World News Bits
| Author | Melissa Frisk |
| Position | Law student at American University Washington College of Law. |
| Pages | 06 |
Page 26
On December 12, 2002, the U.S. and Chile signed a bilateral trade agreement that has been under negotiation for over a decade and arguably was largely made possible because of President Bush's recently approved "fast track" authority.2 The trade agreement is applauded for its plan to phase out tariffs over the next 12 years, but concern by environmentalists exists regarding Chile's dependence on natural resource based exports.3
The Canadian Senate followed the "Commons" (Canadian House of Representatives) in endorsing the Kyoto Protocol.4Prime Minister Jean Chretien, formalized the ratification of the greenhouse gas agreement made by the U.N. in 1997.5Canada is the runner-up behind the U.S. for being the worst polluting country per capita, so their ratification of the Kyoto Protocol will help serve as a model for the U.S. on how to address global climate change.
Recent initiatives by the Bush administration seek to reduce regulations under the nation's "Magna Carta" of environmental law, the National Environmental Policy Act.6 Bush's "Healthy Forest Initiative" sets it sights on exempting offshore military activities in the U.S. Exclusive Economic zone, shortcutting the environmental review process for certain transportation projects.7 Also, on the day before Thanksgiving, the Bush Administration announced forest planning rules that reduce the public comment period from 135 to 60 days, and remove a provision that helps ensure the survival of species.8
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently weakened new source review under Clean Air Act, by allowing for modernization of industrial facilities without proper controls on emissions.9 The changes to the Clean Air Act are the most significant under the Bush administration, but rather than improve the quality of the air, they ease regulations on pollution control.10 Nine states have filed suit against the Bush Administration rules, saying that rule-making authority used exceeded that allowed under their legislative authority.11
The U.S. Supreme Court's tie vote on federal penalties for deep ripping in wetlands leaves open the dispute over the "normal farming activities" exemption to the federal Clean Water Act.12The case concerned a California rancher and his use of "deep ripping" to prepare soil for the cultivation of vineyards and orchards in the mid-1990's. The rancher claimed that the he was engaged in "pure plowing" that should not be regulated under the federal Clean Water Act due to the exemption for "normal farming activities."13 However, the Ninth Circuit held that that a federal permit was required for "deep ripping," and that the exemption does not apply when "land is converted to a different use."14
On November 19, 2002 the oil tanker "Prestige" went down off the coast of Galicia, Spain spilling tens of thousands of tons of oil.15 In response to the disaster, Spain and France have made a bilateral agreement to impose more stringent inspections on ships.16 The agreement allows for increased access to information for government authorities in regards to tankers traveling in the exclusive economic zones (EEZ's) of both countries.17 Additionally, the agreement allows for onthe-spot inspections and expulsion of un-seaworthy ships.18Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar is looking to other European Union governments to improve maritime safety rules at the Copenhagen European Union summit meeting in December. 19
While mahogany was added to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species' (CITES) Appendix II, increasing regulation by requiring certain states to obtain CITES export permits and ensure export sustainability, a ban was lifted on the sale of ivory to the international market in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa.20 The sale of ivory will be limited to ivory stockpiles ("legal stocks that have been collected from elephants that died of natural causes or as a result of governments-regulated problem-animal control.")21 Under the new consensus on ivory, however, the CITES Secretariat and Standing Committee may suspend trade for non-compliance in exporting and importing countries and if it is found that the trade is having harmful effects on elephant populations in other African countries. This decision ended a 1989 ban by the United Nations on international trade in ivory.22 Page 27
"Responsible Care" and Hazardous-Waste in Israel The stench around Ramat Hovav Industrial Zone in Israel has local residents worried about their health and standard of living.23 The Ramat Hovav Industrial Zone includes the Israeli national hazardous-waste disposal plant in addition to 16 chemical factories. In an area that suffers from unemployment, the Industrial Zone provides jobs to around 4,000 people.24In question are the long-term and cumulative effects from exposure to the "polluting materials emitted by the plants," especially considering the interactions of the various chemicals.25While the Israeli Ministry of the Environment has released information on the concentration of pollutants released from the plants, and the hazardous-waste disposal plant has begun instituting a project similar to the "responsible care" program adopted by companies worldwide after the Bhopal disaster, local and international activists are concerned that the program will not adequately address health and safety concerns.26
Four serious landslides in Selangor, Malaysia in the past decade have some Malaysians outraged by inadequately regulated development projects on landslide-prone hilltops. Local lawmakers and activists in Malaysia are seeking a constitutional amendment that would allow federal authorities to monitor local development projects through various means, including a mandatory environmental impact assessment.27
The Wan Chai reclamation, a project recently approved by the local Town Planning Board, allows for development in the Hong Kong Harbor, and is controversial because of the consequences for esthetic enjoyment and environmental damage in the harbor.28 Some are claiming that the approval of this development project violates the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance, which was enacted in 1997. The Ordinance requires that development projects in the harbor must be considered in light all reasonable alternatives and whether they are for the public benefit and essential.
