Jul-Aug 2005 The Warbler Volume V: Issue 4

PineyWoods Sierra Club Newsletter Page 1 of 7

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“Every good thing, great and small, needs defense.”

(Sierra Club founder John Muir)

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It’s an exciting time in East Texas, challenge and opportunity abound for environmental activism in defense of conservation of natural resources and natural places, as well as for human and animal health.

q The powers of Washington came to town (Nacogdoches) and conducted a hearing on the “Magna Carta” of environmental law, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). We have only until August 1 to comment on the Administration’s effort to gut this hallmark legislation. See pages 2 & 3, please.

q Angelina National Forest District Ranger and Staff propose to reroute the Old Sawmill Hiking Trail, decommissioning the old one along the Neches River. And they propose to construct a 60-mile “racetrack” for ORVs/Motorcycles in one of the most biologically diverse patch of your national forest. Comment by August 15. See page 4, please.

q The Texas Water Development Plan, its penta-year update, is in draft form and known as the Initially Prepared Plan (IPP), ready for your review and comment. It simply accepts population growth to more than double in the next 50 years and its consequent water demand, and it prescribes no less than 13 new reservoirs to meet this demand with inadequate conservation measures to augment available water supply. One of the new reservoirs (Fastrill) would drown family farms and precious hardwood forest bottomlands, as well as other natural and historical resources and heritage, and (most ominous!) would preclude establishing the Neches River National Wildlife Refuge (all in favor of sending your water to Dallas; that’s the pretext, anyway! See page 5, please send Letter). Incredible and most astonishing, is that The Water Plan basically promotes building new reservoirs, but its authors could not designate even one (1) of forty one (41) East Texas’ ecologically significant (“unique”) stream segments for conservation, and they paid virtually no attention to the need for environmental stream flows. We are in the 60-day window to comment.

q The future of Sam Rayburn Reservoir water quality remains uncertain. Amendment to the Lufkin paper mill’s effluent discharge permit is in the initial stage of a contested case hearing by the State Office of Administrative Hearing. It will determine, among other things, in essence, if it is appropriate to allow one of industries’ largest polluters to use the Reservoir as its “settling pond!” Fascinating! See page 6, please.

East Texas’ bounty is water, as Middle East’s is oil! There is a battle looming for this most precious of all natural resources; water makes East Texas what it is, a biologically diverse paradise. It is critical to note: hydrologists at Unesco tell us that world water supplies are falling while the demand is dramatically growing, and in the next two decades the average amount of water available per person on the planet will shrink by a third. Keep an eye on the global economy and keep in mind that we live in a world in which markets rule; as easily as our woodchips go to overseas markets, so can our water. Beware of the water barons! Ultimately, it’s probably not for Dallas and Houston that they scheme for your (public) water! Fight for it, defend it -- it rightfully belongs in the Commons!!

The August Meeting The regular, scheduled (August 2, Tuesday) monthly meeting has been cancelled for a number of compelling reasons (summer vacations, etc.). The next meeting will be in September, after Labor Day, Tuesday the 6^th. Until then, have a safe, enjoyable summer – see you in September! Election Results The Group’s annual election was held at the last meeting. All persons nominated were unanimously elected to the various positions within the Group -- Ref. updated PineyWoods Directory – THANKS, Volunteer Leaders! PineyWoods Sierran Objectives Neches River Conservation --- ForestWatch Activity Mercury Contam. Issues --- Padre Island Conservation Sam Rayburn Water Quality --- Cubs Camp/Youth Educ. And, not least, Membership Expansion!

July-Aug 2005 The Warbler Page 2 of 7

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PUBLIC PARTICIPATION UNDER ATTACK

PLEASE SEND COMMENTS BY AUGUST 1

Without the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), there would be NO Environmental Impact Statements. And we would NOT be allowed public participation to oppose unneeded reservoirs and other projects with huge impact on natural resources, nor be able to make changes in proposed management actions on public land, or to influence public natural resource policies.

Public participation and environmental review are under attack.  A Congressional task force is holding field hearings around the country to give industry representatives a platform to mischaracterize NEPA as costly and unnecessary. 

We need you to chime in and help keep communities involved in decisions that affect our lives!

