EC June 2010

ec@lists.wvsierraclub.org

10 participants
27 discussions

Fwd: State and Local Victories - Late June edition
by Paul Wilson 30 Jun '10

30 Jun '10

these are in the Clubhouse website, so you will need the password. Good opportunity to learn about the Clubhouse website, if you don't know how to use it. paul w. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Scott Elkins <scott.elkins(a)sierraclub.org> Date: Wed, Jun 30, 2010 at 4:04 PM Subject: State and Local Victories - Late June edition To: CONS-CRP-MEMBERS(a)lists.sierraclub.org *State and Local Victory Tracker: http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/chapters/tracker/* We now have victories posted on the Tracker from 38 states plus the District of Columbia; but we need to hear from the rest of you, and we need more local victories from our California chapters! Highlights this time include important clean energy victories from Texas, Oklahoma and Maryland: * The Lone Star (Texas) Chapter capped a year-long effort by convincing their state energy office to strengthen residential building codes to require greater energy efficiency<http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/chapters/tracker/2010/6-10-TX-building-code…> . * In Oklahoma, our chapter led the advocacy effort that saw passage of legislation to establish an important renewable energy goal<http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/chapters/tracker/2010/05-10-OK-renewable-go…>and a path for no new coal-powered power plants in the state. * Our Maryland Chapter pushed the bar up a notch on their existing Renewable Electricity Standard, by strengthening the mandate for solar powered electricity<http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/chapters/tracker/2010/05-10-MD-solar-energy…> . Share your recent and historic victories on the Tracker by filling out this form: http://tinyurl.com/y8fn9an. It takes just five minutes or so, and helps to both spread the word about your success and demonstrate the power of the Sierra Club to improve our world. Scott Elkins, Director for Chapter Coordination Sierra Club 612-659-9124 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the CONS-CRP-MEMBERS list, send any message to: CONS-CRP-MEMBERS-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/ -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-1361 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" ~ Aristotle

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Fwd: [GW-ACT-LEADERS] Financial Times: Pollution Laws to Cause NG to Replace Coal
by James Kotcon 29 Jun '10

29 Jun '10

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Re: [EC] FW: BBC Story Airing Tonight!
by Jonathan Rosenbaum 28 Jun '10

28 Jun '10

Saw it! The BBC did a good job covering this story. -Jonathan John Christensen wrote: > /Fingers crossed but link to story is included./ > > John Christensen > Mountain View Solar and Wind > Consultation, Sales, and Installation > 410-499-4873 cell > 304-754-8505 > john(a)mtvsolar.com <mailto:john@mtvsolar.com> > www.mtvsolar.com <http://www.mtvsolar.com> > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* Mountain View Builders <mailto:mtviewbuilders@verizon.net> > *To: *Mike McKechnie <mailto:mike@mtvsolar.com> > *Sent:* 6/28/2010 12:08:06 PM > *Subject:* BBC Story Airing Tonight! > > The BBC piece is airing tonight at 7PM -- we are having a viewing > party beginning at 6:30 PM at the Mountainside Restaurant in > Berkeley Springs, WV! Hope to see you there! > > ** Mike McKechnie on his company's approach ** > Mike McKechnie explains how his company, Mountain View Solar and > Wind, approaches doubtful local consumers who have been married to > coal energy for generations. > < > _http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/programmes/world_news_america/8763236.stm_ > > > > Thanks, > Kelly > __________________________ > Kelly J. Waugh > *Mountain View Builders, LLC > **Mountain View Solar & Wind, LLC > > *T: 304.258.4320 > F: 304.258.4250 > > Kelly(a)MTVSolar.com > mtviewbuilders(a)verizon.net > > www.mountainviewbuilders.com > www.MTVSolar.com > > Main Office: > 15 Greenway Drive > Berkeley Springs, WV 25411 > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > EC mailing list > EC(a)osenergy.org > http://osenergy.org/mailman/listinfo/ec

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Shale Gas > Not Under My Back Yard
by Duane330＠aol.com 26 Jun '10

