Environmental attorney Sanders says here are the current members of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works.

Did you ever wonder who currently sits as a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works?

Senate Majority Committee members are: Barbara Boxer (Chairman)Max Baucus Joseph I. Lieberman Thomas R. Carper Hillary Rodham Clinton Frank R. Lautenberg Benjamin L. Cardin Bernard Sanders Amy Klobuchar and Sheldon Whitehouse

Senate Minority Committee MembersJames M. Inhofe John Warner George V. Voinovich Johnny Isakson David Vitter John Barrasso Larry E. Craig Lamar Alexander and Christopher S. Bond

The composition of the Senate Committee will change when the Senate re-convenes in 2009.

Environmental attorney Sanders says energy efficient hot water heaters now available for residential use.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced the availability of ENERGY STAR® residential water heaters. Introduction of this product provides significant potential savings to consumers. Water heating represents up to 15.5 percent of national residential energy consumption, the second largest end use of energy in homes, following heating and cooling. Using one of five specified water heating technologies, ENERGY STAR® qualified water heaters can reduce water heating bills from 7.5 percent to as much as 55 percent.

In five years, the new water heater criteria are expected to save Americans consumers $823 million in utility costs, avoid 4.2 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, and achieve cumulative energy savings of more than 3.9 billion kilowatt-hours and 270 million therms of natural gas – enough energy to power more than 375,000 homes for a year.

Environmental lawyer Sanders says ExxonMobile to pay $6.1 million penalty for violating CAA consent decree.

ExxonMobil has agreed to pay nearly $6.1 million in civil penalties for violating the terms of a 2005 court-approved Clean Air Act agreement. The 2005 settlement already required ExxonMobil to pay a $7.7 million civil penalty, perform an additional $6.7 million in supplemental environmental projects in communities around the company's refineries, and install pollution controls at six of its U.S. refineries.

The agreement penalizes ExxonMobil for failing to comply with the 2005 settlement at four refineries in Beaumont and Baytown, Texas; Torrance, Calif.; and Baton Rouge, La. Most of the penalties are for failure to monitor and control the sulfur content in certain fuel gas streams burned in refinery furnaces, as required by the 2005 settlement and EPA regulations.

Environmental attorney Sanders says ExxonMobile Pipeline popped for $6.1 million in criminal penalties for discharging diesel oil in Mystic River.

The Department of Justice announced that a criminal information was filed in federal court against a wholly owned subsidiary of ExxonMobil Corporation with violating the Clean Water Act in connection with a spill of approximately 15,000 gallons of diesel oil into the Mystic River from ExxonMobil’s oil terminal in Everett, Mass.

ExxonMobil Pipeline Company was charged with a criminal violation of the Clean Water Act in connection with the January 2006 spill and has signed a plea agreement in which it will pay a total monetary payment of more than $6.1 million and agree to have the Everett terminal monitored by court appointed observer. The plea agreement is subject to court approval.

As part of its plea agreement, ExxonMobil has agreed to pay the maximum possible fine of $359,018 (twice the cost of the clean up), cleanup costs of $179,634, and a community service payment of $5,640,982 to the North American Wetlands Conservation Act fund to be used to restore wetlands in Massachusetts.

Environmental attorney Sanders says EPA is coordinating response to TVA's billion gallon release of fly ash sludge.

U.S. EPA Region 4 continues to assist in Harriman, Tennessee as part of the Unified Command response operation for the TVA Kingston Fossil Plant fly ash release. Unified Command consists of EPA, the Roane County Emergency Management Agency (EMA), Tennessee EMA, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, and the Tennessee Valley Authority.

It is estimated that approximately 5.4 million cubic yards of fly ash and water were released on to land adjacent to the plant and into the nearby Clinch and Emory Rivers on Monday, December 22, 2008. The initial release of materials from the plant’s retention pond created a tidal wave of water and ash which destroyed several homes and ruptured a major gas line in a neighborhood located adjacent to the plant.

EPA continues to assist in monitoring response operations and reviewing sampling data by TVA. EPA initiated a sampling program on December 23, 2008, which included surface water, sediment and fly ash. Samples were submitted to a laboratory for analysis of total and dissolved metals and total suspended solids.

Current environmental data from surface water sampling indicates that several heavy metals are present in the surface water slightly above drinking water standards in the area of the spill, but not in the area of the Kingston water supply intake. Drinking water standards are designed to be conservative, and results to date are below concentrations EPA knows to be harmful to humans.

One sample of river water out of numerous samples taken indicated an elevated level of arsenic, however arsenic has been found to be naturally occurring in the environment and further investigation is in progress. Arsenic was not detected in samples taken close to the Kingston Water Intake. Unless people regularly drink untreated river water, the arsenic should not cause any adverse health effects. Surface water sample results in the area of the drinking water intakes did not indicate standards exceedances, but sampling will continue.

EPA and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation continue to sample drinking water wells, municipal water, soils, river-water and river sediment. Response officials are currently evaluating the potential for health effects associated with dust from dry fly ash material, and both EPA and TVA have begun monitoring for levels of fly ash in the air.

TVA continues to manage the river flows of the Clinch and Tennessee Rivers to minimize the possibility of water from the plant flowing past the Kingston water supply intake and continues the removal of displaced fly ash.

A hotline for health effects information is being established by the Tennessee Department of Health, in consultation with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. The hotline should be operational on December 29, 2008.

Environmental lawyer Sanders says federal panel reverses course and allows Clean Air Act Interstate Rule to remain in effect for the time being.

In a surprise move, a federal appellate panel ruled that U.S. EPA regulations that limit certain air pollutants from coal-fired electric generating power plants will remain in effect until new administrative rules are drafted by EPA. Coal powered plants are located in 28 states, including Kentucky.

The rules at issue are known as the Clean Air Act Interstate Rule. These regulations attempt to limit the amount of certain air pollutants that are carried by the wind across state lines. The intent of the rules is to reduce acid rain falling downwind coal power plants.

The three-judge panel of the court in Washington unanimously struck down the same regulations in July 2008, saying U.S. EPA went beyond its legal authority in 2005 when it created the Clean Air Interstate Rule. The appellate court still believes the rules are legally flawed, but apparently believe something is better than nothing in matters dealing with air pollution from coal power plants. Thus, the flawed rules will remain in effect until the EPA redrafts them.

However, the appellate panel rejected a request by several states to set a deadline for EPA to revise the rules. Here is Christmas surprise contained in a 4-page opinion on rehearing. The 60-page July 11th opinion is here. This opinion originally vacated the same rules.

Environmental attorney Sanders says TVA fly ash sludge spill may be largest environmental disaster of its kind in USA.

TVA’s massive coal ash spill in eastern Tennessee may be the largest environmental disaster of its kind in the United States. Indeed, TVA is now admitting the spill was more than three times as large as initially estimated according to TVA’s updated survey of the colossal mess.

Faced with the bright lights of international news coverage, TVA now estimates that more than a billion gallons of coal fly ash, a byproduct of burning coal, spilled when an earthen dike burst on a retention pond at the Kingston Fossil Plant. The spill covered 300 acres with sludge in Harriman, about 35 miles west of Knoxville.

More worrisome to many, a mixture of fly ash and water spilled in the Emory River, causing residents of nearby Kingston to worry about the safety of their drinking water. To no one’s surprise, TVA has said the water is safe to drink.

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation said last week that the mixture of coal fly ash and water didn't pose an immediate risk to residents unless they ingested it. Elevated contaminant levels were found in water samples in the immediate area of the spill, but not around the intake for the Kingston Water Treatment Plant, which supplies drinking water to residents, Tennessee officials told residents.

Because of the potential health risks from heavy metals in the sludge, TVA is taking water samples from the river near the raw water intake for the drinking water plant.

Environmental attorney Sanders says Scientific American reports that fly ash contains 100X more radiation than nuclear waste.

Scientific American reports that several studies conducted in recent years have found that waste produced by coal plants is more radioactive than that generated by their nuclear counterparts. In fact, according to the article, fly ash—a by-product from burning coal for power—contains up to 100 times more radiation than nuclear waste.

You can read the article at http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=coal-ash-is-more-radioactive-than-nuclear-waste.

Environmental attorney Sanders says watch an aerial videotape of the devastation near Chattanooga caused by collapse of TVA fly ash pond.

An aerial videotape of the devastation from the collapse of a TVA fly ash pond near Chattanooga, TN can be seen here.

Our prayers and thoughts go out to all of the families who have been affected by this disaster in the Christmas season. God bless each and everyone of them and good luck to the cleanup crew, who will be working overtime this holiday season.

Environmental attorney Sanders says Tetra-Tech award contract to remediate sediments of Lower Fox River contaminated with PCBs.

The Fox River is a river in eastern and central Wisconsin in the United States. The Lower Fox River links Lake Winnebago with the Bay of Green Bay. The Lower Fox River is home to many industrial plants, including a number of paper mills.

Some of these paper mills produced carbon-less copy paper, which contained PCBs as an integral ingredient. The use of PCBs in making and recycling of carbon-less paper stopped in the 1970s. The paper mills use of PCBs contaminated the river’s sediments and the Fox River was placed on the National Priority List by U.S. EPA in the 1990s.

