News & Events


T his page features articles on current issues and events related to diversity in the environmental field. It also features upcoming conferences related to various environmental issues.



CONFERENCES

  • "The AGEP Advantage" Northwestern University Academic Employment Workshop


  • Training Conference, Hispanics - Helping People Conserve the Land


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  • National Land Conservation Conference: Rally 2005


  • National Summit on Diversity in the Environmental Field - Thirty-Five Years After Earth Day: Where Do We Go From Here?


  • Minority Serving Institutions: Leadership, Emerging Issues, and Their Role in Their Communities


  • Summit 2005: Diverse Partners for Environmental Progress


  • Fostering a Diverse Scientific Community in the Environmental and Biological Sciences



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    ARTICLES

    March 2008
  • Is cap-and-trade system right for California? Opposition grows


    • February 2008
  • Study Warns of Chemicals in Baby Items


    • January 2008
  • Superfund Looks to Its Future

  • State to curb toxic runoff




    • Conferences



  • Northwestern University, AGEP (Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate) Academic Employment Workshop

    • DATE: September 25, 2006
    LOCATION: Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
    OVERVIEW: Northwestern University is hosting a one-day workshop for social, behavioral and economic sciences (SBES) advanced graduate students on issues faced by underrepresented minorities in searching for and succeeding in their first faculty or postdoctoral fellow appointment. Workshop attendees will be SBES PhD students soon to begin the academic job search. This workshop, consisting of two panel presentations and three interactive sessions, will cover a variety of issues including:

  • 'Sealing the deal:' finding the best faculty/postdoctoral fellow position and negotiating the best start-up package;
  • Managing the tenure process, deciding which requests for extra service to accept and which to turn down;
  • Issues to be faced in the classroom;
  • Balancing family/work issues;
  • Surviving the first year as a professor


    • The workshop will be held September 25, 2006 at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. All workshop attendees will have their travel, meals, and lodging provided.

    You are invited to apply to attend this workshop if you are in your final graduate school year and anticipate being in the academic job market by June 2007. If interested, please submit the following by Friday, August 2, 2006:

  • A cover letter signed by you and your academic advisor indicating your interest in attending the workshop;
  • A copy of your CV - (it may be the same CV you use for the job search)


    • Send all information to:
    Cheryl Judice, PhD
    Director - AGEP
    The Graduate School
    Northwestern University
    633 Clark Street - 1-502
    Evanston, Illinois 60208-1113
    Email: c-judice@northwestern.edu
    Phone: 847-491-8536

  • Training Conference, Hispanics - Helping People Conserve the Land
    DATE: July 24-27, 2006
    LOCATION: Orlando, Florida
    URL:http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/intranet/hispanic/
    OVERVIEW: The National Organization of Professional Hispanic NRCS Employees (NOPHNRCSE) is seeking college students interested in a career in natural resources to attend its this years Training Conference, "Hispanics - Helping People Conserve the Land", July 24-27, 2006 in Orlando, Florida. Attendance at this Conference will provide the best-qualified students with an opportunity to meet, interact, and network with NRCS professionals. Students will also have the opportunity to visit with hiring officials from across the country about federal internship programs and job opportunities. The organization will provide travel expenses for airfare, lodging (2/room), airport transportation and a $49/day allowance for meals and incidentals (less those provided). Must be a full time student currently enrolled at an accredited college or university, be a citizen of the United States, have a good academic standing with a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or above, have a career interest in agriculture and natural resources within USDA-NRCS.
    CONTACT: Submit a resume and a copy of the most current transcript (unofficial copy is acceptable), a type-written Personal Statement between 350 to 500 words in length (double-spaced). The statement must include academic year, major, personal and career goals, academic and extra curricular achievements, and personal interest in public service working with USDA-NRCS. Submit the application by Deadline of April 7, 2006 to:
    2006 NOPHNRCSE Training Conference-USDA NRCS
    c/o Russell Castro
    101 South Main Street
    Temple, Texas 78628
    For more information, contact either Russell Castro (254) 742-9982,
    russell.castro@tx.usda.gov
    or Rick Rodriguez (254) 742-9894, rick.rodriguez@tx.usda.gov.