26 Jun '10

Energy: Science Magazine: June 25, 2010 Natural Gas From Shale Bursts Onto the Scene <NOBR>Richard A Engineering ingenuity is unlocking a vast storehouse of natural gas buried beneath American soil from Texas to New England. The sudden great promise of clean, homegrown shale gas has all kinds of people excited. National-security types see it as a replacement for foreign oil and gas, environmentalists as a replacement for dirty coal and even oil. And because it yields only 45% of the carbon dioxide emissions of coal, advocates of taming global warming see it as a temporary crutch while carbon-free energy sources are developed and deployed. Everyone seems to agree with a March study by IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates that concluded that shale gas "provides the potential to transform North America's energy landscape." The problem is that word "potential." Every link in the chain between the newly abundant domestic energy source and its transformative impact is still shrouded in uncertainty. And a rising tide of NUMBY—not under my backyard—that's greeting shale gas in the Northeast could hobble the revolution (_see sidebar_ (http://www.info-aaas.org/l.jsp?d=5148.573988.654.0r2V29Nui) ). Full story at _http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/328/5986/1624?sa_campaign=Email… (http://www.info-aaas.org/l.jsp?d=5148.573987.654.0r2V29Nui) ____________________________________ Energy: Not Under My Backyard, Thank You <NOBR>Richard A. Now that drillers have figured out how to extract gas trapped in shale rock (_see main text_ (http://www.info-aaas.org/l.jsp?d=5148.573986.654.0r2V29Nui) ), a new and perhaps more hazardous style of drilling is coming to parts of the country unfamiliar with the ways of the oil and gas industry. To those outside the industry, the scariest part of the new drilling might be the way drillers unleash the gas. They drill straight down, turn the drill to go horizontally, and then pump in chemically treated water to pressurize a horizontal section of the well until surrounding rock fractures and begins to give up its gas. Many local residents and environmentalists have worried that this "fracing" (pronounced and sometimes written "fracking") might propagate fractures upward into overlying aquifers so that escaping gas, chemicals, and brine will contaminate groundwater. Full story at _http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/328/5986/1625?sa_campaign=Email… (http://www.info-aaas.org/l.jsp?d=5148.573985.654.0r2V29Nui) ____________________________________

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Fwd: PATH EIS scoping meetings
by James Kotcon 25 Jun '10

25 Jun '10

Note that the fedeal agencies do NOT propose to assess the impacts of the entire route, they propose to only evaluate the segments crossing federal lands. They claim it is the responsibility of the North American Electric Reliablity Council and the WV PSC to protect the environment in those other sections. We will ant a good turnout at these to demand that the entire project be considered, as demand side management aternatives would be faster, safer, cleaner and cheaper. JBK

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Fwd: Grassroots Briefing and strategy call EPA's proposed coal ash rule: June 29, 3pm ET
by James Kotcon 23 Jun '10

23 Jun '10

Anyone want to join in the National briefing and strategy call next Tuesday? I will be out of town that day, is there someone who can participate? Bill Price and I have outlined a fairly aggressive campaign in WV (the National Coal Campaign is pulling out all the stops on this) and he will be circulating an outline of upcoming actions, etc. The goal at this point will be for the Chapter Energy Committee (us) to prepare our comments to EPA, and request a public hearing before July 21. National will send a series of Convio alerts beginning within a week, and Bill suggested that the Chapter save our alert for announcing a public hearing, probably sometime shortly after July 21, as that message will be much more targeted and local to West Virginia. We are also planning a rally/protest (possibly at the Governor's office) to coincide with July interim meetings, July 19-21. And there will be phone-banking, editorial board meetings, and possibly formal testimony. But staying current on the National strategy would be helpful, so I hope someone can join the call-in next Tuesday. Jim Kotcon >>> Sam Flenner <samf.environmentalintegrity(a)gmail.com> 6/22/2010 7:44 PM >>> Please excuse cross postings. Hello All, This is the National Grassroots Organization conference call that we promised months ago before the rule was delayed. Please do not confuse it with other strategy calls scheduled for later this week. And please join us. Sam ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Lyndsay Moseley <Lyndsay.Moseley(a)sierraclub.org> Date: Tue, Jun 22, 2010 at 6:41 PM Subject: Grassroots Briefing and strategy call EPA's proposed coal ash rule: June 29, 3pm ET To: COAL-COMBUSTION-WASTE(a)lists.sierraclub.org Friends and Colleagues: You are invited by Environmental Integrity Project, Earthjustice, Sierra Club, NRDC, SELC, Physicians for Social Responsibility and many others to join a national grassroots community briefing and strategy session on the EPA?s recently proposed coal ash rule, next Tuesday June 29th at 3pm ET. If you can participate, please RSVP by June 25th, with "Grassroots coal ash call" in the subject line to: energy.intern(a)sierraclub.org. NOTE: The call-in information will be sent separately to all who RSVP by June 25th. What: Briefing and strategy call on EPA coal ash rule When: June 29, 2010 at 3pm ET RSVP: If you can attend, please RSVP by June 25th, with "Grassroots coal ash call" in the subject line to: energy.intern(a)sierraclub.org. NOTE: The call-in information will be sent separately to all who RSVP by June 25th. Coal ash is the second-largest industrial waste stream in America, second only to mining waste. Coal ash contains arsenic, selenium, lead, boron and mercury. These substances leach out of coal ash at disposal sites around the country ? and sometimes burst out of a ruptured dam, as they did in December 2008 in Kingston, Tennessee, flooding a river valley, destroying three homes, and covering 300 acres with thick, toxic sludge. The terrible disaster in Tennessee has helped create an historic opportunity to win significant long-term protections for communities from the dangers of toxic coal ash, but we need your help to get the job done. EPA published their proposed rule in the Federal Register on Monday June 21, triggering a 90-day public comment period. Please join this call for a briefing and strategy session as we seek to demonstrate strong public support for the EPA subtitle C option. (For a quick briefing/overview of the rule as proposed, see the attached summary document). Many of you are already actively participating in our coalition efforts. For those who might be newer to coal ash issue, please join us to learn more and get connected to others at the national level. Ways you can engage: 1. Participate in the strategy session on June 29th, 3pm ET. Please RSVP to: energy.intern(a)sierraclub.org (NOTE: call-in information will be sent separately to all who RSVP by June 25). 2. Join the coal ash listerv, if you haven't already (instructions included in attached document). 3. Participate in massive grassroots response to demonstrate support by mobilizing your networks to generate public comment and turnout at EPA hearings; organizing letters of support for strong EPA, and pushing back against industry influence in Congress and mobilize Champs to support strong EPA rule. These are things we will be brainstorming together on the conference call. 4. Invite other potential allies to join the coalition! We hope you?ll join us. Resources attached: Summary of EPA's rule Coal ash - myths vs. fact Summary of EPA's proposed rule Environmental community letter to Administrator Jackson Environmental community letter to President Obama (signed by 240 organizations) Coal ash listserv (sign-up directions attached) Lyndsay Moseley Washington Representative Sierra Club 408 C St. NE Washington, DC 20002 tel: 202-548-4581 fax: 202-547-6009 Samuel E. Flenner III Outreach Associate Environmental Integrity Project samf.environmentalintegrity(a)gmail.com 317.352.2339 c-317.850.0436 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the COAL-COMBUSTION-WASTE list, send any message to: COAL-COMBUSTION-WASTE-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp

