Conservation Insider Bulletin from Dan Besse, Jan 11

Conservation Insider Bulletin
Published weekly for the Conservation Council of North Carolina
Conservation News to Peruse & Use
Editor: Dan Besse, earthvote@ccnccpac.org

January 11, 2008

We have developments on important coastal issues, pesticide law enforcement, and more, in this week's CIB:

--Washington Watch: No Money for OLF
--Judicial Watch: Federal Judge Restricts Navy Sonar Testing
--Administrative Watch: Pesticide Board Hears Major Enforcement Case
--Education & Resources: CCNC Co-sponsors Lakoff Talk

Washington Watch: No Money for OLF

We have some good news after all on funding for the controversial OLF. At least for the moment, it's not getting any.

Even though President Bush vetoed the defense authorization bill which contained a prohibition on spending any federal funds for the proposed OLF (outlying landing field) in Washington and Beaufort counties, he signed the omnibus appropriations bill which is keeping the federal government in general going. As it turns out, U.S. Rep. David Price (D-NC4) managed to get a similar provision inserted in that bill as well.

Good for Price. (And a CIB hat tip to Jack Betts' "This Old State" blog on the Charlotte Observer, website, where we picked up this information.)

Judicial Watch: Federal Judge Restricts Navy Sonar Testing

Advocates for marine mammals and other wildlife off the Carolinas coast have been concerned for some time regarding the effects of Navy sonar testing on sealife. Litigation is in progress on that debate.

This past week, a federal judge in California concluded that similar concerns about testing off the west coast were well-founded. U.S. District Court Judge Florence-Marie Cooper ordered the Navy to adopt strict new safeguards limiting the training exercises using midfrequency sonar. The judge's order restricted exercises to areas more than 12 miles offshore, required monitoring for the presence of marine mammals, and directed sonar shutdown when marine mammals were spotted with 2,200 yards of the maneuvers.

The California Middle District Court order is not binding on activities in North Carolina, but a federal judge here could view it as persuasive precedent in similar circumstances.

Navy spokesmen indicated that the Navy was considering an appeal to the Federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Administrative Watch: Pesticide Board Hears Major Enforcement Case

The N.C. Pesticide Board this week heard presentations on the case of a major agribusiness which stands accused of exposing North Carolina employees to toxic pesticides, resulting in birth defects among their children. The company, Ag-Mart, was hit with a $184,500 fine in 2005 for 369 violations of state pesticide control regulations.

Last October, however, an Administrative Law Judge dismissed most of the fine and recommended that the Pesticide Board penalize the company a mere $6,000. That recommendation went to the board for review this week, but its decision was postponed.

The Florida-based Ag-Mart grows tomatoes on about a thousand acres in North Carolina. When levied, the original fine represented one of the largest in state history for pesticide violations.

Education & Resources: CCNC Co-sponsors Lakoff Talk

CCNC encourages you to check your calendar for March 1. On that date, CCNC will be one of at least 22 organizations co-sponsoring a presentation by Dr. George Lakoff of the University of California-Berkeley. Lakoff will speak on effective communication of public policy issues, at 6:30 PM on Saturday, March 1, 2008 at the Hilton Garden Airport (Raleigh-Durham Airport). Lakoff is the author of Don't Think of an Elephant, on the topic of persuasive language use. For more information, email Senseney Marshall at senseney@ncjustice.org.