DID YOU KNOW? Nuclear power generation: Worldwide nuclear capacity is expected to increase from 352,000 megawatts in 1997 to 356,000 megawatts in 2010, before declining to 311,000 megawatts in 2020. Source: Nuclear Energy Institute. Insight, 1999.
hyde, are known carcinogens. And today, cities are shutting down wells because consumers refuse to drink MTBE-tainted water. The prospects for congressional debate over lifting the RFG requirement from the Clean Air Act are promising: In early August the Senate approved a resolution, introduced by California Sen. Barbara Boxer (D), indicating it would consider legislation to phase out MTBE. Also in August, a bill was drafted that would eliminate the RFG requirement and replace it with provisions to increase the market for renewable fuels and a coalition of Northeastern states that participate in the RFG Droeram called for a nationwide ran nn A/TTRE But mov ing a bill through Congress t h a t
amends the Clean Air Act may
EPA moves to make corporations responsible for disposal of mountains of manure Corporations will be held responsible for disposal of manure generated by their contract farmers under EPA's proposed guidance for regulating pollution from factory farms. Environmentalists say the copermitting provision creates a strong incentive for corporate farmers such as Arkansas' Tyson Foods, Inc., and Maryland's Perdue Farms, Inc., to protect watersheds from nutrient pollution. Industry critics complain that EPA does not have the authority to copermit corporate farmers and the small growers who raise chickens and hogs for them Both the corporate and small farmer would be liable for enforcement action (such as fines) if either partner violates their joint permit
under the new guidance EPA's August proposal details how states should write new water pollution permits for the nation's 15,000-20,000 concentrated animal feeding operations, said Will Hall, EPA's animal feeding operation team leader. Currently, about 2000 of the large dairy, beef, hog, and chicken farms in operation have nationwide permits. The final version of the proposal which is part of the Clinton administration's Clean Water Initiative {ES&T 1998 32 (23) 535A) is due by the end of this year. Until now, the few permits that
have been issued for factory farms have left the small, independent farmers responsible for the costs of manure disposal and held them liable for spills and leakage into waterways, said Chris Bedford, chapter chair of Maryland's Sierra Club. The corporations that supply the farmers with baby chickens and pigs and their feed "do everything to push liability and cost onto the grower" he said. A congressional report released in December 1997 found that U.S. farmers produce 1.37 billion tons of animal manure, annually, or 130 times the waste produced by the nation's human population. Most of it is applied as fertilizer directly to fields, or stored in lagoons for later spraying on crops. Because the concentrated feeding operations produce more manure than local crops can absorb, waterways receive the animal waste runoff and become polluted with nutrients and bacteria. On the Chesapeake Bay peninsula formed by Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, chicken factory farms produce a combined total of 750,000 tons of manure annually, Bedford said. Maryland's Sierra Club has joined the state's poultry growers to push for state regulations that make cor-
number of controversial amendments unrelated tn MTBE And lppislation that mpnrinns a renlarpment fnpl may icmitp a nn litiral fight amnncr statps lnnkinu
to protect their fuel producers and suppliers. To craft a compromise now, just before a presidential election, would require a bill with something that pleases everyone. If the stars align right, and everybody can find a bone in the bill, it just might pass, said one agency starter who works on environmental legislation. A summarP of thoneport The Blue Ribi U
C
A
• P -5 bms/consumer/fuels/oxypanMl/ blueribb.htm. —CATHERINE M. COONEY
Copermitting will give corporate farmers an incentive to curb animal waste runoff from operations such as this Delmarva chicken farm.
4 0 2 A • OCTOBER 1, 1999 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / NEWS
porations responsible for the manure their chickens produce, Bedford said. "Under the new guidance, states may copermit growers and their corporate integrators if the corporations exercise substantial operational control over the growers," Hall said. This is the case for nearly all the nation's poultry farms and about 20% of the hog farms, said Steven Cohen, Washington communications director for the National Pork Producers Council. In general, if the permit conditions
are violated, the copermittees will be held jointly liable for enforcement action, which could include fines, said Hall. "The EPA doesn't have authority under the Clean Water Act to copermit," responded Richard Lobb, spokesperson for the National Chicken Council, an industry association that represents large chicken farms. He questioned how it would work, saying, "This is a real departure to make corporations responsible for things we really can't control."
"The copermitting provision will provide a strong incentive for corporations to ensure that waste is handled properly," countered Ed Hopkins, Washington, D.C., representative for the Sierra Club. He added that "the provision also gives the government a good place to collect fines." For instance, he said most growers are not financially well off, and state officials said they have not pursued civil suits because the violators could not pay the fines. —JANET PELLEY
Report on greening SUVs captures auto industry's attention Ford Motor Company expected to meet with the Union of Concerned Scientists in September to discuss a report showing that existing technology could be used to construct sports utility vehicles (SUVs) that get far better gas mileage and take a lower environmental toll. The meeting was scheduled not long after the release of a survey showing that consumers would pay more for less polluting SUVs. The Union of Concerned Scientists's report, Greener SUVs: A Blueprint for Cleaner, More Efficient Light Trucks, demonstrates that a much cleaner SUV, which is otherwise equivalent to the best-selling Ford Explorer, could be crafted from technology that is currently in mass production. Light trucks—including SUVs, minivans, and pickups—currently pollute 3 to 5 times more than cars, according to EPA's Office of Mobile Sources. The "UCS Exemplar" described in the report would be constructed of new Ultralight steel, and its design would be more aerodynamic. This ideal SUV also would incorporate numerous engine and transmission improvements already found in passenger cars such as using four valves per cylinder to increase power output, and implementing variable valve control to optimize valve timing. The report estimates this "greener" SUV would cost $715 more but the technologies would ultimately save consumers $1600-$2220 over the vehicle's lifetime
Environmental benefits of greener SUVs The hypothetical UCS Exemplar incorporates existing technologies into the design of Ford's best-selling Explorer SUV to improve its environmental performance. The even greener UCS Exemplar Plus features technologies that are still in develpoment.
Source: Union of Concerned Scientists, 1999.
The report also hypothesizes how an even greener SUV, the "UCS Exemplar Plus," could be built from technologies currently in development. While the Ford Explorer gets 19.3 miles per gallon (mpg), according to EPA tests, the Exemplar would get 28.4 mpg, and the Exemplar Plus would achieve 34.1 mpg. Ford wants to discuss the report's findings and underlying assumptions with the Union of Concerned Scientists, according to Mike Moran, director of the automaker's national public affairs office. Though he declined to comment on the composition of models being designed for 2001 and beyond, Moran said that Ford is working to improve SUV fuel economy by incorporating light-
weight materials and engine improvements. A spokesperson for the Alliance of Automotive Manufacturers said that the industry as a whole is also putting more time and effort into improving SUV fuel economy. In August, a survey of 1396 SUV owners by the U.S. Public Research Interest Group found that 80% would be willing to pay $200-$450 more to buy a less polluting SUV Conducted this past summer by the group's state affiliates, 87% of the survey respondents also said that automakers should be required to make all light trucks meet the same pollution and mpg performance as cars. EPA plans to rule on tightening standards for light trucks in December. KELLYN S. BETTS
OCTOBER 1, 1999/ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / NEWS • 4 0 3 A