Looking back, the NCR Corporation and Appleton Paper Company began discharging PCB-contaminated wastewater into the Fox River, as a by-product of their joint production of PCB-coated carbonless copy paper in 1954. Shortly thereafter, five other paper companies started recycling the PCB-contaminated trimmings and wastepaper originating from Appleton Paper Company, and they also began dumping PCBs into the Fox River with their wastewater.

PCBs, which are a chemical family of more than 200 different highly toxic compounds, accumulate in the fatty tissue of animals, including fish, waterfowl, and humans.

To clean up the river’s heavily polluted sediments, seven paper companies (collectively known as the “Fox River Group”) are being held responsible for the contamination. The companies are Appleton Papers Inc., NCR, Fort James Corp. (now Georgia-Pacific Corp.), P.H. Glatfelter Co., Riverside Paper Corp., Wisconsin Tissue Mills Inc. (now WTM1), and U.S. Paper Mills Corp.

After much intense wrangling, heated debate, and planning over the past 25 years, the Fox River Group selected Tetra Tech, Inc. for the first phase of a design-build sediment remediation program for the Lower Fox River in Green Bay, Wisconsin —one of the largest sediment remediation programs in the world.

Tetra Tech plans to remediate approximately 4 million cubic yards of sediment contaminated with PCBs. The cleanup is estimated to cost about $600 to $700 million, which will be spread out over about 10 years. Let’s hope that Tetra-Tech is successful in remediating PCB contamination in the bottom the Lower Fox River.

Environmental attorney Sanders says U.S. EPA notifies Kentucky that nine counties fail fine particulate standards under Clean Air Act.

U.S. EPA notified Kentucky’s Division for Air Quality that nine Kentucky counties do not meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for 24-hour levels of fine particle pollution. The Kentucky counties are: Boone, Campbell, Kenton, Boyd, Bullitt, Jefferson, McCracken, a portion of Lawrence and two portions of Muhlenberg.

Particle pollution, also called particulate matter or PM, is a complex mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets in the air. When breathed in, these particles can reach the deepest regions of the lungs. Exposure to particle pollution is linked to a variety of significant health problems, ranging from aggravated asthma to premature death in people with heart and lung disease. Particle pollution also is the main cause of visibility impairment in the nation’s cities and national parks.

The 2006 standards tighten the 24-hour fine particle standard from 65 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3) to 35 µg/m3, and retain the current annual fine particle standard at 15 µg/m3.

PM2.5 is a criteria pollutant. EPA establishes national ambient air quality standards for each of the criteria pollutants. These standards apply to the concentration of a pollutant in outdoor air. If the air quality in a geographic area meets or is cleaner than the national standard, it is called an attainment area; areas that don’t meet the national standard are called nonattainment areas.

In order to improve air quality in a nonattainment area, Kentucky must develop a plan that outlines the measures that it will take in order to improve air quality in these nine counties. Such a plan may impact industrial and economic development in these areas in the future.

So, EPA’s finding of non-conpliance is not good for Kentucky, busineses already located in these nine counties, or those business seeking to locate industrial operations in any of the nine counties. Just as important, the finding is just plain BAD for everyone breathing air in these nine counties.

Once a nonattainment area meets the standards and additional redesignation requirements in the Clean Air Act [Section 107(d)(3)(E)], EPA will designate the area to attainment as a “maintenance area.”

Environmental lawyer Sanders says fly ash pond collapse at TVA coal-fired electric plant buries 15 homes in several feet of ashy sludge.

Today, a massive slug of mud, water and fly ash sludge buried 15 homes when an earthen dike collapsed at a large fly ash pond at TVA’s Kingston coal-fired plant. The 40-acre fly ash pond collapsed in a rural area located outside of Chattanooga, TN. The ensuing mess covered hundreds of acres downstream from the fly ash pond.

News stations are reporting that the force of the massive wall of water, ash, and mud knocked one home off its foundation and buried everything in its wake with 4 to 6 feet of sludge over an area of 250 acres to 400 acres.

U.S. EPA Region 4 staff in Atlanta made an initial estimate that 2.6 million cubic yards of fly ash were released. EPA reported that the pond was designed to contain around 40 million gallons of water, but the agency admitted that it doesn’t know how much water or sludge was actually released.

No injuries have reported at this time. Latest reports claim that about 15 homes have been affected by the failure of the fly ash pond. In response, TVA is mobilizing approximately 30 pieces of equipment and 90 individuals to place barriers to prevent the movement of the ash and to begin clean-up. Teams also will be sampling water in the area and conducting damage assessments.

Environmental attorney Sanders says President-elect Obama names his nominees to head U.S. EPA and U.S. DOE.

On Dec. 15, U.S. President-elect Barack Obama held a press conference where he named his latest nominees who will help "transform our economy so that our people are more prosperous, our nation is more secure, and our planet is protected."

The nominees are Steven Chu, Ph.D., secretary of energy; Lisa P. Jackson, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; Nancy Sutley, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality; Carol Browner, assistant to the president for Energy and Climate Change; and Heather Zichal, deputy assistant to the president for Energy and Climate Change.

Environmental attorney Sanders says environmental groups file suit to protect new stream buffer rule that favors dumping mine spoil in waterways.

A coalition of environmental groups filed suit today to challenge the Bush administration over a controversial rule change pushed through the Office of Surface Mining December 12 after having been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the waning days of the Bush administration's power.

The legal challenge would overturn the last-minute repeal of the stream buffer zone rule -- an environmental law that, since 1983, has prohibited surface coal mining activities within 100 feet of flowing streams.

Attorneys with Earthjustice, Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment, Appalachian Citizens Law Center, Sierra Club, and Waterkeeper Alliance filed the legal challenge today in federal district court in Washington, DC on behalf of Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, Kentucky Waterways Alliance, Tennessee-based Save Our Cumberland Mountains, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, and two other West Virginia-based groups: Coal River Mountain Watch and Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition.

Environmental attorney Sanders says Congressional report details EPA's discharge of Clean Water Act violations from enforcement docket.

The results of a Congressional investigation details the deterioration of the Clean Water Act enforcement program in the wake of a Supreme Court decision that called into question whether certain rivers, streams, wetlands and other waters remain protected from pollution. The U.S. Supreme Court case is Rapanos v. United States, 373 F.3d 626 (2006).

The investigation, by Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman and Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James L. Oberstar, uncovered information EPA is keeping hidden from Congressional investigators and the public: namely the details of over 500 clean water enforcement cases that have been dropped or stalled in the wake of the 2006 Rapanos decision -- almost half of the agency's annual water enforcement docket.

A leaked EPA memo reported that in the period between July 2006 through December 2007, 305 Clean Water Act enforcement cases were dropped and 147 were officially "de-prioritized." In 63 additional instances, polluters have used the Bush administration's interpretation of the Supreme Court decision as a shield against enforcement.

The regions with the most lost enforcement actions are EPA Region 6, which includes the states of New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana, where 138 enforcement cases were dropped, and EPA Region 8, which includes the states of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado, where 106 enforcement cases have been dropped.

The Congressional report is at http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20081216113810.pdf.

Environmental attorney Sanders says coal-fired utility plants are a major source of airborne mercury emissions in U.S. according to EPA report.

U.S. EPA issued a report in 1998 citing mercury emissions from electric utilities as the largest remaining anthropogenic source of mercury released to the air. EPA estimated that about 50 tons of mercury are emitted each year from U.S. coal-burning power plants, with lesser amounts coming from oil- and gas-burning units. According to EPA estimates, emissions from coal-fired utilities account for 13 to 26 percent of the total (natural plus anthropogenic) airborne emissions of mercury in the United States.

In the natural environment, mercury can go through a series of chemical transformations that convert elemental mercury to a highly toxic form called methylmercury. This natural process is called methylation and is driven by bacteria that convert inorganic mercury to methylmercury.

The rate of methylation is dependent on many factors, including mercury availability, bacterial population, nutrient load, acidity and oxidizing conditions, sediment load, and sedimentation rates (National Research Council, 1978).

Once in an organic form, mercury enters the food chain, particularly in aquatic organisms, and bioaccumulates via the food chain. Cases of mercury poisoning have been documented in people who eat mercury contaminated fish for prolonged periods, both in the United States and abroad. Thus, the reason that EPA, FDA, and the states issue mercury advisories for fish.

Environmental attorney Sanders says think ahead for planting garden plants to attract butterflies to your home and garden in the spring.

If your goal is to attract the maximum number of both butterflies and species of butterfly to your garden, you must plant a variety of butterfly garden flowers. The best place to plant flowers which attract butterflies is in full sun. Butterflies prefer warm sunny areas and are thought to like pink, red, orange, and yellow flowers the most. They like trumpet-shaped flowers and those with broad petals that provide a good place to land.

Some perennial butterfly garden plants and flowers include: aster, bee balm, black eyed Susan, chives, coreopsis, daisy, hibiscus, lobelia, milkweed, phlox, sedum, and yarrow. Some annual butterfly garden plants and flowers include: cosmos, impatiens, marigold, nasturtium, sunflower, verbena, and zinnia.

Butterfly garden host plants are where the butterflies prefer to lay their eggs. They are chosen because of what the larvae, or caterpillars, eat after hatching. Obviously, these plants will be chewed up by the larvae, and might do better at the back of the garden or hidden behind another tall plant.

