DEP's public "meeting" on a coal ash permit near Morgantown last spring is a good example.  When citizens and even local Delegates wanted to address the crowd, DEP told them they had to speak to a recorder and sit with their back to the crowd.  Many turned around and addressed the crowd anyway (politicians really like to give speeches whenever there is a crowd handy, and the news media appreciated it because it gave them a story to write about).  Even the Dominion Post editorialized against DEP's efforts to suppress speech.
 
JBK

>>> cindy rank <clrank2@gmail.com> 12/1/2012 2:04 PM >>>
Absolutely agree Jim. ...

Didn't mean to make light of the "open house" v "public hearing" issues and concerns that have become part and parcel of mine 'hearings' in PA, KY and VA as well as WV..... And i appreciate your elaborating those concerns so eloquently.

Certainly the move to make mine permit hearings "open house" type meetings has made a mockery of the public participation process, though there have been some local reduced versions of this Ohio take-over event.

In conversation with our own WVDEP public affairs office it has been suggested for future 'hearings' that they incorporate both an 'open house' format with maps and permit files available for viewing and personnel present to answer questions during the first part of the meeting, then transition into a second more formal 'hearing' part of the meeting to provide an opportunity for public comment given openly for everyone gathered (and of course have those comments recorded and made part of the official record). DEP has been reluctant to act on that suggestion and even suggests that some people might be more willing to comment in the privacy of the small recording areas set off to the side in there newer open house type settings, but that could still be made an option for those not wanting to comment in front of a crowd of people.... if that truly is a problem for some.

Cindy
304-924-5802
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On Sat, Dec 1, 2012 at 1:36 PM, James Kotcon <jkotcon@wvu.edu> wrote:
Thanks for the post Cindy.
But I would argue that this is more than "a bit of peaceful fun/protest". The "informational meeting" concept has been used extensively for the last 10-15 years by agencies as a means of reducing public input and squelching information sharing. neither the citizen nor the agency are "on the record" at these events, and since no one hears what others are saying, community concerns are not shared and information about risks gets buried in a file cabinet, instead of getting broadcast to all interested citizens.
A formal public hearing also has limitations, but it does provide a mechanism to disseminate information to the community, as well as enter formal statements into the record. One drawback with both formats is that the agency is not "on the record". Although they claim they want to share information and answer questions, none of the experts brought in by the agency can be held to anything they say. Hence, there is a tendency for the agency people to spout nonsense with aggressive certainty, in an effort to assure the crowd that they have it all under control.
The information meeting format might be useful if it is done early in the process, but once the agency has a draft permit out, they have pretty much made up their mind, and do not want to be inconvenienced by public comment, so I get really frustrated and upset by that kind of process.
I commend the people of Athens for their response. We may want to do something similar some day.
Jim Kotcon

>>> cindy rank <clrank2@gmail.com> 11/30/2012 12:52 PM >>>

a bit of peaceful fun/protest.....



Picture

photo credit: Appalachia Resist! and Athens County Fracking Action Network
Contacts: ACFAN, AR!: 740 591 2693
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 28, 2012.
To: News Media
From: Appalachia Resist! and Athens County Fracking Action Network
Contacts: ACFAN, AR!: 740 591 2693
Re: ODNR INVITES PUBLIC IN, THEN KICKS THEM OUT

ORIGINAL POSTED HERE: http://www.acfan.org/2012/odnr-invites-the-public-in-kicks-them-out/ Includes more images.
Tonight, soon after the ODNR invited the public into an "open house" about injection wells , they thought better of it and ordered the public to leave.

Though over 100 community members requested a public hearing about a newly permitted well, the ODNR had instead opted for an “open house” format, designed to diffuse agency accountability and community solidarity. The event was held 6 PM Wednesday night at the ODNR headquarters on East State Street.

