Pentagon Fights EPA on Cleaning Up Pollution in DC Area

The following is my abridgment of an article from the Washington Post. The full version can be found HERE.

The Defense Department, the nation's biggest polluter, is resisting orders from the Environmental Protection Agency to clean up Fort Meade and two other military bases where the EPA says dumped chemicals pose "imminent and substantial" dangers to public health and the environment.

The Pentagon has also declined to sign agreements required by law that cover 12 other military sites on the Superfund list of the most polluted places in the country. The contracts would spell out a remediation plan, set schedules, and allow the EPA to oversee the work and assess penalties if milestones are missed.

The actions are part of a standoff between the Pentagon and environmental regulators that has been building during the Bush administration, leaving the EPA in a legal limbo as it addresses growing concerns about contaminants on military bases that are seeping into drinking water aquifers and soil.

Under executive branch policy, the EPA will not sue the Pentagon, as it would a private polluter.

"This is stunning," said Rena Steinzor, who helped write the Superfund laws as a congressional staffer, teaches at the University of Maryland Law School, and is president of the nonprofit Center for Progressive Reform. "The idea that they would refuse to sign a final order -- that is the height of amazing nerve."

Congress established the Superfund program in 1980 to clean up the country's most contaminated places, and of the 1,255 sites on the list the Pentagon owns 129 -- the most of any entity. Other federal agencies with properties on the list include NASA and the Energy Department, but they have signed EPA cleanup agreements without protest.

In dealing with cleanup efforts, some military branches have been more cooperative than others. The Navy has signed cleanup agreements for all of its Superfund sites, whereas the Air Force has not signed one in 14 years.

But Superfund sites are only one aspect of the Pentagon's environmental problems. It has about 25,000 contaminated properties in all 50 states.

Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said "I find it troubling, not only that the Department of Defense is in flagrant violation of final orders issued by the EPA, but that DOD is now attempting to circumvent the law and Congress' intent by calling on the Department of Justice and the Office of Management and the Budget to intervene," he said in a statement. "The EPA is the expert agency charged by Congress with enforcing our environmental laws, and the Administration needs to allow them to do their job to protect the public health and safety."

EPA spokeswoman Roxanne Smith said final orders were issued because the agency is worried about drinking water and soil contamination at Fort Meade, Tyndall and McGuire. "Under DOD's management, some of these sites have languished for years, with limited or no cleanup underway," she said.

Top 10 Cities for Design in America

The following is an article from BusinessWeek by Oriana Schwindt:

"What makes a city great is a topic guaranteed to spark heated debate. Now architectural firm RMJM Hillier has ridden into the fray with a list of 'America's Best Cities for Design,' produced with the American Institute of Architecture and Zogby International. American cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants were judged according to criteria such as the quality of public transit, the number of LEED-registered buildings (indicating sustainable design) and how many of the city's employees work within creative industries such as performing arts or publishing. Interviews with residents were also used to rate a city's design factor, which takes in elements of a city's architecture as well as its appeal as a home for creative types. Large cities such as Los Angeles feature in the top 10, along with smaller ones such as Portland, Ore. But Chicago's greening efforts and architectural innovation saw it take top prize."

The results were as follows:
10: Washington, DC
9: Philadelphia
8: Denver
7: Seattle
6: San Francisco
5: Portland
4: Los Angeles
3: Boston
2: New York
1: Chicago

A longer version of this article available HERE.

2008 International Year of the Reef

Hi all,

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted! But now I'm back to remind y'all that 2008 was declared the International Year of the Reef (IYOR)by the International Coral Reef Initiative. It's been a decade since the last IYOR (1997), but the mission is still the same: raise awareness about threats to coral reefs and educate people on how to protect coral reefs. Remember, coral reefs are vital to the health of the ocean, and in turn the planet.

In the spirit of IYOR, the following are a bunch of great links:

To learn more about what you can do in your everyday life to help protect coral reefs, visit http://www.iyor.org/resources/tips.asp.
To view a calendar of events celebrating/promoting IYOR, visit http://www.iyor.org/Calendar/events_list.aspx.
To view videos (TV ads airing in the U.S.) on ways to help reefs containing some nice wildlife footage visit http://www.iyor.org/TV/.
To meet the adorable Japanese IYOR mascots, visit http://www.iyor.org/focalpoints/countries/japan/JP_mascots.asp.
To learn more about World Water Monitoring Day on September 18th, visit http://www.worldwatermonitoringday.org/.
And mark your calendars! September 20 is International Clean-up Day! Last year on International Clean-up day, over seven million pounds of trash and marine debris were cleaned up in over 100 different countries. This year, you can help! Visit http://www.projectaware.org/americas/english/icd.asp to find out about volunteer opportunities in your area, or to start your own event! Keep in mind they have volunteer events for both land-lubbers and SCUBA certified individuals or dive-clubs.