DENVER -- It's been nearly seven years since former Secretary Gale Norton left the helm of the Interior Department, but she's still pursuing some of the same ideas -- like "cooperative conservation" -- that defined her tenure in the George W. Bush administration.

Back home in Colorado, Norton now juggles a mix of roles that includes running her own consulting firm, leading a conservative environmental group and serving on several boards.

"I've been focused on how you can protect the environment without having too much government intrusion and government mandating control of people's lives. I worked on that 30 years ago when I was a national fellow at the Hoover Institution, and I have been concerned about it ever since," Norton, 58, told Greenwire in an interview this week.

These days that means channeling her efforts into the Conservation Leadership Council, a fledgling environmental group established last year in an effort to promote the conservative ideal of limited government while still pursuing environmental protections.

Former Interior Secretary Gale Norton now heads a fledgling conservative environmental group. Click here to watch her recent appearance on E&ETV's OnPoint.

Norton noted the group allows her to continue pushing cooperative conservation, a concept she fostered during her tenure at the Interior Department.

"The essence of cooperative conservation is having people from a variety of perspectives and backgrounds sit down and find their common values and reach solutions that can be best for everyone," Norton said, adding that a 2005 conference based on those ideas remains a highlight of her career.

"There are many great examples of cooperative conservation, or market-orientated environmental protection. Through the Conservation Leadership Council we can spread the word on those successes and help formulate some fresh ideas," she added. The CLC held its first conference in Washington, D.C., earlier this month (E&ENews PM, Jan. 8).

Norton acknowledged the difficultly of pursuing any legislation amid congressional gridlock: "I think we are at a recent pinnacle of partisanship. ... My perception is it's worse now than at any time it has been in the last 25 years at least," she said. The CLC will largely focus on ideas that can be executed at the state and local level, she added.

"Oil and gas development is a great example. One of our proposals focuses on oil and gas developers compensating for the impact on wildlife habitat by paying nearby farmers and ranchers to enhance habitat on their property," Norton said. "That is a creative way to have both energy development and preserve and enhance wildlife habitat. But it also helps with the farming and ranching community being able to stay in business so we maintain that open space."

In addition to the CLC, Norton owns Norton Regulatory Strategies, which largely focuses on federal issues.

"I have a lot of issues on which I have opinions and plan to be doing some more in the future," said Norton, who speaks for a fee on topics like the federal budget.

Norton also serves on the external advisory group at the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute, a joint effort of the University of Colorado, Boulder, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

"I think what I bring to it is some real-world experience," said Norton, who also served two terms as Colorado's attorney general in the 1990s.

Norton worked as general counsel for Royal Dutch Shell Unconventional Oil for three years after leaving office, focusing on oil shale- and oil sands-related projects in Colorado and Alberta.

She faced a lengthy Interior Department internal probe over whether she used her office to grant Royal Dutch Shell PLC shale leases before accepting a post there but was found in 2010 not to have violated any rules. At the time, she called the inspector general's review a waste of "millions in taxpayer dollars" (E&ENews PM, Dec. 13, 2010).

Norton said when it comes to renewable energy, many researchers don't recognize the "serious obstacles" to building projects.

"They just assume that everyone wants to see renewable energy so it will be an easy road. But that's not the case," she said. "When it's in somebody's backyard, it's an industrial facility and people respond to it in the same way that they are concerned about other types of energy or manufacturing facilities. And so I think I've helped educate about the realities of environmental analysis, the Endangered Species Act, land-use planning. The many kinds of things one needs to consider in going from the drawing board to a real facility."

Backing Gregoire for Interior

Colorado will host statewide elections in 2014 for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general as well as a Senate contest in which Sen. Mark Udall (D) plans to seek re-election, but Norton said she has no plans to return to politics.

"Running for office is a huge time commitment," said Norton, who also serves as a senior adviser to Clean Range Ventures, a venture capital firm, and sits on the Wisconsin-based American Transmission Co.'s board of directors. Norton sought the Republican Senate nomination in 1996 but lost to then-Rep. Wayne Allard (R), who went on to win the seat.

"I appreciate the opportunity I've had to meet people all across Colorado. I appreciate the opportunity to serve in Washington, but I'm enjoying what I'm doing right now," she said.

But the former secretary does have thoughts about a potential replacement for fellow Coloradoan and current Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who announced Wednesday he will step down in March: former Washington state Gov. Christine Gregoire (D).

"She's someone who has a lot of common sense, as well as being a very good lawyer and has a great deal of understanding of environmental issues. She's someone I know and I think very highly of," said Norton, who worked with Gregoire in the 1990s when both served as state attorneys general.

Gregoire, who has also been rumored as a potential successor to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, would be only the second woman, after Norton, to serve in the Interior post.

"For anyone coming in, it's a very diverse set of responsibilities at the Department of the Interior with everything from endangered species to Indian schools. I would urge someone to listen to the terrific career people at the department and learn from them, as well as get out and talk to people around the country who are affected by Interior's policies," Norton said.

NEW YORK -- Attorneys representing Entergy Nuclear Operations Inc. and the state of Vermont had a busy week.

Lawyers squared off in two venues over the future of the company's Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station in Vernon, Vt. A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan heard arguments Monday on Vermont's attempts to shut down the plant, then the Entergy attorneys were back at it later in the week in Vermont's Supreme Court.

The cases hinge on the reality that many in Vermont want to see the plant, which supplies about one-third of the state's electricity and ships the rest to nearby states, closed for good, as evidenced by a 2010 vote in the state Legislature to deny state permits in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear meltdown in Japan. But New Orleans-based Entergy is fighting tooth and nail to keep the plant running and won the first round of the federal legal fight last year when a judge said Vermont couldn't close the plant.

Entergy has been successful so far behind a squad of legal heavy hitters brought in to save the 1,900-megawatt facility, which was relicensed by federal regulators in 2011 through 2032. Most prominent on its star-studded team is Kathleen Sullivan of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, a former dean of Stanford Law School who in 2009 made President Obama's short list for Supreme Court nominees.

Sullivan, a constitutional expert, was brought in to fend off an appeal by the state in federal court that could determine how far a state is able to go to regulate a nuclear power plant within its borders. She is also working to kill a lawsuit at the state level that alleges the station is currently operating outside the law because its permit to store spent fuel on site expired last year.

According to several accounts by those at the court proceedings this week, Sullivan forcefully made the case for Entergy's continued operation on both fronts. Constitutional law expert Cheryl Hanna, a professor at Vermont Law School, called Sullivan a "legal superstar" who has so far outmanuevered Attorney General Bill Sorrell on the question of whether the state is attempting to close down Vermont Yankee for safety reasons.

Hanna says it was Sullivan who "outlawyered" Vermont at trial in a lower federal court run by Judge J. Garvan Murtha. Last January, Murtha agreed with Sullivan that the Vermont Legislature had tried to close Vermont Yankee on safety fears, rather than economic. And because the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has exclusive authority over radiological safety, he ordered the plant to keep running.

This week, Sullivan was at it again, but this time the state hired David Frederick, a Washington-based constitutional expert, to counter the high-profile Entergy team. Hanna and Sandy Levine, of the Conservation Law Foundation, said it worked, though it may have been too little, too late for the state.

"The clarity of the state's argument was much weaker at trial," Hanna said. "I was impressed by David Frederick. This was the first time since the case has been going on that the state was able to articulate a theory on why it acted the way it did not based on safety."

"With clarity and nimbleness, Vermont proved it was up to the task," Levine added in a blog post. "Its lawyer, Attorney David Frederick ... explained that Vermont has every right to determine Vermont Yankee's fate. And doing so does not impinge on the federal government's oversight of radiological issues."

Frederick, according to sources, insisted that Vermont lawmakers had acted to close the plant because they were worried about having to foot the bill for decommissioning, making it a financial matter. Frederick also claimed Murtha had overstepped his own authority, arguing that the Supreme Court has made it clear that states can decide for themselves whether a nuclear power plant is welcome within their borders.