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  • National Land Conservation Conference: Rally 2005
    DATE: Ocober 14-17, 2005
    LOCATION: Monona Terrace Convention Center - Madison, Wisconsin
    URL:http://www.lta.org/training/rally.htm
    OVERVIEW: Join more than 1,600 conservation leaders at the world's premier gathering of land trust professionals, volunteers, board members, public agency staff, attorneys and land conservation advocates for the 18th Rally! Seminars and Field Trips are Filling Fast Register now to get your first choice. There are over 130 workshops to choose from at Rally! Register online to get immediate confirmation of your choices! The last day to register is September 19.


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    National Summit on Diversity in the Environmental Field - Thirty-Five Years After Earth Day: Where Do We Go From Here?
    DATE: Sunday, August 28, 2005 to Tuesday, August 30, 2005
    TIME: 5:00 pm 8/28/2005 - 3:00 pm 8/30/2005
    LOCATION: First Floor, Dana Building, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
    URL: http://sitemaker.umich.edu/meldi
    SPONSOR:     Conference Sponsored by the Minority Environmental Leadership Development Initiative (MELDI)
    OVERVIEW: The conference will bring together leaders of environmental NGOs, government environmental agencies, deans/chairs of academic environmental programs, corporate environmental units, and students for a national conversation about diversity in the environmental field.

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  • Minority Serving Institutions: Leadership, Emerging Issues, and Their Role in Their Communities
    DATE: May 11, 2005
    LOCATION: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
    URL: http://www.thenationalforum.org/projects_msi_register.shtml

    • OVERVIEW: This one-day symposium will focus on issues particular to the ways in which MSIs interact with their communities. For this symposium, community is defined as both the local/physical community as well as the greater cultural and ethnic communities of color. Symposium topics and themes include the relationships between the university and the community; the ways in which the community influences the institution, and the ways in which the institution involves itself with the community.

    Registration is free; however, space is limited. Registration forms are available in the National Forum, Suite 2339 in the School of Education building. Please return your registration form via fax, 734/615-9777, or mail, 615 E. University, Suite 2339, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, by Friday, April 29, to reserve your space.

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    Summit 2005: Diverse Partners for Environmental Progress Sciences
    DATE: Oct.16-19, 2005
    LOCATION: Airfield 4H Center in Wakefield, Virginia
    OVERVIEW: This historic conversation among leaders, advocates and others active in the conservation, environmental justice, health, civil rights, public lands and funding communities will be convened to explore issues linked to our living environment, and to strengthen the network of environmental advocates that is reflective of race, ethnicity, culture, class and geography.
    Summit Objectives:
    To connect leaders from the traditional/non-traditional environmental community, the environmental justice, health and civil rights, public lands and other interested parties to develop a common framework for supporting a pro-environment slate of issues.
    To engage in a full day of facilitated dialogue that examines the real and/or perceived barriers and constraints that have served as obstacles to moving forward together.
    To determine the most pressing and cross-cutting issues on which we can commit to work together.
    To form a network of diverse parties interested in communicating beyond the summit and developing a strategy to sustain the conversations and action steps developed.
    To identify at least one other "next step"everyone is willing to take together, in light of the current political climate, that supports these goals.
    Who Should Participate?
    Leaders from the Environmental Justice, traditional and non-traditional environmental, public health, faith, civil rights, environmental education, parks, conservation /recreation fields as well as those who are involved with funding to improve the environment for diverse communities.
    Registration:
    The Summit will convene more than 200 critical voices in the fields above, including 100 top environmental leaders and our invited partners as described above. Look for registration details in early March.

    For more information, please contact:
    Iantha Gantt-Wright
    Phone: 301-292-6677
    Email: thekeniangroup@earthlink.net


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    Fostering a Diverse Scientific Community in the Environmental and Biological Sciences
    DATE: Aug. 12-13, 2004
    LOCATION: Campus of Howard University, Washington, D.C., USA
    URL: http://www.ots.duke.edu/en/symposium/
    OVERVIEW: The Organization for Tropical Studies is presenting a symposium at Howard University on August 12-13, 2004 that will focus on Fostering a diverse scientific community in the environmental and biological sciences. The two-day-event will feature internationally recognized scholars and industry executives who will present perspectives on the topic from a variety of disciplines, including environmental science, biology, mathematics, and sociology. The symposium will include plenary sessions addressing issues of identification, recruitment and retention of underrepresented groups at the undergraduate, graduate and professional levels as well as poster and oral presentations by alumni of the OTS Minority Scholars Program. Results of the symposium will be reported in a manual of best practices and disseminated to interested parties and throughout the OTS consortium. The keynote speaker for this conference will be Dr. Dorceta Taylor, director of the MELDI program.


