VOLUME XXIII, NUMBER 5 MAY, 2001 SERVING SOUTHWEST FLORIDA 1 INDEX Public Access Cable TV 1 YMCA Zoning Hearing 1 Fisheating Creek Update 1 Executive Committee 2 Meeting on Phosphate Mining 2 Bush Takes Charge 2 Phone Calls Needed Now 2 Calendar 3 Outings 3 Army Corp Of Engineers 4 ASR 4 Urgent Call to Action 5 Membership Form 5 Photographers Wanter 6 Arsenic 7 General Meeting, Map 8 Anyone who is interested in receiving email notification of Emergency Action Alerts, please send your email address to [email protected]. You will be notified when events occur that require prompt action such as letters, phone calls, and email. See our web page: www.sierraclub.org/chapters/fl/ calusa/enviro.htm for an alert on the Growth Management Study Commission’s Report, and a draft of the proposed Governor’s Bill on growth management. YMCA ZONING HEARING UPDATE On Friday, March 6th the Bonita Springs zoning board approved the rezoning of the environmentally sensitive land east of I75 for a use that is nothing less than commer- cial. this was after many objections were raised by many different groups that were present. Although everyone clearly stated they thought a YMCA WOULD BE A GREAT THING TO HAVE/IN AN APPROPRIATE LOCATION, NOT IN OUR GROUND WA- TER RESOURCE AREA. The final approval of this project comes up before the Bonita City Commis- sioners soon. please call and let them know that an appropriate site must be found! Phone 390-1000 and ask to speak to the city com- missioner in your area. PUBLIC ACCESS CABLE TV NEXT MEETING: MONDAY APRIL 23, AT 10 AM. NORTH FT. MYERS LIBRARY ON OLD 41 NEAR THE SHELL FACTORY The county has not yet signed a contract or franchise agreement with the cable company, so there is still time to intervene in the process. All the commissioners did last month was change the ordinance which can be changed at any time. MORE LETTERS PLEASE! It is imperative that the agreement that they do sign contain a clause which allows the county government to revisit the agreement if changes or amendments to the ordinance take place in the future. We need to call Andrea Frazier (the county attorney working on the franchise agreement) Call her to ask her to be sure that type of clause is included in the final agreement) If it doesn't appear, we will have to wait ten years to revisit the issue. The county charges the cable companies 5% of their gross revenues, which is a franchise fee, (about 2 million each year) which goes directly into the General Fund. Is this double taxation for cable subscribers who already pay part of their property tax into the General Fund? The government Continued, page 7 FISHEATING UPDATE THE HEARING ON THE LYKES PERMIT HAS BEEN DELAYED UNTIL THE MAY 10 MEETING. Not surprisingly the S. Fl. Water Management District Board hearing of the Lykes Squirrel Island permit # 22-00275-S for a surface water management permit extend- ing over 26-7 square miles which encompass the ONLY remaining headwaters of Fisheating HAS BEEN DELAYED AGAIN to the May meeting. In a letter, dated Feb. 2, 2001, to Dr. Alan Egbert, Executive Direc- tor, of the Fish and Wildlife CON- SERVATION Commission, the District points out that the im- paired sections of the creek which would allow it higher than normal Continued, page 6 New feature: a pullout calendar with meetings, outings and deadlines marked for easy refer- ence. Pull this out and put it on your refrigerator. Attend our next general meeting and receive a free magnet.
Transcript
VOLUME XXIII, NUMBER 5 MAY, 2001SERVING SOUTHWEST FLORIDA
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INDEXPublic Access Cable TV 1YMCA Zoning Hearing 1Fisheating Creek Update 1Executive Committee 2Meeting on Phosphate Mining 2Bush Takes Charge 2Phone Calls Needed Now 2Calendar 3Outings 3Army Corp Of Engineers 4ASR 4Urgent Call to Action 5Membership Form 5Photographers Wanter 6Arsenic 7General Meeting, Map 8
Anyone who is interested inreceiving email notification ofEmergency Action Alerts, pleasesend your email address [email protected]. You willbe notified when events occur thatrequire prompt action such asletters, phone calls, and email.
See our web page:www.sierraclub.org/chapters/fl/calusa/enviro.htm for an alert onthe Growth Management StudyCommission’s Report, and a draftof the proposed Governor’s Billon growth management.