On Saturday July 23, 2005, at 10:00 a.m., the NEPA Task Force held a field hearing in Nacogdoches, Texas.  This hearing examined the role of NEPA in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama by inviting nine speakers to present their concerns and experience with the NEPA. Seven of them represented the extractive industries, such as logging and mining, and two represented the people, you and me, speaking on behalf of the environment.  It was unbalanced representation to create spin for industry!!

What can you do to help keep the environmental, social, and economic protections that NEPA affords?

• Contact Congressman Louie Gohmert, the only Texan on the Task Force.  Let’s light up Rep. Gohmert’s switchboard and flood his email and post office box! Let him know that Texans support the NEPA process that requires environmental, social, and economic assessment of big public works projects such as highways and reservoirs, allows us to comment on actions taken by federal agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and provides for coordination between federal, state, and local agencies. 

The Honorable Louie Gohmert

U.S. House of Representatives

Washington, DC 20515

866-535-6302 Toll Free

Email link at http://gohmert.house.gov/contact_louie.htm

• Send written comments to the NEPA Task Force by August 1.  Below are “talking points” to help you frame your comments to the Task Force, along with the address and format for comments.  Be sure to ask that your comments be made part of the hearing record.

Email: resources.committee@mail.house.gov

Or fax to 202-225-5929

Let them know that we need the functions of NEPA:  to assess all the options and consequences before implementing major projects and to keep the public, tribes, and non-governmental organizations involved in government decision making.  The Congressional NEPA Task Force needs to hear from you!

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is the basic, “umbrella” document implementing our environmental laws, and many Americans have never heard of it.  It requires the government to "look before it leaps."  Major federal projects must be reviewed for their environmental and public health impacts.  If the impacts will be significant, alternative designs must be investigated to minimize damage and these options must be shared with the public.  Unfortunately, California Congressman Richard Pombo will use the NEPA hearings to build a record against NEPA and is expected to introduce legislation to overhaul it. 

BUT, NEPA is NOT BROKEN

Please send your comments BY AUGUST 1!

NEPA info Sheets Prepared by: (ed. by avd)

Janice Bezanson, Executive Director

Texas Committee on Natural Resources (TCONR)

512-327-4119 ; bezanson@texas.net ; tconr.org

We need your help to protect NEPA, so NEPA can continue to protect our communities.

BACKGROUND ON NEPA PAGE 3 of 7

The National Environmental Policy Act, one of America's bedrock environmental laws signed into law by President Nixon 35 years ago, is considered the Magna Carta of environmental protection.  NEPA is the foundation on which all other environmental laws are built. NEPA requires federal agencies to study and disclose the environmental effects of major projects on the surrounding community and include the public in the decision-making process for federally funded projects. 

To read about the NEPA Task Force go to: http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/nepataskforce.htm

More information on NEPA can be found at: http://www.sierraclub.org/lookbeforeyouleap/

It would be good also to send a copy to your own Representative and Senators.

(Go to www.congress.org to look up your Members of Congress)

WHERE TO SEND WRITTEN COMMENTS: by August 1, 2005

Send your comments to:  resources.committee@mail.house.gov

(or fax to 202-225-5929)

Send a copy of your comments to: resources.democrats@mail.house.gov

FORMAT FOR YOUR COMMENTS:

Make sure that

the first line of your letter requests that your comments be entered into the record for the hearing on the Role of NEPA in the Southern States, and include your address and phone number at the end of your comments

YOUR NAME

TITLE (if you have one)

ORGANIZATION (if you have an organization affiliation)

Written Testimony

To the Committee on Resources

United States House of Representatives

The Role of NEPA in the Southern States

DATE

TALKING POINTS FOR COMMENTS:

• NEPA is the guarantee that Americans affected by a federal action will get the best information about its impacts, an assessment of viable alternatives, and the right to have their voice heard before the government makes a final decision.

• At the heart of NEPA is its requirement that alternatives must be considered – including those that will minimize possible damage to our health, environment, economy, or quality of life. NEPA also lets Americans have a say before the government makes its final decision about a project.

• Limiting public involvement and weakening environmental review won’t avoid controversy or improve projects.

• NEPA saves time and money in the long run by reducing controversy, building consensus, and ensuring that a project is done right the first time.