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    Articles


    Is cap-and-trade system right for California? Opposition grows


    The following is an article on the eenews.net Website. It appeared on March 18, 2008.

    By Colin Sullivan, Senior reporter Darren Samuelsohn contributed from Washington.

    SAN FRANCISCO -- A recent groundswell of local opposition to a greenhouse gas cap-and-trade system in California could undermine state efforts to develop a West-wide carbon market, said experts here who are keeping a watchful eye on the process.

    What was a minor tremor started by environmental justice groups and a few Democrats in Sacramento appears to be gathering strength as regulators move closer to finalizing a draft blueprint for cutting emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The most recent example is an editorial last week in the L.A. Times that questioned whether a cap-and-trade program fits for the state.

    The paper's editorial page suggested that the complexities of a market-based system could leave the state vulnerable to the gaming and other shady trading practices that characterized California's deregulated power market, and the ensuing electricity crisis, starting in the late 1990s.

    "Unless the cap-and-trade program is designed extraordinarily well, we could be looking at deregulation déjà vu," the paper wrote. "And the consequences won't just be higher power bills. If California, which leads the country in addressing the threat of global warming, gets this program wrong, it could discredit efforts to fight the problem nationwide, if not worldwide."

    Experts watching the process say the shift has been driven by the powerful defense industry in Orange County and other major emitters that have begun to fear the far-reaching effects of a carbon-constrained economy. There have also been complaints from low-income and minority communities worried about the kind of dirty pollution "hot spots" created by the sulfur-dioxide trading program.

    "Cap and trade is an old idea that's never worked," said Angela Johnson Meszaros of the California Environmental Rights Alliance. "We certainly support the notion that there should be a price on carbon ... but cap and trade is not the answer."

    All of which has some people revisiting the notion of taxing carbon directly rather than creating a market.

    "There is a kind of groundswell back to at least reconsidering a carbon tax," said Dan Kammen, an energy professor at University of California, Berkeley. "The pressure is intense, but it was going to be intense no matter what." How high does the price have to go?

    The Times editorial called carbon taxes a "simpler, harder to manipulate and less economically damaging way" to regulate GHGs, but the paper also appeared to admit cap and trade is inevitable given the political aversion to new taxes. Kammen agreed that cap and trade is still the most likely system to emerge from the state's scoping plan and said concerned parties are pushing for the right market structure.

    Kammen, the Times and others agree that the crucial factor is development of a regional market at the outset that steps beyond a one-party experiment. If other states in the West do not go along, then California is essentially shifting the problematic emissions elsewhere because the state imports about a quarter of its power from other states.

    This makes participation of the Western Climate Initiative -- a regional collaboration involving six Western states and two Canadian provinces -- essential, these sources said. "The WCI has to go along," Kammen said.

    Emilie Mazzacurati, a senior analyst at Point Carbon, added this in an e-mail exchange: "It is now quite likely that California will be part of a regional market in the West. While this makes the political process a little less smooth, it also opens the way for a larger market, with more players, which should help avoid both volatility and market power, two of the main issues that arose under the electricity crisis."

    Just as important are penalties for noncompliance and design decisions. Kammen supports stiff enforcement penalties and possibly additional carbon fees on top of cap and trade for some sectors to account for the real cost of carbon. Mazzacurati said "what matters is the design."

    "The electricity crisis came not from the deregulation, but from how it was deregulated," he said. "The same can be said of carbon markets ... one can hope they have learned from their past errors."

    Also important is the price threshold. At $25 per ton of carbon, that equates to a surcharge of about 25 cents per gallon of gasoline, according to Kammen. He argued that the price has to be set higher, by the market or otherwise, to get companies and consumers to change their behavior and lower emissions. "We already pay too little for energy," he said. "We don't really know how high it has to go to get [emitters] to respond." Boxer sticks by market approach

    In Washington, California Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) last week found herself having to answer questions about the Times' editorial. The chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee said she respects the paper but disagrees.

    "They're not here," Boxer told reporters. "They're not in the Senate. They don't know what can or can't pass."

    Boxer added that the political reality is such that cap and trade is the best available option. She takes the "warnings" seriously about market design but still supports a market approach for her home state and in Congress.

