Casper Star-Tribune from Casper, Wyoming • 1

Today r. t'- a Thomas loses snowmobile voteBl Partly tunny with possible late day storm 8754 See weatherB6 WYOMING'S STATEWIDE NEWSPAPER FOUNDED IN 1891 2 1 Mbime contract offer nixed Workers oppose contract by more than 3:1 ratio fl' -ri-vt BP Amoco, DEQ settle selenium dispute By JEFF TOLLEFSON Star-Tribune staff writer So long as selenium levels at Soda Lake match background levels found in the area, the metal will not be part of eventual cleanup efforts at the former refinery waste water pond, company officials and the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality agreed Tuesday. DEQ project leader Vickie Meredith told BP Amoco officials the company won't have to test or clean up beyond naturally occurring levels. Selenium occurs naturally in area soils and waters and has been found at notoriously high levels in stretches of the North Platte River around Casper. Most agreed that selenium needs to be considered as part of the long-term management of Soda Lake, but a rift appeared in early discussions over how to do so.

Selenium accumulation has repeatedly surfaced during discussions about Soda Lake, because BP Amoco continues to pump millions of gallons of river water to maintain the lake at its current level. DEQ officials said Tuesday that selenium might need to be treated separately from other chemicals in the company's upcoming investigation of pollution in Soda Lake, where Amoco shipped waste water from its former Casper refinery. BP Amoco argued that it might not be part of the cleanup at all, because hazardous waste laws apply to Please see SODA LAKE, A 12 By JEFF GEARINO Southwest Wyoming bureau DIAMONDVILLE Union workers on strike at the Pittsburg and Midway coal mine overwhelmingly rejected a tentative, 6-year contract Tuesday Members of the United Mine Workers of America Local 1307 voted 148 to 42 against ratifying the labor contract proposed by the company. Union officials said union members would continue to walk the picket line at the entrance to the plant. "The vote failed and now it's back to the bargaining table," said Local President Elbert Harmon.

A small crowd of about 15 union workers at the union hall in Diamondville cheered when the vote was announced and many workers left the hall honking their horns in celebration. After striking for eight weeks with little progress in negotiations, worker turnout for the vote was high. Of 209 local members eligible to vote, about 91 percent cast a ballot. The 224 UMWA members at the mine walked off the job on May 27 after their five-year labor contract with the company expired. The tentative agreement was reached Saturday after talks in Salt Lake City.

The union has been striking over wage and hour changes proposed by the company in May. The union has opposed the company's efforts to lower holiday pay and to implement a 12-hour work schedule. The company offered the union two contract proposals in May that were rejected by negotiators. One proposal did not change the current eight-hour workday and the other proposal included a schedule change to 12-hour days. One item that was of particular contention to union members was a memorandum of Please see VOTE, A6 West Belt Loop KERRY HULLERStarTrlbuna Clouds are reflected on the surface of Soda Lake on Tuesday afternoon.

The state's Department of Environmental Quality on Tuesday said BP Amoco will not be required to test for or clean up selenium at the lake beyond naturally occurring levels. POISON SPIDER ROAD 8 ZERORO SSSSNV POISON SPIDER BOAO Senate passes 'marriage penalty' relief JFyyf GOP eyes surplus for tax cuts C-5 (Recomended) i i ft i C-3 ceptable Medicare prescription drug benefit. Republicans say the bill puts Clinton and Vice President Al Gore in a tough political spot. "It's going to be very hard to explain," said Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss. "Mr.

President, are you for eliminating the marriage penalty tax, or not?" The Congressional Budget Office now projects an enormous budget surplus of $2.17 trillion over the next decade, far above-previous forecasts. That includes an estimated $102 billion surplus in fiscal 2001, up from $15 billion in April. GOP leaders want to use some of that surplus to permit people to benefit in 2001 from Please see BUDGET, A 12 By CURT ANDERSON Associated Press with staff reports WASHINGTON Trumpeting the growing budget surplus as a signal to slash the tax burden, Republicans won Senate passage Tuesday of a bill that would eliminate the "marriage penalty" by cutting taxes for virtually every married couple. "All of these families have contributed to the record surplus that we have in Washington," said Sen. William Roth, the Senate Finance Committee chairman.