• By making sure that the public is informed and that alternatives are considered, NEPA has stopped some damaging projects or made them better.

• Cutting corners can have disastrous consequences, especially when it comes to spending taxpayer money on projects that might harm citizens or their environment.

• NEPA ensures balance, common sense and openness in federal decision-making.  It is an effective tool to keep ‘Big Government’ in check.

• NEPA’s promise of project review and public involvement must be safeguarded, not sacrificed in the name of speed.

• There is no need to improve NEPA…because it works!

Explain why NEPA is important to you. You are encouraged to include specific examples of how public participation in the NEPA process provided critical input to improve the quality of life in your community, protect human health and the environment, and how the choice of alternatives led to informed decision-making and improved projects.

July-Aug 2005 The Warbler Page 4 of 7

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A TALE OF TRAILS IN THE ANGELINA NATIONAL FOREST

Nowhere in East Texas can anyone imbibe exquisite forest aroma and ecological diversity quite like what one finds along the Sawmill Hiking Trail in the Angelina National Forest. It meanders South from Boykin Springs Recreation Area along Boykin Creek, passing a small waterfall, through uncommon Longleaf Pine habitat to the site of the Old Aldridge Sawmill. One can enjoy a cool stroll here even on a hot summer day, and many do, for this is a popular trail. And it gets better! The trail turns right at the Old Sawmill, and then undulates West along the Neches River, coursing through Longleaf Pine and Pitcher Plant ecosystems, mature bottomland hardwoods and Cypress forests – along this segment of The Trail gigantic Beach trees, huge Southern Magnolia and mighty Oaks are hundreds of years old. At a rocky outcrop along the Neches the weary hiker can cool off with just a dip or an exhilarating swim. The Sawmill Hiking Trail has no equal!

But there is trouble. Over the years maintenance has been shoddy, The Trail has worn and bridges across creeks are in need of repair, and apparently there are insufficient funds in the U.S. Forest Service maintenance budget to make repairs. It wouldn’t take much – someone has estimated that $1500 - $1800 in supplies and two weeks of work by semi-skilled, volunteer laborers would get the trail refurbished in about two weeks. Seems doable, but for lack of fund the Angelina District Ranger and Staff have proposed to decommission the Neches R. segment of The Trail. They hired a consultant to design an alternate route, which will generally parallel, but at some distance from it, the Boykin Creek segment. This new segment tracks through less shaded areas, and it also is not equal to trail amenities with diverse habitat that one finds along the Neches segment. It seems a fool’s trade, like rotten eggs for fresh fruit! One would surmise that the consultant’s fee would have paid for most if not all of those supplies, perhaps even leaving a little change!

Now there is a larger, perhaps an even more devastating trail-tale evolving. An Off-Road Vehicle (ORV)/motorcycle track -- 60 miles of it, in essence, a racetrack! -- has been proposed by the District Ranger and Staff in the northern section of the Angelina to accommodate up to 100 machines at one time. This appears to be a horrendous step back. In the late 1990s the District Ranger took action and prohibited ORV use South of highway 63, where the pitcher plant bogs exist, and only allowed ORV use North of highway 63. This was necessary and long overdue, for there had developed intolerable noise and air pollution from exhaust, as well as a dramatic increase in soil erosion resulting in sedimentation of streams with increasing turbidity, decreasing water quality for fish and insects. ORV use on the Angelina had caused destruction of wildlife and their habitat, risked archaeological sites and had generated significant negative social impacts. The ORV restriction was not only necessary, but also prescient -- in April of 2003 U.S. Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth identified unmanaged ORV use as one of the four greatest threats to America's National Forests, saying, "unsupervised off-road vehicles cause more damage to the ecosystem than timber harvesting."

Constructing this “racetrack” is not a statutorily mandated requirement as implied to the public by District Staff, that the Forest Service "MUST" build a trail to accommodate ORV users. This is not true! Furthermore, an 81-mile ORV/motorcycle trail already exists in Sam Houston National Forest and could easily support ORV user demand in East Texas. Additionally, there already are a sufficient number of places in East Texas, on public and private lands, to support ORV demand; more than ten private ORV parks presently exist in East Texas. And the economic benefits to the local community that are touted are questionable, too – most potential users from out of the area would likely spend their ridding-support money elsewhere. And land values, everyone knows that real private property values near an ORV trail will only decrease - no one wants to hear one hundred buzzing motorcycle engine noises screaming and ricocheting in their backyard!

