MVCAC January 2010

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4 discussions

"the mother of all verticals"
by Duane330＠aol.com 30 Jan '10

30 Jan '10

____________________________________ January 29, 2010, 9:47 am Private Equity Is Bullish on Clean Energy By _CEZARY PODKUL_ (http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/author/cezary-podkul/) With strong interest from corporations eyeing the clean energy sector, 2010 could turn out to be a good time for private equity and venture capital firms to pursue investments. “One of the most exciting things about the space now – this applies all the way down the bottom to the early-stage technology firms – is that there is a tremendous amount of strategic interest in this space,” said Hovey Kemp, a private equity lawyer at the law firm _Goodwin Procter_ (http://www.goodwinprocter.com/) , said at the _Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst Outlook 2010_ (http://peaoutlook.dowjones.com/) meeting in New York earlier this week. He added that one could easily put together a long list of “very large corporations” that are paying “very close attention” to the sector, among them networking equipment maker _Cisco_ (http://www.cisco.com/) and electronics manufacturer _Samsung_ (http://www.samsung.com/us/) . “There are buyers out there that are going to emerge here,” he said. For private equity and venture capital firms, which collectively _invested $6 billion into the clean energy sector in 2009_ (http://www.newenergymatters.com/download.php?n=NEF_Q4_Fact_Pack_07_01_2010.… ses) , according to the consulting firm Bloomberg New Energy Finance, this could translate to a variety of selling opportunities as a way of exiting their investments. Investors at the event also saw good reasons to be buyers in the sector. Chris Hearn of the private equity firm _First Reserve Corporation_ (http://www.firstreserve.com/go.asp?Go=!SiteStation&x=TPLGen&ResType=Folder&… PL=HomePage.htm) said long-term electricity needs in the United States would continue to rise, thanks in part to greater use of electric vehicles. Tucker Twitmyer of the clean-energy private equity firm _EnerTech Capital_ (http://www.enertechcapital.com/) , pointed to smart gird technology as an area where investors can get a quick return on their capital. It may take a few years for private equity and venture capital firms to figure it out, Mr. Hovey said, but the clean energy sector could become “the mother of all verticals” for private investors.

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<action item> Coal ash dump sites are huge and toxic
by duane330＠aol.com 28 Jan '10

28 Jan '10

We have waited far too long for comprehensive protections against the toxic coal ash threat. Please take a moment to stand up for public health! Take action today! Dear colleague, People living near coal ash dump sites often tell similar stories of illness, poisoned drinking water supplies and environmental destruction. For decades, these massive toxic dumps, sometimes millions of gallons deep and hundreds of acres wide, have been unregulated, unmonitored and ignored. But on Dec. 22, 2008, everything changed. That night, more than 1 billion gallons of toxic coal ash burst through a dam and flooded 300 acres in rural Tennessee. Dozens of homes were damaged or destroyed, and the Environmental Protection Agency vowed to act. Citizens just like you sent letters and made phone calls to the EPA, pleading for swift action to guarantee the safety and environment for millions of Americans living near these dangerous sites. But, one year later, we still wait for federal oversight. The EPA has a plan to regulate coal ash as hazardous waste, but well-funded lobbyists for the coal and power industries are blocking EPA's attempt to protect public health and the environment. They are meeting with White House officials, spreading false information about coal ash and obscuring the need for strong federal oversight. Please take a moment to stand up for public health by calling, faxing or emailing the White House to tell them that coal ash must be immediately regulated as hazardous waste: http://action.earthjustice.org/campaign/coalash_0110/7unw7g407j37ddm?#start… America has waited far too long for comprehensive protections against this toxic coal ash threat. Industry should not be allowed to flex its lobbyist muscle and stand in the way of better health and a cleaner environment. — Earthjustice

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Fwd: EPA proposes to stiffen ozone standard
by duane330＠aol.com 11 Jan '10

