EC July 2014

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Sen. Manchin’s brother sues him, other brother over $1.7 million loan
by James Kotcon 28 Jul '14

28 Jul '14

Can someone forward this to the PA Chapter, and whoever was doing the lawsuit there? What is the best way to use this to highlight the self-interest in Manchin's opposition to EPA rules? Jim Kotcon Sen. Manchin’s brother sues him, other brother over $1.7 million loan Thursday, July 24, 2014 By Kate White, Staff writer FAIRMONT, W.Va. — U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin’s brother has sued the senator and another brother over more than $1.7 million that allegedly was loaned to keep a family … [View More]business afloat decades ago. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday by Dr. John Manchin against his brothers, Joe and Roch Manchin, in Marion County Circuit Court.According to the lawsuit, Joe and Roch Manchin requested the money in the 1980s from their brother “in response to Manchin Carpet Center’s distressed financial condition. ”John Manchin loaned them more than $1.7 million, all of which was provided to the business’ primary creditor, Community Bank and Trust, according to the lawsuit. Joe and Roch Manchin promised to repay their brother on repeated occasions, most recently in July 2012, according to the lawsuit. The loan does not appear on Sen. Manchin’s financial disclosure forms, filed with the U.S. Senate. The Senate Ethics Committee requires disclosure of any debt valued at more than $10,000, but there is an exemption for a “personal liability” owed to a close family member, including a brother. The July 2012 “funds sharing agreement” attached to the lawsuit describes how money from a proposed power plant in Greene County, Pennsylvania, would be split among the three Manchin brothers. The Nemacolin plant was being developed by Wellington Development, a Fairmont-based company. Under the 2012 agreement, Sen. Manchin would deduct what he put into the project, and then John Manchin would get the first $1 million of profit. Any subsequent profit would be divided among all three brothers for as long as they survive. The agreement was signed by Joe and Roch Manchin, and sent by Kirtan Mehta, chief counsel to the senator. It was dated July 25, 2012, with a U.S. Senate letterhead. Jonathan Kott, a spokesman in Manchin’s Senate office, said Friday afternoon that Mehta did the personal work for Manchin at home, after hours. It was a mistake that the agreement was printed on Senate letterhead, Kott said. “The senator feels it was a mistake, and we’ve notified the Ethics Committee to see if there’s anything we need to do,” Kott said. “They haven’t responded, but we already self-reported it.” Morgantown lawyer Michael Benninger, who filed the lawsuit on John Manchin’s behalf, did not return multiple phone calls Thursday or Friday. Reached at his clinic in Fairmont on Thursday, John Manchin referred questions about the lawsuit to his attorney, Since at least the early 2000s, Wellington had been working on a proposal to build a 525-megawatt power plant along the Monongahela River at Nemacolin. According to court records, the facility was being designed to burn a mixture of newly mined coal and coal wastes that would have been recovered from “gob” piles from the former Nemacolin Coal/Buckeye Coal facility. Promoters touted their belief that the project would clean up nearly 3,000 acres of degraded former mining property. Court records say the plant, if built, would have been “the largest waste-coal-fired facility” of this type in the country. A challenge from the Sierra Club and other groups was thrown out and, as recently as December 2012, the company was trying to obtain required Clean Water Act authorization from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In early February of this year, though, Wellington wrote to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to withdraw its state permit. Wellington official Stanley Sears wrote that “present conditions, as witnessed throughout the U.S., make it virtually impossible to finance and construct this kind of facility.” The letter complained about environmental groups that opposed the project and thanked “all of the many citizens, groups and local government agencies that supported this project over the years.” In his lawsuit, John Manchin also claims that: | According to the July 2012 agreement, if there was a delay in paying him back, he was entitled to one-third interest in coal reserves and brokerage businesses and other incorporated businesses owned by Joe and Roch Manchin. | Manchin Brothers, a company formed by the three brothers, was terminated without John Manchin’s knowledge or consent. According to the lawsuit, John Manchin believes its funds, assets and property were transferred to Wholesale Carpet Inc., which Manchin Carpet Center was reorganized into in the early 1990s. John Manchin claims that assets from Manchin Brothers were transferred to Manchin Enterprises — controlled by Joe Manchin and his son, Joseph Manchin IV — and others. | On numerous occasions, John Manchin’s brothers falsely represented to him that he was one-third owner of Transcom Inc., which was incorporated in 1988. Transcom is now Farmington Resources. Sen. Manchin owns stock and accounts in Farmington Resources worth between $200,000 and $500,000, according to financial disclosure forms filed in May with the Senate. Sen. Manchin’s net worth is between $3.8 million and $11.5 million, according to his most recent financial disclosure forms. The wide range is because the forms require only a broad estimate of the value of each asset owned by the senator, not an exact amount. The lawsuit asks that John Manchin be compensated for what he’s lost and awarded one-third ownership interest in all coal reserves and businesses incorporated, formed and owned by his brothers during the time Manchin Brothers’ and Manchin Carpet Center’s funds, property and assets were being used. - See more at: http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20140724/GZ01/140729522#sthash.IPQDwDKp.dp… http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20140724/GZ01/140729522 [View Less]

