News[JURIST] In Thursday's environmental law brief, a Jakarta Indonesia court has ruled that the travel ban on the six Newmont Mining Co. [company website] executives that has been in place since last October is illegal. Despite the ruling, the executives are still being detained in the country as objects of an ongoing criminal case into alleged pollution of the Buyat Bay. The Rocky Mountain News has the full story including an interview with one of the executives.
Previously on JURIST's PaperChase:
- Indonesian high court rules Newmont exec detentions legal
- Indonesia to proceed with charges against Newmont execs
- Newmont officials still detained in Indonesia despite new study
- Gold mine at center of court battle not polluting Indonesian bay, says WHO
In other news,
- The Canadian government has reached an agreement with automobile manufacturers requiring greenhouse gas emissions for all cars sold in the country to be reduced by 25 percent of 1995 levels by 2010. The deal was reportedly reached after Canadian officials threatened to copy the California auto emission standards which have been adopted by a handful of US states despite being more stringent than US federal standards. The Los Angeles Times has the full story.
- The New Hampshire State Senate [official website] is currently considering a bill [text] that would issue more stringent mercury emission controls on the state's power plants than the new EPA limits, and would ban the trading of pollution allowances to meet those standards. Last week, the EPA issued mercury regulations [JURIST report] that both set limits and allowed trading allowances. The New York Times has more.
- The US Fish and Wildlife Service [official website] seeks comments on a proposed rule [text] that would reclassify the American crocodile [FWS factpage](Crocodylus acutus) in Florida as a threatened species. Currently, it is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 [text], but since its listing in 1975, the American crocodile population in Florida has more than doubled, its distribution has expanded, and land acquisition has provided protection for many important nesting areas. Comments can be made here until May 23.