Frederick's points were these: that the Supreme Court in 1983 let stand a California moratorium against nuclear power, meaning it had spoken on the question of state authority; that Vermont has the basic right that any landlord has of not renewing a tenant's lease; and that Vermont shouldn't have to go bankrupt to decommission the plant.

"Frederick had to clearly reframe that it's in the state's long-term economic interest to have Vermont Yankee shut down now," Hanna said. "I was impressed that the state was able to salvage an argument."

Still, Sullivan was able to counter that a simple reading of the Legislature's debates leading up to legislation meant to ax Vermont Yankee shows the lawmakers were acting out of safety fears. Hanna said Sullivan effectively reiterated the same points made in Murtha's court, but the issue of whether a judge can go back to legislative records to determine "motive" behind a law is very much in play as the case moves forward.

Frederick argued that judges are bound by precedent to read the letter of the law itself, not the intent as documented in legislative journals. Sullivan countered that the vote happened after a "cherry orchard" of statements indicating it was about safety.

Richard Watts, author of "Public Meltdown: The Story of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant," was also in attendance in New York. He noted one legislator's line during the debate leading up to votes ("Let's find another word for safety") that is effectively the basis of Entergy's arguments for denying Vermont. That leads Hanna to believe the case is leaning toward Entergy.

"My own gut tells me Vermont might not win," said Hanna, who predicted the case will end up in the Supreme Court if Entergy fails at the 2nd District level but would probably terminate in Manhattan if Vermont loses a second straight decision.

"A federal court is going to be very hesitant to order Vermont Yankee shut based on what's before them," Hanna said.

Watts came away with the impression that the state had done well, though Sullivan was as strong as ever. To Watts, the judges in the panel primarily focused on the question of safety versus financial concerns, not on interstate commerce or the Constitution's dormant Commerce Clause.

"As an independent researcher, I felt the state did well," he said in an interview, adding that he was impressed by the level of interest in the crowd. "It was clear there was a lot at stake. A whole bunch of people were there."

In a later blog post, Watts explained that Entergy still feels there is a "cherry orchard" of evidence that the state was trying to regulate safety to shut down Vermont Yankee. Watts also believes Entergy got into this legal mess because of mismanagement at the plant, which the company bought in 2002 with promises that it would follow state law and achieve a "certificate of public good" to keep operating after state permits ended in March 2012.

"Along the way, the company lost all that public and policy-maker good will," he said. "And now the company is fighting on numerous fronts in Vermont."

A spokesman at Entergy said the federal case has become less about the facts at this point than "what are the proper legal standards and did Judge Murtha correctly apply them."

He also released this statement on the federal court proceedings: "We sincerely believe continued operation of Vermont Yankee would serve the public good in Vermont and the New England region. What we are seeking is for the judge to uphold Judge Murtha's decision in federal district court and to extend that judgment in a way that provides a clear path forward for the continued operation of the Vermont Yankee facility. We remain fully focused on safely operating our power plant today and into the future."

To Hanna, Entergy can probably bank on being able to run the plant. The appeals court has room to wiggle out and not make a broad ruling, she said.

"Sullivan ... made the extremely important point that the court could rule 'as applied' just on the narrow issues without having to make a broad ruling," Hanna wrote in a blog post. "She gave the court a modest way out, and one that might ultimately persuade the court when faced with a decision that could otherwise have wide-reaching implications."

State Supreme Court case

At the state Supreme Court, meanwhile, an environmental group called the New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution argued this week that Vermont Yankee's ability to store spent fuel on site had ended when permits expired in March 2012. The group asked judges to shut down Vermont Yankee as a result.

But Sullivan went before the court to say Entergy had been permitted to act without its certificate of public good because it applied to renew the permit and the state had not yet acted on the request. She cited a state law that says any licensee submitting an application for the renewal of a license can pursue that activity under a current license until the given governmental body determines the outcome of that application.

Sullivan also argued that the state was seeing undue harm done on Vermont Yankee workers.

"Every day that the [state] tells Entergy that it's in violation of the board's order, that's a negative for the workers of the plant and the continued operation of the plant," she said, according to the news website Vermont Digger. "We think if you can clarify that we're not in violation of any board order ... that is a very material gain."

Attorneys on the other end, representing the New England Coalition, countered that the federal appeals process has confused matters at the state level, which had essentially paralyzed action at the Public Service Board. The PSB is responsible for issuing spent fuel permits.

"I don't think that the Public Service Board at this time would issue or could issue the order that we're asking for, in part, because there is still confusion about the U.S. District Court's injunction against the Public Service Board," a NEC attorney said, according to VT Digger.

Entergy dismissed the claims.

"Our basic point before the court is that the NEC complaint is groundless," the company said in a statement to Greenwire. "Vermont Yankee remains in service today consistent with the favorable federal district court decision and the timely filing with the PSB for a renewed certificate of public good. Our focus is, as always, on the safe operation of the plant."

The consensus appears to be that the state challenge will be thrown out. As for the federal appeals process, Hanna guessed that the 2nd District in Manhattan will side with Entergy.

"The state still bears the burden, and the facts and (in my opinion) the law still favor Entergy," she wrote in her blog. "If the state loses, it won't be because it was out-lawyered. It will be because, in the end, a federal court was reluctant to shutter a federally licensed nuclear power plant on the basis of this particular legislative history. That has as much as do with judicial conservatism as it does with nuclear power."

WILLIAMBSURG, Va. -- While the tony Kingsmill resort that House Republicans picked to hold this year's party retreat sits on some of the commonwealth's most beautiful land along the James River, land and natural resource issues weren't major topics during the party's strategy sessions here over the past three days.

And in some ways, that was OK with Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah), a senior member of the House Natural Resources Committee who many GOP insiders expected would be in the mix for a possible top job in the Interior Department had Mitt Romney won the White House.

The reason, Bishop said in an interview yesterday, is that the retreat setting doesn't really lend itself to an informed discussion of the issues. And that's not just because there are so many newly elected members who are still sharpening their policy chops when it comes to public lands.

"Natural resources issues are not understood by most people," Bishop lamented.

As an example, he noted that many of his colleagues are still unclear about who controls the various types of federal lands.

"Trying to describe the difference between Forest Service land and [Bureau of Land Management] land and Park Service land is a significant difficulty," said Bishop, who leads the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation. "So people may be using the same language but they don't have the same definition of the words they're using."

According to statistics compiled by the Congressional Research Service, the federal government owns roughly 635 million to 640 million acres of land, which constitutes about 28 percent of the 2.27 billion acres of land in the United States. Roughly 609 million acres of that federal land is administered by four agencies.

The Forest Service, which is run out of the Department of Agriculture, manages 193 million acres. Within the Interior Department, BLM manages 248 million acres, while the Fish and Wildlife Service manages 89 million acres and the National Park Service manages 80 million acres.

Most of that land is concentrated in the West. In Alaska, 62 percent of the state is federally owned, as is 47 percent of the 11 conterminous Western states. The federal government owns 4 percent of lands in all other states.

And that geographic difference is a major cause of some of the confusion, Bishop said.

"Everyone who doesn't live in a public land state or a Western state, when they think of public land issues they think of a national park," he said. "Which is one of the reasons why ... the Park Service is something like 13 percent of the land owned but they have the bulk of the money."

Other Republican House members said this week that land and natural resource issues didn't need to be a top focus of the retreat agenda because the party already is unified on where it wants to go on those issues in the 113th Congress.

Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology's Subcommittee on the Environment, said the party's goals on natural resource issues -- and particularly concerns about access to those resources -- haven't changed with the seating of a new Congress.

"We want Americans to have access to cheap, affordable energy," Harris said. "We want people who are having trouble making their budget ... we don't want to impose even higher energy cost burdens on them. ... I think you're going to see the same attitude in the 113th Congress."

Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) said one new place where congressional Republicans will be able to emphasize their goals for energy production on public lands in the coming months will be in the transition to new leadership at the Interior Department in the wake of Secretary Ken Salazar's recently announced departure plans.

