Environmental Defense today called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to strengthen and finalize a proposed rule to reduce power plant pollution in 28 Eastern states, a move that annually could prevent 16,000 premature deaths and one million childhood asthma episodes across the region.  “Stop Blowing Smoke in the Heartland,” a report released by the advocacy group, examines the public health and economic impacts of strengthening standards on sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide pollution in EPA’s proposed Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR).  The report is available at www.environmentaldefense.com/go/blowingsmoke.

According to the report, the 15 states that will realize the greatest human health protection from stronger controls on power plant smokestack pollution are Texas, Ohio, Florida, Indiana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Georgia, Kentucky, Illinois, Michigan, Alabama, Missouri, North Carolina, New York and Tennessee.  For example, if EPA finalizes a stronger power plant rule, 1,600 premature deaths and 100,000 asthma episodes in children could be prevented in Texas, and 1,200 premature deaths and 80,000 asthma episodes in children could be prevented in Ohio.

“While EPA’s proposal is a step forward, people in the Heartland and on the Atlantic coast will only breathe clean air if EPA strengthens and swiftly finalizes power plant clean-up standards,” said Michael Shore, senior air policy analyst for Environmental Defense.  “The science demands action, and the human health costs of delay are severe.” 

“The current pollution reductions proposed by EPA, while important, fall far short of protecting public health and the environment, and are far less than what can be cost-effectively achieved.  According to EPA’s own analysis, millions of Americans in Heartland cities — including Chicago, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Knoxville, Atlanta and Birmingham — will be left breathing unhealthy air if the agency’s proposed limits are implemented.  More protective power plant clean up standards are needed to lower harmful particulate and ozone pollution levels in these communities.  The EPA can do the right thing — secure deeper pollution reductions by requiring utilities to bear emission control costs that are more in line with what other sectors pay to protect public health,” said Shore.

“The Heartland is hit hardest by pollution from coal-fired power plants and has the most to gain from tougher EPA standards on harmful emissions,” said Mark MacLeod, Environmental Defense special projects director.  “EPA now has a unique opportunity to lock in limits that are long overdue.  The EPA’s own estimates show that public health and other benefits would outweigh the cost by a 20 to 1 ratio.  We could all  breathe easier if EPA strengthens these proposed power plant pollution standards.”

(12 August 2004 ? Oakland, CA)  Environmental Defense praised new legislation proposed by Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (D-Petaluma) that would substantially expand the existing boundaries of the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries to include the Sonoma County coastline as far north as the town of Gualala.

“The time has come to protect the Sonoma Coast,” said Environmental Defense marine conservation advocate Richard Charter.  “The economic importance and biological vitality of this region’s nearshore waters, combined with emerging new threats here, create a compelling need to act now.” 

A public hearing on Rep. Woolsey’s bill is being held at 7 p.m. on August 12 in the chambers of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors in Santa Rosa. 

The Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary was created in 1981, primarily to ensure permanent protection for the California coastline along Marin County from offshore oil and gas drilling and other negative impacts.  Rep. Woolsey’s Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary Boundary Modification and Protection Act would expand the protections now enjoyed by the existing sanctuaries to extend northward along the length of the Sonoma Coast. Two prestigious national commissions, the Pew Oceans Commission and the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, have released reports outlining the problems in our oceans and emphasizing the urgent need for restoration measures and additional zones of protection.

(3 August 2004 - Washington, D.C.)  The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today endorsed a business-as-usual approach to World Bank lending for oil, gas and mining projects.  After investing three years and several million dollars in the Extractive Industries Review (EIR) process, the World Bank Group refused to commit to the bulk of its recommendations.  While the World Bank took some small steps, notably to require revenue transparency in large extractive projects, it largely embraced a flexible, case-by-case approach to the evaluation and implementation of oil, gas and mining projects going forward.