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FW: Why The Fossil Fuel Industry Hates Wind Power
by James Kotcon 27 Jul '14

27 Jul '14

This article from Australia has some important concepts for the economics of renewables versus coal in America. JBK ________________________________ From: James Kotcon <jkotcon(a)gmail.com> Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2014 11:09 AM To: James Kotcon Subject: Fwd: [Coal Volunteers List] Why The Fossil Fuel Industry Hates Wind Power http://cleantechnica.com/2014/07/20/fossil-fuel-industry-hates-wind-power/ ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Spike Lewis <spike.lewis(a)gmail.… [View More]

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Re: [EC] WHAT ELSE IS OUT THERE WE DONT KNOW ABOUT THIS GUY? A GOB PLANT? YOU'RE KIDDING. AND EPA, THAT MEANIE.....
by James Kotcon 27 Jul '14

27 Jul '14

Actually, Pennsylvania's Standard was adopted a few years before West Virginia's, and had two standards, one for "renewable" energy sources and one for "alternative". Then-Gov. Manchin adopted this approach with his bill, but weakened it further by making the sources interchangeable. Thus, WV utilities did not have to add ANY renewable sources to meet the WV standard, whereas PA utilities did have to add some wind and solar. But FBC gob burners do qualify as "alternative" under WV law, so … [View More]

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Re: [EC] WHAT ELSE IS OUT THERE WE DONT KNOW ABOUT THIS GUY? A GOB PLANT? YOU'RE KIDDING. AND EPA, THAT MEANIE.....
by William V. DePaulo, Esq. 26 Jul '14

26 Jul '14

Jim Kotcon in North and the rest of you down here.....I agree we need to seize the moment to go after Manchin on this....a short version of this story has gone around the country already.....the gazette article is far more detailed.....i sent it to a new york times reporter who covered west va in january.....we already knew Manchin was making millions from what in the past was described as a coal brokerage business.....this is way beyond brokering.....it relates directly to the motives for his … [View More]

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from ScienceDaily e-newsletter: How to power California with wind, water and sun
by Paul Wilson 25 Jul '14

25 Jul '14

How to power California with wind, water and sun <http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/v6m…> Posted: 24 Jul 2014 11:43 AM PDT New research outlines the path to a possible future for California in which renewable energy creates a healthier environment, generates jobs and stabilizes energy prices. <http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment?a=v6m…> <http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment?… [View More]

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Mitchel Plant transfer piostponed (was: WV Team called-CANCEL
by James Kotcon 22 Jul '14