Different butterfly species need different butterfly garden host plants. Some of them include alfalfa, clover, herbs such as dill, fennel, and parsley, plantains, cabbages, sunflowers, milkweed, and nettle.

Some butterflies prefer to lay their eggs on trees. While planting new trees just for your butterfly garden can be impossible, having these varieties around will help attract more of the colorful insects. Some of the most popular trees for butterflies include sycamores, willows, locust trees, aspen, elm, and flowering fruit trees such as cherry and peach.

Planting the two types of butterfly garden plants will ensure that you attract the maximum number of butterflies to your garden. You must provide both nectar producing flowers and butterfly garden host plants for the caterpillars.

Butterflies also need a shallow source of water and a flat surface to sit in the sun in the morning to warm up. There are fewer joys in the world greater than watching butterflies dance among the flowers in Kentucky. The joy is even greater when introducing your child or grandchild to the dance of the butterflies.

Environmental attorney Sanders says FDA draft report recommends pregnant women and children eat more seafood despite health risks from mercury.

The U.S. Food& Drug Administration (“FDA”) is urging amendment of a 2004 mercury advisory that warns women and children to limit how much fish they eat, saying that the benefits of seafood outweigh the health risks. According to the FDA’s new approach, people should eat more fish, even if it contains mercury.

That is a whopping 180-degree-change in the federal agency’s position. Currently, the government warns that women of childbearing years, pregnant women, nursing mothers, infants and children, can be harmed by mercury in fish and should limit their consumption.

Mercury occurs naturally in the environment and it can also be released into the air through industrial pollution. Mercury falls from the air and can get into surface water, accumulating in streams and oceans.

Bacteria in the water cause chemical changes that transform mercury into methylmercury that can be toxic. Fish absorb methylmercury from water as they feed on aquatic organisms. Methylmercury is the most toxic form of mercury to humans.

In its draft report, FDA proposes to update the existing health advisory. The report claims that nutrients in fish, including omega-3 fatty acids, selenium and other minerals could boost a child's IQ. The greatest benefits, the FDA report said, would come from eating more than 12 ounces of fish a week, which is above the current limit advised for pregnant women, women of childbearing age, nursing mothers and young children.

1. Currently, the FDA and EPA make these three recommendations for selecting and eating fish or shellfish, women and young children will receive the benefits of eating fish and shellfish and be confident that they have reduced their exposure to the harmful effects of mercury.


2. Do not eat Shark, Swordfish, King Mackerel, or Tilefish because they contain high levels of mercury.


3. Eat up to 12 ounces (2 average meals) a week of a variety of fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury.
   

Five of the most commonly eaten fish that are low in mercury are shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish. Another commonly eaten fish, albacore ("white") tuna has more mercury than canned light tuna. So, when choosing your two meals of fish and shellfish, you may eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) of albacore tuna per week.

Check local advisories about the safety of fish caught by family and friends in your local lakes, rivers, and coastal areas. If no advice is available, eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) per week of fish you catch from local waters, but don't consume any other fish during that week.

The FDA and the EPA have different roles in protecting the public from mercury contamination. EPA investigates and regulates mercury and other contaminants in recreationally caught fish, while the FDA regulates mercury in seafood sold in markets and restaurants. States rely on the federal agencies in issuing their own advisories.

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife and the Kentucky Division of Water issue advisories for eating recreationally caught fish in Kentucky. The current mercury advisory for fish is at http://fw.ky.gov/fishadvisory.asp?lid=900&NavPath=C101.

Environmental Attorney Sanders says Peabody ends quest for coal fired utility plant in Central City and begins new plan to convert coal to natural gas

Peabody Energy has formally ended its bid to build the Thoroughbred coal-fired electric generating plant in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. The proposed 1,500-megawatt coal-fueled electricity generation project was supposed to be built near Central City, Kentucky.

Now, Peabody Energy Co. and ConocoPhillips announced plans to locate a new multibillion dollar plant to convert coal to natural gas in Muhlenberg County. If it passes the regulatory hurdles, the plant would be built on the 80-acre site Peabody had set aside for its Thoroughbred Energy Campus, which has been tied up in the permitting process and courts for years.

Sounds to me like the Environmental Lawyers at Greenebaum Doll & McDonald are rejoicing this Christmas Holiday Season. Congratulations Jack, David, Rusty, Carl, and Carol and happy holidays.

Environmental attorney Sanders says methane hydrate has promise of solving energy problem for America in the future.

Gas hydrate is a crystalline solid consisting of gas molecules, usually methane, surrounded by a cage of water molecules. That is, frozen water crystals trap large quantities of methane gas. Because of the presence of methane, the hydrate will burn when ignited. If gas hydrate is either warmed or depressurized, it will decompose to water and natural gas.

Methane hydrate was discovered only a few decades ago, and little research has been done on it until recently. Because of the sheer abundance of gas hydrate in our environment, some scientists estimate that the energy locked up in methane hydrate deposits is more than twice the global reserves of all conventional gas, oil, and coal deposits combined.

What that estimate sounds exciting, no one has figured out how to recover methane gas from the frozen crystalline structure in a cost-efficient manner. In addition, no one really knows how much energy is actually recoverable. Still, gas hydrates occur abundantly in nature, both in Arctic regions and in marine sediments.

Because of the enormous potential of gas hydrate as an energy source, we will be hearing a lot about this compound in the future.

Environmental attorney Sanders says Irish pork products subject to recall in 25 countries due to doxin contamination in animal feed.

The United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency is advising consumers not to eat pork or pork products, such as sausages, bacon, salami and ham, which are labeled as being from the Irish Republic or Northern Ireland, while it continues to investigate whether any products contaminated with dioxins have been distributed in the UK.

The warning came after the Irish Government's announcement that it is recalling all pork products made in the Irish Republic since September 2008 after dioxins were found in slaughtered pigs that are thought to have eaten contaminated feed.

Dioxins are chemicals that get into food from the environment and they are associated with a range of health effects when there is long term exposure to them at relatively high levels. Dioxin contaminated Irish pig meat could have been exported to 25 countries, including France and the Netherlands, Irish government officials said.

Tests on Irish pork products contained showed toxic dioxins levels 200 times higher than “accepted” safety limit. Dioxin is believed to have come from “contaminated oil,” used by Millstream Power Recycling Limited, which recycles food products into pig meal. The chief executive of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland Alan said that investigations were ongoing into how dioxin got into the feed.

Dioxins are not intentionally produced. However, they formed as unwanted by-products in a variety of industrial and combustion processes, including incineration of wastes. Dioxins accumulate in humans, primarily in fatty tissues. Many believe that dioxins are one of the most toxic synthetic substances known that have no known commercial or industrial uses.

Dioxins are formed when substances containing chlorine or bromine and carbon are burned, or otherwise processed - as in the burning of medical or municipal waste in incinerators, various metallurgical processes or in chlorine bleaching of pulp and paper.

Environmental attorney Sanders says Dow Chemical is slashing 5,000 employees, closing 20 chemical plants, and idling 180 plants in great recession.

Dow Chemical Company will eliminate approximately 5,000 full-time jobs, close 20 facilities in high-cost locations and divest several non-strategic businesses. The job reductions represent a reduction of roughly 11 percent of Dow’s global workforce.

In addition, reflecting poor current market conditions, Dow will temporarily idle approximately 180 plants and significantly reduce its contractor workforce worldwide by approximately 6,000 as predicated by reduced operations.

Environmental attorney Sanders says Asian Development Bank approves $500 million loan to improve water quality of Citarum River in Indonesia.

Indonesia's efforts to clean up the Citarum River, perhaps the world's most polluted river, received a major boost following the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) approval of a $500 million multi-tranche loan package.

The Citarum River Basin Territory supports a population of 28 million people, delivers 20% of Indonesia’s gross domestic product, and provides 80% of the surface water supply to Indonesia’s capital city, Jakarta. Over the past 20 years, rapid urbanization and industrial growth have resulted in growing quantities of untreated domestic sewage, solid waste and industrial effluents being dumped in the Citarum. Pollution levels now compromise public health, and the livelihoods of impoverished fishing families have been jeopardized by widespread fish kill.

The loan agreement requires compliance with ADB safeguards on the environment, resettlement and indigenous persons, as well as good governance requirements and other conditions set out in ADB policies. Clean water has been a major area of ADB assistance to Indonesia.

As of year-end 2007, ADB had provided Indonesia with 103 loans totaling $4.17 billion and 151 technical assistance projects totaling $68.8 million in the area of water, including related areas such as agriculture, irrigation, livestock, fisheries, forestry and rural development.

Environmental attorney Sanders says EPA is under pressure to revamp 1986 risk assessment model for asbestos.

U.S. EPA may be in the midst of changing the basic assumptions in its 1986 risk assessment model for asbestos. Currently, EPA’s risk assessment model considers all asbestos mineral types and all asbestos fibers greater than five microns in length to be equally capable of causing mesothelioma and lung cancer.

The model is under intense attack from industry types and insurers, who want to do away with EPA’s assumption that all asbestos fibers greater than five microns in length are dangerous to humans. However, changing underlying assumptions in the model would be a radical change for EPA. Since 1986, EPA’s approach to assessing disease risk from asbestos exposures drew no distinctions among fiber types or fiber sizes.

