EC June 2012

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5 participants
15 discussions

Fwd: Thank you--Coal ash is out of the Trans Bill! But McKinley vows "We're not finished"
by Jim Sconyers 28 Jun '12

28 Jun '12

A win for the environment - especially in West Virginia, where coal ash is dumped heavily. Won this round. But no doubt we'll have to do it again when McKinley finds a new way to sneak his awful bill in. Eternal vigilance needed..... ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Lisa Evans <levans(a)earthjustice.org> Date: Thu, Jun 28, 2012 at 8:44 AM Subject: Thank you--Coal ash is out of the Trans Bill! But McKinley vows "We're not finished" To: COAL-COMBUSTION-WASTE(a)lists.sierraclub.org Friends-- Thank you sincerely to all those who helped keep coal ash off the transportation bill. This was an extremely tough fight and an exceedingly close battle. Your support by joining letters, making calls, sending emails and sharing our alerts with your lists clearly made the difference. We could not have won this without your support. The full text for the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012 was posted this morning. The text can be found at http://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20120625/CRPT-112hrpt-HR4348.pdf. Unfortunately, we know that the House Republicans (particularly Rep. McKinley) and a cabal of Senators, lead by Baucus, will take another run at this. Today's E&E article (below) ends with the quotation, "Mr. McKinley never stops," House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman John Mica said with a smile in a recent exchange with reporters. Walking back to the House floor yesterday evening, McKinley said, "We're not finished. I can say that. We're not finished." Our next step is accountability for the 13 senators who signed the letter in support of the coal ash provision and the members who voted for McKinley's Motion to Instruct last week. It will be essential to register disapproval and public disappointment with those positions. Thank you again for your help and support! Sincerely, Lisa Defeat in transportation conference won't end battle over EPA regulation Manuel Quinones, E&E reporter Published: Thursday, June 28, 2012 Promoters of a provision limiting U.S. EPA regulation of coal ash kept the issue alive in the transportation bill negotiations until the eleventh hour, but they fell short in the face of a counterattack by environmentalists. "I'm very disappointed," Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.), author of the House coal ash bill, said in an interview yesterday evening. "They're saying they used it to trade to get other expedited things on transportation, which would help." McKinley's bill would prohibit EPA from treating coal ash as hazardous. He is vowing to look for other vehicles for its passage. He smiled when asked if it could become a rider on the Interior and Environment spending bill. "We have to educate people that this is a solution," McKinley said. "It's not ideologically driven." Supporters of McKinley's H.R. 2273, which passed in the House last year with bipartisan support, call it a compromise that creates minimum national standards for disposal of the power plant waste while protecting the ash recycling industry from the stigma of a hazardous designation. "Regulatory uncertainty is damaging coal ash recycling today, and we're hopeful that Congress will act quickly to find another path to enact this substantive, bipartisan legislation," said John Ward, head of the industry group Citizens for Recycling First. Environmentalists call the recycling argument a red herring. They say electric utilities do not want to bear the cost of properly disposing of the material, including phasing out all wet dumps. As lawmakers and staff were finalizing transportation negotiations, Earthjustice and the Environmental Integrity Project released a new tally of coal ash waste sites obtained from EPA through a Freedom of Information Act request. "The public health threat from toxic coal ash continues to grow," Earthjustice attorney Lisa Evans said. "The data today reveal that coal ash is being disposed in hundreds of units that are not fit to contain hazardous chemicals. "Congressional attempts to cater to the polluters and deny the EPA the authority to protect millions of Americans living near these sites are dangerous and misguided," she added about the transportation bill negotiations. The groups said there are more than 1,100 coal ash ponds, 451 more than previously known. Almost half of those dumps lack liners that would keep toxins from leaching into groundwater. The groups also reported at least 393 active, planned or retired ash landfills. Many of those also lack liners, they said. "Unlined ponds and landfills leach the toxic pollutants in coal ash, including known carcinogens like arsenic, into drinking water supplies and waterways, placing communities and the environment at risk," said Lisa Widawsky Hallowell, an attorney for the Environmental Integrity Project. Earlier this month, the American Coal Ash Association released a report saying that coal ash is often not more dangerous than soil. As EPA delays finalizing its regulations, McKinley said, his legislation provided a framework for regulation. "If people think they've had problems with water quality, they're going to continue with water quality [problems]," McKinley said. "This amendment was intended to give them a pathway forward. So we're back to where we were." Prospects of the Senate moving forward with its version of McKinley's bill, S. 1751, are uncertain. While the measure enjoys bipartisan support in that chamber, a Senate co-sponsor, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), has expressed concerns about the language. "Now I see him changing his direction," McKinley said. "Maybe he's lost his willingness to work with us." Kirk Benson, CEO of ash recycling firm Headwaters Inc., which lobbied hard for inclusion of the coal ash measure in the transportation bill, said, "We will continue to seek other opportunities to pass this vital provision." There is also a court fight over coal ash. Environmentalists sued EPA in April to press the agency into releasing new standards. U.S. District Court Judge Reggie Walton for the District of Columbia recently consolidated that case with complaints by Headwaters and other recyclers. The Utility Solid Waste Activities Group and the National Mining Association, both major players in the debate, have won the right to intervene in the litigation. Industry groups, however, are hoping Congress puts an end to the debate once and for all. "Mr. McKinley never stops," House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman John Mica said with a smile in a recent exchange with reporters. Walking back to the House floor yesterday evening, McKinley said, "We're not finished. I can say that. We're not finished." wiBut , my sincere thanks to all of you who worked with us to remove the dangerous provision from the transportation bill. Lisa Evans Senior Administrative Counsel Earthjustice 21 Ocean Ave. Marblehead, MA 01945 T: (781) 631-4119 F: (212) 918-1556 www.earthjustice.org *please consider the environment before printing The information contained in this email message may be privileged, confidential and protected from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient, any dissemination, distribution or copying is strictly prohibited. If you think that you have received this email message in error, please notify the sender by reply email and delete the message and any attachments. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 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 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/ -- Jim Sconyers jimscon(a)gmail.com 304.698.9628 Remember, Mother Nature bats last.