YMCA ZONING HEARINGUPDATE
On Friday, March 6th the BonitaSprings zoning board approved therezoning of the environmentallysensitive land east of I75 for a usethat is nothing less than commer-cial. this was after many objectionswere raised by many differentgroups that were present. Althougheveryone clearly stated theythought a YMCA WOULD BE AGREAT THING TO HAVE/INAN APPROPRIATE LOCATION,NOT IN OUR GROUND WA-TER RESOURCE AREA. The finalapproval of this project comes upbefore the Bonita City Commis-sioners soon. please call and letthem know that an appropriate sitemust be found! Phone 390-1000and ask to speak to the city com-missioner in your area.
PUBLIC ACCESS CABLE TVNEXT MEETING: MONDAY APRIL 23, AT 10 AM. NORTH FT.MYERS LIBRARY ON OLD 41 NEAR THE SHELL FACTORY
The county has not yet signed a contract or franchise agreement with thecable company, so there is still time to intervene in the process. All thecommissioners did last month was change the ordinance which can bechanged at any time. MORE LETTERS PLEASE! It is imperative that theagreement that they do sign contain a clause which allows the countygovernment to revisit the agreement if changes or amendments to theordinance take place in the future. We need to call Andrea Frazier (thecounty attorney working on the franchise agreement) Call her to ask her tobe sure that type of clause is included in the final agreement) If it doesn'tappear, we will have to wait ten years to revisit the issue.
The county charges the cable companies 5% of their gross revenues, whichis a franchise fee, (about 2 million each year) which goes directly into theGeneral Fund. Is this double taxation for cable subscribers who alreadypay part of their property tax into the General Fund? The government
Continued, page 7
FISHEATING UPDATETHE HEARING ON THE LYKESPERMIT HAS BEEN DELAYEDUNTIL THE MAY 10 MEETING.
Not surprisingly the S. Fl. WaterManagement District Boardhearing of the Lykes Squirrel Islandpermit # 22-00275-S for a surfacewater management permit extend-ing over 26-7 square miles whichencompass the ONLY remainingheadwaters of Fisheating HASBEEN DELAYED AGAIN to theMay meeting.
In a letter, dated Feb. 2, 2001, toDr. Alan Egbert, Executive Direc-tor, of the Fish and Wildlife CON-SERVATION Commission, theDistrict points out that the im-paired sections of the creek whichwould allow it higher than normal
Continued, page 6
New feature: a pullout calendarwith meetings, outings anddeadlines marked for easy refer-ence. Pull this out and put it onyour refrigerator. Attend our nextgeneral meeting and receive a freemagnet.
Calusa Digest is a publication of the CalusaGroup of the Sierra Club, and is published tentimes yearly. Subscription is included withSierra Club dues or can be obtained by non-members from the Calusa Group for $5/year.
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MEETING - Tuesday, April 24 –7pm at the Unitarian-UniversalistFellowship of Charlotte County,1532 Forrest Nelson Blvd., PortCharlotte (1/2 mile NE of 41)
What: PHOSPHATE AND OURWATER "Geologic Characteristicsand Hydrology of the Peace RiverBasin and Impacts of MiningActivities"
WHO: Bill Lewelling and AnnTihansky, geologists with the USGeological Survey
WHEN: April 24, 7pm
WHERE: Unitarian-UniversalistFellowship of Charlotte County,1532 Forrest Nelson, Port Char-lotte
WHY: To introduce science,physical experience and first handknowledge into an issue in whichpronouncements are sometimescharacterized by the industry as"misrepresentations", so we cancome to better understand truly thedeleterious impacts of mining onour water resources and why weand other organizations and indi-viduals are rallying to protect theseresources.
Tihansky said the greatest impact ofmining on riverine systems is thealteration of the natural hydrologysystem. The primary problemassociated with the activity occursafter the phosphate extraction whenwet clay is left as waste. This wet“fine grain clay” remains, now ontop of the ground. Wet clay isunsuitable for soil foundations,
does not support the life it should,does not permit water to flowthrough it; it acts as a confiningbed. This impedes the normalsurficial water flow and blockswater from contributing to the restof the system. And few species canlive here. Last spring, Tihanskyexplored the drought-dry upperPeace riverbed. Speakers Tihanskyand Lewelling will speak on thestudies they've conducted on theriver basin.