Many different kinds of asbestos were used in building materials, paper products, plastics, and other products. The principal forms of asbestos include chrysotile, crocidolite, amosite, tremolite, actinolite, and anthophyllite. All but chrysotile are classified as amphiboles, which tend to have a thin, needle-like appearance.

Exposure mainly occurs in indoor air where it may be released from asbestos-containing materials. Effects on the lung are a major health concern from asbestos, as chronic exposure to asbestos in humans via inhalation can result in asbestosis.

Cancer is also a major concern from asbestos exposure, as inhalation exposure can cause lung cancer and mesothelioma (a rare cancer of the thin membranes lining the abdominal cavity and surrounding internal organs), and possibly gastrointestinal cancers in humans.

U.S. EPA has classified asbestos as a Group A, known human carcinogen. Asbestos litigation has swelled in recent years and many companies are facing millions of dollars in potential liability and cleanups.

If a new risk assessment model for asbestos is approved by EPA, the new model would likely classify chrysotile asbestos as a lower risk of harm than other types of asbestos minerals. There is really no secret to the underlying rationale for this change. Chrysotile was the most widely used type of asbestos in the U.S.

To the skeptical, EPA is under pressure to change a basic assumption in its risk assessment model to reduce the financial risk to defendants in asbestos litigation and cleanup, rather than as a result of new or convincing scientific evidence on the topic.

Environmental attorney Sanders says Kentucky officials oppose loosing of restrictions on dumping mining wastes into Kentucky waterways.

In November 2008, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear formally objected to a proposed move by the Bush Administration to weaken restrictions that prohibit dumping mountaintop mining waste near rivers and streams. The formal written objection, contained in a letter from Beshear to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, contends that the proposed rule change would threaten the commonwealth's ability to protect its natural resources, including water and streams.

Gov. Beshear was joined in his objection by Attorney General Jack Conway and Congressmen Ben Chandler, of Lexington, and John Yarmuth, of Louisville, all of whom wrote individual letters of concern to the EPA. These publicly elected officials contend that the proposed waivers would weaken a 1983 federal regulation that restricts where mining waste can be dumped, a so-called “Excess Spoil minimization – Stream Buffer Zone” rule. The proposed rule change would erase that restriction, making it easier to dump waste near homes and potentially into waterways and streams.

"Kill the rivers and kill the land" is what my grandfather used to tell me. Of course, what did he know, he was just a poor farmer that loved and respected his land and that of his neighbors.

Environmental attorney Sanders says Elizabeth R. Schmitz elected president of Kentucky Association for Environmental Education.

The Kentucky Association for Environmental Education (www.KAEE.org) elected Elizabeth Robb Schmitz, environmental education specialist for the Kentucky Division for Air Quality, as its president during the association’s annual conference

Since 1976, the Kentucky Association for Environmental Education has worked to build a sustainable environment through education. The Kentucky Association for Environmental Education (KAEE) is one of the country’s oldest associations supporting environmental education and the first affiliate of the North American Association for Environmental Education.

KAEE relies on the skills and talents of the many dedicated educators of our state to build environmental education into their curricula and programs. The educational principles that KAEE promotes were developed through the National Project for Excellence in Environmental Education, sponsored by the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE). KAEE advocates for legislation in the Commonwealth so education about the environment will be taught in every classroom in Kentucky.

Let's all wish Ms. Schmitz the best of luck in this position of responsibility. All of us know deep down that environmental education should be taught in every school district in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Environmental attorney Sanders congratuates John Lyons, director of Kentucky Division for Air Quality, for election to board of directors of NACAA.

The National Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA) has elected John Lyons, director of the Kentucky Division for Air Quality, to its board of directors. NACAA represents air pollution control agencies in 53 states and territories and over 165 major metropolitan areas across the United States.

NACAA was formed more 30 years ago to encourage information exchange among air pollution control officials, to enhance communication and cooperation among federal, state, and local regulatory agencies, and to promote good management of our air resources. To learn more about NACAA, visit its Web site at www.4cleanair.org.

Congratulations to John!

Environmental attorney Sanders says embattled FDA releases report detailing its efforts to protect America's food supply.

In a report released today, the embattled U.S. Food & Drug Administration (“FDA”) says that it's increasing up its inspection staff by at least 130 people. But that is not all; in response to the tomato scare during the summer 2008, the agency is also developing a safety plan to reduce the risk of infection-causing salmonella bacteria.

Because of a real fear of other food-borne illnesses, the agency is drafting enforcement rules to prevent listeria bacteria, which causes fever, muscle aches and digestive symptoms, in prepared food. To prevent the outbreak of new bacterial infections, FDA also approved irradiation technology to kill E. coli and salmonella.

Food-borne illnesses are caused by eating food or drinking beverages contaminated with bacteria, parasites, or viruses. Harmful chemicals can also cause food-borne illnesses if they have contaminated food during harvesting or processing. Food-borne illnesses can cause symptoms that range from an upset stomach to more serious symptoms, including diarrhea, fever, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and dehydration. Most food-borne infections are undiagnosed and unreported, though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that every year about 76 million people in the United States become ill from pathogens, or disease-causing substances, in food. Of these people, about 5,000 die.

Environmental attorney Sanders says California is ending use of lead weights to balance tires as part of court settlement.

Almost everyone knows that lead is a neurotoxin that is extremely harmful to infants and young children, but did you know that lead is still used to balance tires in motor vehicles? Well, that may change in the coming decade. The news from California is that “lead is out and steel is in for balancing tires” as part of a large federal court settlement.

Lead weights falling from tire rims are a huge source of this nasty neurotoxin in our environment. Did you know that:

Wheel weights are clipped to the rims of every automobile wheel in the United States in order to balance tires?

Lead weights will be phased out in California by the end of 2009 under a court settlement between Oakland-based Center for Environmental Health against Chrysler and the three largest makers of lead wheel weights for the U.S. market: Plombco Inc. of Canada, Perfect Equipment Inc. and Hennessey Industries?

There are 200 million autos and light trucks on the nation's roadways, with 16 million new autos produced annually in the United States?

An average of 4.5 ounces of lead is clipped to the wheel rims of every automobile in the United States?

Approximately 50 million pounds of lead is used annually to produce tire weights worldwide in autos and light trucks?

About 1.6 million pounds are lost in the United States when wheel weights fall off during normal driving conditions (e.g., hitting a pot hole)?

Half a million pounds of lead each year is released into the environment in California from wheel weights falling off vehicles?

Local service stations may have steel weights available, and consumers can request them in lieu of lead weights?

Environmental attorney Sanders says EPA is amending SPCC regulations.

Newly announced amendments to the Oil Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Rule will clarify regulatory requirements, tailor requirements to particular industry sectors, and streamline certain requirements for facility owners or operators subject to the rule. With these changes, U.S. EPA expects to encourage greater compliance with the SPCC regulations, thus resulting in increased protection of human health and the environment.

The amendments do not remove any regulatory requirement for owners or operators of facilities in operation before August 16, 2002 to develop, implement and maintain an SPCC plan in accordance with the SPCC regulations then in effect. Such facilities continue to be required to maintain their plans during the interim until the applicable date for revising and implementing their plans under the new amendments.

EPA also is announcing a proposed rule to extend the compliance dates for all facilities to November 2009 and to establish new compliance dates for farms (November 2009), certain qualified farms (November 2010) and marginal oil production facilities (November 2013) subject to SPCC. These revised compliance dates will provide owners or operators of the various kinds of facilities the opportunity to fully understand the regulatory amendments offered by revisions to the SPCC rule from 2006 and 2008.

Finally, EPA is announcing a final rule that vacates the July 17, 2002 definition of “navigable waters” and restores the definition of “navigable waters” that EPA promulgated in 1973. This is in accordance with an order issued by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (D.D.C) in American Petroleum Institute v. Johnson, 571 F. Supp.2d 165 (D.D.C. 2008). This final rule does not amend the definition of “navigable waters” in any other regulation that EPA has promulgated. An "unofficial copy of the new rule" is at: http://www.epa.gov/emergencies/docs/oil/spcc/SPCC_Final%20Rule_signed.pdf.

The link is to an unofficial pre-publication copy of the Federal Register Notice (signed November 20, 2008) for public reference. This document has not yet been published in the Federal Register and is not an official version of the final rule. The official final rule is effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. Clear enough?

Environmental attorney Sanders says U.S. EPA awards grants for environmental education in EPA Region 5, including one to Ohio River Foundation.

U.S. EPA Region 5 has awarded $271,278 in grants to fund 11 projects that enhance environmental education in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. The annual grants are given to community groups, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, schools and universities for projects that increase knowledge and awareness of science and the environment. The funding will promote and advance environmental literacy and sustainable practices.

Locally, the Ohio River Foundation in Cincinnati received $19,592 to provide hands-on learning about watersheds and storm water management to students in grades 6-12 participating in a school rain garden program. Students will design and develop rain gardens that serve as a model for the community at large. For more information, contact: Erin Crowley, 513-460-3365.

Environmental attorney Sanders says Koppers joins National Partnership for Environmental Priorities to reduce use of toxic chemicals.