“The World Bank has once again demonstrated that it is all talk and little action,” said Shannon Lawrence, international policy analyst at Environmental Defense.  “There is a complete disconnect between the environmental, social, and economic costs of extractive projects and the Bank’s proposed remedy.”

“The Bank’s response is reminiscent of its reaction to the World Commission on Dams.  How many independent, multi-stakeholder reviews that are commissioned by the Bank does it take to bring about change at this public institution?” said Lawrence.

The EIR recommendations were designed to address the failure of the Bank’s oil, gas and mining projects to deliver poverty reduction and sustainable development benefits.  The review concluded that the World Bank has a role to play in the extractive sectors only if the “right conditions” are in place to deliver on the Bank’s poverty alleviation mandate.  To establish these conditions, the EIR recommended supporting oil, mining and gas projects only in countries that meet a minimum standard of good governance to manage project risks and use revenues transparently to benefit the poor.  The EIR also recommended that the World Bank strengthen its environmental policies, rebalance its energy portfolio and ensure that the poor and local communities directly benefit from oil, gas, and mining development.

(26 July 2004 — Raleigh)  Modern hog waste management technologies identified by an N.C. State University (NCSU) report will do a better job of protecting the environment and public health from harmful intensive hog farm pollution and can spur economic development in eastern North Carolina.  Environmental Defense commended the long awaited NCSU report on the environmental performance of alternative hog waste treatment technologies.  Issued today, the report is the result of agreements reached in 2000 between the state Attorney General’s office and Smithfield Foods and Premium Standard Farms that provided funding for technology research and that requires the companies to use alternative waste systems once researchers identify environmentally superior alternatives.  Environmental Defense urged the two companies to embrace the new technologies and begin the conversion process as soon as possible.

“The verdict is in.  Modern hog waste technologies can eliminate surface and ground water pollution, and can substantially reduce odor, ammonia-caused air pollution and aerial transport of disease-causing microbes,” said Environmental Defense senior scientist Joe Rudek.  “Conversion to modern technologies can create value-added products from what is now an overabundance of manure.  I am confident that a full and sound economic analysis will show that these systems are affordable for all hog farmers in the state.”

Environmental Defense stressed the importance of including the benefits of marketable by-products, incentive payments from the federal farm bill and other sources, and second-generation technology modifications in the economic analysis.

“Lawmakers should make the moratorium on new lagoons permanent,” said Environmental Defense senior attorney Dan Whittle. “As soon as possible they should establish policies and procedures that will govern the phase-out of lagoon systems on existing farms.  If North Carolina acts quickly to replace lagoons on all intensive hog farms and develops the infrastructure needed for successful conversion to modern technologies, the state’s public health, environment and economy will score dramatic wins, and the pork industry will gain a competitive edge in the changing marketplace.”

(16 July 2004 — Washington)  Environmental Defense and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agreed late yesterday to a proposed legal settlement requiring the agency to establish national clean air standards for diesel and gas industrial engines used in on-site electric generation, oil and gas development, agricultural pumps and equipment, and a variety of other applications.  Stationary diesel engines are currently unregulated by EPA even though they release the same harmful air pollutants as other diesel-powered machines.  There are about half a million diesel and gas stationary engines in use nationwide, and thousands more manufactured each year.

“This agreement will help protect our children’s lungs by closing a loophole that has allowed thousands of diesel engines to avoid clean air safeguards,” said Environmental Defense senior attorney Vickie Patton.

“The black plume of smoke from these diesel engines makes children with asthma sicker,” said Dr. John Balbus, a physician and director of the Environmental Defense health program.  “Requiring these high-polluting engines to meet clean air standards will make a real human heath impact, especially for the people who live near them.”

The proposed settlement resolves a lawsuit filed by Environmental Defense in federal district court (Northern District of California) on December 8, 2003.  The settlement is subject to a 30-day public comment period before it can be finalized.  The settlement requires EPA to propose clean air standards for stationary diesel engines by June 29, 2005, and finalize the standards by June 28, 2006.  It also requires EPA to propose clean air standards for stationary gas engines by May 23, 2006, and to finalize the standards by December 20, 2007.   EPA’s standards would apply to newly manufactured engines nationwide.