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Fwd: WVNS story: "Coal Bust" Projected for Southern WV
by Paul Wilson 28 Jun '12

28 Jun '12

fyi, paul pls spread this around... ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Public News Service <wvns(a)newsservice.org> Date: Wed, Jun 27, 2012 at 4:07 AM Subject: WVNS story: "Coal Bust" Projected for Southern WV To: PaulWilson <pjgrunt(a)gmail.com> "Coal Bust" Projected for Southern WV Dan Heyman, Public News Service-WV http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/27169-1 Join the discussion: facebook.com/PublicNewsService<http://www.facebook.com/PublicNewsService> Twitter: @pns_news <http://twitter.com/#!/pns_news> @pns_WV<http://twitter.com/#!/pns_WV> Google+: plus.to/publicnewsservice <http://plus.google.com/106260479325451709866> (06/27/12) CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Federal figures forecast a decline in the production of West Virginia coal headed to power plants - a decline expected to hit the state's southern counties especially hard. The U.S. Department of Energy predicts much less West Virginia coal will be burned to make electricity during the next decade, according to Ted Boettner, executive director of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. He says that's going to hit some parts of the state harder than others. "Beginning to see a huge bust in coal production in southern West Virginia, which could see production cut by two-thirds over the next 10 years." Boettner says the state's leadership needs to face reality - and that southern West Virginia particularly must do more to diversify. "No matter what your views are on what's happening, today the reality is that we've got to start making plans for how West Virginia's going to create jobs and build a strong economy for our children and grandchildren." The number of mining jobs actually has increased some during the past few years. Boettner says the next decade's employment picture is complicated, as some mines are likely to continue to hire. "In the northern part of West Virginia, we're actually going to see a slight increase in coal production. That's the same area where we're seeing a boom in natural gas. So, we're really seeing two states, unfolding in different ways." He believes West Virginia should start putting money aside in a mineral trust fund to prepare for the future. "Local and state economies cannot rely indefinitely on finite natural resources for jobs and tax revenues. That's why it's so important for the state to consider creating a permanent trust fund." The coal industry has sharply attacked the Environmental Protection Agency for toughening air pollution rules. But Boettner says much of the expected decline will be the result of competition from cheap natural gas and the fact that the coal that's easiest to get has been mined out. More information is online at blog.wvpolicy.org<http://blog.wvpolicy.org/2012/06/25/-energy-projections-show-decline-in-sou…> . Click here to view this story on the Public News Service RSS site and access an audio version of this and other stories: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/27169-1<http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/27169-1> --- To be removed from this list please send an e-mail to remove(a)publicnewsservice.org <remove(a)publicnewsservice.org?subject=remove>and put the word "remove" in the subject line. -- 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: DC Court Upholds EPA Greenhouse Gas Standard
by James Kotcon 26 Jun '12