Koppers Inc., has enrolled in U.S. EPA’s National Partnership for Environmental Priorities (NPEP). The program encourages public and private organizations to form partnerships with EPA and to commit to reduce the use or release of any of 31 priority chemicals.

As a new NPEP partner, Koppers Inc. has committed to reduce waste at its Follansbee, W.Va. plant and has voluntarily committed to a source reduction goal of 50,154 pounds of Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds (PACs) and 8,680 pounds of Benzo(ghi)perylene by December 2009. In addition, Koppers committed to a recycling and recovery goal of 13,049 pounds of PACs and 1,000 pounds of Benzo(ghi)perylene by December 2009.

PACs are a group of chemicals that are formed during the incomplete burning of coal, oil, gas, crude oil, coal, coal tar pitch, creosote, and roofing tar. Benzo(g,h,i)perylene is one of a group of chemicals called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and like PACs, Benzo(g,h,i)perylene is also created when products like coal, oil, gas, and garbage are burned but the burning process is not complete.

Koppers has a railroad crosstie treating facility in Guthrie, Kentucky. Koppers creosote treated wood products from Kentucky are used throughout the U.S.

Attorney Sanders says Public Justice obtained a preliminary injunction against valley fill permit issued by USACE to Fola Coal in West Virginia.

The U.S. Federal Court for the Southern District of West Virginia granted a critical preliminary injunction filed by Public Justice against a valley fill permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a new Fola Coal mountaintop removal site in West Virginia. The Fola Ike Fork 1 and 2 decision is significant because the court's decision questions the scientific validity of the cornerstone of the Corps' permitting strategy - the theory that coal companies can make up for burying headwater streams with mining waste by creating new streams somewhere else.

Under the Corps' rather novel ecological theory, if the value of the created streams exceeds the value of the buried streams, the environment has a net gain and the mine's environmental impacts are insignificant. To measure stream values, the Corps uses a visual assessment of stream structural indicators to infer their biological functions. As Public Justice’s expert described the methodology, it is like relying solely on a person's height and weight to infer their blood pressure and overall health.

At the preliminary injunction hearing, the Corps employee who authored its stream assessment method testified that he was directed to prepare it in a few weeks' time, had no training in headwater stream ecology, consulted with no stream ecologists, read no scientific papers that supported an inference that the structural indicators he choose were linked to functional stream characteristics, and never measured any stream functions during his single site visit to Appalachia in 2007.

After hearing this testimony, the federal district court found it likely that Public Justice would prevail on its claim that the Corps' decision is illegal. Because all of the Corps' recent permit decisions in West Virginia rely on this method, all of those permits share the same flaw. To read the decision, click here <http://www.publicjustice.net/briefs/FolaPI_Decision_10312008.pdf> .

Attorney Sanders says U.S. Supreme Court to hear appeal over coal case involving millions in political contributions to West Virginia Supreme Court.

In February 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a West Virginia case that focuses on the role of big money in buying justice in a state supreme court. In 2004, the A. T. Massey Coal Co. faced a $50-million verdict in a contract dispute with another coal firm. That year, its president and chief executive gave $3 million to candidate Brent Benjamin's campaign for a seat on the state Supreme Court.

Justice Benjamin won the seat; 60% of his funding came from the Massey executive. More specifically, Massey chairman Don Blankenship played a pivotal role in the political race by personally spending $3 million on behalf of an organization that directly or indirectly benefited the election of Justice Benjamin.

Shortly afterward, the West Virginia Supreme Court agreed to hear Massey's appeal in the contract dispute. Despite pleas that he recuse himself from ruling on the case, Justice Brent Benjamin cast the deciding vote in a 3-2 ruling that overturned the $50 million verdict against Massey. The shocked companies appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The highest federal court will decide whether Justice Brent Benjamin's refusal to recuse himself from the case violated the losing company’s due process rights.

The Appellants claim that it violates the Constitution's guarantee of due process of law to permit a judge to accept a huge million dollar contribution from a donor and then rule on his case. Caperton vs. A. T. Massey Coal Co. will be heard in February 2009.

Attorney Sanders says public comment period on perchlorate extended because EPA's model was potentially biased towards deregulation of contaminant.

A while back, we wrote about U.S. EPA’s extension of the public comment period on the agency’ preliminary decision that it would not regulate perchlorate, an oxidizer in rocket fuel under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The decision caught many members of the public and environmental groups completely off-guard and raised a nationwide uproar. As a result, instead of finalizing its preliminary decision, the agency extended the public comment period on whether EPA should regulate perchlorate under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Now, the basis for the extension of time is slowly coming to light. U.S. EPA scientific advisers warned managers at EPA Headquarters in Washington that the agency should delay final action on its decision because the computer model underlying the decision may have flaws. EPA relied heavily on a computer model created by the Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology, which has yet to be fully checked by other scientists. That means, the mathematical model was not peer reviewed by other qualified scientists to make sure the results were fair and unbiased.

As matters stand now, EPA’s preliminary decision may be biased towards letting the makers and users of perchlorate off the hook for polluting drinking water supplies in 35 different states. Because of the wealth of scientific information on the toxicity of perchlorate on humans, not regulating perchlorate in drinking water seems illogical at best and highly political at worst. Perchlorate accumulates in the body from consuming water, milk, lettuce and other common products and has been linked in scientific studies to thyroid problems in pregnant women, newborns and infants.

In a letter last week, the heads of EPA's Science Advisory Board and its drinking water committee urged EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson to extend the public comment period on its preliminary determination to not regulate perchlorate. That decision is set to become final next month. Amazingly, the decision not to regulate perchlorate comes at the end of the wretchedly failed leadership of Administrator Johnson and the Bush-Chaney Administration.

"Given perchlorate's wide occurrence and well-documented toxicity to humans, the [Science Advisory Board] strongly believes that there must be a compelling scientific basis to support a scientific determination not to regulate perchlorate as a national drinking water contaminant," Advisory Board Chairwoman Deborah L. Swackhamer and Joan B. Rose, chairwoman of the board's drinking water committee, wrote November 5 to Administrator Johnson.

Here is yet another mess being dumped onto Barrack Obama's Administration from the Bush folks. Look for the agency to become unaminous over regulation of perchlorate as a contaminant in the coming year.

Attorney Sanders says call before you dig to avoid costly repairs and lawsuit.

Power, water, gas and many other lines crisscross most urban areas. Even rural areas feature heavy concentrations of underground lines. To avoid hitting a line, call before you dig. The Kentucky Dig Law (KRS 367.4901 to KRS 367.4917) was passed in 1994. As a result, Kentucky state law requires all persons excavating to call at least two full business days before digging, and no more than 10 business days prior to digging.

Kentucky 811 is open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day to process locate requests or address questions regarding a locate request. The toll free number is 811 or 800-752-6007. Kentucky 811 is a free statewide computer operated communication system, designed to save time, money, costly lawsuits, and dramatically reduce accidental dig-ins. Kentucky 811 does not factor state and federal holidays in the 2 Business Day Notice required by law. When a Locate Request is submitted and a holiday falls sometime in the 2 business day notice then the date the holiday is observed will not be considered in the 2 business day notice.

To view the current year’s holiday list that affects the 2 business day notice, visit Kentucky 811’s website at http://www.kentucky811.org/.

Attorney Sanders says falling oil prices kill another corn-based ethanol plant in Western Kentucky.

A planned corn-based ethanol plant in Henderson has been cancelled, according to the Henderson Gleaner. The plant, owned by Kentucky Five Star Energy, was seeking $85 million in funding. According to the newspaper story, Five Star Energy had purchased a site, but was unable to come to agreement on steam purchases from a nearby power plant owned by Big Rivers Utilities. That excuse is nonsense. Falling oil prices are the major factor stopping the ethanol plant.

Attorney Sanders says University of Pittsburgh researchers find link between low levels of arsenic in drinking water and heart disease.

Arsenic is a naturally occurring mineral primarily found in groundwater. Drinking water with high levels of arsenic over many years has been linked to increased risks for lung, bladder and skin cancers, as well as heart disease, diabetes and neurological damage. New research on mice finds that arsenic in drinking water may also cause heart disease even at levels that are currently believed to be safe.

When mice are exposed to arsenic at federally-approved levels for drinking water, pores in liver blood vessels close, potentially leading to cardiovascular disease, say University of Pittsburgh researchers in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The study, while preliminary, also reveals how an enzyme linked to hypertension and atherosclerosis alters cells, and may call into question current U.S. EPA standards for drinking water that are based solely on risks for cancer.

The researchers looked at specialized cells in the liver called sinusoidal endothelial cells, which are tasked with removing wastes from blood and enabling nutrients to regulate metabolism. After exposing mice to 10 to 100 parts per billion (ppb) of arsenic over a two-week period, the cells were less able to remove damaged proteins from the blood and lost their characteristic pores or "windows," severely compromising the cells' ability to effectively exchange nutrients and waste. Normally, mice are usually less sensitive to the effects of arsenic than people. That does not bode well for tens of millions of Americans drinking water with concentrations of arsenic that the EPA currently views as safe.

Attorney Sanders says NKU to hold public discussion of presidential politics and challenges ahead for President Barack Obama.