(12 July 2004 — New York City)  Environmental Defense today called on New York City to strengthen proposed rules that define the “best available technology” to be used to cut pollution from construction machinery.  Environmental Defense finds that the proposed language relies too heavily on fuel additives that alone do not win enough emissions reductions.

“Every New Yorker, and especially those with asthma, needs this rule to be stronger,” said Andy Darrell, living cities program director of Environmental Defense.  “The law should be revised to make full and clear use of technologies that can cut pollution by 90% right away.  Environmental Defense looks forward to working with DEP, the construction industry and retrofit manufacturers to win the cleanest possible air for all New Yorkers.”

In December 2003, New York City became the first city to enact legislation, Local Law 77, that requires use of “best available technology” to cut diesel emissions from heavy construction machinery used in city construction projects.  The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today held a hearing on a proposed DEP rule that defines what technology is in fact the “best available.”  Written comments filed today by Environmental Defense with a range of colleague environmental organizations, called on DEP to require advanced retrofits like diesel particulate filters that can cut pollution to the maximum extent possible and still be cost effective.  The comments are available at www.environmentaldefense.org/pdf.cfm?ContentID=3856&FileName=CommentsLL77%2Epdf.

“The proposed rules issued by New York City don’t do enough to protect public health - especially for the one in eight New Yorkers with asthma” said Darrell.  “The proposed rule falls short of the requirement to use the best technology available and, as a result, falls short of the potential to cut emissions from construction vehicles by 90%.” 

Nonroad vehicles like construction machinery and marine vessels pose a special threat to air quality because they emit more fine particulate matter than the nation’s passenger cars, trucks and heavy-duty onroad diesels combined.  Since non-road engine standards have for years lagged considerably behind those for highway diesels, nonroad engines are more polluting than their highway counterparts.  Given that nonroad engines remain in use for a very long time, even decades, strategies to retrofit existing machinery are extremely important to winning public health gains now.

(17 June 2004 — Washington, DC)  Environmental Defense today released “Orphan Chemicals in the HPV Challenge:  A Status Report” showing that approximately 10% of eligible chemicals in the U.S. High Production Volume (HPV) Challenge have not been sponsored by their producers.  The report also found that more than 700 additional chemicals have emerged as new HPVs since the program began in 1998, but only about 100 have been sponsored.  The report is available online at www.environmentaldefense.org/go/hpvorphans.

“It’s frustrating to see some companies shirking their responsibilities when, as a whole, the HPV Challenge has been incredibly successful,” said Environmental Defense senior scientist Dr. Richard Denison.  “Companies need to promptly adopt their remaining orphaned chemicals, and also commit to picking up new HPV chemicals as they emerge.  By making hazard data public for all HPV chemicals in use, the country can take a critical step toward addressing the enormous legacy of toxic ignorance.” 

The report is based an Environmental Defense survey of more than 200 companies that reported producing or importing HPV chemicals, but have not committed to fill gaps in the basic data needed to characterize the chemicals’ hazards to human health and the environment. 

Based on responses received, Environmental Defense found that at least 156, and possibly as many as 259, Challenge program chemicals remain “orphans” - chemicals still manufactured in amounts exceeding one million pounds annually but not sponsored by any producer.  Over 100 companies reported manufacturing orphan HPV chemicals but either did not respond to the survey or provided insufficient justification for non-sponsorship.  These “deadbeat dad” companies are singled out in the report for the orphan chemicals they manufacture and have not sponsored, although some of the companies have sponsored other HPV chemicals.  The following companies are the worst apparent “deadbeat dads,” based on number of orphans (shown in parentheses):  Koppers Industries, Inc. (13), United States Steel Corp. (10), BASF Corp. (8), The Dow Chemical Company (8), Exxon Mobil Chemical Company (6), Lonza, Inc. (6), Univar USA, Inc. (6),  Albemarle Corp. (5), Clariant LSM (US) Inc. (5), Atofina Chemicals, Inc. (4), Reilly Industries, Inc. (4), Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc. (4) and Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. (4).