22 Jul '14

FYI. JBK ________________________________ From: Zachary Fabish <zachary.fabish(a)sierraclub.org> Sent: Tuesday, July 22, 2014 10:09 AM To: Bill Price Cc: James Kotcon; David W. Sturm; Gary Nelson; David Muhly; Seth Long; Emmett McKinney; Adam Beitman; Mark Kresowik; Daniel Chiotos Subject: Re: WV Team called-CANCEL One small piece of news for email, though: the AEP Mitchell asset transfer hearing has been postponed until September 17. The deadline for submitting testimony has been … [View More]

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from ScienceDaily e-newsletter: Replacing coal, oil with natural gas will not help fight global warming, expert argues
by Paul Wilson 22 Jul '14

22 Jul '14

Replacing coal, oil with natural gas will not help fight global warming, expert argues <http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/GZ2…> Posted: 21 Jul 2014 09:39 AM PDT Both shale gas and conventional natural gas have a larger greenhouse gas footprint than do coal or oil, especially for the primary uses of residential and commercial heating. "While emissions of carbon dioxide are less from natural gas than from coal and oil, methane emissions are far greater.… [View More]

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MTR
by Allan Tweddle 20 Jul '14

20 Jul '14

How can anyone who lives in West Virginia, and loves or even just likes this beautiful State, who saw the photo of the horrors of so called Mountain Top Removal "mining" on the front page of the Sunday Business Section, not be absolutely furious, incensed and willing to join in the effort to stop MTR. It is rape of this state to no advantage of anyone except industry supported politicians, coal company executives, and their non resident owners. As a resident and taxpayer I am disgusted, and … [View More]

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Re: [EC] FW: LEEP Interim Study Outreach
by James Kotcon 17 Jul '14