The Northern Kentucky Forum will host its second “public square” event on Wednesday, Nov. 12, at 6:45 p.m. at Otto M. Budig Theater at Northern Kentucky University. The focus will be on the presidential election and the challenges ahead for the next president. The Forum’s public square events are free gatherings, open to community at large and to NKU faculty, staff and students. The events are designed to engage and inform the audience, often with innovative formats.

The event will begin with reflections from journalist Steve Hurst, a widely traveled Associated Press foreign correspondent who returned to the States last spring. Now based in Washington, Hurst has been providing extensive coverage of the 2008 campaign for AP’s international customers and readers.

After his opening reflections, Hurst will take questions from the audience in an open dialogue format. During the second portion for the evening, Hurst will join a panel that will include two elected officials (one from each party) and an economist. The panelists joining Hurst will be Kentucky State Auditor Crit Luallen; Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson; Dr. Martin Giesbrecht, NKU professor emeritus of economics. The panel will be moderated by Terry Grundy, director of community impact at United Way of Greater Cincinnati and an adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati’s School of Planning.

Attorney Sanders says Appalachian Trail is hiker's 2,175 mile long pathway crossing 14 different states.

The Appalachian Trail (A.T.) is more than 2,175-mile long hiking trail stretching through 14 eastern states from Maine to Georgia. Originally conceived in 1921 and first completed in 1937, the AT crosses the wild, scenic, wooded, pastoral, and culturally significant lands of the Appalachian Mountains.

An estimated 4 million people each year hike some portion of the AT, which is located within a day's drive of 2/3rds of the U.S. population. An excellent guide for the AT is the Thru-Hiker's Companion.

Here are some interesting facts for the AT:

AT is a unit of the National Park Service.
AT is the nation's longest marked footpath, at approximately 2,175 miles.
AT is the first national scenic trail, designated in 1968.
AT houses more than 2,000 occurrences of rare, threatened, endangered, and sensitive plant and animal species.
AT crosses six national parks.
AT traverses eight national forests.
AT touches 14 states.
AT crosses numerous state and local forests and parks.
AT is maintained by 30 trail clubs and multiple partnerships.

Attorney Sanders says spot market price for Central Appalachian coal remains steady at $133 per ton for the week ending October 10, 2008.

According to the Federal Energy Information Administration the current spot market price for a short ton of central Appalachian coal for the week ending October 10, 2008 was $133. Coal prices has remained fairly steady over the last couple of weeks, but have fallen from a high of $140 per ton on the spot market. Coal remains black gold in Kentucky.

Attorney Sanders predicts new national agenda to recycle paper, metal, and plastic to reduce energy consumption in America.

In 2003 U.S. EPA identified recycling rates for certain recyclable waste materials:

Steel Cans: 60.0%
Yard Trimmings: 56.3%
Paper and Paperboard: 48.1%
Aluminum Beer and Soft Drink Cans: 43.9%
Tires: 35.6%
Plastic Milk Bottles: 31.9%
Plastic Soft Drink Containers: 25.2%
Glass Containers: 22.0%

In 2007, Americans and the aluminum industry recycled nearly 54 billion infinitely recyclable aluminum cans, nearly two billion more than in 2006. At a recycling rate of 53.8 percent, the aluminum can is by far the most recycled beverage container in the United States.

However, according to the Container Recycling Institute, in 2006, about 138 billion aluminum cans, and glass and plastic bottles that could have been recycled, instead ended up as litter or in a landfill. This group claims that Americans wasted 37 billion more containers than we threw away in 2000, and 60 billion more than we tossed in 1996.

With energy conservation coming to forefront in national politics, look for a national push for recycling of materials as a way to save energy consumption. For example, U.S. EPA claims that recycling aluminum cans, for example, saves 95 percent of the energy required to make the same amount of aluminum from its virgin source, bauxite. The amount of energy saved differs by material, but almost all recycling processes achieve significant energy savings compared to production using virgin materials.

EPA also claims that in 2000, recycling resulted in an annual energy savings of at least 660 trillion BTUs, which equals the amount of energy used in 6 million households annually. In 2005, recycling is conservatively projected to save 900 trillion BTUs, equal to the annual energy use of 9 million households.

Lawyer Sanders says U.S. EPA to allow Ohio EPA to give control over control of animal wastewater from CAFOs to Ohio Department of Agriculture.

The state of Ohio has requested a change in how it administers a federal program to control water pollution from concentrated animal feeding operations. EPA has tentatively approved Ohio’s request. Representatives of Ohio and EPA will answer questions and listen to comments on its decision November 18th at a formal public hearing at the Fawcett Center, 2400 Olentangy River Road, Columbus.

The public hearing of the modification of Ohio’s regulations on controlling water pollution from CAFO will be from 7 to 9 p.m. The public comment period runs until December 16, 2008.

Under the proposed revision, the Ohio Department of Agriculture will administer only that part of the water pollution program that affects concentrated animal feeding operations and storm water runoff from construction of animal feeding operations rather than Ohio EPA. Ohio EPA would continue to issue all other wastewater discharge permits. Clean Water Act regulations allow such splitting of programs.

CAFO are industrial farms or agricultural enterprises where large numbers of animals are kept and raised in tightly confined situations. Concentrated animal feeding operations must have state-issued NPDES permits to lawfully discharge manure, litter, or process wastewater pollutants into lakes, rivers or streams.

Ohio's application and related documents are available on EPA's Web site at:http://www.epa.gov/region5/water/npdestek/odacafo.htm.

Does anyone believe that Ohio's Department of Agriculture has a potential conflict of interest here? Is the agency's mission to promote agriculture in the state of Ohio or the control of water pollution related to CAFOs? CAFO's generate huge amounts of animal wastes that may pollute surface and groundwater with microbes, growth hormones, and antibiotics from animal poo.

Attorney Sanders says it would take 3,363 years to count national debt by $100 per second every day of each year!!!

According to the U.S. Department of Treasury’s website, our total national debt as of October 9, 2008 is a staggering $10,266,382,646,543.62. Did you ever wonder how long it would take you to count the national debt that existed on October 9, 2008 if you counted by 100?

The answer is staggering to the average person. If you counted down the current national debt, as of October 9, 2008, by 100 and I mean counting it out at $100 dollars per second–24 hours a day, seven days a week until you were through–it would take you more than 3,363 years to count up to $10 trillion, two-hundred and sixty-six billion, three hundred and eigty-two million, five hundred and forty three dollars and sixty two cents.

I don’t know about you, but I am a fiscally conservative in my politics and views. This staggering national debt load is truly outrageous and distressing, and is simply wrong for our great and proud nation. This long-term financial nightmare is making us a debtor nation. Eventually, the weight of this debt will evenutally stop our national and local economy, all of our social programs, our great military, and our national well being. We must begin to address this issue rather than ignore it.

Attorney Sanders says EPA lodges proposed consent decree in United Scrap Superfund Site in Troy, Ohio with U.S. District Court for SD of Ohio.

The Department of Justice lodge a proposed Consent Decree with Livingston & Company, Inc. (``Consent Decree'') in United States v. A-L Processors, f.k.a. Atlas-Lederer Co., et al., Civil Action No. C-3-91-309 was lodged with the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on September 25, 2008. In the lawsuit, the government sought reimbursement of response costs in connection with the United Scrap Lead Superfund Site in Troy, Miami County, Ohio (``the Site'') pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (``CERCLA''), 42
U.S.C. 9601 et seq.

The Consent Decree resolves the United States' claims against Defendant Livingston & Company, Inc. (``Livingston'') for response costs incurred as a result of the release or threatened release of hazardous substances at the Site. It is a reduced "ability-to-pay'' settlement based on financial analyses conducted by the Department's Antitrust Corporate Finance Unit.

Livingston will pay the United States $1,609,732 over a three-year period with half of the payment ($847,228) being paid within 20 days of entry of the settlement. The United States' remaining outstanding costs exceed a whopping $7.5 million and are being sought from the remaining defendants in this case.

The Consent Decree also resolves the United Scrap Lead Respondent Group's (``Respondent Group'') CERCLA claims against Livingston for response costs incurred by the Respondent Group in cleaning up the Site under an earlier Consent Decree. Livingston will pay the Respondent Group $290,268 over approximately a one-year period.

The Department of Justice will receive for a period of thirty (30) days from the date of this publication comments relating to the settlement. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20044-7611, and should refer United States v. A-L Processors, f.k.a. Atlas-Lederer Co., et al., D.J. Ref. 90-11-3-279B.

Attorney Sanders says Mitch McConnell named to 2008 Dirty Dozen list of pro-pollution politicians by League of Conservation Voters/

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV), named Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to its 2008 “Dirty Dozen” list. McConnell’s lifetime LCV score of 7% is among the worst in Washington. In 24 years in the Senate, he earned an annual score of 0% twelve times, and in the last fourteen years, McConnell has cast only two pro-conservation votes.

According to LCV's website, since becoming his party’s Leader in the Senate, McConnell has served as the chief enforcer for Big Oil and other corporate polluters, leading efforts to derail and weaken legislation that would protect our families and keep America’s land, air, and water clean.