Many companies have claimed their identity in association with particular orphan chemicals as confidential business information (CBI), and hence could not be contacted - a significant limitation to the analysis Environmental Defense could perform.  Environmental Defense urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) both to aggressively challenge such CBI claims and to use its own access to CBI information to determine which companies making such claims are also “deadbeat dads.”

Another key finding identified in the Environmental Defense report is that more than 700 additional chemicals have begun being produced at HPV levels since the program was launched.  These chemicals are not formally included in the Challenge, although companies are encouraged to sponsor them as they emerge as HPV chemicals. 

“More than 600 of the new HPVs have yet to be sponsored, a problem that needs to be addressed if the Challenge is to fulfill its promise of ensuring that the public has access to hazard data on all HPV chemicals,” said Denison.

In the HPV Challenge, launched in 1998 under a framework developed jointly by EPA, Environmental Defense and the American Chemistry Council, several hundred companies have volunteered to sponsor more than 2,200 HPV chemicals.  Sponsorship entails a commitment to compile existing or develop new data on a basic set of hazard characteristics specified under the program, and to provide the data to EPA, which committed to make all of the data publicly available by no later than the end of 2005.

Detailed information on the status of all companies and chemicals involved in the HPV Challenge, including the unsponsored chemicals, and copies of the companies’ response letters to the Environmental Defense survey are available online in the Environmental Defense HPV Tracker at www.environmentaldefense.org/go/hpvtracker.

(16 June, 2004 — New York)  Environmental Defense today released a report documenting the harmful pollution from commercial shipping.  Commercial shipping discharges about 1 million tons of smog-forming pollution each year.  In communities like New York, Los Angeles and Houston the smog-forming pollution from ships is comparable to hundreds of thousands of vehicles operating on roads and highways (including passenger cars, SUVs, freight trucks and diesel buses).  Yet diesel ships have escaped the tough mandatory controls adopted for land-based diesel engines.  Smog Alert:  How Commercial Shipping is Polluting Our Air, is available at:  www.environmentaldefense.org/go/cmv.

“Ships are floating smokestacks that contribute to a ripple of harmful health effects across America,” said Environmental Defense attorney Janea Scott.  “Many communities near ports, coastal waterways and inland waterways are hard hit by high-polluting commercial ships.  These ships need strong pollution controls to protect the millions of Americans with asthma and other lung diseases.” 

On April 15, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determination found that some 159 million Americans in 474 counties live in areas with unhealthy ozone smog pollution levels.  The determination brought 31 states under the nation’s smog pollution abatement program.  In many communities, especially some of the nation’s highly polluted urban centers, all major sources of smog-forming pollution will need to clean up to aid in the fight for cleaner, healthier air.

Many of the nation’s largest coastal and inland ports have unhealthy smog levels, including:  Houston, Beaumont and Port Arthur, Texas; Baton Rouge; Long Beach; Los Angeles; Oakland; New York; Boston; Philadelphia; Baltimore; Hampton Roads, Virginia; Pittsburgh; St. Louis; Chicago; Detroit; Cincinnati; Cleveland; Toledo; Huntington, West Virginia; and Memphis. 

EPA estimates that commercial shipping’s contribution to the smog-forming pollution discharged by all sources in the transportation sector will rise from 6.6% in 1996 to about 28% in 2030.  By comparison, all of the nation’s highway vehicles are projected to contribute 37.5% of the smog-forming pollution from the transportation sector in 2030. 