    We have shown this can work for acid rain," Boxer said. "This is a concept we created here. And we believe this will work. Could a carbon tax work better? I can't tell you the answer to that. But I can tell you it's not going to happen here."

    Across the Hill, House Energy and Commerce Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.) recently issued a white paper in which he cautioned that state programs threaten to create a patchwork system for regulating emissions. This, he said, could cost some regions jobs, especially in states dependent on auto manufacturing. He also appeared to signal a preference for an economy-wide federal law that would do away with some state programs (E&E Daily, Feb. 25). Market players weigh in

    Those with a financial stake in the market, meanwhile, insist a tax would send the wrong message to the international community. And some see the need for a hybrid structure that combines direct regulation with a market approach.

    "It's a strange choice to go for taxes when there is a better alternative available," said Henry Derwent, the president and CEO of the International Emissions Trading Association. "Far better for California to join in making the [WCI] a trading scheme to set the North American pace."

    Abyd Karmali, a managing director at Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., said the environmental justice advocates are misinformed. "Unlike SO2 and NOx, CO2 does not create pollution hotspots, so the argument that it is a problem if local utilities in California achieve some of their reductions elsewhere is a fallacy," he said.

    And Josh Margolis, co-CEO of CantorCO2e, wants the policy architects at the state's Air Resources Board to take heed of these crisscrossing issues and advance a twofold approach.

    "The effects of global warming ... cannot withstand the glacial pace of a command-and-control-only program," Josh Margolis said. "We need a hybrid approach that uses all the tools that we can muster [combining] command-and-control and cap and trade."

    Margolis cited the ozone standards pursued under the Clean Air Act and said the approach has not worked. More than three decades after the attainment deadline of May 15, 1975, he said, ozone is still a problem.

    "Today, some 33 years after the original deadline, at least 40 areas still fail to attain the ozone standards," he said. "If not cap and trade, then what?"

    California Environmental Rights Alliance's Johnson Meszaros dismisses these arguments and insists a carbon fee levied on emitters would cut more GHGs. She differentiates a fee from a tax, as a fee-based system would shuttle revenues to climate change innovations, as opposed to sending tax proceeds to the state's general treasury. She adds that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R), Vice President Al Gore (D) and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power support this approach.

    If cap and trade sticks, Johnson Meszaros argues, it is good for the players but not for consumers. "I think the banks will make more money, but I don't think it will reduce emissions," she said.


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    Study Warns of Chemicals in Baby Items


    The following is an article on the Chicago Tribune Website. It appeared on February 4, 2008.

    By Lindsey Tanner, AP Medical Writer

    CHICAGO - Baby shampoos, lotions and powders may expose infants to chemicals that have been linked with possible reproductive problems, a small study suggests.

    The chemicals, called phthalates, are found in many ordinary products including cosmetics, toys, vinyl flooring and medical supplies. They are used to stabilize fragrances and make plastics flexible.

    In the study, they were found in elevated levels in the urine of babies who'd been recently shampooed, powdered or lotioned with baby products.

    Phthalates (pronounced thowl-ates) are under attack by some environmental advocacy groups, but experts are uncertain what dangers, if any, they might pose. The federal government doesn't limit their use, although California and some countries have restricted their use.

    Animal studies have suggested that phthalates can cause reproductive birth defects and some activists believe they may cause reproductive problems in boys and early puberty in girls.

    Rigorous scientific evidence in human studies is lacking. The current study offers no direct evidence that products the infants used contained phthalates, and no evidence that the chemicals in the babies' urine caused any harm. Still, the results worried environmental groups that support restrictions on these chemicals.

    "There is an obvious need for laws that force the beauty industry to clean up its act," said Stacy Malkan of Health Care Without Harm.

    The study's lead author, Dr. Sheela Sathyanarayana, a University of Washington pediatrician, said, "The bottom line is that these chemicals likely do exist in products that we're commonly using on our children and they potentially could cause health effects."

    Babies don't usually need special lotions and powders, and water alone or shampoo in very small amounts is generally enough to clean infant hair, Sathyanarayana said.

    Concerned parents can seek products labeled "phthalate-free," or check labels for common phthalates, including DEP and DEHP.

    But the chemicals often don't appear on product labels. That's because retail products aren't required to list individual ingredients of fragrances, which are a common phthalate source.

    The Food and Drug Administration "has no compelling evidence that phthalates pose a safety risk when used in cosmetics," spokeswoman Stephanie Kwisnek said. "Should new data emerge, we will inform the public as well as the industry."