Contact: Louise Raterman, Directorof EverGreen 629-8833. Presentedby EverGreen, The Social ConcernsCommittee of the Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship and TheLemon Bay Conservancy
MEETING ON PHOSPHATE MINING
May be the next headline you read in your local paper. This action is
being proposed. Keep your phones and pens at the ready for this may be
the last blow to many of our endangered species.and we will need to act
quickly.
BUSH TAKES CHARGE OF ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST
PHONE CALLS NEEDED NOW!Our commissioners are making thefirst run on our 2020 conservationmoney. It wasn't bad enough forthem to state that they want to putuses that we never asked for in thereferendum on for the conservationof appropriate endangered orspecial lands for our future health,welfare and enjoyment ofnature…NOW THEY WANT TOTAKE ONE FIFTH OF THATMONEY FOR WHAT? what theyare calling restoration. Tell them wecall it extortion. That money wasset aside for purchase! We want it tobe used for just that. And we wantthe lands to be set aside for conser-vation; that includes passive recre-ation such as nature trails andprimitive camping rather than forball fields and golf courses.
We could also ask, What is it youdon't understand about the wordCONSERVATION. Their numbersare 335- 2223,2224,2225,2226,and 2227. Call today.
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April 21st - Stargazing, Meet atthe Creek, Fisheating Creek,Contact Mary at 941-267-5664or email [email protected](Calusa)
April 21st - Crew Marsh, Discoverthe spring flowers, bring interpre-tation books, binoculars, cameras& water. Sierra donation $3.00M, $5.00 NM. Contact JuliaHabel 941-432-0111 (Calusa).
May 4-6th Myakka State Park,Mother and children, AlligatorMating Season annual campout.Friday thru Sunday we’ll watch thegators, hike, eat and see an incred-ible sunset. Costs are $12.00adults, $10.00 children under 12.
May 19 - Stargazing, Meet at theCreek, Fisheating Creek, ContactMary at 941-267-5664 or [email protected] (Calusa)
Nov 2-4 SOLO Wilderness FirstAid Course at Caya Costa StatePark. The price is $185.00 whichincludes: 2 nights cabin camping, 5meals and snacks (will have snacksFriday Eve), Cold water showers,transportation from airport to dock(if needed), transportation fromdock to island (Friday), transporta-tion from island to dock (Sunday),Course Studies/Training. Notincluded: Parking fees at dock -approx. $3-$5.00 per day. Contact:Julia for registration 941-432-0111or or Rudy Scheffer 727-726-8375.
May 10th Calusa Group Meeting @FGCU Campus, 6:00 – 6:30 socialtime, presentation 6:30 – 7:30,Executive Committee meetingimmediately follows. Please join usthis month for a fresh point of view.
May 12, 2001 - 9:00 A.M. tonoon The Estero Bay Scrub, aneasy hike through several differentecosystems. Meet at the entrance atthe west end of Broadway off ofU.S. 41 in Estero. A suggesteddonation of $3 for members and $5for non-members. Items you mayneed: Hat, Sunscreen, WaterBottle, Comfortable Shoes, Binocu-lars and a Camera. To RSVP or formore information please call John
OUTINGS1. Arrive 10 minutes before outing toget signed in. Every effort will bemade to start outings on time. Pleasebe prompt!.2. A small fee will be charged for everyouting. All outings are rated EASYunless otherwise specified.3. IMPORTANT! Call Leader firstto be sure an outing/hike is stillscheduled.4. You don't have to be a member tocome to an outing. Everyone iswelcome!
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No federal agency has as great animpact on the nation's rivers,floodplains, wetlands and bays asthe U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
For nearly 200 years, thousands ofthe nation's most storied rivers -including the Mississippi, Mis-souri, Ohio, Columbia and RioGrande - have been dammed andchannelized by the Army Corps,and hundreds of rivers and bayscontinue to be damaged by Corpsdam operations and dredging. Andwhile nearly half of the nation'swetlands have been lost, the ArmyCorps continues to allow privatedevelopers to destroy more than30,000 acres of wetlands each year.
Army Corps projects are among theleading reasons North America'sfreshwater species are disappearingas fast as tropical rainforest speciesand five times faster than land-based species. Nevertheless, theArmy Corps continues to buildnavigation, breach and flood
control projects with few economicbenefits and high environmentalcosts.