"The environmental lobby seems to have such a strong hand in the administration," Fleming said. "I don't how much was Secretary Salazar and how much was the president and how much was the environmental groups, but the point was they all worked against the interests of the American people in terms of energy, and we all had higher energy prices as a result."

Whenever members are ready to sit down and get into the specifics and subtleties of public land policy this Congress, Bishop, a former high school teacher, will be there to provide his expertise. But he said this week's retreat just wasn't really the right time or place.

"It takes a unique setting that does not lend itself well to these types of large presentations," he said. "Unless you've got a good PowerPoint to go with it."

A Minnesota wind farm has become one of the first to seek federal approval to kill a limited number of bald eagles, sparking concern from some wildlife advocates over the welfare of the nation's official bird.

The Fish and Wildlife Service said it is reviewing an application from New Era Wind to kill or disturb one bald eagle per year at its 48-turbine wind project in southeast Minnesota's Goodhue County.

An agency official said a permit would be granted only if the company demonstrates it has avoided and minimized harm to eagles "to the fullest extent practicable" during its 30-year project life.

"We haven't given the green light to anything other than that we will process the application," said Tony Sullins, the agency's field supervisor in the Twin Cities.

But the American Bird Conservancy, a Washington, D.C.-based group, this week said the project poses unacceptable risks to a national icon and should not be sited so close to the Mississippi River.

Moreover, FWS in a letter to the state this week said the project could kill as many as 14 bald eagles a year if the company does not take steps to avoid and minimize turbine collisions.

"Why even take the gamble?" said Robert Johns, a spokesman for the group, who argued there is no proven method for predicting bird deaths at wind farms. "Anyone who is concerned about our national symbol should be worried about this. ... The dice are being rolled on this one."

The proposal comes as the Obama administration seeks to balance the expansion of carbon-free wind and solar energy while protecting wildlife and their habitats. The administration has been criticized by oil and gas and wildlife groups alike for selectively enforcing federal bird-protection laws.

New Era is among only a few companies in the nation to take advantage of regulations FWS issued in 2009 that allow "take" permits to be issued if harm to eagles is unavoidable even after strict conservation steps are taken.

While the bald eagle was removed from the endangered species list in 2007 after nearly vanishing from the United States, it is still illegal under federal law to disturb or kill one.

The agency a year ago released its first proposed take permit for golden eagles for a wind project by West Butte Wind Power LLC in central Oregon, but the permit is yet to be finalized (E&ENews PM, Jan. 3, 2012).

Bird advocates are torn over the new policy. On the one hand, the permitting process allows for greater public participation and disclosure of impacts to protected bird species. On the other hand, it allows the sanctioned killing of birds, and some groups disagree with the agency's predictions of overall impacts.

"The key question -- the elephant in the room that no one wants to see -- is what happens if the best guess is wrong and eagle mortality is much worse?" Johns said. "I doubt that the turbines will be packed up and sent to storage."

While the company's permit is not available to the public, FWS will eventually release a draft environmental assessment of the proposal.

Deanne Endrizzi, in FWS's migratory bird permitting office in the Twin Cities, said New Era has pledged to site turbines away from water sources or nesting areas used by eagles, to remove animal carcasses from roadways, and to encourage hunters to remove the gut piles from harvested game that can attract the birds.

It is also proposing to install bird diverters on any transmission lines and on the guy wires of meteorological towers to discourage birds from landing.

While FWS predicted 8.4 to 13.8 eagles could be struck each year if the company makes no effort to reduce the number of deaths, even that many bird kills would be consistent with the agency's goal of maintaining a stable or increasing eagle population, it said. The local bald eagle population is estimated at about 418, though it is unknown how many other wind farms have been proposed in the area.

"It is important to note that the collision risk estimate generated by the Service is not a goal to reach, but rather represents a 'worst cast scenario' that the service and New Era Wind will strive to never achieve," the letter states.

Still, critics have accused the Obama administration of turning a blind eye to wind farms that illegally kill birds or bats and then prosecuting oil and gas companies when they run afoul of the same law.

Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in a televised debate with President Obama last fall blasted the administration for charging North Dakota oil drillers for violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, a criticism echoed by some Capitol Hill Republicans.

FWS last April proposed amending its 2009 regulations to allow eagle-take permits to be issued for 30 years, a gesture to the wind industry, which argued five-year permits made financing projects difficult (Greenwire, April 16, 2012). Wildlife advocates pushed back strongly against the new rule, which is yet to be finalized.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu expressed enthusiasm for his job yesterday but ducked questions about how long he'd be doing it.

"I love what I'm doing," Chu said on the sidelines of the U.S. Conference of Mayors' winter meeting in Washington, D.C.

So would he stick around for President Obama's second term? "It remains to be seen," Chu said.

The rumor mill has Chu announcing his departure this week from the Department of Energy. DOE's response: "Dr. Chu is focused on his job as secretary each day and hasn't made any announcements about his future plans," spokesman Bill Gibbons said.

Obama already has vacancies at two major environment posts: Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson have announced their intention to leave (Greenwire, Jan. 16).

Thomas D'Agostino, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, is also stepping down today. NNSA Deputy Administrator Neile Miller will take on his duties until the administration finds and the Senate confirms a replacement (E&E Daily, Dec. 28, 2012).

In his speech to the mayors, Chu warned about climate change triggering dangerous storms and flooding.

"Scientists will tell you, 'Don't get excited about one bad year,' and absolutely, I'll agree with that," Chu said. "You can get worried about 30 years."

Chu also said he expects DOE's budget to shrink in the coming years, and the department will need to find creative solutions to support energy efficiency, renewables and infrastructure development.

"We don't expect our budget to go up. We expect it to go down," he said. "What we're trying to do now ... for the next four to 10 years, is think very hard about things like revolving funds." EPA uses revolving funds to promote improvements in wastewater and drinking water infrastructure.

Reporter Ellen M. Gilmer contributed.

U.S. EPA today launched a dialogue with mayors and local communities that are struggling to pay for expensive water system upgrades during tough economic times.

In a memo, previewed to mayors yesterday in a closed-door session of the U.S. Conference of Mayors winter meeting, EPA agreed to continue talking with leaders about how to calculate what a community can afford in upgrades.

The environmental regulator has been cracking down on communities with old sewer systems that combine stormwater and sewage overflow during heavy storms, flushing filth from streets, lawns and parking lots into waterways. More than 770 cities have such systems.

But the upgrades EPA requires can be costly.

For example, Atlanta's project grew to $4 billion. And after the city raised sewer rates as high as it could, it began borrowing. In fact, Atlanta borrowed so much that ratings agencies were about to downgrade the city to a point that it couldn't borrow any more when EPA agreed to a time extension for the upgrades.

EPA studies a community's finances when it considers how quickly it can reasonably require a community to implement the upgrades. But mayors and water agencies for years have argued that EPA's formula for determining affordability, which is based on 1997 guidance, is flawed.

The formula essentially requires communities to spend 2 percent of median household income, per household, on controls for combined water overflows, said Chris Hornback, senior director for regulatory affairs at the National Association of Clean Water Agencies.

"It is a very blunt instrument -- it ignores pockets of poverty, it ignores declining employment, it doesn't account for other financial obligations," he said. "It doesn't reflect the real economic situation of a community."

Mayors want EPA to look at other benchmark indicators such as increasing arrearages, late payments, disconnection notices, service terminations and uncollectable accounts. They also want EPA to consider communities' other obligations, such as those under the Safe Drinking Water Act, when setting compliance schedules.

EPA took a major step on the final point in June when it released a framework for how to structure plans for tackling multiple Clean Water Act obligations at once (Greenwire, June 13, 2012).

But that document focuses on how to prioritize obligations, not on what can be afforded.

In an "affordability framework" released with the new memo, EPA acknowledges communities' concerns.

"It is essential that long-term approaches to meeting [Clean Water Act] objectives are sustainable and within a community's financial capability," it states. "EPA is developing an approach to provide clarification of the financial capability analysis and that ensures consistent implementation among EPA regions."