26 Jun '12

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Verena Owen <verena_owen(a)prodigy.net> Date: Tue, Jun 26, 2012 at 12:37 PM Subject: DC Court EPA Greenhouse Gas Standard To: COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS(a)lists.sierraclub.org View as web page ( http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=hBvBZsZH4Y_z0kGkQcpSww )Sent to . Not you? Sign up here ( http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=78KEa0_jNe9keXIMbnvN9Q ). ( http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=4qh1-gCczhIlVMNDhkO61Q ) ( http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=nKf343Pl7CL1TaYfHp6WaA ) ( http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=NvdKkBbiqFN2I9tpCmAQvw ) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 6/26/2012 Contact: Eitan Bencuya: 202-495-3047 ( tel:202-495-3047 ), eitan.bencuya(a)sierraclub.org D.C. Court of Appeals Upholds Environmental Protection Agency Greenhouse Gas Standards WASHINGTON D.C. -- Today, in a sweeping victory for public health and clean air, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued decisions in four challenges to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) historic climate and clean air protections. Major industrial polluters joined with states like Texas to challenge these safeguards, which will protect Americans’ health, improve vehicle efficiency, and reduce greenhouse gas pollution. The Sierra Club rallied tens of thousands of people across the country to support the standards, and the Sierra Club legal team joined our allies in a landmark legal defense of the protections, when they were challenged. The four rules upheld today were:The Climate Pollution Endangerment Finding, in which, after an extensive review of scientific research and peer-reviewed studies, the EPA found that six greenhouse gasses endanger human health and welfare. The Clean Car Standards, in which the EPA established cost-saving fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions standards for passenger cars and light trucks sold from 2012-2016. These safeguards will save consumers an estimated $3,000 at the pump over the life of the vehicle, reduce reliance on foreign oil by 1.8 billion barrels over the life of the vehicle, and will reduce greenhouse gas pollution by 960 million tons. The standards are supported by U.S. automakers and the United Auto Workers union, among others, and the automakers and a dozen states intervened in defense of the standards. The Timing and Tailoring Rules, in which the EPA phased in carbon pollution permits for the biggest industrial pollution sources, while protecting small businesses. The Court determined that none of the challengers were injured by these regulatory relief decisions. In response, Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club issued the following statement: “Today’s decision is a huge victory for American families and everyone concerned about protecting the air we breathe and the health of our children. The role of the Clean Air Act in protecting our families from dangerous carbon pollution and climate disruption should never have been in doubt, and this decision is a big step forward in putting the well-being of Americans before the boundless profits of big polluters. “Carbon pollution is dangerous to our planet and our health. The Environmental Protection Agency has the right and the duty to keep our communities healthy and now the path is clear for them to curb this dangerous pollution, which threatens our families and planet. We applaud the court’s decision and stand with the EPA as they continue to fight for the health of American families.” ### - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS list, send any message to: COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS-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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Fwd: URGENT: Coal ash rule in trouble - Please call Senator Rockefeller and urge him NOT to negotiate your health away
by Jim Sconyers 25 Jun '12