17 Jul '14

While LEEP programs vary from state to state, that appears to be the essence of what EEWV is proposing. The commercial or business property applies to the local government for financing for EE investments. This usually requires an energy audit from an energy services company which guarantees the energy cost savings. The investment cost is paid off by an assessment with local property taxes, which assures that the local government makes its money back on the loan, even if the business is sold.… [View More] The local business gets reductions in energy bills that exceed the increase in property taxes, so the business benefits too. "PACE" legislation offers the same program for residential properties, but these programs have run into problems with home mortgage lenders, so there is less interest in offering the programs to residential customers. Another approach that is widely used is to have the local utility pay for the EE investments, and recoup them from the difference in electric savings. This would be useful for a distribution utility, especially in deregulated states, but in WV, the distribution company is a subsidiary of the generation company, so there is less incentive to save money. JBK ________________________________ From: Jim Sconyers <jimscon(a)gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2014 10:07 AM To: James Kotcon Subject: Re: [EC] FW: LEEP Interim Study Outreach I'd need to understand it better. Local government funds energy project? Then recoup the cost via tax bills? Is that it On Wed, Jul 16, 2014 at 9:21 AM, James Kotcon <jkotcon(a)wvu.edu<mailto:jkotcon@wvu.edu>> wrote: An emerging issue with EEWV (Cathy Kunkel, et al.) is their proposal for a "PACE" or LEEP legislation (see description below). They are looking at an interim legislative study, with a bill to be introduced in 2015. EEWV contacted Bill and Danny, but since this is legislation, it cannot be a c-3 campaign. Is there interest in the WV Chapter working on such a bill? Jim Kotcon ________________________________ From: Bill Price <bill.price(a)sierraclub.org<mailto:bill.price@sierraclub.org>> Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2014 7:28 AM To: James Kotcon; David Muhly; Zachary Fabish; Mark Kresowik; Daniel Chiotos Subject: Fwd: LEEP Interim Study Outreach I spoke to Emmett yesterday, and here's what he wrote up about LEED. Jim Kotcon said he would talk with Chapter leaders. Bill Price, Organizing Representative Sierra Club Environmental Justice Program Beyond Coal to Clean Energy Campaign Phone: 304-389-8822<tel:304-389-8822> (Cell) Email: bill.price(a)sierraclub.org<mailto:bill.price@sierraclub.org> "If there's no struggle, there's no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet renounce controversy are people who want crops without plowing the ground..." Frederick Douglass 1817-1895 ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Emmett Pepper <emmett(a)eewv.org<mailto:emmett@eewv.org>> Date: Wed, Jul 16, 2014 at 12:00 AM Subject: LEEP Interim Study Outreach To: arthur hallstrom <art(a)ahallstrom.com<mailto:art@ahallstrom.com>>, Bill Price <bill.price(a)sierraclub.org<mailto:bill.price@sierraclub.org>>, Daniel Chiotos <daniel.chiotos(a)gmail.com<mailto:daniel.chiotos@gmail.com>>, Reggie Jones <reggie(a)prideinlogan.com<mailto:reggie@prideinlogan.com>> Cc: Dan Taylor <dan(a)ohvec.org<mailto:dan@ohvec.org>>, Cathy Kunkel <cathykunkel(a)gmail.com<mailto:cathykunkel@gmail.com>>, Bill Howley <billhowley(a)hughes.net<mailto:billhowley@hughes.net>> Dear energy efficiency allies, As you know, LEEP (also known as PACE) is being studied by the legislature. LEEP is a really great way to spur growth in the energy efficiency sector by having some property owners pay back loans for energy efficiency upgrades over tie. In most programs, the upgrades can be paid back over a number of years (up to 20 years). While LEEP laws vary from state-to-state, the main aspects that define them are that the repayments are done with the property tax and the loan stays with the property no matter who owns it. In many of the upgrades that have happened through LEEP/PACE programs, companies have been able to reduce energy use by half, so the impacts have been huge. Here is our page about the LEEP program, which includes our fact sheet. http://www.eewv.org/leep This interim study is the way the legislature will form its thinking about how to proceed with LEEP. At this time there is no specific legislation being considered, though the legislators may decide to introduce a bill as a committee. We want to make sure that the voices of the members of the subcommittee studying the issue hear from cities in or near their districts. 23 local governments have asked to be given home rule permission, and 15 of those are in or near districts of subcommittee members or other prominent state legislators. Of the 15, I have identified six top targets (Huntington, Martinsburg, Charles Town, Oak Hill, Weirton, and Parkersburg) based on the number of key legislators with districts in those areas. I have attached a list of all of the subcommittee members, and listed all 15 of the towns by region. The highest concentrations of committee members are in the Eastern Panhandle, Northern Panhandle, and Huntington area, but the chairs are from Fayette County and Logan County. You will notice that there is absolutely no one on the subcommittee from the Charleston area. If you are not able to contact any of these local governments, if you have a connection to the subcommittee members, it would be much appreciated for you to reach out to them. We need your help letting local government officials know about this study and have them inform our legislators about how energy efficiency can help local economies. This is likely to be one of the few energy efficiency initiatives that will go forward in the 2015 session, so it is important that the legislators studying it are well-versed and understand local support for it. Thank you and I welcome any feedback you have! -- Emmett Pepper Executive Director Energy Efficient WV 304-346-5891<tel:304-346-5891> emmett(a)eewv.org<mailto:emmett@eewv.org> www.eewv.org<http://www.eewv.org> @eewv _______________________________________________ EC mailing list EC(a)osenergy.org<mailto:EC@osenergy.org> http://osenergy.org/mailman/listinfo/ec -- Jim Sconyers jimscon(a)gmail.com<mailto:jimscon@gmail.com> 304.698.9628 Remember, Mother Nature bats last. [View Less]

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FW: LEEP Interim Study Outreach
by James Kotcon 16 Jul '14