New Law Requiring Environmental Assessment on Development Projects in China The National People's Congress of China passed an environmental protection law in October.29 The law, to take effect on September 1, 2003, requires an environmental impact assessment for major planning and projects.30
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[2] Paul Blustein, U.S., Chile Agree on Free Trade; Bilateral Pacts Are Special Focus of Bush Administration, THE WASHINGTON POST, December 12, 2002; Elizabeth Becker and Larry Rohter, U.S. and Chile Reach Free Trade Accord, THE NEW YORK TIMES, December, 12, 2002.
[3] Mark Mulligan, Chile Hails Trade Deal as Finest Moment: A Bilateral Agreement With the US Should Spur Much Needed Foreign Investment and Modernization, FINANCIAL TIMES, December 17, 2002. Elizabeth Becker and Larry Rohter, U.S. and Chile Reach Free Trade Accord, THE NEW YORK TIMES, December, 12, 2002.
[4] Peter Calamai, Senators Approve Kyoto Protocol, TORONTO STAR, December 13, 2002.
[5] Cold Leap on Global Warming, CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, December 18, 2002, at 8.
[6] Elizabeth Shogren, Wildlife Protections Lost in New Forest Rules; Industry Hails Changes as Being Long Overdue, But Environmentalists Charge the White House is Doing the Bidding of the Timber Companies, U.S. FOREST SERVICE, available at ´www.fs.fed.usª.
[7] Id.
[8] Id.
[9] Dina Cappiello and Karen Masterson, Critics: Federal Clean-Air Plan Recycles State's, THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE, November 23, 2002.
[10] Editorial, Christie Whitman's Tribulations, THE NEW YORK TIMES, November 27, 2002.
[11] Eric Planin, New Pollution Standards Prompt Suit, THE WASHINGTON POST, January 1, 2003.
[12] Bob Egelko, Wetlands Penalty is Upheld by Supreme Court, THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, December 17, 2002, at A5 (stating that the wetlands decision is only binding in the Ninth Circuit). See also Borden Ranch Partnership v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 01-1243.
[13] Id.
[14] Big Agriculture v. Wetlands, THE NEW YORK TIMES, December 16, 2002, at A26.
[15] Friends of the Earth International, Press Release, Prestige Oil Tanker Sinking Today: Make Oil Companies Liable for Damage, Says Friends of the Earth, November 19, 2002, (calling for tougher liability laws for oil companies in the wake of the sinking) available at ´http://www.foei.og/media/2002/1110.htmlª (last visited November 29, 2002).
[16] Emma Daly, After Oil Spill, Spain and France Impose Strict Tanker Inspections, THE NEW YORK TIMES, November 27, 2002.
[17] Id.
[18] Id.
[19] Id.
[20] CITES, Press Release, CITES Conference Ends with Strong Decisions on Wildlife Conservation, available at ´http://www.cites.org/eng/news/press_release.shtmlª (last visited November 29, 2002).
[21] Id.
[22] James Reynolds, US Support Tips Balance As Ivory Trade Resumes After 13-Years, THE SCOTSMAN, November 13, 2002.
[23] Patricia Golan, Causing a Stink, THE JERUSALEM POST, December 6, 2002, Pg. 10 (citing the "revolting stench" that surrounds the Ramat Hovav Industrial Zone).
[24] Id. (also explaining that the population around the Industrial Zone is an estimated 400,000).
[25] Id. (stating that the artificial ponds used to evaporation of the ponds receive more chemicals than they can handle).
[26] Id.
[27] Shelia Singam, The Finger of Blame, NEW STRAITS TIMES (Malaysia), November 30, 2002, at 4 (explaining that residents are calling for action to protect communities from deadly and destructive landslides).
[28] Philip Bowring, Don't Let Bureaucrats Ruin the Harbour, SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST LTD., December 18, 2002 (explaining that the development project will allow for the building of roads, commercial buildings and non-green area focused parks).
[29] Cheung Chi-fai, Ecological Fears Over Bridge Dismissed, SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST LTD, December 10, 2002 (stating that the new law will not necessarily effect the development of a new bridge over the Pearl River).
[30] Id.