Hornback said he is "cautiously optimistic" since the EPA memo includes the issues his group and the Mayors Conference's Water Council have focused on.

With a proposal for a new stormwater rule due in June, likely requiring additional investments at the local level, Hornback said the issue of affordability will continue to rise in importance.

California lawmakers are expressing support for a lower-cost alternative to a proposed federal-state overhaul of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

The new plan -- written by environmentalists and backed by several regional water agencies -- offers a way to avoid a massive diversion from the delta of 4.7 million acre-feet per year to supply water for 25 million Californians.

The plan's backers say building a tunnel under the delta and imposing water-saving measures will cost $14 billion to $16 billion. That's cheaper, they say, than the state-federal plan, which is estimated at $14 billion for two 35-mile tunnels. That plan doesn't include restoration of habitat for fish and other species living in the delta, which could cost an additional $4 billion.

Lawmakers say they want officials to consider the smaller tunnel package when they release a draft analysis of the plan later this year. A more comprehensive plan than just the tunnels could allow less exporting from the delta, which is home to many threatened and endangered species that depend on river flows and habitat around the rivers.

"It's absolutely essential that it be seriously considered and become part of the environmental review," said Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.), who represents the delta region. "There has to be an adjustment in policy, because we're headed down a road that won't work."

Garamendi, who served as deputy secretary of the Interior Department under President Clinton, said he was hoping for a change no matter who replaces outgoing Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who announced his resignation earlier this week. "There has to be an adjustment regardless of who the secretary is," he said. "A change in the secretary could lead to a change in policy or at least a change in process."

Water agencies in both Northern and Southern California have also signed onto the plan, asking government officials to consider it as they weigh alternatives for the delta. More details on the state and federal plan are expected later this winter, a spokesman for the California Natural Resources Department said. A draft environmental review on that plan is due out for public comment in the spring.

"Up to now, the [Bay Delta Conservation Plan, or BDCP] process has been strongly focused on advancing a large capacity conveyance which, along with the suite of associated conservation measures, will be burdened with large uncertainties and for which a solid business case has not yet been made," officials from water agencies in San Diego, San Francisco and other cities said in a letter Wednesday. The uncertainties, they said, include effects on endangered species and water quality, as well as costs to water users, "political controversy, and potentially lengthy litigation."

"The way water agencies plan is different from the way BDCP has planned," said Barry Nelson, a senior water policy analyst for the Natural Resources Defense Council. "That small facility would cost a lot less money. If you invest those savings strategically, maybe you can end up with a package that works dramatically better for everyone."

The environmentalists' plan would have one pipe drawing water from the Sacramento River into a tunnel capable of handling 3,000 cubic feet of water per second. Water users south of the delta would receive an average of 4 million to 4.3 million acre-feet per year, less than the state currently pumps and less than it is envisioning under the two-tunnel plan, which would have a total capacity of 9,000 cubic feet per second and three intake pipes (E&ENews PM, July 25, 2012).

The plan would make up for the reduced exports by spending $5 billion on water recycling and conservation, for about another million acre-feet of savings, and building a storage facility to hold up to 1 million acre-feet for dry years.

California officials said they were already planning to study most of the plan's individual components in their analysis of alternatives, which is due out in the spring. Interior Department officials did not respond to a request for comment.

"We appreciate the proposal put forward," said Natural Resources Department spokesman Richard Stapler. "Most parts of what's proposed will already will be looked at either in BDCP or as a broader discussion on integrated water management." Water storage, however, is outside the scope of the plan, he said.

Other lawmakers representing the delta region -- Democratic Reps. Doris Matsui, Jerry McNerney, George Miller and Mike Thompson -- said they support consideration of the alternative plan.

"I remain extremely concerned about the direction that the state is moving with the BDCP," Matsui said in a statement. "Since the beginning of the process, I have long advocated for an incremental approach that begins with a 3,000 cfs intake project, and believe that the recent proposal by the NRDC and others should be studied as one of the alternatives in the BDCP."

Representatives of Central Valley districts -- Republican Reps. Devin Nunes, Kevin McCarthy, Tom McClintock and Jeff Denham -- failed to return calls requesting comments on the plan.

Water managers in the Central Valley, however, objected to the plan, saying it doesn't ensure deliveries to farmers who depend on San Joaquin River water provided by the Interior-managed Central Valley Project.

"A big concern of ours is it seems to totally ignore agricultural water users' needs," said Ron Jacobsma, general manager of the Friant Water Authority, which draws about 1.2 million acre-feet per year from the Central Valley Project.

"It really seems to be focused on the environment and urban conservation, and some of the claims relative to water supplies that could be developed or saved through those conservation efforts don't evidence themselves as additional supplies necessarily to agriculture."

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg would like to make the chronic traffic, slow buses and lack of dedicated paths for walkers and bicyclists that plague most U.S. cities relics of the past.

If his vision for the future of New York is realized, people would get around town more easily -- and perhaps safer and happier -- in the coming years.

The trick is to leave cars at home and ride public transit systems, walk or ride bicycles, Bloomberg said.

Cities have become too congested, due in large part to an overwhelming growth in cars over the decades, Bloomberg argued. Speaking at the World Bank today, the 70-year-old mayor said federal lawmakers have not done nearly enough to promote bicycling and public transit. And because of political gridlock, they're not going to anytime soon, he lamented.

Not modernizing infrastructure and railway projects will cause epic traffic jams to continue affecting major cities' economies. Roads were not designed primarily for cars, Bloomberg argued. They were built to allow people to move and to improve commerce, and recently, that hasn't been happening.

A few years ago, Bloomberg called for Times Square and the surrounding area in Manhattan to be blocked off from traffic and used exclusively by pedestrians. Despite push-back from car advocates and the taxi sector, a number of businesses applauded the move, which Bloomberg said has dramatically augmented commerce and tourism.

"We have to start looking at other ways to move people, and we have to understand -- and maybe this is the way you sell safety, and maybe this is the way you sell sustainability -- traffic does hurt your economy," Bloomberg said. "And if you can get people and goods and services delivered much more quickly, then the whole economy benefits, jobs, tax base and that sort of thing."

Aside from adding more walkways for pedestrians, the Big Apple is increasing its bike-share programs in the coming years and is renovating bus and subway systems so they are safer and more energy efficient. Fewer cars also means cleaner air for residents and lower fuel emissions in the atmosphere, the mayor noted.

Other cities have applied pedestrian and bike-friendly philosophies into their societies. In Portland, Ore., the bicycle culture dominates the way residents get around. In Miami, Fla., and Washington, D.C., bicycles are gaining popularity. And other cities are enhancing their light-rail systems to alleviate traffic, sometimes through initiatives backed by the Obama administration.

But don't expect the federal government to resolve a city's traffic woes, Bloomberg added. Residents must demand it from their mayors. And local officials will be the ones responsible for delivering the results.

"Mayors will all tell you the same thing. [Congress] talks a good game. They vote fictitious funds for projects that never get done. But whether you are tackling the environment, or crime, or education or transportation, they're basically done at the local city level, and if you can get some federal money, fine. But the first thing you do when you get the federal money is try to get the bureaucrats the hell away from it," Bloomberg said. "They're the ones who are going to force you to do things that may make sense from a national point of view but don't fit your city."

The Obama administration has formally approved a renewable energy development plan in Arizona that establishes a new solar energy zone and identifies thousands of acres of public lands that are already disturbed or have low natural resource values as suitable for large-scale solar and wind-power development.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar today unveiled a formal record of decision (ROD) approving the Bureau of Land Management plan, which identifies dozens of "Renewable Energy Development Areas" covering 192,100 acres, mostly in south and southwest Arizona, and establishes a 2,550-acre "Solar Energy Zone" (SEZ) in Yuma County determined by the agency as suitable for utility-scale solar projects, according to the Interior Department.

The ROD, signed today by BLM Arizona State Director Raymond Suazo, will be formally published Tuesday in the Federal Register.