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Rolling Stones article on fly ash.....
by William V. DePaulo, Esq. 23 Jun '10

23 Jun '10

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/12697/64853

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Save the Mountain: Stop Pine Creek MTR Mine
by Jim Sconyers 22 Jun '10

22 Jun '10

Please send your message about this MTR permit and share widely. Tell the EPA to reject Pine Creek MTR mine permit Dear Sandra, On April 1, Lisa Jackson, head of the Environmental Protection Agency, announced strong new guidelines on mountaintop removal (MTR) mining permits. The first test of these tough guidelines for new permits is here. Coal-Mac, Inc. has applied for a new mountaintop removal mine permit for Pine Creek, West Virginia. Join us in telling the EPA that they must protect America's mountains and reject the Pine Creek mine permit. Pine Creek mine would contaminate 2.75 miles of streams, streams that already have dangerous levels of pollution from surface mining, which has made it nearly impossible for aquatic life to survive. Pine Creek mine is also expected to produce 14.3 million tons of coal, which would emit over 40 million tons of carbon dioxide greenhouse gases, further spurring climate change. We need your help to stop the further degradation of the Appalachian Mountains, the contamination of streams and drinking water and the exacerbation of the climate crisis. Please encourage the EPA to keep its word. Tell the EPA to uphold the Clean Water Act and protect Americans' health by rejecting the Pine Creek mine permit. Thank you for taking action to protect the mountains, streams and communities of Appalachia! For the mountains, Amanda Starbuck Global Finance Campaign Rainforest Action Network 221 Pine Street, 5th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104 USA Phone: (415) 398-4404 Fax: (415) 398-2732

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WVDEP concludes investigation on Buckeye Creek
by Duane330＠aol.com 18 Jun '10

18 Jun '10

============================================================ Friday, June 18, 2010 @ 4:40 PM ============================================================ The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Oil and Gas released its final report on an incident that took place in Doddridge County last summer. In the report, the agency concludes that the petroleum- based material in the stream was most likely associated with Tapo Energy’s drilling activity, but there is insufficient credible evidence to conclude that the discharge was anything other than accidental. As a result of the investigation, Tapo Energy was issued a notice of violation for discharging pollutants into the waters of the state and was assessed a penalty of $10,000. In Aug. 2009, the DEP was notified of an orange substance on the surface of Buckeye Creek near West Union. The Office of Oil and Gas inspectors spent many hours monitoring the cleanup of the material and investigating the incident. The report, which can be found on the agency’s website at http://www.dep.wv.gov/oil-and-gas/Pages/default.aspx, provides chronological detail of the agency’s actions in the investigation, as well as its findings. In addition to the report, all available public information related to the investigation can be found on the Office of Oil and Gas’ site under the heading Buckeye Creek Discharge Investigation.