25 Jun '12

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Lisa Graves-Marcucci <lgmarcucci(a)environmentalintegrity.org> Date: Mon, Jun 25, 2012 at 9:20 AM Subject: URGENT: Coal ash rule in trouble - Please call Senator Rockefeller and urge him NOT to negotiate your health away To: Curtis Havens <curt1968(a)comcast.net>, Sharon Fineman < rfineman(a)comcast.net>, steve rhodes <slrhodes24(a)gmail.com>, Carrie Bodnar < albrightbodnar(a)gmail.com>, D H <speedydeedy10(a)yahoo.com>, Petra&John Wood < pbjmwood(a)gmail.com>, Jim Sconyers <jimscon(a)gmail.com>, James Kotcon < jkotcon(a)wvu.edu>, "Jarrett F. Jamison III" <jarrett425(a)aol.com>, Duane Nichols <duane330(a)aol.com>, "<gwen jones" <gwen.jones1(a)gmail.com>, Cindy Rank <clrank2(a)gmail.com> Cc: Lisa Evans <levans(a)earthjustice.org>, Emily Enderle < eenderle(a)earthjustice.org> *Apologies for duplication, but this is an urgent request for all our WV friends *-- see message below from Lisa Evans, Earthjustice. The Transportation Bill is in the final steps of negotiations and we are hearing the coal ash rules could be used to negotiated a final deal between the Senate and the House. *Senator Rockefeller is a key vote. Please call his office today and urge the Senator to stand strong - tell him please DO NOT negotiate your health away. Jobs are crucial, but so are health protections from toxic coal ash.* Lisa has outlined some messaging below -- please review and make this important call today -- and urge others to do the same. Many thanks for your help, LGM *Message from Lisa Evans:* Dear Friends in West Virginia: Once again, we are hearing that coal ash is in trouble and that a deal may be reached to include the coal ash provision on the transportation bill. As you know, Senator Rockefeller is on the conference committee for the transportation bill. While he has expressed interest in keeping coal ash off the bill, we must ensure that he stays strong. Thus we are asking for your immediate help to generate as many emails and calls as we can to his office to urge the Senator to keep coal ash off the final bill. We don’t have much time, because a bill must be passed by June 30. Below is the contact information for the Senator’s transportation staffer. Also included is a “script” that you can use in a call or email. *However, all you need to convey is the simple request to keep the coal ash provision out of a transportation bill in order to keep Americans safe from toxic waste.* We must keep up the pressure. Please circulate widely to your allies in West Virginia. Thank you in advance for your efforts. SEN. ROCKEFELLER’S CONTACT INFO: Transportation aide: Patrick Bond Email: patrick_bond(a)rockefeller.senate.gov Phone: 202-224-6472 ASK SENATOR ROCKEFELLER TO KEEP COAL ASH OFF THE TRANSPORTATION BILL: [sample script] Dear Patrick: I am contacting you to urge Senator Rockefeller to protect the health and environment of Americans and oppose the inclusion of a coal ash amendment in the final transportation package. As you know, this provision prevents the Environmental Protection Agency from enacting federal standards for the safe disposal of toxic coal ash. Safe disposal of this waste is a public health imperative. In nearly 200 cases in 37 states, coal ash has already poisoned water with arsenic, lead, selenium and other heavy metals. We ask the Senator to protect us from the health, environmental and ecological damage that this toxic waste causes. We urge the Senator not to side with polluters who seek to evade their responsibility to operate dumps safely and clean up the sites they have contaminated. Sincerely, [your name] -- * Lisa Graves Marcucci Environmental Integrity Project PA Coordinator, Community Outreach lgmarcucci(a)environmentalintegrity.org 412-897-0569 (cell) * -- Jim Sconyers jimscon(a)gmail.com 304.698.9628 Remember, Mother Nature bats last.

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Gazette "poll" on Rocky's remarks about coal
by Frank Young 24 Jun '12

24 Jun '12

http://www.wvgazette.com/ New poll on Gazette front page: Do you agree with Sen. Jay Rockefeller's stance regarding the coal industry and its future in West Virginia? The "nos" are ahead at the moment- 51 to 49 percent. The pol is on the left, scroll down-pas the twitter and facebook feeds and they poll is above the blogs-links

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Fwd: Cheap Coal Is Dead. Long Live Renewables
by James Kotcon 23 Jun '12

23 Jun '12

Open this one and click to read the whole op/ed by Carl Pope. If that line about India is correct, and if Indonesia is banning coal exports, that is a game changer. JBK