More than fifty residents were crowded inside the ODNR headquarters on East State Street, when they took matters into their own hands and transformed the ODNR'S planned "open house" into the public hearing they had requested. The crowd was made up of concerned landowners, farmers, business owners, and mothers with young children. Ex-county commissioner Roxanne Groff hosted the impromptu event. She began by acknowledging Rick Simmers, Chief of the Division of Oil and Gas Resource Management, and moved on to take prepared public comments from the assembled crowd. ODNR personnel were visibly at a loss. Law enforcement quickly interrupted Groff, asking her to leave, at which point Groff asked the public if they would like her to continue. The room broke into enthusiastic applause. After law enforcement again ordered residents to leave, the crowd broke into a “mic check", chanting as they left the building "The ODNR has been bought by the oil and gas industry!" "No new permits!" "When is the public hearing?" When the public left, the room was nearly empty, except for ODNR personnel and the large law enforcement presence they had invited.

After the public was ordered out, they were met outside by over 100 Athens County residents who had marched down east State Street to ODNR headquarters to voice their objection to the ODNR’s continuing disregard of the widespread community concern about Class II injection wells.

The marchers carried placards emblazoned with skulls and held a banner that read "Shut it Down! No New Wells!" and signs with slogans such as “Our Safety is Not for Sale”, "Defend Our Water", "We Demand a Public a Hearing", and "I Want my Concerns on Record" ". Marchers wore hazmat style suits and respirators to draw attention to the fact that Class II injection wells accept massive amounts of radioactive fracking waste from out-of-state.

Community objection to injection wells has been increasing lately, as landowners have realized that they do not have any say if an injection well goes into operation on or near their property. Ms. Malvena Frost, who owns the property on which the Atha injection well is proposed in Rome Township, Athens County, does not want an injection well on her land. She “fears her only source of drinking water, a private well...will be contaminated," according to public comments submitted on her behalf to ODNR by her attorney, Mike Hollingsworth.

SB315, cited by some as a law that will increase regulations on injection wells, actually makes it easier for ODNR to bypass public notice period for new wells, and makes it more difficult for landowners to appeal permits.

A public hearing, the ODNR’s standard system for public redress, allows citizen comments to be entered into the legal record, so that citizens can challenge an agency decision through the court system. An “open house” offers no such substantial participation in public process.

Underscoring how opposed they were to receiving public input, ODNR designated an outdoor, “free speech zone” for the ralliers, and forbade the public from bringing in signs, banners, backpacks, or audio or videocameras. One citizen was ordered to leave after recording officials' comments. Ralliers brought their own solar-powered sound system, stage, and roster of speakers. "We will challenge these intolerable restrictions on our constitutional rights to freedom of speech and assembly," said Smiles Welch, the emcee of the event.

Speakers at the event raised many objections to injection wells, including a history of failed wells and water contamination. The ODNR claims that there have been no cases of water contamination by Class II injection wells in Ohio for decades, yet they do no testing of groundwater or surface water near the wells. "The reason they have not found contamination is that they have never looked for it," stated Grace Hall, one of the 100 who sent in objections.

Although the fracking waste that is dumped into injection wells is hazardous, it is not legally classified as such due to exemptions given to the oil and gas industry.

Nov 28, 2012, 2 minute video by Don E Wirtshafter. " The Ohio Department of Natural Resources tried to abridge citizen rights to a hearing before granting a permit for a new toxic waste injection well in their community. Instead, they hosted a "public meeting", a dog a pony show that had no legal impact. This is the community's reaction."
LINK to original if player does not load: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZEnMzjK69-k

Appalachia Resist! and Athens County Fracking Action Network
photo from: Appalachia Resist! and Athens County Fracking Action Network
Contacts: ACFAN, AR!: 740 591 2693
Other media coverage:

The Columbus Dispatch, November 29, 2012. Columbus, Ohio.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/11/29/fracking-dispute-gets-hotter.html

The Athens News, November 28, 2012. Athens, Ohio.
http://www.athensnews.com/ohio/article-38515-odnr-shuts-down-attempt-at-impromptu-public-hearing-on-injection-well.html?utm_source=contactology&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=TheAthenseNEWS%3ATOPNEWS+11%2F29%2F12

2 Previous Protests, June 26, August 15, October 3, 2012:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=506640166022449&set=pb.205575299462272.-2207520000.1354214128&&src=http%3A%2F%2Fsphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-snc6%2F175513_506640166022449_1097389779_o.jpg&smallsrc=http%3A%2F%2Fsphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-prn1%2F522165_506640166022449_1097389779_n.jpg&size=1800%2C662
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