The Racetrack/trail and its users will impede upon the rights of other Angelina National Forest users -- the hunters and fishermen, the hikers, birdwatchers, horse riders, etc., virtually all other users of the surrounding area at great distance from the trail. The noisy, polluting and destructive nature of ORVs clearly would infringe upon the rights of other users. Much law enforcement will be needed to ensure public safety on this trail, a task many believe that the District Ranger's Office cannot handle. Presently, on the Angelina there is only one law enforcement officer to cover the 153,176 acres of National Forest

The District Ranger and Staff have not divulged two paramount aspects of their proposal: 1) the cost of the trail and legitimate funding, and 2) how they plan on complying with state and federal environmental laws. The District Ranger purports they do not have the funds ($1800) to even repair wooden footbridges on the Neches River segment of the Sawmill Hiking Trail, what in their imagination could possibly, legitimately fund The Racetrack? Finally, as required by NEPA for major federal action (The Racetrack qualifies!), a full assessment, evaluation, and analysis must be conducted and placed in an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), or in an Environmental Assessment (EA), giving the public an adequate ability and opportunity to comment on their proposal. They will comply if a concerned and informed public demands it!

Adrian.

Congressman Jeb Hensarling,

Fifth Congressional District

132 Cannon House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

August 3, 2005

Re: Support of North Neches Wildlife Refuge

Dear Congressman Hensarling,

I ask your support in preserving the North Neches River Valley. Please take the steps necessary to establish a National Wildlife Refuge along the Neches River, below Lake Palestine, between highway 79 and highway 84. I want my children and their children to continue to experience the unique, unspoiled, free-flowing Neches River’s scenic wildlife.

While damming the Neches will be advantageous to the residence of Dallas and give them a reserve water supply (or be sold in other markets), it will harm those living in the Southern portion of your Fifth congressional District. Specifically, damming the Neches will cause both economic and environmental damage to Anderson and Cherokee Counties, as well as to the Big Thicket National Preserve down-stream. If Dallas builds the Fastrill Reservoir it will require that local landowners sell land that has been in their families for hundreds of years. In addition, flooding the Neches River between Palestine and Rusk, Texas, will require the Texas State Historical Railroad State Park to be closed or relocated.

I have other apprehensions about Dallas impounding East Texas water resources and piping it over to Dallas, but today I am concerned with gaining your support of the US Fish & Wildlife Services’ proposed 25,000-acre wildlife refuge along the North Neches River. The refuge will protect the natural resources of the North Neches River, particularly its endangered hardwood forest bottomlands. At the very least, it will transform the area into a national treasure and be a tourist destination for all Americans to visit and enjoy.

Sincerely,

_______________________________ CC: Representative Chuck Hopson

signature Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison

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print full name

______________________________________

address city state zip code

July-Aug 2005 The Warbler Page 6 of 7

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Abitibi Effluent Permit Approval Is Subject to Judicial Proceeding

The permit authorizes the Lufkin Paper Mill (Abitibi Consolidated, Inc.) an average discharge of 17,400,000 gallons per day and a peak discharge of 22,000,000 gallons per day of wastewater effluent into the headwaters of Sam Rayburn Reservoir. On 6/15/05 the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Commissioners held an Administrative Hearing at their Austin headquarters for the purpose of considering approval of an amendment to the permit, and to consider the hundreds of requests for a right to a formal contested case hearing that would resolve disputed legal issues relative to the permit. The first Agenda Item considered was the Major Permit Amendment governing the Mill’s wastewater discharges.