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Fwd: WVNS story: Marcellus Drilling Job Boom? Not for West Virginians
by Paul Wilson 21 Jun '12

21 Jun '12

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Public News Service <wvns(a)newsservice.org> Date: Wed, Jun 20, 2012 at 4:25 AM Subject: WVNS story: Marcellus Drilling Job Boom? Not for West Virginians To: PaulWilson <pjgrunt(a)gmail.com> Marcellus Drilling Job Boom? Not for West Virginians Dan Heyman, Public News Service-WV http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/27054-1 Join the discussion: facebook.com/PublicNewsService<http://www.facebook.com/PublicNewsService> Twitter: @pns_news <http://twitter.com/#!/pns_news> @pns_WV<http://twitter.com/#!/pns_WV> Google+: plus.to/publicnewsservice <http://plus.google.com/106260479325451709866> (06/20/12) CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Statistics confirm what some in West Virginia already suspected: Local residents are not seeing the employment boom expected in the Marcellus natural gas fields. In fact, Workforce West Virginia reports a slight decline this year in the number of West Virginians working directly in natural-gas production. Dave Efaw, secretary-treasurer of the West Virginia State Building Trades, says they've been fighting to see local workers get these jobs, but many are going to people brought in from out of state. "There has been no increase in job numbers for West Virginians. The unemployment has increased in northern West Virginia, while all this Marcellus Shale industry is booming." The industry claims West Virginians lack the skills for many of those positions - but Efaw says that isn't true. The economic boost which also was predicted from out-of-state workers staying and eating here is proving to be very limited, Efaw says. Recent figures show an increase in West Virginians doing things such as building pipelines, although Efaw says local workers expected to see a lot more. "Kind of like a gold rush. They led us to believe there's this great resource in West Virginia, which there is - and we're on the outside, looking in." At least 17 county and local governments in Ohio and northern West Virginia have passed resolutions calling for more jobs for local workers. Efaw says people are reacting to what they're seeing every day. "When you go through northern West Virginia, you see a lot of out-of-state license plates. That's why I think people are signing these resolutions - because they want to see West Virginians working on these projects." West Virginia State Building Trades has been distributing yard signs and bumper stickers promoting local jobs for local workers. Efaw says they've given out hundreds of the signs. "It's hard to go anywhere in the area and not see one of them, and the bumper stickers - I mean, we bought thousands of those. We have given out thousands." There may be some jobs coming to run the plants being built to use the gas and its byproducts, Efaw says, but for the next several years, the bulk of the work will be in drilling and building infrastructure. Click here to view this story on the Public News Service RSS site and access an audio version of this and other stories: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/27054-1<http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/27054-1> --- To be removed from this list please send an e-mail to remove(a)publicnewsservice.org <remove(a)publicnewsservice.org?subject=remove>and put the word "remove" in the subject line. -- 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: WVNS story: Study: Fracking Unlikely To Cause Quakes Big Enough To Feel
by Paul Wilson 18 Jun '12