The approved plan amends eight BLM resource management plans across the state to allow for solar and wind development within the boundaries of the Renewable Energy Development Areas, all of which are within 5 miles of an existing transmission line or a designated transmission corridor and close to major load centers such as cities, towns or industrial centers.

The development areas and the new SEZ are part of BLM's Restoration Design Energy Project, which began in Arizona nearly four years ago to identify already-contaminated lands in the state that would be suitable for reuse as wind farms and solar arrays.

Under the new plan, individual projects would still need to go through a separate environmental review and federal permitting. But in exchange for developing projects in one of the Renewable Energy Development Areas, energy developers are assured of a faster permitting process and likely fewer challenges from environmental groups concerned about impacts to sensitive wildlife habitat.

"This project is a key milestone in our work to spur smart development of solar and wind energy on public lands across the West," Salazar said today in a statement. "Arizona has huge potential when it comes to building a clean energy economy, and this landscape-level plan lays a solid foundation for making sure that it happens in the right way and in the right places."

The Obama administration since 2009 has approved 34 solar, wind and geothermal power projects on public land that, if all are built as planned, would have the capacity to produce up to 10,400 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power more than 3 million homes.

BLM this month is expected to release a new list of high-priority solar, wind and geothermal power projects that it plans to move through the federal permitting process by the end of this year and 2014.

"As we advance the president's energy strategy," Salazar said, "we continue to work closely with states, local communities, tribes, industry, conservation and other groups to reduce potential resource conflicts and expedite appropriate projects that will generate jobs and investment in rural communities."

That exemplifies the Obama administration's "Smart-from-the-Start" strategy for siting renewables projects away from environmentally sensitive and culturally significant areas, said Mike Pool, BLM's acting director.

Example: The designation in the new plan of the 2,550-acre Agua Caliente SEZ near Dateland, Ariz., which is now one of three SEZs in the state and 18 nationwide.

The other two Arizona zones were part of 17 SEZs included in a sweeping solar-development plan approved by Salazar last fall covering more than a quarter-million acres of federal tracts in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah (E&ENews PM, Oct. 12, 2012).

"The Arizona project can really serve as a model for future statewide analyses for responsible energy development in the West," Pool said in a statement.

A long process

The Restoration Design Energy Project has drawn raves from the renewable energy industry and from conservation leaders.

Michael Neary, executive director of the Arizona Solar Energy Industries Association, has said the project will help spur more solar energy proposals on federal land in the state by funneling proposed solar plants to suitable sites, thus making it easier to get projects permitted.

The Restoration Design Energy Project initially began as a BLM pilot project in Arizona to identify dozens of contaminated and disturbed parcels that could be used to house renewable energy projects.

Under the Restoration Design Energy Project, launched in June 2009 and funded with $1.7 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds, BLM received more than 80 nominated sites from industry and government leaders, environmentalists and residents, ranging from an unused 2,880-acre airplane landing strip north of Tucson, Ariz., to a 20-acre gravel pit in rural northeast Arizona.

The effort was the first attempt by the agency to test whether contaminated or disturbed sites can be reused to house solar arrays, wind farms and geothermal power plants.

BLM hoped it would help quell the kind of opposition that has stymied numerous proposed renewable energy projects in other states, including solar arrays in California's Mojave Desert and wind turbines in southern Wyoming. Environmentalists have argued that siting plants in such sensitive landscapes will destroy wildlife habitat and threaten rare species such as California desert tortoises and Wyoming sage grouse.

But a careful review of the already-disturbed parcels nominated to the agency eliminated many of them, and BLM officials quickly realized there was not enough acreage to make much of a difference.

So BLM broadened the project to include areas with low wildlife habitat values in addition to already disturbed areas.

The ROD signed today sets standards for projects to avoid impacts to sensitive watersheds and groundwater supplies and establishes a baseline set of environmental protection measures for proposed renewable energy projects.

BLM's effort to prioritize proper siting of large-scale renewables projects is commendable, said Sandy Bahr, director of the Sierra Club's Grand Canyon Chapter in Phoenix.

"Disturbed lands -- old mine sites, landfills and other areas that need restoration -- are where we should be looking for larger solar and wind projects, so we commend the BLM for moving in this direction," Bahr said.

However, she said the best way to avoid negative impacts to sensitive desert ecosystems is to promote the development of renewables "on rooftops, at community scale."

"Contrary to the belief of some, especially those who have never been here," she said, "the Sonoran Desert is a rich diverse landscape that provides important habitat for many species of plants and animals."

Click here to read the ROD and the resource management plan amendments.

Streater writes from Colorado Springs, Colo.

This story was updated at 5:52 p.m.

Conservationists this week urged the public to support their effort to grant the African lion endangered species protection.

The push by members of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus, Born Free USA and other groups comes as the Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing whether the species merits listing as threatened or endangered (Greenwire, Nov. 27, 2012). A 60-day public comment period closes Jan. 28.

An initial petition to list the species pointed to disease, human-lion conflict over livestock, trophy hunting and the use of animal parts in traditional medicine as reasons for the species' population decline. Lion parts are used as remedies for everything from broken bones to erectile dysfunction, according to Adam Roberts, executive vice president of Born Free USA, an animal advocacy group.

"The United States is the world's largest importer of lion trophies," Teresa Telecky, director of the wildlife department at Humane Society International, said this week at a congressional briefing hosted by Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), who chairs the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus.

Using data gathered on the tracking of lion parts when they cross international borders, Telecky estimated that the equivalent of at least 7,445 whole lions was traded internationally over the past 10 years.

The Endangered Species Act generally prohibits importation of the animal's parts into the country for either trophy or commercial purposes, Telecky said.

Decreased habitat also threatens African lions, experts said.

Only 25 percent of Africa's original savannas are currently able to sustain lion populations, according to a study last year from Duke University researchers.

"There is no way to consider the African lion as anything but endangered," Roberts said.

Not everyone agrees.

Hunting advocates cite the economic, land and animal-conservation benefits of sport hunting to African nations.

"Trophy hunting is of key importance to conservation in Africa by creating [financial] incentives to promote and retain wildlife as a land use over vast areas," according to a fact sheet from the Safari Club International, which opposes listing of the species.

But recently, Zambia and Botswana banned sport hunting of the African lion. Kenya instituted a similar ban more than a decade ago.

Bill Horn, director of federal affairs for the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, which provides lobbying support for hunters' rights, said the species could be better managed through sustained-use programs, rather than an endangered species listing.

"It's been our experience that good sustained use programs that generate revenues are really the best way to go," Horn said.

If FWS decides to list the species, Horn said, he hopes the listing would apply to lions only from certain parts of Africa. "There are differences across the continent," Horn said. "Focus on [areas] that are in trouble and don't penalize others with a blanket ESA."

Despite the arguments for and against granting the species protection under the Endangered Species Act, substantial steppingstones still stand in the way. For one, an ongoing debate persists over how many lions once lived in Africa.

There is a general consensus that 32,000 to 35,000 lions currently live in Africa, but estimates vary widely about how many once lived there. Those data are crucial to determine long-term trends. And researchers concede that no matter who conducts a study or what method is employed, estimating lion populations is an imperfect science and a challenging endeavor.

Horn said his group is working with scientists and experts to come up with their own lion population numbers. He said he didn't want to comment on the numbers before the study was completed, but "petitioners have skewed the numbers in a downward position."

The African lion remains the only big cat without endangered species protection, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare. The Asiatic lion was listed in 1970.

State and federal officials announced an agreement to reintroduce wood bison to the lower Yukon River area of Alaska by as soon as 2014.

Using parts of the Endangered Species Act, officials will classify the bison as a "nonessential experimental population," which means their protection would not interfere with oil or mineral development. In the long term, state wildlife officials plan to allow limited hunts of the animals.

The wood bison will be placed at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, south of Anchorage.