"They deserve to get some of it back." Shrugging off President Clinton's veto threat and Democratic criticism that the bill is skewed to the wealthy, the Sen chasing health insurance, saving for retirement, higher education and home buying," Enzi continued. "These actions will lead to stronger families, higher quality living, self reliance and solid communities." Differences must still be worked out with the House, which passed a 10-year, $182 billion reduction earlier this year. GOP leaders expected an agreement later this week and cited the latest glowing surplus estimates in pressing the president to abandon his veto threat. Clinton has said he would sign the GOP marriage penalty bill only if Congress also sends him a measure creating an ac ate voted 61-38 for the legislation that would reduce government revenue by $248 billion over 10 years. Eight Democrats joined most Republicans in favor, but the margin was not veto-proof.

Wyoming's two Republican U.S. Sens. Mike Enzi and Craig Thomas both voted in favor of the bill. "I'm very pleased that Congress has acted to eliminate this destructive part of our tax code," Enzi said in a release after the vote. "It's very important that we examine our tax policy and restructure it so that we encourage things like marriage, pur COURTESrWyomlng Department of Transportation The grouch Natural gas shut down in Laramie Half of restaurants close; 10,000 customers affected Council endorses West Loop plan I leave the switch (iff and tlie barbecue wait lhht.

Tlxy leave it off and tlie town shuts down. afternoon during routine maintenance on the Northern Gas Company pipeline, which feeds into the Laramie system. Long said the valve is about seven miles north of Laramie. At KN's headquarters in Lakewood, Media Relations Manager Jonna Busack said the interruption of supply did not occur until 1 a.m. Tuesday because of the time it Please see GAS, A6 ternoon when they could no longer wash dishes, a city health official said.

And the gas company said it had to shut off all residential and commercial meters in town to allow it to safely purge the main line before restoring service. Norm Long of Douglas, business relations representative for KN, said the valve was left in the wrong position Monday W. DALE NELSON Star-Tribune correspondent LARAMIE Natural gas service to about 10,000 customers in Laramie was interrupted early Tuesday because a pipeline valve was inadvertently left in the off position, a KN Energy official said. The service disruption forced many Laramie restaurants to shut down Tuesday af Study: link between allergies, estrogen construction would begin sometime between 2008 and 2012. Councilwoman Kathleen Dixon said she hopes the vote of support, with the amendment, will encourage WYDOT to have more face-to-face conversations with the landowners its project would most impact.

"It's not unreasonable for us to ask the Department of Transportation to do just that," she said. The council's amendment came after area landowners criticized the agency for not sharing with them results of studies WYDOT consultants conducted in the area. "I've asked for data," said Bob Schlidt, who owns land west of Casper. "I've received none." "The Department of Transportation offers the city solutions," said Ben Taucher, another landowner in the area. "It offers the residents west of Casper rebar and concrete." The endorsement, which Please see WEST LOOP, A 12 Asks WYDOT to cooperate better with landowners By MARK H.

BRADY Star-Tribune staff writer The Wyoming Department of Transportation proposal to build a West Belt Loop connecting U.S. Highway 20-26 with Wyoming Highway 220 got a grudging thumbs up from the Casper City Council on Tuesday. The City Council passed a resolution endorsing the 7.8-mile truck route with an amendment stipulating that WYDOT needs to work and communicate more effectively with residents in the area who would be impacted by the proposed project. If the project goes through, CALENDAR A2 CASPER AREA A3 CLASSIFIED C312 COMICS C4. 06 CROSSWORD C4 ENJOY C12 LANDERS, BROVPTON B5 LETTERS A9 MARKETS B4 MOVIES B5 OBITUARIES B3 OPINION A8 SPORTS D15 WEATHER B6 WYOMING B12 ers had their first period later, particularly after age 15.

It is the first time such a link has been made. The younger their mothers were when they had their first period, or menarche, the more likely the subjects were to have allergies as adults. Dr. Baizhuang Xu, who led the study at Imperial College, London University, said his preliminary findings support the Pleas- see ALLERGIES, A 12 dren, and scientists cant explain most of the increase. On average, 20 to 25 percent of people in the United States and elsewhere in the developing world have asthma or some other allergic disorder.

A study published this week in the British medical journal Thorax found that allergies were more common among people whose mothers started menstruating early and less prevalent among those whose moth By EMMA ROSS Associated Press LONDON The development of allergies in children may be related to the age at which their mothers started having menstrual periods, new research suggests. the prevalence of allergies and asthma has increased by as much as 80 percent in the developed world over the last decade or so, particularly in chil if 08276 2749' For complete sports coverage from the Casper Star-Tribune, subscribe today. (800) 442-6916 or (307) 266-0550..