18 Jun '12

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Public News Service <wvns(a)newsservice.org> Date: Mon, Jun 18, 2012 at 5:19 AM Subject: WVNS story: Study: Fracking Unlikely To Cause Quakes Big Enough To Feel To: PaulWilson <pjgrunt(a)gmail.com> Study: Fracking Unlikely To Cause Quakes Big Enough To Feel Public News Service-WV http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/26980-1 Join the discussion: facebook.com/PublicNewsService<http://www.facebook.com/PublicNewsService> Twitter: @pns_news <http://twitter.com/#!/pns_news> @pns_WV<http://twitter.com/#!/pns_WV> Google+: plus.to/publicnewsservice <http://plus.google.com/106260479325451709866> (06/18/12) CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A scientific study<http://tinyurl.com/7qaeaet>has found that natural gas hydraulic fracturing (fracking) is unlikely to cause earthquakes strong enough to feel. However, it says there is somewhat more danger from injecting the wastewater that results from the process. Murray Hitzman, professor of Economic Geology at Colorado School of Mines, chaired the committee that wrote the report. He says, in some cases, fracking caused earthquakes too small to be felt, but little more. "The process of hydraulic fracturing a well, as presently implemented for shale-gas recovery, does not pose a high risk for inducing felt seismic events." Some residents living near Marcellus gas wells have been concerned about what some have said is an increase in small earthquakes. The industry has dismissed those fears. Hitzman points out that technologies like fracking have a long track record, which should be reassuring. "There are very large numbers of wells and/or fields, and the number of historical felt events is actually quite small." However, Hitzman says, injecting large amounts of liquid into the earth can cause other problems. Wastewater wells have not been a big issue so far, but they are growing in size and number as the industry spreads, he says. "If we have more wells, we have more chance of events. And if we have more events, there's more probability of higher-magnitude events." The research committee called for more study and said the government and industry should develop ways to avoid potential problems. It also warned people drilling wastewater disposal wells to be more aware of underground faults in the rock. The study was sponsored by the Department of Energy and done in conjunction with the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering. The full report is available from the National Academies Press at www.nap.edu<http://tinyurl.com/7qaeaet> . Click here to view this story on the Public News Service RSS site and access an audio version of this and other stories: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/26980-1<http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/26980-1> --- To be removed from this list please send an e-mail to remove(a)publicnewsservice.org <remove(a)publicnewsservice.org?subject=remove>and put the word "remove" in the subject line. -- 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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Re: [EC] Not yet the Last chance to comment on EPA's Greenhouse Gas rule
by James Kotcon 13 Jun '12

13 Jun '12

EPA has extended the coment period on this rule till June 25. Now is a good time to get your friends, family, and neighbors to send comments! JBK >>> "James Kotcon" 06/11/12 1:10 PM >>> The deadline for comments on EPA's Greenhouse gas rule ends tomorrow, June 12. If you have not already done so, please click on the link below and submit comments in support of the rule. http://www.regulations.gov/#!submitComment;D=EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-0660-0001 State your opinions, or copy and paste the Sample Comments below. Thanks: Jim Kotcon Sample Comments: Dear Administrator Jackson, I strongly support the proposed new standards to clean up dangerous carbon pollution from new power plants. By setting carbon pollution protections, the EPA is moving forward to clean up and modernize the way we power our country -- ensuring healthier kids, families and workers, while creating much-needed jobs and fighting climate disruption. Carbon pollution is the main contributor to climate disruption and is linked to life-threatening air pollution like asthma-inducing smog, making it a serious hazard to Americans' health and future. Thank you for protecting our families by proposing new standards to clean up dangerous carbon pollution from new power plants!

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Re: [EC] [wvec-board] Not yet the Last chance to comment on EPA's Greenhouse Gas rule
by James Kotcon 12 Jun '12

12 Jun '12

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Re: [EC] Not yet the Last chance to comment on EPA's Greenhouse Gas rule
by James Kotcon 12 Jun '12

12 Jun '12

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Fwd: DEP Rules Summary
by James Kotcon 11 Jun '12

11 Jun '12

See note from Don Garvin below: This Gas rule may be the major battle of the Marcellus campaign. JBK Office of Oil & Gas 35 CSR 8 – Rule Governing the Development of Horizontal Wells – This is a new rule, necessitated by the passage of HB 401 on December 14, 2011. OOG has taken the applicable sections of the existing rule governing conventional oil and natural gas wells (35 CSR 4 – Oil and Gas Wells and Other Wells) and transferred them to this new rule, and further expanded on the new Natural Gas Horizontal Well Control Act in the following areas: erosion and sediment control plan; site construction plan; water management plan; well site safety plan; casing and cementing standards; well records, including records and disclosure of chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing process; water supply testing; and construction standards for large wastewater pits and freshwater impoundments. >>> <DSGJr(a)aol.com> 6/11/2012 1:18 PM >>> Larry Harris sent me this late last week while I was in the hospital. He is on the DEP Advisory Council. This is a summary. Apparently the actual rules have not been posted yet for public comment, etc. The Advisory Council meets on June 21 at 1:30 PM at DEP in Charleston. There is a new horizontal drilling rule proposed. It is the last item in the document. There are no details provided yet. don garvin

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Last chance to comment on EPA's Greenhouse Gas rule- June 12
by James Kotcon 11 Jun '12