Wood bison are larger than plains bison and at one time roamed parts of northwestern Canada and interior Alaska. Adult males of the species can weigh up to 2,000 pounds. The animals, which have been classified as threatened, have been gone from the state for about a century. They vanished from the state by the late 1800s, though researchers are unsure why (Yereth Rosen, Reuters, Jan. 17). -- WW

A new federal study has found that nearly three-fourths of the Chesapeake Bay's waters are "fully or partially impaired" by toxic chemicals.

The report also warns people to limit the number of fish they eat from the bay because of concerns about mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which were banned years ago but linger in the fish.

Other contaminants from herbicides, pharmaceuticals and personal care products were found in the bay and could pose disputed or unknown health risks.

"Since 2000, new concerns, such as intersex conditions in fish, have arisen," the report says. "Although the causes are undetermined, there is increasing evidence that contaminant exposures may play a role."

The report has prompted environmental and health groups to call for more investigations into the effects of pesticides (Tim Wheeler, Baltimore Sun, Jan. 18). -- MM

Thousands of dead fish washed ashore Tuesday along a mile and a half of a South Carolina beach, officials said.

The occurrence is the second of its kind in the area in a week.

About 30,000 to 40,000 dead menhaden were spread along the shore from DeBordieu Beach in Georgetown County to Pawleys Island, and thousands more were expected, Pawleys Island Police Chief Michael Fanning said.

Marine experts determined the fish died from hypoxia, which occurs when the amount of oxygen declines in the water.

The occurrence was a natural event, said Mel Bell, director of the Office of Fisheries Management for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (Andrew Mach, NBC News, Jan. 18). -- KJ

Washington Fish and Wildlife officials are looking into the killings of four bald eagles found floating in a Granite Falls lake last week.

The birds will undergo an X-ray as officials look for clues that point to the identity of the shooters.

"The cause of death is pretty obvious," Fish and Wildlife Department Sgt. Jennifer Maurstad said. "But if we can retrieve the bullets, at least we can match it up to something."

Eagle killings in Washington state aren't common. Officials said the birds -- whose parts are used in high-end artwork, Wiccan ceremonies and American Indian powwows -- can fetch high prices on the black market. But Maurstad said it seems unlikely those reasons were the motivation in the recent case, as the birds' carcasses were abandoned.

Those with information about the killings can receive a reward of $13,750, most of it from the Stillaguamish Tribe.

State and federal laws prohibit killing eagles or owning any of their parts without a permit. In Washington state, violators face up to 90 days in jail, plus $2,000 to $3,000 in fines (Maureen O'Hagan, Seattle Times, Jan. 18). -- WW

Japanese authorities confirmed a dock that washed onto Washington state's shores last month came free from the coast of Japan during the 2011 tsunami.

A crew removed 400 pounds of marine plants and animals from the dock's remains to keep invasive species from taking hold.

The dock was found within Olympic National Park and the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.

The dock is similar to another one that washed ashore in Oregon last summer (AP/Washington Post, Jan. 17). -- MM

The Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division today cited settlements concerning the Deepwater Horizon disaster and its successful defense of U.S. EPA greenhouse gas regulations as highlights of its 2012 agenda.

The division secured more than $397 million in civil penalties and other monetary relief and ensured, via court settlements, that more than $6.9 billion in corrective measures will take place, according to a report issued today.

Forty-seven criminal cases against 83 defendants led to 21 years of prison sentences and $38 million in criminal fines, the report says.

The top two achievements mentioned in the report are the civil settlements the division handled in relation to companies implicated in the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The report mentions a $1.4 billion settlement with Transocean Ltd. finalized earlier this month and a similar agreement with MOEX Offshore 2007 LLC, worth $70 million, that was reached in February 2012.

DOJ has yet to reach a settlement with BP PLC over the civil claims against the oil giant, although it has resolved all criminal claims (Greenwire, Nov. 15, 2012).

The report also mentions the division's success in litigation over the lawfulness of the Obama administration's first suite of greenhouse gas regulations. In June, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously upheld the rules (Greenwire, June 26, 2012).

DOJ fared less well when the same court threw out EPA's Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, a setback not referenced in the report(Greenwire, Aug. 21, 2012).

Ignacia Moreno, who heads the division, said in a statement that actions taken during 2012 "resulted in immeasurable benefits for human health and the environment for all of the American people."

Division employees showed "dedication, expertise and professionalism" during the course of the year, she added.

The debate over whether to export the United States' new bountiful supply of natural gas is dividing powerful groups that represent some of the nation's biggest companies.

The National Association of Manufacturers and the American Chemistry Council voiced support for natural gas exports in online statements this week saying free-trade policies will enable growth in United States businesses.

Dow Chemical Co. took a different stance. Spokeswoman Nancy Lamb said, "We disagree with ACC and NAM and believe their decisions on this issue are being influenced by the oil and gas industry."

And she hinted that the chemical giant may leave the groups over the issue. Dow's future membership in the groups "remains to be seen," she said.

The idea of exporting natural gas from the United States arose in the last few years after drilling advances unlocked new natural gas supplies that were previously thought to be too costly to produce.

The Energy Department is reviewing more than a dozen proposals to export gas to countries lacking a free-trade agreement with the United States, a category that includes major natural gas consumers such as Japan and nations in Western Europe. The department released a report last month that found exports would help the U.S. economy (Tennille Tracy, Wall Street Journal, Jan. 17). -- KJ

A tugboat hauling 4,000 gallons of diesel and 100 gallons of lube oil sank into the Mississippi River around 5:30 p.m. local time yesterday, officials said.

No one was on the boat at the time and no injuries were reported, said Petty Officer Alex Washington of the Coast Guard.

As of 9:50 p.m., the chemicals were contained and had not leaked into the water, Washington said.

Initial reports indicated the crew in charge of the GE Capital Commercial Inc.-owned tugboat Saint Paul was in the process of a shift change while "dewatering" the vessel's stern, Washington said. The pumps failed to rid the water from the stern fast enough and the vessel began to sink, he said. It was unclear why there was water in the stern in the first place.

Addressing the pollution issue is the top priority, Washington said. Once the chemicals are taken care of, the next step will be to lift the boat out of the water, which is the company's responsibility (Naomi Martin, New Orleans Times-Picayune, Jan. 18). -- JE

Last year was a banner year for the wind industry as developers raced to complete projects ahead of the then-looming expiration of a key tax incentive, according to new research released today.

About 13,200 megawatts of new wind capacity was installed in 2012, with more than 40 percent of those installations coming in December, according to the analysis by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, a nonpartisan research firm that maintains a database of transactions and projects in wind, solar and other clean energy sectors. The record pace of installations was spurred by the potential expiration of the production tax credit (PTC), which Congress ultimately extended Jan. 1 as part of the broader "fiscal cliff" legislation.

Wind now accounts for about 60,000 MW installed capacity in the United States, making up 6 percent of total capacity in the domestic electricity sector, according to the BNEF findings. The firm also pointed to improved economics in the wind sector, with equipment prices falling and capacity of turbines rising to bring the overall levelized cost of wind electricity down 21 percent since 2010.

Last year's installations topped the previous record, set in 2009 with 10,000 MW installed, and more than doubled 2011's 6,500 MW installed, according to the firm. The record came in the same year that overall investment in U.S. clean energy sectors fell by nearly a third as developers held off planning projects for this year, when the pace of new wind farm construction is expected to fall even with the PTC extension (Greenwire, Jan. 14).

That wind grew so significantly even in the face of cheap natural gas is an encouraging sign for the industry. According to BNEF, wind, aided by the PTC, can compete with natural gas in some parts of the country. For example, in the extremely windy Texas Panhandle, wind-generated electricity has a levelized cost below $30 per megawatt-hour, compared to wholesale power prices, at today's natural gas prices, of $25 to $30 per MWh in the region.

Furthermore, most of the added capacity -- 11,000 MW -- came in states "without any near-term state-mandated demand" driven by renewable portfolio standards, said Amy Grace, the firm's lead analyst for the North American wind sector.

"It's clear that the economics, aided by the PTC, drove wind growth in 2012. ... This means that in most areas, utilities are buying wind power because they want to, not because they have to," Grace said in a statement.

