The Clinton administration has weighed in on the
politically charged dam-breaching debate in the
Northwest – and some say it’s bad news for endangered salmon (HCN,
12/20/99: Unleashing the Snake). On July 19, George Frampton,
chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, announced Clinton
will delay demolishing the four Snake River dams for five to 10
years. Instead, the administration will restrict harvests, restore
riparian areas and increase water flows from the existing dams.
“The alarm on the extinction clock has gone off, and we do not have
five or 10 years of precious time to waste,” Samuel Penney of the
Nez Perce tribe told the Oregonian.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is building a
60-foot dam with a $6.8 million price tag to
protect homes and nuclear lab facilities in Los Alamos, N.M., from
potential floods (HCN, 7/3/00: Los Alamos races against time). The
Corps has been granted a permit without doing an environmental
analysis because officials say this is an emergency situation.
Critics say the dam is unnecessary. “This is a throwback to the
1950s: Build a dam first, ask questions later,” Sam Hitt, director
of Forest Guardians, told the Albuquerque Journal
North.
The
Environmental Protection Agency can’t start cleanup of asbestos
contamination at a vermiculite mine in Libby, Mont.
The mining company has revoked its access (HCN, 3/13/00:
Libby’s dark secret). W.R. Grace & Co. repurchased the mine it
sold in 1990, and the company says that until it has liability
insurance and the EPA’s cleanup plan, the agency can’t enter the
property. Bonnie Gestring of the Montana Environmental Information
Center calls it “an effort to stonewall the EPA.”
Californians are lining up to drive their old
beaters to the dump. Under pressure to meet air-quality standards,
the state will pay $1,000 for old “pollution-spewing”
cars. Since the program kicked off on July 7, between 550
and 1,000 Californians a day have called for applications. The
state hopes to take 50,000 clunkers off the road within the next
four years.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline The Wayward West.
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