After significant deliberation by the three Commissioners, the Chairmen’s motion failed to get a second to approve the permit amendment and to deny all requests for a contested case hearing and requests for reconsideration of the permit. With the Chairmen of the Commission abstaining, an "alternative motion" was made, received a second and approved.  The Commissions’ approval of the alternative motion allows only one individual (dozens applied!) the right to a contested case hearing that will consider two issues:

1) Does the permitted activity have an impact on the contact and non-contact (swimming, fishing) recreational use of Paper Mill Creek and the National Forest, and 2) does the permitted activity violate specific water quality criteria?  The Mill’s Public Affairs manager 's assertion that "the permit which is currently working its way through the approval process at TCEQ - will meet all state and federal environmental standards" is disputed. The permit issues will be resolved by a judicial process conducted by the State Office of Administrative Hearing (SOAH) - not TCEQ.  The SOAH judicial proceeding (the Contested Case Hearing) will decide if the permit meets all water quality standards. The creditability of the Abitibi Corporation's assertion will be tested in this proceeding. 

Many questions regarding the Mills permit can be answered free of bias from the corporate and /or conservationist’s agenda by listening to the recorded deliberations of the Commissioners during the 6/15/05 TCEQ Administrative Hearing. You can obtain a copy of the recorded audiotape from TCEQ by requesting one at (512) 239-1328, or from anyone in the TCEQ office of Public Assistance. Specify that you want a recording of Agenda Item 1, Docket No. 2005-0600-IWD pertaining to Permit 00368. It is certain that you will find the dialog informative. It will provide insight into TCEQ management and our elected official’s stance on contests between the interests of ordinary citizens and corporate interests with deep pockets. Please obtain a copy of the recording and give it “hearing!”
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TASK FORCE CREDITABILITY – NEPA ISSUES

Webster defines hearing as “an opportunity to be heard.”  The July 23 National Task Force “Hearing” on the effect of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in Southern states was ostensibly designed to promote the agenda of special interests at the expense of public interests. In fact, the hearing provided opportunity for only two spokes persons for conservationist interests to be heard, while providing a forum for six speakers from extractive industries that included representatives with interests of big timber, mining, and a Canadian-owned Paper Mill. One speaker represented insurance company interests.  No opportunity for public or audience participation was provided.

The objective of the majority of those chosen to address the issues is clearly illustrated by Representative Gohmert’s staff member, Mr. Amos Snead, and by Ms. Debbie Johnston, Public Affairs Manager for Abitibi Consolidated, Inc. Their pre-meeting assertions were published in the Lufkin Daily News, namely, that NEPA was a factor in the closing of the Lufkin Paper Mill. Their inflated estimate of the loss of six hundred jobs in the Lufkin area was reinforced during the Hearing through the questions posed by Representative Gohmert to Ms. Johnston. Furthermore, the suggestion that NEPA has had a significant influence on natural gas prices and that it has driven the cost so high that the Lufkin Paper Mill had to be closed with a loss of hundreds of jobs is simply not credible (indeed, it’s preposterous!). This makes about as much sense as asserting that the Captain of the Exxon Valdez is responsible for the closing of the Lufkin Paper Mill!  After all, if the Valdez Captain had met his responsibilities, then Exxon would not have to pass on the enormous clean-up costs to the marketplace and current energy costs in the U.S. might not be at all time highs. And while they’re toying with imaginings, a congressional task force and nation-wide hearing on the Enron fiasco may be in order, too.  The citizens of California and many others will be difficult to convince, however, that NEPA had a more important role in their energy prices than the greed and corruption of Enron management.

It is absurd to reduce economics principals of supply and demand down to an argument that the NEPA must be modified to accommodate the preservation of local jobs. In short, the creditability of the current administration is diminished by the conduct of the nationwide hearings on the NEPA as exhibited in the July (Nacogdoches) Hearing. 

Walter West, Agent – Sam Rayburn Reservoir Friends, Inc.

Conservation Chair –

-- PineyWoods Sierra Club Regional Group

295 Paradise Drive
Zavalla, TX

July-Aug 2005 The Warbler Page 7 of 7

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Miscellaneous Announcements

PineyWoods Sierran Leaders

YOUR BODY ON MERCURY

Group Chair: … *Dian Avriett .. (903) 822-3344 .. cdavriett@aol.com

Vice Chairs: …. *Richard Donovan .. (936) 637 -1228 …

and … ddonovan@consolidated.net

Buckley Macinerney .... danabuckley@hotmail.com

Sec/Treas: …… *Vicki Baggett ….... (936) 564 - 0179 …

… vlbaggett@excite.com
Programs: ……. *Tim Baggett .……. (contact info same as Vicki’s)

Conservation: ... *Walt West