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.