Fortunately, Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) and Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) have drafted legislation toreform the Corps' planning process.Kind's bill, the Corps of EngineersReform Act of 2001, would subjectlarge or controversial projects toindependent review, create stake-holder advisory groups to solicitlocal input, and direct the Corps toreplace each acre of habitat theirlevees and dams destroy.
Take action and send a message toCongress urging their support thislegislation. Our dwindling wet-lands and the wildlife they supportare at stake.
To learn more about efforts toreform the Army Corps, visit http://www.environmentaldefense.org/programs/Ecosystems/ArmyCorps/
We encourage you to take action byMay 2, 2001
HELP REFORM THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
What is the issue?
SB 854/HB 705 would eliminate the standards for fecal coliform andother contaminants in Florida's undergound drinking water supplythrough an experimental process called Aquifer Storage and Recovery(ASR). The Georgia Assembly recently passed a moratorium on ASRcreation in coastal counties until 2003 because of safety concerns.
ASR is thought to be an inexpensive way for developers and local politi-cians to augment water supplies beyond their reasonable, safe consump-tion limits. The Florida Legislature is now being forced by developers andsome local utilities to address this sprawl-encouraging storage procedure.Bill texts are available at: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Welcome/index.cfm
"We have taken strong stands against offshore drilling because of the risksassociated with harming our marine environment from oil spills. Whatabout drilling on a massive scale that will release untold toxins and fecalcoliform into our drinking water supply?" said Sierra Club ASR spokesper-son Alan Farago.
ASR wells pump excess surface fresh water under considerable pressureinto a brackish (partially salty) underground source of drinking water(USDW) and later this water can be pumped up for municipal, environ-mental, or agricultural uses. In Florida, the immediately-targeted water
Monday, Aprin 26, THE HOUSEPASSED HB 705 WITH 74/40VOTES! That's the bad news. Thebetter news is, that they picked upthe amendment that excludes somecounties inNorth Florida. Thatmeans the bill will now be sentback to the Senate and the fightgoes on.
source and the state's main freshwater source is the "FloridanAquifer." It extends from Alabama,South Carolina and Georgiathrough the length of the Florida.The vast majority of fresh water issupposed to stay in an under-ground layer of porous limestone,not mixing with or migrating intothe brackish water. This is rarelythe case.
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URGENT CALL TO ACTION!The Florida Senate has not budgedin their intent to take $100 millionfrom the Preservation 2000 TrustFund to fund Florida’s share of theEverglades restoration, despite anoutcry from citizens, public officialsand the press statewide.
All of the remaining P2000 balanceis needed for completing specificland acquisition projects. Bywithdrawing these funds, thou-sands of acres will never be con-served. The Legislature made apromise to Floridians to preserveFlorida’s imperiled lands andwaters. After 10 years, the Senatebroke that promise yesterday andacted against the will of the people.
Using P2000 funds for the state’sshare of Everglades Restorationbreaks another promise—thepromise the Legislature made tofund Florida’s share of Evergladesrestoration from general revenuesfor 10 years. This sends a terriblemessage to Congress that Florida’sfunding commitment to theEverglades is not certain and, thus,jeopardizes federal funding and theentire Everglades restorationagreement.
Funding for the environmentamounts to only 3 percent of thestate budget. The raid on environ-mental funds sets the precedentthat the environment is not impor-tant to Florida’s future and that the
Legislature, without public inputor comment, can grab alreadyinsufficient environmental fundingand use it for other purposes.
PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TODO THE FOLLOWING:
1. Write, call, fax and e-mail SenatePresident McKay to object to theraid on P2000 funds. Contact Sen.McKay at: Office of the SenatePresident, Suite 409, The Capitol,404 South Monroe Street, Tallahas-see, FL 32399-1100, (850) 487-5229, Fax (850) 487-5486, or sende-mail [email protected]. Ifyou are asked for a bill number, theSenate Budget is SB2000, and the
House Budget is HB 1807. Urgeadoption of the House Budgetposition. PLEASE DO THISEVEN IF YOU HAVE ALREADYCONTACTED SENATORMCKAY PREVIOUSLY.