16 Jul '14

An emerging issue with EEWV (Cathy Kunkel, et al.) is their proposal for a "PACE" or LEEP legislation (see description below). They are looking at an interim legislative study, with a bill to be introduced in 2015. EEWV contacted Bill and Danny, but since this is legislation, it cannot be a c-3 campaign. Is there interest in the WV Chapter working on such a bill? Jim Kotcon ________________________________ From: Bill Price <bill.price(a)sierraclub.org> Sent: Wednesday, July … [View More]16, 2014 7:28 AM To: James Kotcon; David Muhly; Zachary Fabish; Mark Kresowik; Daniel Chiotos Subject: Fwd: LEEP Interim Study Outreach I spoke to Emmett yesterday, and here's what he wrote up about LEED. Jim Kotcon said he would talk with Chapter leaders. Bill Price, Organizing Representative Sierra Club Environmental Justice Program Beyond Coal to Clean Energy Campaign Phone: 304-389-8822 (Cell) Email: bill.price(a)sierraclub.org<mailto:bill.price@sierraclub.org> "If there's no struggle, there's no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet renounce controversy are people who want crops without plowing the ground..." Frederick Douglass 1817-1895 ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Emmett Pepper <emmett(a)eewv.org<mailto:emmett@eewv.org>> Date: Wed, Jul 16, 2014 at 12:00 AM Subject: LEEP Interim Study Outreach To: arthur hallstrom <art(a)ahallstrom.com<mailto:art@ahallstrom.com>>, Bill Price <bill.price(a)sierraclub.org<mailto:bill.price@sierraclub.org>>, Daniel Chiotos <daniel.chiotos(a)gmail.com<mailto:daniel.chiotos@gmail.com>>, Reggie Jones <reggie(a)prideinlogan.com<mailto:reggie@prideinlogan.com>> Cc: Dan Taylor <dan(a)ohvec.org<mailto:dan@ohvec.org>>, Cathy Kunkel <cathykunkel(a)gmail.com<mailto:cathykunkel@gmail.com>>, Bill Howley <billhowley(a)hughes.net<mailto:billhowley@hughes.net>> Dear energy efficiency allies, As you know, LEEP (also known as PACE) is being studied by the legislature. LEEP is a really great way to spur growth in the energy efficiency sector by having some property owners pay back loans for energy efficiency upgrades over tie. In most programs, the upgrades can be paid back over a number of years (up to 20 years). While LEEP laws vary from state-to-state, the main aspects that define them are that the repayments are done with the property tax and the loan stays with the property no matter who owns it. In many of the upgrades that have happened through LEEP/PACE programs, companies have been able to reduce energy use by half, so the impacts have been huge. Here is our page about the LEEP program, which includes our fact sheet. http://www.eewv.org/leep This interim study is the way the legislature will form its thinking about how to proceed with LEEP. At this time there is no specific legislation being considered, though the legislators may decide to introduce a bill as a committee. We want to make sure that the voices of the members of the subcommittee studying the issue hear from cities in or near their districts. 23 local governments have asked to be given home rule permission, and 15 of those are in or near districts of subcommittee members or other prominent state legislators. Of the 15, I have identified six top targets (Huntington, Martinsburg, Charles Town, Oak Hill, Weirton, and Parkersburg) based on the number of key legislators with districts in those areas. I have attached a list of all of the subcommittee members, and listed all 15 of the towns by region. The highest concentrations of committee members are in the Eastern Panhandle, Northern Panhandle, and Huntington area, but the chairs are from Fayette County and Logan County. You will notice that there is absolutely no one on the subcommittee from the Charleston area. If you are not able to contact any of these local governments, if you have a connection to the subcommittee members, it would be much appreciated for you to reach out to them. We need your help letting local government officials know about this study and have them inform our legislators about how energy efficiency can help local economies. This is likely to be one of the few energy efficiency initiatives that will go forward in the 2015 session, so it is important that the legislators studying it are well-versed and understand local support for it. Thank you and I welcome any feedback you have! -- Emmett Pepper Executive Director Energy Efficient WV 304-346-5891<tel:304-346-5891> emmett(a)eewv.org<mailto:emmett@eewv.org> www.eewv.org<http://www.eewv.org> @eewv [View Less]

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EC July 2014