11 Jun '12

The deadline for comments on EPA's Greenhouse gas rule ends tomorrow, June 12. If you have not already done so, please click on the link below and submit comments in support of the rule. http://www.regulations.gov/#!submitComment;D=EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-0660-0001 State your opinions, or copy and paste the Sample Comments below. Thanks: Jim Kotcon Sample Comments: Dear Administrator Jackson, I strongly support the proposed new standards to clean up dangerous carbon pollution from new power plants. By setting carbon pollution protections, the EPA is moving forward to clean up and modernize the way we power our country -- ensuring healthier kids, families and workers, while creating much-needed jobs and fighting climate disruption. Carbon pollution is the main contributor to climate disruption and is linked to life-threatening air pollution like asthma-inducing smog, making it a serious hazard to Americans' health and future. Thank you for protecting our families by proposing new standards to clean up dangerous carbon pollution from new power plants!

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Fwd: WVNS story: WV Wildlife Area Hit By Fracking
by Paul Wilson 01 Jun '12

01 Jun '12

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Public News Service <wvns(a)newsservice.org> Date: Tue, May 29, 2012 at 6:32 AM Subject: WVNS story: WV Wildlife Area Hit By Fracking To: PaulWilson <pjgrunt(a)gmail.com> WV Wildlife Area Hit By Fracking Public News Service-WV http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/26666-1 Join the discussion: facebook.com/PublicNewsService<http://www.facebook.com/PublicNewsService> Twitter: @pns_news <http://twitter.com/#!/pns_news> @pns_WV<http://twitter.com/#!/pns_WV> Google+: plus.to/publicnewsservice <http://plus.google.com/106260479325451709866> (05/29/12) CHARLESTON, W.Va. - People living near a state wildlife preserve are complaining that it is being torn up by natural gas exploration operations (fracking). The state of West Virginia does not own the mineral rights for the Lewis Wetzel Wildlife Management Area. Therefore, like a private landowner, the state has limited ability to control activities by the three drilling companies operating on 12 large well-pads located in the game and hiking preserve. Longtime Wetzel County resident Bill Hughes says he has repeatedly complained about problems, including runaway erosion and heavy truck traffic. "It's a total embarrassment to the state to have these things in their own back yard. Every resident, every taxpayer in the state of West Virginia owns part of Lewis Wetzel. I want my land taken care of better than this." State officials say they have the sites under investigation, and inspectors are due there next week. Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman Kathy Cosco says her office is treating the complaints the same way they would on any private land. Overall, she says, state regulators have been slowed by the need to hire more inspectors and put a new law signed late last year into effect. "We've had to play catch-up. Industry and the market changed things quickly, and so quite frankly what you find is the regulation side is playing catch-up to the industry." Hughes says one problem is the level of commotion, the traffic and industrial activity, in what should be quiet wilderness. "Dirt, noise, diesel fumes, disturbances. I'm sure the deer are having a hard time finding a place that's a little bit of peace and quiet for them." He says one of the big well pads, with a number of individual drilling rigs on it, has been plagued by massive erosion that has filled a nearby creek with mud. "Tree roots and the trees just slipped on down the hill, and rainfall over the past month or two has cut another channel because the old existing creek bed is buried -- there's probably four or five foot of mud." The drilling companies did not return calls requesting comment. Click here to view this story on the Public News Service RSS site and access an audio version of this and other stories: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/26666-1<http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/26666-1> --- To be removed from this list please send an e-mail to remove(a)publicnewsservice.org <remove(a)publicnewsservice.org?subject=remove>and put the word "remove" in the subject line. -- 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: Investor Risks from Oil Shale
by Paul Wilson 01 Jun '12

01 Jun '12

fyi, paul ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Clayton Daughenbaugh <claytonhd(a)xmission.com> Date: Wed, May 30, 2012 at 5:08 PM Subject: Investor Risks from Oil Shale To: CONS-AWL-RESILIENT-HABITATS(a)lists.sierraclub.org Attached.**** ** ** --clayton**** - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the CONS-AWL-RESILIENT-HABITATS list, send any message to: CONS-AWL-RESILIENT-HABITATS-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp -- 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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