    The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the health effects in humans are uncertain.

    "Although several studies in people have explored possible associations with developmental and reproductive outcomes (semen quality, genital development in boys, shortened pregnancy, and premature breast development in young girls), more research is needed," a 2005 CDC report said.

    The new study, which appears in February's issue of the journal Pediatrics, involved 163 babies. Most were white, ages 2 to 28 months and living in California, Minnesota and Missouri.

    The researchers measured levels of several phthalates in urine from diapers. They also asked the mothers about use in the previous 24 hours of baby products including lotions, powders, diaper creams and baby wipes.

    All urine samples had detectable levels of at least one phthalate, and most had levels of several more. The highest levels were linked with shampoos, lotions and powders, and were most prevalent in babies younger than 8 months.

    John Bailey, chief scientist at the Personal Care Products Council, questioned the methods and said the phthalates could have come from diapers, lab materials or other sources.

    "Unfortunately, the researchers of this study did not test baby care products for the presence of phthalates or control for other possible routes of exposure," Bailey said.


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    Superfund Looks to Its Future


    The following is an article on the Environmental Factor Website. It appeared on January 2008.

    By Eddy Ball

    After two days of sharing the excitement of their science and recounting the accomplishments of the Superfund Basic Research Program (SBRP)(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/sbrp/index.cfm, on December 5 attendees at the twenty-year anniversary celebration (see Spotlight story) were confronted with the mass of unfinished business still to address and the challenges the program is sure to face in the future.

    Titled "Colloquium: Visions for the Future," the session included four presentations and a panel discussion. The session was chaired by SBRP Acting Director Claudia Thompson and moderated by University of Arizona pharmacologist Jay Gandolfi, Ph.D., and Texas A & M University geneticist Richard Finnell, Ph.D.

    Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health Professor Lynn Goldman, M.D., opened the colloquium with a grim assessment of the globalization of hazardous wastes in a presentation sparked by the question "What Are the Lessons for Public Health?" Beginning what she described as "one of the most challenging talks I've given in a while," Goldman enumerated a host of new challenges brought about by an increasing reliance on developing countries for processing the world's wastes.

    Goldman challenged the United States to adopt a regulatory system similar to the European Union's, which requires the same kind of authorization for chemicals that is required for pesticides. She also called for dramatic expansion of the "standard suite of [hazardous chemical] candidates" that are studied and a stronger commitment to the public's right to know. "If it's in our bodies," she argued, "I think we need to understand it."

    NIEHS grantee Randy Jirtle, Ph.D., a professor of radiation oncology at Duke University, offered an introduction to "Epigenetics: The New Genetics of Toxicology" to support his contention that the future of toxicology rests with an epigenetic approach utilizing high-throughput screening of human cell lines. Offering an overview of the differences in imprinting and epigenetic responses between species, Jirtle urged his audience to bear in mind that "a mouse is not a human."

    Quoting Alexander Pope's "Essay on Man," Jirtle argued that in toxicology, as in philosophy, "'The proper study of mankind is man.'" However, Jirtle's human-centric approach to toxicology did not go unchallenged during the question-and-answer session, as a more traditional toxicologist in the audience echoed some of the issues that persist in relation to alternative testing and countered that "a cell is not an organism" either.

    In a presentation titled "Systems Biology Approach to Optimizing Bioremediation," University of Massachusetts at Amherst microbiologist Derek Lovley, Ph.D., reported on his group's progress with in situ groundwater bioremediation using several species of the anaerobic bacteria Geobacter (http://www.geobacter.org/) Exit NIEHS. Lovley's lab has demonstrated that Geobacter species can break down contaminants such as acetate and uranium VI in groundwater and that the organisms show promise for use in the anaerobic degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons-as well as in the conversion of waste matter to electricity.

    Lovley's systems approach utilizes sequence genomics, gene expression studies, proteomics and in silico modeling to predict optimal methods for use at Department of Energy, Department of Interior and Department of Defense hazardous waste sites. Coupled with hydrological and geophysical models, the approach promises to advance bioremediation and maximize resources available for cleaning hazardous waste sites.

    The final presentation, by Duke University Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Mark Wiesner, Ph.D., focused on "Research Needs in Evaluating Nanomaterial Risks: The Fullerene Example." As his experiments with the nano carbon C60 demonstrate, the more research that is performed with nanomaterials, the more questions arise about how these microscopic particles interact with the human organism.