(24 May 2004 — Raleigh)  Environmental Defense is joining forces with the N.C. Council of Churches to determine the most effective ways to educate members of the faith community about how they can help reduce the economic, public health and environmental impacts of climate change.  The organizations will begin their formal discussions at a meeting Thursday, May 27 in Raleigh.  The event coincides with a May 26 statewide forum on climate change sponsored by the N.C. Climate Education Partnership and the May 28 release of “The Day After Tomorrow,” a science fiction movie on climate change.

Mainstream scientists agree that climate change will cause sea level on North Carolina’s coast to rise by about 12 inches by 2030, inundating and drastically changing much of the treasured coastline and barrier islands and putting the state’s natural resources at risk to severe weather events.

“Climate change is happening right in our own backyard, and there is something we can do about it,” said Michael Shore, southeast air quality manager for Environmental Defense.  “We anticipate our discussions with the Council of Churches will lead to a formal partnership to educate citizens about the steps each of us can take to reduce greenhouse gas pollution.  This can be as simple as running a dishwasher only with a full load, buying energy efficient light bulbs, or turning off a computer monitor when not in use.”

“Stewardship of Earth is important to the faith community, and we can make a big difference in reducing greenhouse gas pollution,” said Alice Loyd, coordinator for the N.C. Council of Churches’ Climate Connection initiative.  “The first step is educating people about how their daily activities have an impact on climate change.  By working together, we’ll be able to develop meaningful strategies to increase awareness.”

Through its Climate Connection, the Council of Churches is planning a statewide conference on climate change in 2005.

The May 27 meeting will be held from 10:00 am-12 noon at the Community United Church of Christ, corner of Dixie Trail and Wade Avenue in Raleigh. 

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(20 May 2004 - - Missoula, MT) A coalition of conservation organizations - Environmental Defense, Montana Environmental Information Center, National Parks Conservation Association, and the National Wildlife Federation - today filed suit against the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) over its failure to minimize the air pollution impacts of a massive development that will harm public health and cloak more than a dozen national parks and wilderness areas in haze.  The suit claims DOI must limit air pollution from some 100,000 oil and gas wells and 23,000 miles of new roads authorized in a 33 million acre zone in Montana and Wyoming.  The legal action was filed in federal district court in Montana. 
 
“The federal government has okayed one of the most massive oil and gas developments in American history despite the potential health impacts on people living nearby and the haze that will pollute the grand vistas of the West,” said Environmental Defense senior attorney Vickie Patton. 

“The government predicts violations of public health standards, yet will do nothing to stop air pollution from coal-bed methane development.  The science is clear.  This harmful air pollution causes asthma attacks and other serious lung disease.  The federal government should not be making it dangerous to breathe the air,” said Montana Environmental Information Center Program director Anne Hedges.

“Montana’s national parks are critical assets that can contribute every year to our lives and our economy if we take care of them,” said Tony Jewett, senior director of National Parks Conservation Association’s Northern Rockies office.  “Clean air and clear visibility are essential parts of any healthy parks formula.  These coal bed methane proposals take us in the wrong direction.”

The air pollution from the development will violate the federal health-based standard for particulate pollution in nearby communities.  It will also pollute scenic vistas at national parks and wilderness areas including: Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Theodore Roosevelt and Wind Cave National Parks, and the Badlands, Bridger, Fitzpatrick, Gates of the Mountain, North Absaroka, Red Rocks Lakes, Scapegoat, Teton, U.L. Bend and Washakie Wilderness areas.  Even the government’s own analysis, which severely underestimates the air pollution impacts, shows that some of these protected areas will be impacted by haze on a dozen or more days each year.  And some of the predicted pollution impacts will be comparable to Denver’s “brown cloud.”

The lawsuit alleges that DOI has failed to carry out its obligations under the Clean Air Act to protect national parks and wildernesses from harmful air pollution.  The pollution will result from construction activity and heavy equipment, construction and operation of new wells, compressor stations and engines, pipelines, increased vehicle traffic, and more than 23,000 miles of new roads.  Cost-effective solutions are available to cut the high pollution estimated over the 10-to 20-year project timeframe.