CITIZENS CAMPAIGN FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

Highlights & Happenings: January 2010

January was another busy and exciting month in advancing CCE’s priorities. Check out What’s New and Media/News Center on our website at www.citizenscampaign.org for the latest press and happenings from CCE’s 6 regional offices.

January 7, 2010 - from The Huffington Post: How to Save One Million Fish Every Hour
"…The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) quietly issued a decision that will dramatically decrease the destruction of fish within Long Island's south shore estuary...The E.F. Barrett Power Station can silently kill more than one billion fish and other marine life specimens every year. But on Long Island, local groups aren't waiting for the EPA to act. Organizations including Citizens Campaign for the Environment and Network for New Energy Choices… are spearheading a campaign to stop the slaughter of Long Island's marine life by all five of the region's power plants."

Full post: www.citizenscampaign.org/news/story.asp?id=127

January 11, 2010 - from The Buffalo News: CWM officials to answer questions
Officials at the Northeast’s only commercial hazardous waste landfill have planned a public meeting…to talk about their upcoming request for a renewed operating permit from the state. As part of the review process, the agency accepts input from the agency monitors who work at the site and considers violations that have occurred… In one of the more high-profile incidents, CWM violated its storm water discharge permit in the fall of 2007, when an acrid, foamy discharge was found in the Niagara River near the company’s outfall pipeline, regulators said then...Citizens Campaign for the Environment, a New York and Connecticut-based environmental advocacy group, issued a statement urging regulators to carefully consider CWM’s application. "This should not be an automatic approval," said Brian P. Smith, the group’s program director for Western New York. "Obviously, there is a tremendous amount of room for improvement at CWM, since they have been fined more than $900,000 by the DEC since 1990."

Full article: www.citizenscampaign.org/news/story.asp?id=128

Photo courtesy of The University of the State of New York

January 13, 2010 - from the Syracuse Post-Standard: How to remake Onondaga Lake's shore? State DEC seeks public input on plan
For the first time in decades, lake planners are getting ready to make the southern shore of the lake into a healthy habitat where plants, wildlife and even people would want to hang out. It’ll be years before that happens… but planning for habitat restoration is under way. "This is a new type of forum that we’re doing," said Diane Carlton, speaking for DEC. "We’re trying to get the community more involved, because the habitat plan is one of the key parts of the lake cleanup that people are really interested in." The Community Participation Working Group, which was established in August to facilitate public input in the lake remediation plans, will help collect additional comments from the public at its meeting Feb. 4, said Dereth Glance, who chairs the group.

Full article: www.citizenscampaign.org/news/story.asp?id=129

January 14, 2010 - from WSYR: Syracuse Onondaga County committee votes for hydro-fracking ban
The Environmental Protection Committee of the Onondaga County Legislature voted unanimously Wednesday to ban hydro-fracking on county land until all potential impacts of the process have been identified. If adopted by the full legislature, the resolution would prevent hydro-fracking, a form of natural gas drilling, on county-owned land until further studies are done. The resolution would also be sent to the State Department of Environmental Conservation urging them to address the potential health and environmental impacts of the process.

Video and full article: www.citizenscampaign.org/news/story.asp?id=133

January 14, 2010 - from WCBS New York: A.G. Cuomo Goes After Drugs In NY Water
Serving homes from Westchester County to Staten Island, the New York City drinking water supply is a vital resource. Protecting it from pharmaceutical pollution is a growing concern. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said he's taking a proactive step to keep so-called "waste drugs" out of the water supply...There haven't been any long-term nor short-term studies done on this kind of an impact of multiple pharmaceutical drugs exposed to humans, particularly the most vulnerable such as children and developing fetuses," said Adrienne Esposito of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment.

Video and full article: www.citizenscampaign.org/news/story.asp?id=132

January 22, 2010 - CCE releases "Protecting New York’s Air, Land, Water and People: What’s the Hydro-Fracking Rush?"
This report provides an overview of the problems associated with "hydro-fracking" and provides key policy recommendations.

Full report: www.citizenscampaign.org/PDFs/cce_hvhf_wp_final.pdf

January 25, 2010 - Hydro-Fracking Day of Action at the New York State Capitol
An estimated 600 residents from across the state converged in Albany to rally, march, and meet with state leaders to express grave concerns with hydro-fracking the Marcellus and Utica Shales. Citizens called on Governor Paterson and the New York Legislature to ensure protection of public health, water resources, and the environment.

January 26, 2010 - CCE testifies to the NYS Legislature on Governor Paterson’s Proposed FY 2010-2011 Executive Budget
CCE urges the Legislature and Governor to support a final budget that funds the Environmental Protection Fund at a minimum of $222 million and continues funding for existing DEC staff while ensuring that no new positions are funded by taxpayers for hydro-fracking activities.

Full memo: www.citizenscampaign.org/PDFs/Memo_Budget_012810.pdf

CCE Executive Program Director Dereth Glance (right) with Governor Paterson as he announces solar plans for New York.

January 28, 2010 - from the Syracuse Post Standard: Gov. David Paterson: Solar energy in New York will increase five-fold by 2014
Gov. David Paterson came to Syracuse today to announce an energy project that will increase the amount of solar energy produced in the state by five. Paterson said plans are in place to install 100 megawatts of solar panels statewide by 2014. Currently, the state has a 22-megawatt solar system. The new project will be largest solar initiative in state history and will create jobs, spur economic development and reduce New York’s carbon footprint, Paterson said. "We can make positive, real-life economic changes and environmental benefits at the same time," said Dereth Glance, executive program director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment. "This is the direction we want our energy policy to be going."

From L to R: CCE Western New York Program Director Brian Smith, Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster, President of the Board of Education Russ Petrozzi, NYPA President & CEO Richard Kessel.

January 28, 2010 - from The Buffalo News: Power Authority unveils solar initiative
Enough electricity to power about 15,000 homes is expected to be produced by the end of 2014 through a new statewide solar power initiative, the New York Power Authority has announced. Brian Smith, Western New York Program Director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, called the authority's announcement "an important step" toward building a clean energy future for the area.

Full article: www.citizenscampaign.org/news/story.asp?id=136

January 28, 2010 - from Long Island Herald: DEC seeks upgrades at I.P. power plant
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has determined that National Grid must upgrade the cooling system at the E.F Barrett Power Station in Island Park. By switching from its current cooling system to a closed-cycle cooling system, the DEC said the power plant will be able to significantly reduce the impact its operations have on the environment. Adrienne Esposito, with Citizens Campaign for the Environment, added that because a closed-cycle cooling system takes in so much less water, it would reduce fish kills by 95 percent, as shown by data compiled by the DEC.

Full article: www.citizenscampaign.org/news/story.asp?id=135

The public comment period ends on March 24, 2010:

Take action now: www.citizenscampaign.org/campaigns/power_plants.asp

More on Solar! Check out NNEC’s video on FLUPSY - an innovative project is using solar and wind energy to nurture juvenile shellfish in Hempstead Bay: www.newenergychoices.org/index.php?page=videos&sd=no&rd=pages

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