    There are so many factors that influence nanomaterial behavior, he argued, that "the idea of putting all things that are small in the same box doesn't make any sense." Established risk parameters, he also noted, do not seem to work for nanoparticles. Until the new physics of nanoparticles is better understood, scientists will not understand how much of a threat, if any, they actually pose to public health.


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    State to curb toxic runoff


    The following is an article on the Los Angeles Times Website. It appeared on January 19, 2008.

    By Dan Weikel

    Millions of gallons of polluted runoff from state highways in Los Angeles and Ventura counties will be prevented from contaminating local waters and beaches every year under a court agreement reached Friday between Caltrans and environmentalists. Caltrans vowed to reduce storm water pollution by 20% below 1994 levels along more than 1,000 miles of state highway in the region, according to the agreement in federal court with the Natural Resources Defense Council and Santa Monica BayKeeper.

    Storm water that drains off highways can be a toxic brew of trash, oil, rubber, brake dust and microscopic bits of metal. Solvents, fertilizers and pesticides, along with human and animal waste, are often swept into the mix. Most of the plans to install pollution controls must be completed by 2011, and environmental groups expect the reductions to be achieved by 2015.

    The two sides have battled in court since 1993. "This represents a major step forward in the control of storm water runoff -- the largest source of water pollution in the state," said David S. Beckman, a defense council attorney.

    In an average year, more than 6 million gallons of oil run into California's waters from roads and sidewalks, the state Environmental Protection Agency reports. Tests of some Caltrans drains in the Los Angeles area have revealed contamination so foul it qualifies as hazardous waste.

    Toxic storm water runoff from roads and highways can harm fish, sea urchins, shrimp, birds and microorganisms, research shows. Approved by U.S. District Judge Edward Rafeedie, the storm water agreement replaces an April 2004 court settlement in which Caltrans promised to install filtering systems where appropriate when repairing, improving and building highways.

    For existing freeways, Caltrans had agreed in 2004 to treat runoff wherever feasible for improvement projects involving more than three acres, such as widenings and interchanges. Storm water controls vary from simple devices, such as drain filters and screens, to complex equipment that removes sediment and debris. Detention basins, sand traps, and strips of vegetation are often used to filter storm water before it reaches a storm drain or waterway.

    Beckman said it appeared to NRDC and BayKeeper about a year ago that Caltrans was having problems complying with the 2004 court settlement, which was reached after more than a decade in court. Negotiations began, Beckman said, to avoid pursuing a contempt citation against Caltrans. Unlike the earlier settlement, the new agreement requires a set reduction in runoff and avoids the previous piecemeal approach by allowing Caltrans to consider entire highway corridors when formulating a storm water strategy.

    "Not setting goals has been standard operating procedure when regulating storm water discharges in the state. Now we are setting an end goal," Beckman said. "Hopefully, this new approach will provide a model for local governments, transportation agencies and industries." Caltrans attorneys were either unavailable Friday or declined comment. But in a statement, Douglas R. Failing, Caltrans district director for Los Angeles and Ventura counties, said the settlement meshes with the agency's goals.

    "It is something we have been trying to achieve all along," Failing said. "What is important is that a methodology has been identified that we feel will work in this urban area of Los Angeles." Under the agreement, Caltrans will examine 1,000 miles of freeway in Los Angeles and Ventura counties and develop plans by 2011 for reducing storm water pollution.

    Caltrans also will supplement its existing efforts to reduce contaminated runoff with innovative practices that have performed well in recent studies. The new methods include porous pavement that can absorb pollutants before storm water enters watersheds. In the past, Caltrans has been concerned about the cost of storm water controls, both locally and statewide. The agency estimated a few years ago that equipping highways in Los Angeles County with filtering devices could approach $5 billion -- a figure that environmentalists have disputed.

    Beckman said the approach outlined in the new agreement should hold down costs. Caltrans, he added, has realized that their original cost estimates were too high and that the agency can treat runoff for a fraction of the total cost of a highway project.


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    CONTACT INFORMATION
    Latonia Payne  |  E-mail: paynel@umich.edu  |  Phone: (734) 615-2602  |  Fax: (734) 936-2195
    University of Michigan  |  School of Natural Resources and Environment
    Dana Building  •  430 East University  •  Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1115
    (734)764-6453