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"Gasland" movie critical of drilling
by Duane330＠aol.com 18 Jun '10

18 Jun '10

_‘Gasland’ movie critical of drilling_ (http://www.timesleader.com/news/_lsquo_Gasland_rsquo__movie_critical_of_dri…) An organization funded by the natural gas industry disputes the HBO film’s conclusions. By _Steve Mocarsky_ (http://www.timesleader.com/reporter/Steve_Mocarsky.html) _smocarsky(a)timesleader.com_ (mailto:smocarsky@timesleader.com) Staff Writer, The Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader, June 18, 2010 After Josh Fox was offered nearly $100,000 to lease his 20 acres in Wayne County to a gas company, he heard two different accounts – one, a story of easy money, the other a tale of horror. The 37-year-old independent filmmaker set out to find the truth about natural gas drilling, and his conclusions can be seen in his documentary film “ Gasland,” to air on HBO at 9 p.m. on Monday. And while representatives of the gas industry call the film a piece of propaganda filled with exaggerations and inaccuracies, Fox stands by his work and says it’s the industry’s response that is propaganda. In a phone interview Thursday afternoon, as he was getting ready for a special screening of the documentary at the HBO Theater in New York City that night, Fox said a land man with a gas company told him in 2008 that the company probably wouldn’t even drill on the land. But he heard from others that environmentally, gas drilling was “very polluting.” “There was such a disparity between what was being said and what was being offered, I needed to see with my own eyes,” Fox said. So, Fox set out for the village of Dimock in Susquehanna County to talk with folks whose well water was polluted by natural gas migration from leaking gas wells. “It was completely a disaster area. There were Halliburton trucks swarming everywhere. Water was bubbling and fizzing; some you could light on fire. There was a feeling of regret and betrayal in the air,” Fox said. Residents were unaware of the contamination until Norma Fiorentino’s water well exploded on Jan. 1, 2009, Fox said. The state Department of Environmental Protection fined the drilling company and ordered the wells capped. Fox visited 23 other states where natural gas drilling was taking place. He interviewed people whose health and quality of life were negatively impacted; scientists, one of whom warns of the dangers of drinking water infused with chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing (commonly called fracking), which releases the gas from the underground shale formations; and government officials on both sides of the issue. One of the officials Fox interviewed was DEP Secretary John Hanger, who minimized the negative effects of fracking but refused to drink a glass of water from an affected well, according to a synopsis of the film on the HBO website. On the same day as a special screening of the film in Montrose earlier this month, Energy in Depth – a gas-industry-funded organization, released an alert on its website entitled “Debunking Gasland,” pulling out numerous quotes from the movie and disputing them. Energy In Depth claimed that Fox was “misstating the law” when he said that a 2005 energy bill exempted the oil and gas industry from the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Superfund law and other regulations. The industry is regulated under every single one of those laws, said Energy In Depth spokesman Chris Tucker. The organization states that Fox was “flat-out making stuff up” when he said the Pinedale Anticline and Jonah gas fields of Wyoming are directly in the path of a 1,000-year-old migration corridor of pronghorn antelope, mule deer and sage grouse, each species of which is endangered. Energy in Depth countered that three species of the pronghorn are endangered and none are found near the Pinedale Anticline, citing the Great Plains Nature Center; that only mule deer from New Mexico, noting that mule deer are so plentiful in Wyoming, there is a mule deer hunting season; and citing a U.S. Fish and Wildlife report stating that the sage grouse is not on the endangered list and there are “robust populations” of the bird in Wyoming. Fox also blamed an algae bloom that killed fish and other aquatic life in Dunkard Creek in Washington County on natural gas development, Tucker said. But DEP reports show the bloom was caused by coal mine drainage. The organization also cites a reference in the documentary to Colorado resident Lisa Bracken, who reported to environmental regulators occurrences of natural gas in the West Divide Creek, which she believed was related to natural gas drilling. “Fox blames methane occurrence in West Divide Creek, Colo., on natural gas development,” the release states. Energy In Depth published links to reports on the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission website that showed the methane was naturally occurring. Tucker said those reports were available long before “Gasland” was released. Theo Stein, communications director for the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, said a commission investigation revealed that the methane Bracken reported bubbling in her beaver ponds near the creek was naturally occurring swamp gas from rotting vegetation. Stein confirmed, however, that about a quarter-mile upstream, some methane gas was still present from a gas migration into the creek from a leak in a well drilled in 2004 by EnCana Oil & Gas, the company that will begin drilling in Luzerne County next month. EnCana received the largest fine in Colorado’s history for allowing that leak to occur. Tucker, who is a native of Kingston Township and has been closely following the development of the Marcellus Shale in Northeastern Pennsylvania, said the press release was addressing only Bracken’s claims in the documentary. He was unfamiliar with the incident involving EnCana and said the issue alert was not meant to be misleading.

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EC June 2010