2. Write, call, fax and e-mailGovernor Bush and thank him forkeeping his promise to the peopleand environment of Florida. Urgehim to continue vocal opposition tothe Senate proposal. ContactGovernor Bush at: Executive Officeof the Governor, PL05 The Capitol,400 S. Monroe Street, Tallahassee,FL 32399-00001. (850) 488-2272, Fax (850) 487-0801, or sende-mails to [email protected].
(already a done deal?) designmaintains that a permitted road(read dike) which is a barrierbetween the citrus and the wet-lands of Hale Penn Gully and theperimeter ditches will be 200 feetfrom the wetlands…Enough of thisdouble talk ..Citrus must have rootsthat are 4 feet above the water tableor it dies. The area will be drained!“They say that engineering calcula-tions were reviewed to verify thatthese wetlands would remaininundated at the appropriate timesbut won’t become over inundatedas a result of excessive water stages.“Although the majority of thesewetlands have been affected by ----it was anticipated that periodicinundation would serve to preventthe spread of gall berry and waxmyrtle---Although the originalproject design includedhydroperiod enhancement of thesewetlands as mitigation (mitigationisn’t necessary unless something isbeing destroyed). This proposal(the one that left the wetlands wet)was replaced in the final permit forupland compensation at the requestof FWCC staff to preserve a varietyof onsite wildlife habitat. YOUMEAN Fish and Wildlife actuallyasked to do away with headwaterwetlands? It is anticipated that thewetlands PRESERVED BY RES-ERVOIRS (don’t you mean re-placed by_) it then states, “How-ever, wetland enhancement is not arequirement of the permit.” We(the state) get upland compensa-tion for the destruction of thepitiful remainder of the originalheadwaters. Upland compensationwhen the state is spending millionsof dollars for thousands of acres ofsurrounding uplands!!! Of coursewe will have a stable hydroperiod.When ever Lykes decides to turn on
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FISHEATING CREEK UPDATEthe pumps. Don’t we know how tojust say NO THANKS we’ll takeour chances with Mother Nature.There’s more, “In addition to thewetland preservation and uplandcompensation, the permit requires amonitoring program to periodicallyassess the conditions of the mitiga-tion areas. Further, managementand maintenance activities are to beundertaken to remove exotics andnuisance vegetation on the projectincluding prescribed burns.”Really, this is their project, theirgroves, and their improved pasture,their other Ag. Uses so they will dous this favor. Remove the exoticvegetation ! Wouldn’t they have todo that to drain or place fill for thegroves?
Please try one more time to reachthose in power. Write to theGovernor, to Attorney GeneralButterworth, Comptroller BobMilligan at the Capitol Tallahassee32399 and Dr.Alan Egbert, Execu-tive Director of the Fl. Fish &Wildlife Conservation Commission.And any one else whose name youcan spell.
protection are not in these headwa-ter areas but are closer to the BigLake “O”. That indicates that thisarea of the creek is pristine. Whatwill it be when the citrus, silvaculture, pasture and other plannedAg. Uses are in place? Incidentallythis is Conservation area V slated forstate purchase The district pointsout that these areas have been used‘historically” for their requested useswithout an “installed” water man-agement plan…but they just saidthat this head-water section wasn’timpaired. Why now is this massiveengineering diversion, draining, andculverting plan needed? Part of therequested permit area is listed in theNEA area “A” designated by thesettlement as having never beendisturbed
The letter goes on to say that theproposed project design will includebest management practices (ditches,dikes, culverts and retention ponds)to remove pollutants. It states that itwill provide areas to detain stormwater (for irrigation?) and will routerunoff storm water (all of fisheating’swater is storm water) to the existingconveyance (called locally thePalmdale ditch) along US highway27, running beside the SeaboardCoastline railroad and internalsystems. This will divert the waterpassing it around and to the north ofthe approximately 20 miles of creekfrom the headwaters to Palmdalepassing the Fisheating Creek Camp-ground to dump back into the creekeast of the campground. This willeliminate the ingress points grantedby the settlement. Both Ingram’sCrossing and the Burnt Bridgeaccess will be unusable. But thedistrict says the water entering thecreek east of the campground willmeet water quality standards. Nextthe letter states that the permitted6
PHOTOGRAPHERS WANTEDIf you would like to take slides orvideos to contribute to the CalusaGroup for an environmantal slideshow, or if you have appropriateslides or videos that you couldcontribute, or if you have the skillsand time to put the picturestogether into a presentation, wewould like to hear from you. We areinterested in slides showing wilder-ness areas and wildlife in the area,or possibly “before and after”pictures of what some consider“progress.” We would like topresent the resulting slide shows tovarious adult and school-age groupsin the area.