U.S. electricity consumers struggling to pay utility bills are getting hurt by U.S. EPA's crackdown on coal-fired power, the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity said in a report today.

The lobby group's 15-page analysis says people making $50,000 a year or less spent 12 percent of after-tax income on energy in 2001. In 2013, they are projected to spend 20 percent of their income on energy. The estimate for Americans making less than $30,000 per year is 27 percent.

ACCCE is using the numbers to tout coal's contribution to cheap electricity and fight back against EPA efforts to curb pollution from coal-fired power plants.

"While American families fight to secure their economic footing, new EPA regulations are adding to their burden with higher electricity and energy costs," ACCCE President Mike Duncan said in a statement.

He said, "A typical American family is spending almost twice as much for energy today, and the cost increase is even more dramatic on lower-income, senior and minority families."

Eugene Trisko, an attorney who has worked closely with the United Mine Workers union, prepared the report for ACCCE. He cited new numbers released by the Energy Information Administration indicating that coal prices will reach $3.08 per million British thermal units by 2040 compared to $7.83 per MMBtu for natural gas.

The report also says, "Electricity prices have increased by 54 percent in nominal dollars since 1990, below the rate of inflation, while the nominal prices of residential natural gas and gasoline have nearly doubled and tripled, respectively, over this period."

Environmental groups say reports like ACCCE's ignore the lifetime costs of coal, including health and safety issues that stem from its mining and burning. They say power price increase estimates from environmental regulations are overblown.

Last year a small Alaska research and advocacy group called Ground Truth Trekking found that states' use of coal did not always correlate with lower energy prices (Greenwire, March 12, 2012).

But the National Mining Association noted that power is usually distributed on a regional rather than state level. Boosters like NMA and ACCCE want people to pay more attention to the social goods of cheap power.

Click here to read the ACCCE report.

Duke Energy Corp. aims to decide whether to repair or retire its weakened Crystal River nuclear plant in Florida by early February, CEO Jim Rogers said this week.

Duke inherited the 35-year-old plant in a 2012 merger with Progress Energy Inc. It has been shut down since 2009 due to a botched repair job that resulted in separating layers of concrete in its thick-walled reactor containment structure.

Repairs are estimated to cost $1.5 billion, according to an analysis by Charlotte, N.C., engineering firm Zapata Inc. that Duke released in October 2012. But if unexpected problems arise, the analysis said, repair costs could reach $3.4 billion and take eight years.

Duke has said it will repair the plant only if it is confident the repairs can be completed on time and under budget (Bruce Henderson, Charlotte Observer, Jan. 18). -- KJ

U.S. EPA officials plan to meet with unions next week to discuss potential sequestration issues as the uncertainty about the federal budget continues.

The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, according to an email sent yesterday to the American Federation of Government Employees.

Since last year, AFGE Council 238, which represents more than 10,000 EPA employees, has been requesting regular briefings to discuss workers' concerns about a potential government shutdown and furloughs. It reiterated the request this week after the White House Office of Management and Budget told agencies Monday that federal employee representatives should be involved in potential furlough decisions "to the fullest extent practicable" (Greenwire, Jan. 15).

Congress must act by March 1 to avoid huge across-the-board budget cuts at federal agencies mandated by prior deals over the debt ceiling and budget. Additionally, the continuing resolution funding the government expires March 27, and Congress must act by then to avert a shutdown.

U.S. EPA this week finalized new air pollution control requirements for seven iron ore processing facilities in Minnesota and Michigan.

At issue are taconite facilities owned by companies including U.S. Steel Corp. and ArcelorMittal S.A.. Taconite is a type of iron deposit that helps fuel the economies in the region around Lake Superior.

EPA's rule, which has caused some controversy within the industry and among lawmakers on Capitol Hill, promises to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by about 22,000 tons per year and sulfur dioxide emissions by about 2,000 tons per year. Plants must also install continuous emissions monitors.

"This is a terrific first step at regulating an industry that for too long has been allowed to escape pollution controls, thus negatively impacting treasured places like Voyageurs and Isle Royale national parks and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness," said Christine Goepfert, a regional program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association.

"These wild places attract hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, helping spur the nearly $22 billion that tourism contributes to local economies," Goepfert added.

Former Minnesota Republican Rep. Chip Cravaack pushed for legislation to roll back EPA's ability to promulgate the so-called regional haze regulations, meant to improve visibility at national parks and wilderness areas. He wanted the agency to approve his state's best available retrofit technology (BART) plan rather than craft its own (Greenwire, Oct. 10, 2012).

EPA said it made changes to the final rule, including compliance deadlines, based on feedback from taconite companies. The agency reported more than 1,000 comments and hosted a public hearing because of the high interest in the issue.

Democratic Rep. Rick Nolan, who unseated Cravaack to represent northeastern Minnesota but promised to continue supporting the taconite industry, is taking a measured approach. A spokesman said Nolan is studying the rule and discussing it with industry leaders.

Navajo Generating Station

EPA's regional haze guidelines have caused unease among critics for tightening controls at power plants around the country. Proposals concerning the Navajo Generating Station near the Grand Canyon in Arizona have been among the more controversial.

As with taconite, House lawmakers passed legislation limiting EPA oversight of regional haze issues and included a rider to protect the Navajo plant.

Now EPA is proposing a compromise for reducing emissions at what it calls one of the nation's top nitrogen oxide polluters. It would give the plant until 2023 to install new controls under an "alternative BART" scenario.

EPA said the proposal, which would reduce emissions by 84 percent or more than 28,000 tons per year, would give credit to the plant for installing low NOx burners.

"This alternative also recognizes the importance of NGS to numerous Indian tribes located in Arizona and the federal government's reliance on NGS to meet the requirements of water settlements with several Indian tribes," the agency said.

Earlier this month the heads of EPA, the Interior Department and the Department of Energy released a joint statement promising closer cooperation to reduce pollution from the Navajo Generating Station while also protecting economic development.

Local leaders are worried that the plant's closure would jeopardize jobs, many of them filled by American Indians, and the nearby Kayenta coal mine. The Bureau of Reclamation owns the Navajo Generating Station along with the Salt River Project and various utilities.

Andy Bessler, an organizer with the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign, said, "We applaud the Environmental Protection Agency for requiring the long-overdue cleanup of pollution from this dirty coal plant, which for decades has harmed human health and marred one of the nation's iconic national parks, the Grand Canyon."

The new proposal is subject to public comment and hearings in the coming months.

Around the world, governments, businesses and local communities are increasingly choosing to invest in programs to improve the health of natural ecosystems rather than pay for costly industrial infrastructure to boost water quality and supplies, according to a new market analysis.

The number of such initiatives has doubled over the past four years, with a total investment of at least $8.2 billion, the report from the nonprofit research group Forest Trends found.

In Sweden, a local water authority found it was less expensive to pay for a program to plant blue mussel beds that filter nitrate pollution than to build a new treatment facility. In Kenya, a consortium of flower growers, ranchers and hotel owners near Lake Naivasha are paying for agricultural vouchers for small farmers who implement conservation measures that benefit the water body. And New York City developed a program to compensate farmers in the Catskills who reduce pollution into lakes and streams rather than spend billions of dollars on new wastewater treatment infrastructure.

"There has always been economic value in these natural mechanisms; now we're protecting and investing in them accordingly," said Genevieve Bennett, research analyst with the group's Ecosystem Marketplace unit and lead author on the report. "We are seeing so much variety and creativity and innovation on the ground."

Although the United States is home to the greatest number of these initiatives, 67, the greatest dollar investment, roughly $7.5 billion, was made in China.

Water scarcity and water pollution already cost that country more than 2 percent of its gross domestic product, according to the World Bank. In its latest five-year plan, Beijing gave "ecocompensation" programs a key role.

"Water insecurity poses probably the single biggest risk to the country's continued economic growth today, and the government has clearly decided that its ecological investments will pay off," the report states.

