Tundra swans, such as this sick bird on Idaho's Lake Coeur d'Alene, are among the fish and wildlife that will benefit from the ASARCO natural resources settlement. Credit: Brian Spears/USFWS

An environmental damage settlement with ASARCO LLC, a North American mining conglomerate, would provide about $194 million for the recovery of wildlife and other natural resources at more than a dozen sites managed by the Department of the Interior and state and tribal governments, including the Coeur d'Alene Basin in Idaho. The agreement is the largest bankruptcy settlement for natural resource restoration in U.S. history.

"Through this historic settlement, the American public is compensated for the damage and loss of natural resources resulting from ASARCO's past mining, smelting and refining operations," said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. "Were it not for this agreement, these injured resources would either remain impaired for future generations or require taxpayer expenditures to achieve environmental restoration."

The money from environmental settlements in the bankruptcy will be used to pay for costs incurred by federal and state agencies at the more than 80 sites contaminated by mining operations in 19 states, said federal officials.

The settlements for the six Department of the Interior sites primarily resulted from staff work accomplished by the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Environmental Contaminants (EC) Program. Scientists in the EC Program had the lead responsibility for acquiring funding and bring together key personnel from State, Tribal, and other Federal agencies to establish the degree of natural resource injury at each site and successfully pursue the various damage claims.

News Release

Contaminants Program - Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration: Current Assessment and Restoration Efforts - Coeur d'Alene Basin

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO) Bankruptcy Settlement

Brown pelican. Credit: USFWS

The Department of Interior (DOI) announced on November 11, 2009, that the brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) has recovered and will be removed from the threatened and endangered species list. Since being declared endangered nearly 40 years ago, populations have rebounded and number over 650,000 individuals across Florida, the Gulf and Pacific Coasts, the Caribbean, and Latin America. The rule will become effective on December 17, 2009.

The brown pelican was first given its endangered status in 1970 after populations had been decimated by the widespread use of DDT, coastal habitat loss, and a long history of being hunted for their feathers. By the late 1960s, brown pelicans had virtually disappeared from their historical ranges in Louisiana, Texas and the Gulf Coast of Mexico.

The national ban on DDT in 1972 and protection under the Endangered Species Act have been instrumental in helping brown pelican populations recover. In addition, Louisiana conducted a reintroduction project between 1968 and 1980 that successfully restored population levels in the state. Texas and California were naturally re-colonized and now see over 100,000 breeding birds along the Pacific Coast. Populations also have been found on several islands in the Caribbean as well as the Pacific Coast of South America, the West Indies, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The brown pelican will continue to be monitored by state fish and wildlife agencies in coordination with federal officials to ensure its lasting recovery and success. It is also federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which prohibits possession, hunting, taking eggs, and other activities that may compromise the welfare of migratory birds.

Brown Pelican Fact Sheet

The Endangered Species Program

Environmental Contaminants Program: Chlorinated Hydrocarbons (Organochlorines) - DDT

Species Profile for Brown Pelican (includes population status, Federal Register documents, Recovery Plans, etc.)

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Policy and Directives Management, Federal Register Documents: Removal of the Brown Pelican From the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. Final Rule. 74 FR 59444 FR 59443 59443-59472 11/17/2009   

Gulf Refinery Fire (AKA Caribbean Petroleum Corp). Credit: USEPA

An explosion occurred at the petroleum storage facility in Bayamon, Puerto Rico around 12:30 AM October 23, followed by a large fire. The facility is inland, southwest of San Juan. The area was declared a disaster. Environmental concerns center on the marsh north of the facility, which was impacted by fire, petroleum from ruptured storage tanks, and run-off from firefighting actions. In addition, the marsh has been impacted by construction of new dikes and roads from firefighting. The spill response is being funded under the Oil Pollution Act. Felix Lopez, Contaminants Specialist from our Boqueron Field Office, is on scene. There are reports of oiled birds, turtles and an endangered Puerto Rican boa (Epicrates inornatus). Puerto Rico Department of Environmental Resources (DNER) has been collecting wildlife and taking them to their facility on the north coast. An emergency Endangered Species Act consultation for the response is complete, as is a response plan for federally protected wildlife. Petroleum recovery continues in the marsh with vacuum trucks and hand-applied sorbents. A preliminary assessment of the environmental impacts was conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Puerto Rico's Environmental Quality Board (EQB), at the facility and its surroundings. It is estimated that about 33 acres of wetlands north of the facility are impacted. The total wetlands area north of the facility has been estimated to be about 70 acres. Other Agencies known to be involved at this time include: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and the Department of Transportation (DOT).

EPA Caribbean Petroleum Corp Explosion website

Photos

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Southeast Region

FEMA: Puerto Rico Fire and Explosion

This oiled duck, which was retrieved from an Exxon Mobil facility in Colorado, represents one of some 85 migratory bird deaths documented by Service special agents during the investigation. Credit: USFWS/Office of Law Enforcement

Exxon Mobil Corporation, whose oil and gas drilling and production facilities in 5 States were linked to the deaths of Federally protected birds, has pleaded guilty to violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The company must pay $600,000 in fines and community service payments and implement an environmental compliance plan to prevent bird deaths at its facilities in Colorado, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas. The company has already spent $2.5 million to protect birds at these sites. 

News Release

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Biologist Kraig Mcpeek holds a trophy flathead catfish found dead in the Rock River, IL. Photo credit: Mike Coffey/USFWS.

Thousands of fish died suddenly in the Rock River in northern Illinois on Sunday, June 21 st, 2009. Alarmed by the potential threat, contaminants biologists along with fish and wildlife biologists from the Ecological Services Field Office in Illinois immediately began to test the water for toxins. The Rock River supports federally listed endangered mussels and many kinds of migratory birds that use the river for nesting. Record rains and a train wreck with a spill of gasoline ready ethanol occurred on Friday before the fish kill. Biologists are inspecting the river beds containing endangered mussels and participating in an investigation to determine the cause of the fish kill.    

Sea Otter. Credit: David Menke/USFWS.

Many of Washington State’s sea otters are exposed to the same pathogens responsible for causing disease in marine mammal populations in other parts of the country, according to a study published by researchers from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and their partners.

While the Washington sea otters do not appear to be suffering negative effects from the pathogens, they still face potential threats from infectious disease due to their relatively small population size and limited distribution.

“Sea otters are a keystone species in the sanctuary, so potential disease threats are a significant concern for us,” said Mary Sue Brancato, a sanctuary resource protection specialist who is one of the study’s co-authors. “Changes in their population can affect the whole ecosystem.”

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Map representing the geographic area studied by the research scientists.

A recent study of intersex abnormalities in fish conducted by researchers from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey in the Potomac River watershed showed that at least 82 percent of male smallmouth bass and in 23 percent of the largemouth bass had immature female germ cells (oocytes) in their reproductive organs.

This condition, a type of intersex, is a disturbance in the fish’s hormonal system and is an indicator of exposure to estrogens or chemicals that mimic the activity of natural hormones. Several other abnormalities were also noted, some affecting female bass.

“At the moment we don’t know the ecological implications of this condition and it could potentially affect the reproductive capability of important sport fish species in the watershed,” said Leopoldo Miranda, Supervisor of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Chesapeake Bay Field Office.

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View the entire press release

Fact Sheet - Intersex fish: Endocrine disruption in smallmouth bass (1MB pdf)