access cable station has been in operation for over 14years and it, along with the educational access TVchannel is FREE to those twoentities. The cablecompanies GIVE those two entities in what they callIN-KIND service, however, the county government hasover $200,000 in antiquated video equipment whichwas paid for from the General Fund and they are aboutto upgrade that equipment in the near future. Sogovernment will be using our tax dollars to outfitthemselves with new video equipment. What will thenew equipment cost us? estimates run from $300,000up.
While supporters are searching for legal precedents tosupport their position that ”It just ain't fair,” they arealso preparing a Political Action Committee conform-ing to county rules and regulations. The county charterunder which we live requires that 13+ thousandsignatures be secured supporting a petition to place aninitiative on the ballot. Those signatures must besecured within six months, after which the electionsoffice has 45 days to verify them, and the petition iseither accepted by the commission or goes on theballot. It costs 10 cents to verify each signature, so inorder to defray the cost we will probably ask eachsigner to donate a dime. Hey, that’s only half as muchas we were suggesting could be added to your cable billto help the cable company (that garners millions usingour public right of way) and it would be a dinkypercentage of the franchise fee you pay right now. Thatbrings to mind a question. On what does Lee Countyspend that fee?
If you think you might be interested or persuaded tobe interested, (or just be willing to listen to the pitch)please ask us to come speak to your club, group,organization or bunch of friends We'll even bring adish to a potluck. After all wouldn't it be interesting tolearn what your neighbors are interested in or seeprograms designed by fellow citizens. CommunityAccess is a boon to many communities across thisnation. One thing that we would ask is to be permit-ted to bring a copy of the petition, ask folks to signand request beforehand that they bring their voterregistration card so their signature wouldn't be invali-dated by the elections board. If this sounds do able callErnesto Lasso de la Vega at 940 9085 (cell phone),941-743-9627 or e mail him at [email protected]
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PUBLIC ACCESS TV
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ARSENIC IN WATER CAUSES CANCERWashington, DC: The Sierra Club today expressedgrave concern over the Bush Administration's decisionto withdraw the recently revised standard for cancer-causing arsenic in America's drinking water. The moverejects an effort by the U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency earlier this year to protect more than 22million Americans from this poison, further delayingthe much-needed and long-awaited clean-up andsignaling another Bush Administration bow to themining industry.
"EPA scientists know the level of cancer-causing arsenicin our drinking water is unsafe and should be low-ered," said Carl Pope, Executive Director of the SierraClub. "This decision suggests the Bush Administrationis caving to the mining industry's demands to allowcontinued use of dangerous mining techniques. Thecurrent guidelines for arsenic in drinking water, basedon 1942 data, are dangerously outdated."
"This move is the latest in several recent environmentalattacks by Bush that put industry ahead of the Ameri-can public," continued Pope. "Along with delaying thearsenic rule, he reversed a campaign promise to reduceemissions of carbon dioxide and delayed the protectionof the last remaining wild areas of our national forests."
The arsenic-reduction rule withdrawn today wouldhave provided additional protection to 22.5 millionAmericans from cancer and other health problems,including cardiovascular disease and diabetes, as well asdevelopmental and neurological effects. After decadesof study, the Bush Administration will stall by de-manding more public comments.
According to the National Academy of Sciences, long-term exposure to low concentrations of arsenic indrinking water can lead to skin, bladder, lung, andprostate cancer. Non-cancer effects of ingesting arsenicat low levels include cardiovascular disease, diabetes,and anemia, as well as reproductive and developmental,immunological, and neurological effects.
"While some arsenic occurs naturally, the miningindustry's operations widely pollute our drinking waterwith arsenic and other toxic metals," said Ed Hopkins,Director of Sierra Club's Environmental Qualityprogram. "Americans cannot afford to delay newprotections against arsenic any longer. The BushAdministration needs to focus more on the needs ofAmericans and less on the demands of special interestslike the mining industry."
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