In the United States, compliance programs such as U.S. EPA's cleanup plan for the Chesapeake Bay, which allows for water quality trading, are a major investment driver. And in the West, some communities are using watershed investment programs as a way of mitigating potential future climate risks.

But such market-driven programs are not wholly embraced. Two environmental groups have brought a court challenge to the Chesapeake Bay's trading provision, contending that it is ripe for abuse, has little impact on water quality, and stands to leave low-income and minority communities with the most pollution (Greenwire, Oct. 3, 2012).

More than 50 New Jersey residents have filed a lawsuit against the operator of a train that crashed into Mantua Creek in November 2012.

One of the cars released gaseous vinyl chloride, a chemical that can cause nausea and breathing problems (Greenwire, Nov. 30, 2012).

The residents say they suffered from chest pains and coughing fits after exposure and want compensation and medical surveillance.

Two other suits were filed against the operator, Consolidated Rail Corp., in the past month. The latest suit alleges that Conrail "put safety aside for the sake of profit."

The suit also claims that untrained emergency responders aggregated the problem by allowing residents to proceed through a toxic cloud (Andrew Seidman, Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan. 9). -- MM

A California state agency is conducting a probe into the conduct of the ship pilot who was in charge of the empty oil tanker that ran into the San Francisco Bay Bridge last week.

The investigation by the California Board of Pilot Commissioners is expected to take 90 days. Another investigation into the matter, conducted by the Coast Guard with assistance from the National Transportation Safety Board, is expected to take longer.

The Overseas Reymar hit the western-span tower of the bridge nearest to Yerba Buena Island on Jan. 7. The incident caused more than $2 million in damages. No oil was spilled, and no one was injured.

"The investigators will look at all the information, compile a report and make a recommendation for action," pilot board spokeswoman Traci Ruth said at the commissioners' regular meeting yesterday.

That suggestion ranged from no action to suspension or revocation of Captain Guy Kleess' license, Ruth said (Kevin Fagan, San Francisco Chronicle, Jan. 18). -- JE

Massachusetts legislators have offered a bill that would fine grocery stores and restaurants that mislabel seafood.

The legislation also would make Massachusetts the first state to ban sales of the oily escolar fish, known as the "ex-lax" fish and served in sushi. The fish is often mislabeled as white tuna, and sales of it are already banned in Italy and Japan.

The bill comes a year after The Boston Globe reported on a trend in which Massachusetts restaurants substituted seafood they sold with less desirable varieties. A subsequent probe last fall found that the practice had continued. Industry groups say mislabeled U.S. seafood costs consumers and the industry hundreds of millions of dollars each year.

Under the bill, violators who misrepresent fish like Atlantic cod, Atlantic halibut, red snapper or gray sole could face fines of up to $800. Repeat offenders could have their licenses suspended or taken away.

"We want to make sure if you're led to believe that you're eating fish off the bay, it really is off the bay in Massachusetts, and not 3,000 miles or 6,000 miles away," said state Rep. Ted Speliotis (D), co-chairman of the committee that proposed the legislation. "It's an attempt on a statewide level to bring some standards to the fish industry."

Meanwhile, Peter Christie, president of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, said he's opposed to the proposed escolar ban and penalties for first-time mislabeling offenders.

"If there are some people who enjoy escolar, they should be able to have it," Christie said. "But it should be called escolar. I believe in truth in menu. There should be a warning period, not fines, on first offenses when it's an innocent mistake being made. Education is needed, and distributors need to be more forthcoming with details" (Jenn Abelson, Boston Globe, Jan. 18). -- WW

Idaho Gov. Butch Otter's (R) choice to fill a Fish and Game Commission spot has sparked a controversy in the area she is supposed to represent.

Joan Hurlock was appointed to the commission in June 2012, along with Will Naillon. Her appointment made her the second woman to serve on the commission since its creation in 1938. But while Naillon's confirmation hearing has been scheduled for this week, Hurlock's has not.

"At this point, I'd rather not talk about it," state Senate Resources Chairman Monty Pearce (R) said yesterday. "Give us a little time. ... We don't know what's going to happen."

According to the governor's office, Hurlock -- a former forensic scientist with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and a former U.S. Capitol Police officer -- has been active in civic and sportsman groups. But some groups in Magic Valley, the area she is representing, say they favor other candidates they believe have more experience.

Jack Oyler, a board member of the Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, said he talked with Hurlock before her interviews for the commission openings. He decided she didn't have the policy knowledge or experience for the job.

"This is not a woman thing with me, it's qualifications," Oyler said (Betsy Russell, Spokane Spokesman-Review, Jan. 18). -- JE

Wyoming residents would be allowed to take home roadkill if they plan to eat or process it under legislation before the state Legislature.

Under the measure, people also would be allowed to use roadkill for scientific purposes.

The bill is sponsored by nine state legislators from both parties. One of the sponsors, Rep. Dan Zwonitzer (R), said there is a possibility that people may abuse the bill by killing animals and claiming that the deaths were from auto collisions.

"There's some room for mischief," he said. "I think it gives Game and Fish a little trepidation to support the bill. We have to think of all the angles and bad actors. People may not follow the law. But they're also not following the law now."

If the bill passes, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission would regulate the permitting process. Chief game warden Brian Nesvik said a formal license or coupon would play an important role in allowing this kind of practice (Hancock/Peterson, Casper [Wyo.] Star-Tribune, Jan. 16). -- JE

A Nevada water agency said it will use eminent domain to take two small tracts of land west of Lake Las Vegas.

In a move it hasn't used since 2004, the Southern Nevada Water Authority unanimously voted to start up court proceedings to take the undeveloped land along the Las Vegas Wash in order to construct a weir, or a low dam. The dam would curb erosion and improve water quality, officials said.

The anticipated 14-month project to build the Three Kids Weir is slated to cost $16.4 million. But work on the project must begin soon so the agency can take advantage of a federal grant due to expire in October 2014. The grant would cover 70 percent of the cost.

The authority has been working with owners since 2010 to purchase the land, but it can't come to a consensus on price. The authority offered $8,000 for the remaining interest for the two tracts. The owners countered by asking for $500,000 for each parcel.

The landowners couldn't be reached for comment (Henry Brean, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Jan. 17). -- WW

Following an attack by Algerian troops on hostage-takers at a natural gas facility, Statoil ASA, BP PLC and Cepsa SA yesterday began to evacuate employees and their families.

Norway-based Statoil confirmed eight of its 17 employees were safe. Five escaped Wednesday, and another three were found yesterday.

Additionally, nonessential personnel for Statoil and BP were evacuated from two other gas plants in the country.

Some analysts noted that Algeria's desert fields are vulnerable because of their isolation.

"All these facilities are in remote areas and are absolutely unprepared for this," said Fadel Gheit, oil analyst for Oppenheimer & Co. "The borders are very porous. There is nothing there except hundreds of miles of desert. We complain about the Mexican border. Welcome to the Sahara."

But Eurasia Group oil analyst Greg Priddy said the location would make the fields easier to defend.

"Part of the reason this incident was possible is that the government didn't have the number of security forces it needed there, and now this will put them on a much higher state of alert," he said (Steven Mufson, Washington Post, Jan. 17). -- JE

Laos is under pressure from neighboring Vietnam and Cambodia to halt construction on a $3.5 billion hydropower dam on the Mekong River.

The dam is the first of 11 that would line the Mekong River, and activists say it could threaten the livelihood of tens of millions of people who depend on the river.

The complaints came yesterday after member countries from the Mekong River Commission -- Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand -- met to discuss the river's development. Studies on the environmental and social effects of the dam were supposed to take place before construction began.

The commission is bound by treaty to hold intergovernment consultation before dams are built, but members have no veto.

"In the absence of an agreement, other countries can disagree if they like, but this can't stop Laos," said Jian-hua Meng, a sustainable hydropower specialist at the World Wildlife Fund. "The role of the MRC is now being questioned along with the level of investment put in the organization" (Lefevre/Carsten, Reuters, Jan. 18). -- MM