LCV’s "Dirty Dozen” program targets current and former members of Congress – regardless of party affiliation – who consistently vote against the environment and are running in races where LCV has a serious chance of affecting the outcome. For information on LCV’s “Dirty Dozen” program, visit http://lcv.org/campaigns/dirty-dozen. For more facts on McConnell’s voting record, visit http://lcv.org/mcconnell. Senator McConnell is currently locked in a tight re-election battle with Democratic challenger Bruce Lunsford.

Attorney Sanders says EPA may be moving towards enforcement mode at LWD hazardous waste incinerator site for non-settling PRPs.

LWD, Inc.’s hazardous waste incinerator located in Calvert City, Kentucky began operation in the late 1960’s and received its last shipment of hazardous waste in early 2003. The LWD site is 32-acres in size and contains a hazardous waste incinerator and a landfill. When it operated, LWD was one of the largest hazardous waste facilities in the entire U.S. In fact, according to Hazard Waste Annual Reports reviewed by U.S. EPA, LWD handled 1,270,000,000 pounds of hazardous waste from more than 4000 generators.

Six separate entities operated the LWD facility from the early 1970's through the beginning of 2003 when the incinerator was abandoned with a large volume of wastes left on-site. According to U.S. EPA records, more than 4000 generators sent hazardous wastes to the facility from 1980 through 2003. On June 30, 2003, LWD, Inc., was forced into a Chapter 7 bankruptcy by its creditors. LWD’s bankruptcy is still ongoing at this time.

In February 2006, the LWD facility was referred to U.S. EPA’s Emergency Response and Removal Branch (“ERRB”) by the State of Kentucky for a removal action in February 2006. When EPA arrived at the site, inspectors noticed that LWD’s containment area surrounding a tank farm on the north end of the facility was becoming full of collecting rainwater. The rainwater was mixing with oils and other chemicals in the containment area to produce a hazardous waste. At the time of inspection, waste was approximately 4-feet-deep and only 3-feet from overtopping the containment area walls.

EPA declared an emergency to address the uncontrolled pollution at the tank farm. The initial phase of EPA’s response action consisted of pumping the water out of the containment area, cleaning the cement, and stabilizing the tanks for any leaks. EPA also began a removal assessment at the facility to address future removal needs and enforcement process. During the removal action, EPA treated more than 1.3 million gallons of wastewater on-site; it decontaminated a tank Farm and roll-off boxes; it removed for disposal off-site approximately 800 tons of hazardous waste; and removed approximately 2 tons of hazardous material from the LWD site.

As of July 9, 2008, EPA incurred $3.77 million in oversight costs. EPA estimates that settling PRPs spent approximately $ 7.5 million dollars to conduct the removal work directed by the AOC. Although the removal is completed, environmental remediation work at LWD’ site is ongoing and the cost and remedy will not be known until field sampling and analysis are complete.

Attorney Sanders says GAO finds U.S. EPA "clue-less" about CAFOs and pollution from such industrial animal farms throughout U.S.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) blasting U.S. EPA by declaring that EPA doesn't have a clue how many "Confined Animal Feeding Operations" (CAFOs) there are — much less how badly they pollute the atmosphere or water. "Because no federal agency collects consistent, reliable data on CAFOs, GAO could not determine the trends in these operations over the past 30 years," the report said. "However, using USDA data for large farms that raise animals as a proxy for CAFOs, it appears that the number of these operations increased by about 230 percent, going from about 3,600 in 1982 to almost 12,000 in 2002.

Moreover, GAO found that EPA does not have comprehensive, accurate information on the number of permitted CAFOs nationwide. As a result, EPA does not have the information it needs to effectively regulate these CAFOs." The internal watchdog’s finding is disturbing because GAO specifically found that EPA had authority under multiple environmental programs to regulate pollution from CAFOs.

GAO estimated that "Some large farms that raise animals can generate more raw waste than the populations of some U.S. cities produce annually." Animal manure can produce ammonia, sulfur dioxide, and other gases so toxic that they must be reported under federal law. The report is at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08944.pdf.

GAO is known as "the investigative arm of Congress" and "the congressional watchdog." GAO supports the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and helps improve the performance and accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people.

Attorney Sanders says European Chemicals Agency will regulate all phases of chemicals manufactured or sold in EU.

The European Chemicals Agency is located in Helsinki, Finland, and the agency will manage the registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction processes for chemical substances to ensure consistency across the European Union. These REACH processes are designed to provide additional information on chemicals, to ensure their safe use, and to ensure competitiveness of the European industry.

The European Chemicals Agency started operating on 1 June 2007. The Agency’s mission is to ensure consistency in chemicals management across the EU and to provide technical and scientific advice, guidance and information on chemicals.

Attorney Sanders says European Chemicals Agency has stringent chemical regulations that apply to American chemical companies doing business in EU.

Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and restriction of Chemicals (REACH) is a new European Union Regulation, which requires the disclosure of all chemicals sold in the E.U. in quantities of more than one metric ton per year. REACH addresses the production and use of chemical substances, and their potential impacts on both human health and the environment. The regulations contain 849 pages and took seven years to pass.

According to some in the chemical industry, REACH is the strictest law to date regulating chemical substances and will impact industries throughout the world. REACH started in June 2007, and will be phased in over the next decade. When REACH is fully implemented, it will require all companies manufacturing or importing chemical substances into the European Union in quantities of one ton or more per year to register these substances with a new European Chemicals Agency in Helsinki, Finland. Because REACH applies to some substances that are contained in objects ('articles' in REACH terminology), any company importing goods into Europe could be affected.

A major part of REACH is the requirement for manufacturers or importers of substances to register them with a central European Chemicals Agency. A registration package must be supported by a standard set of scientific data on that substance. If a company does not register its chemical and supply the required data, the company cannot manufacture or sell them in the European Union.

REACH focuses regulatory attention on so-called substances of very high concern, which include those that are carcinogenic, mutagenic, persistent, bioaccumulative, or toxic to reproduction. Currently, 16 chemicals, including three phthalates, are on the REACH list as chemicals of concern.

In the coming years, the REACH law will require that companies prove the safety of a given chemical before it is allowed to be sold; those chemicals deemed dangerous—or "substances of very high concern" due to associated human health risks—will only be sold with special governmental permission.

Attorney Sanders says EPA holding webcast on huge honk'n DEAD zone in Gulf of Mexico.

U.S. EPA is sponsoring a web seminar on the hypoxia problem in the Gulf of Mexico, improvements outlined in the newly released 2008 Action Plan, and an overview of actions EPA and other federal agencies and state agencies are taking to reduce nutrient pollution and improve water quality in the Mississippi River Basin.

A hypoxic zone is an area where oxygen levels drop too low (dissolved oxygen concentrations of less than 2 milligrams per liter) to support most life in bottom and near-bottom waters. The low oxygen conditions cause fish to leave the area and can kill bottom-dwelling organisms that cannot leave. Because of the lack of oxygen, there is a DEAD zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

Several leading experts on hypoxia will be featured on the web seminar, including Dr. Nancy Rabalais, Executive Director and Professor with the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium. Dr. Rabalais first identified and mapped the Gulf hypoxic zone in 1985 and is one of the leading researchers on Gulf hypoxia. Other presenters will include Darrell Brown, leader of EPA's Gulf Hypoxia Team responsible for coordinating EPA's efforts to reduce the hypoxic, and John Kessler with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Mr. Kessler will discuss his work as part of the Gulf Hypoxia Task Force and his role on the Ohio River Basin Steering Committee.

The webcast provides a general introduction to the hypoxia problem in the Gulf of Mexico, improvements outlined in the newly released 2008 Action Plan, and an overview of actions EPA and other federal agencies and state agencies are taking to reduce nutrient pollution and improve water quality in the Mississippi River Basin. To register for the web seminar, please click here.

Attorney Sanders says that out of control human population growth and growing use of technology will result in catastophic environmental impacts.

The impact of human activities on our environment is sometimes expressed by the following equation: I = P × A × T. In the equation, Human Impact (I) on the environment equals the product of population (P), affluence (A: consumption per capita) and technology (T: environmental impact per unit of consumption).

This rather simplistic equation tells us that the greater the amount of technology employed in a human activity, the greater the impact on the environment. For example, driving a large SUV to work has a much greater impact on our environment than walking, biking, or taking mass transit.

The equation also shows that human population growth is perhaps the biggest factor impacting the environment. Today, the number of humans around the world using sophisticated technologies to consume the Earth’s limited resources point to greater environmental problems in the future.

According to the equation, global catastrophic problems will result from China, India and other highly populated countries using advanced technology, such as automobiles, refrigerators, and coal fired utility plants. Almost all Americans take such technology for granted, which also explains why we as a nation use so much of the world's resources.

Unfortunately, globalization of the American dream of “having it all will” is causing irreversible environmental degradation and population loss. That trend will continue to increase in the future, as technology and the desire to use technology spread throughout the world.

No one has the ability or no nation has the political will to change an innate mindset within the human race to consume and to exploit the earth’s natural riches for their own self-satisfaction, even if it means the end of our species.

Attorney Sanders says Governor Palin opposes protections for polar bears to generate royalties from oil companies drilling in Chukchi Sea

Did you understand why Alaska sued the U.S. Department of Interior, seeking to reverse a decision to give polar bears protection under the Endangered Species Act? It is because oil companies bid $2.66 billion for oil and gas leases in the Chukchi Sea off Northwest Alaska. Shell Oil accounted for more than three-fourths of the winning bids in Alaska. Federal protections under the Endangered Species Act will complicate Shell Oil's bid to drill for oil in the bear's habitat.

The Minerals Management Service received 667 bids for leases covering 2.8 million acres on Alaska’s outer continental shelf. One area attracting a lot of interest from Shell Oil was Alaska's Chukchi Sea, which is home to one of two U.S. polar bear populations. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a part of the Interior Department, listed polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Thus, to protect potential oil royalties from the region, Alaska sued to block the federal government from protecting polar bears in the oil rich region under the Endangered Species Act.

Gov. Sarah Palin claims that if the polar bear are protected by the Endangered Species Act, it will cripple offshore oil and gas development. The American Petroleum Institute and four other business groups also filed suit to reverse the federal government’s listing of the polar bear as a threatened species.

Apparently, Gov. Palin’s decision to challenge the federal agency’s decision to protect the polar bears was not popular with the state’s marine mammal scientists. Like federal scientists, the state scientists concluded that polar bears are threatened with extinction because of a shrinking ice cap. Thus, Sarah Palin flatly opposes federal protections for polar bears under the Endangered Species Act because it endangers oil royalties.

It is all up to federal courts to decide this battle of oil money versus the polar bears. Big oil and big money versus the polar bears in a thawing artic sea.

Attorney Sanders says CITGO fined $13 million for criminal misdemeanor violations of Clean Water Act at Lake Charles refinery.

CITGO, a Delaware corporation, pled guilty and was sentenced to pay a $13 million fine for the negligent discharge of pollutants into two rivers in Louisiana in violation of the Clean Water Act, the Justice Department announced. The $13 million fine is the largest ever for a criminal misdemeanor violation of the Clean Water Act. The company is owned by PDV America, Inc., an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., the national oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

CITGO , based in Houston, TX, is a refiner, transporter, and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals, refined waxes and other petroleum products. With more than 7,000 locations, three refineries, and 43 terminals throughout the United States, CITGO has a lot of neighbors.

CITGO pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Lake Charles, La., for negligently failing to maintain storm water tanks and failing to maintain adequate storm water storage capacity at its petroleum refinery in Sulphur, La. As a result of these failures approximately 53,000 barrels of oil was discharged into the Indian Marais and Calcasieu Rivers following a heavy rain storm.

In 1994, CITGO converted its lagoon waste water system into a tank system for handling excess waste water and storm water. In order to trim costs, only two storm water tanks were constructed, but as early as 1998, employees and outside contractors advised that an additional tank was necessary. Despite being advised of the inadequate storage capacity, CITGO did not approve construction of a third tank until 2005. In addition, the company failed to follow standard procedures for maintaining the tanks. During its operations, CITGO failed to remove oil, sludge and solids from the tanks and failed to repair the skimming equipment. Failing to follow these procedures allowed for the build-up of a significant amount of oil in the storm water tanks, which contributed significantly to the overflow.

Between June 19 and June 20, 2006, a heavy rainstorm overwhelmed the capacity of the two existing tanks and forced oil that had collected in the tanks out and into the two rivers. The illegal discharge resulted in limited commercial transportation on the water ways for approximately 10 days.

Along with the fine, CITGO will implement an Environmental Compliance Plan (ECP) by which it will take measures to ensure a spill of this type will not occur in the future. The ECP includes new reporting requirements within the corporate structure regarding environmental issues and tank maintenance, the completion of the third storage tank and the installation of new and more effective oil removal equipment for the storm water tanks.

Attorney Sanders says U.S. Senate committee looking into White House interference with public health crisis at Libby Montana Superfund site.

In yet another shameful episode occurring at US EPA, a Senate committeee is holding a hearing to determine why EPA officials refused to declare a Public Health Emergency in Libby, Mont., in 2002. The town is home to the now-closed W.R. Grace & Co. vermiculite mine. Vermiculite is a mineral that contains highly toxic tremolite asbestos fibers.

This form of asbestos was released into the town’s air and was also carried home on miners’ clothing. As a result of decades of mining activities, the entire town is contaminated with toxic asbestos fibers. Lawyers for Libby residents say asbestos has sickened about 2,000 people in the town and killed up to 225.

Documents obtained from EPA by the Senate committee show that EPA prepared a public health emergency declaration in 2002. A public health declaration under Superfund law would have required a more intensive cleanup of asbestos and forced WR Grace to pay for asbestos and medical care for those who were infected. However, the public health declaration needed an approval by higher level officials at EPA.

Like many other shameful events occurring at EPA during the Bush Administration, EPA changed direction on the declaration after high level agency officials met with the OMB officials at the White House in April 2002. A few weeks later, EPA released an “action memo” expanding the agency’s current authority to allow the cleanup insulation from Libby attics. But EPA did not declare a public health emergency.

If EPA had declared a public health emergency declaration, EPA would have required additional cleanup of the asbestos, along with public health screenings and long term medical health care for Libby residents with asbestos related disease. Many believe this decision needlessly caused more people to die and others to suffer from asbestosis by a delay in treatment and screening.

There is no doubt that the asbestos has created huge health problems in Libby. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry reports that people in Libby suffer from asbestos-related health problems 40 to 60 times the national average, and that they suffer from mesothelioma, a dangerous form of cancer caused from asbestos exposure, 100 times the national average.

In 2008, W.R. Grace agreed to pay $250,000,000, the highest sum in the history of the Superfund program, to reimburse the federal government for the costs of the investigation and cleanup of asbestos contamination in Libby. In June 2008, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and EPA announced the Libby Amphibole Health Risk Initiative, a five year series of projects totaling $8 million designed to understand the health effects of exposure to lower levels of asbestos in Libby.

I am betting that career employees at EPA testifying at the committee hearing will sign like canaries, as the final days of the Bush Administration wind down.

Attorney Sanders says Kentucky Court of Appeals paves the way for Thoroughbred Generating Company's air permit in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky.

The Kentucky Court of Appeals issued a decision reversing the Franklin Circuit Court’s decision to deny Thoroughbred Generating Company's air permit to build a coal-fired electric generating facility in Muhlenberg County. Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate had overruled the former Secretary of the Natural Resources Cabinet’s decision to award an air permit to the company. In a relatively short opinion that will not be published, the appellate panel voted 3-0 to allow the new power plant to move forward. The 17-page unpublished opinion is limited in scope to the specific facts of this case and should not be interpreted as controlling guidance on PSD issues.

The appellate panel ruled on three specific issues pertaining to Kentucky’s air permitting process for large sources of air pollution. First, the appeals panel looked at the state’s requirements for performing a PSD analysis to determine whether the power plant’s pollution output would cause impairment to visibility, soils, and vegetation under 401 KAR 51:017. The appellate panel noted the agency found that the electric generating plant was going to be built in an area that had previously been stripped mined. As a result, the agency determined that the potential impact on visibility would be minimal. The agency also found that the plant’s pollution would not impact soils and vegetation that were previously disturbed by strip mining activities. Under these circumstances, the Court of Appeals held that it was proper for the agency to require only an analysis of impairment from pollution coming from the coal-fired plant. The appellate panel looked at the plain wording of the state regulation to determine that the agency did not have require a “cumulative analysis” of air pollutants from the plant on the ecosystem, as required by U.S. EPA guidance documents on the (federal) PSD program.

The second issue before the appellate panel was whether selected air pollution controls for the coal-fired generating plant met the “best available control technology” (BACT) requirements of the Clean Air Act. Previously, the circuit court had ruled that BACT analyses for SO2 and NOx were deficient. The appellate panel disagreed and noted that the regulation in question, 401 KAR 51:001, requires the maximum level achievable for the specific source of air pollution. Here, the utility plant planned to use air pollution controls that removed 98% of its SO2 emissions, which was the best available removal efficiency in the industry. That standard was good enough to meet BACT requirements for SO2. The appellate panel also accepted the agency’s finding that the plant met BACT requirements for controlling NOx emissions.

The appellate panel next looked that whether the plant complied with National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). At the circuit court level, the judge ruled that the Cabinet had failed to take into consideration emissions from a diesel-power generator while doing its NAAQS analysis. The circuit court’s finding on this point is rather odd because the Hearing Officer specifically found that the diesel generator was only to be used in emergencies. Ignoring the specific finding of the Hearing Officer, the circuit court ruled that emissions from this generator must be taken into consideration for NAAQS requirements. The appellate panel reversed the circuit court's ruling on this issue, holding that the circuit court was bound by the agency’s findings, if they were supported by substantial evidence.

Last, the appellate panel looked at the PSD program’s public notice requirements. The circuit court held that the public notice for the Thoroughbred permit was defective because notice of the permit was only published in the county where the plant was going to be built. The lower court disagreed with this approach because once the plant was built it would consume all of the SO2 increments in the geographical region for many decades. In effect, the lack of available SO2 increments would close the door to further industrial development in a much larger affected area of the state. Thus, the circuit court would have required public notice be published in all counties affected by the operation of the coal-fired electric generating plant. The Court of Appeals reversed, finding that the regulation only required notice be given in the court where the plant was built.

Barring a motion for rehearing or reconsideration, parties have 30 days from the date of the Opinion to move the Kentucky Supreme Court to accept discretionary review of the case.