11 Jan '10

-----Original Message----- From: John Gever <jgever(a)gmail.com> To: Duane330(a)aol.com <Duane330(a)aol.com>; James Kotcon <jkotcon(a)wvu.edu> Sent: Thu, Jan 7, 2010 12:56 pm Subject: EPA proposes to stiffen ozone standard http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/D70B9C433C46FAA3852576A40058B1D4 The agency is proposing to set the “primary” standard, which protects ublic health, at a level between 0.060 and 0.070 parts per million ppm) measured over eight hours. Children are at the greatest risk rom ozone, because their lungs are still developing, they are most ikely to be active outdoors, and they are more likely than adults to ave asthma. Adults with asthma or other lung diseases, and older dults are also sensitive to ozone. EPA is also proposing to set a separate “secondary” standard to rotect the environment, especially plants and trees. This seasonal tandard is designed to protect plants and trees from damage occurring rom repeated ozone exposure, which can reduce tree growth, damage eaves, and increase susceptibility to disease. - ohn Gever edPage Today el. 1-304-243-0826 ell 1-304-780-9772 kype 1-412-567-2949 (pre-arranged interviews only) .gever(a)medpagetoday.com or jgever(a)gmail.com ttp://www.medpagetoday.com =

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Fwd: PennFuture Appeals AMDRI permit for Dunkard Creek
by James Kotcon 05 Jan '10

05 Jan '10

The actual appeal (filed Dec. 30) mentioned below is available at the link at the end of this article. It appears to be a very well-documented case and ties together Dunkard Creek, Longview, ConSol (Himphrey Mine), Dana Mining, PA-DEP, and AMD Reclamation, Inc. This is some important reading. JBK >>> Betty Wiley betty.w304(a)gmail.com> 1/4/2010 11:27 PM >> ( mailto:betty.w304@gmail.com> ) http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view… Business Wire January 04, 2010 05:12 PM Eastern Time PennFuture, Friends of Dunkard Creek File Appeal on Mine Water Treatment Permit Allowing Dirty Water to Be Released into Creek Permit Changed without Public Notice HARRISBURG, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Attorneys with Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture) last week filed an appeal before the Environmental Hearing Board challenging an amendment to the permit for the Shannopin Mine Dewatering Project. The appeal was filed on behalf of Friends of Dunkard Creek, as well as PennFuture. "The relaxed standards do not apply to the water being pumped from Consol's permitted Humphrey No. 7 Mine, which is not being done to avert a disaster, but to allow mining of the coal reserves above the Humphrey Mine." The Shannopin Mine Dewatering Project, which was designed to prevent a catastrophic breakout of acid mine water from the abandoned Shannopin Mine into Dunkard Creek, was originally granted a permit allowing less stringent cleanup of the dangerous water. The challenged permit amendment, for which no public notice was given, would allow the project to collect water from Consolidation Coal Company's (Consol) permitted Humphrey No. 7 Mine, where no breakout risk exists, and to treat that water to the less than optimal cleanup allowed in the original emergency situation. The permit amendment was granted by the Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) Mining Program despite a finding nine months before by a DEP biologist that the Shannopin Project's discharge into Dunkard Creek contained high levels of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and other pollutants, which were causing harm to aquatic life in the creek. The permit amendment was issued two months after a massive kill of fish, mussels, and salamanders occurred in more than 40 miles of Dunkard Creek. "The lax water cleanup standards were allowed originally to avert an emergency - an impending breakout of acid mine pollution from the abandoned Shannopin Mine that would have severely polluted miles of Dunkard Creek and the Monongahela River," said PennFuture Senior Attorney Kurt Weist. "The relaxed standards do not apply to the water being pumped from Consol's permitted Humphrey No. 7 Mine, which is not being done to avert a disaster, but to allow mining of the coal reserves above the Humphrey Mine. "In March, DEP's water quality experts recommended that more stringent water quality limits be included in the renewal of the discharge permit for the Shannopin Project, which is now nearly sixteen months overdue," continued Weist. "It obviously is unreasonable to issue an amendment allowing another source of mine drainage to be connected to the Shannopin Project's treatment system before DEP renews the existing permit and puts the more protective limits into effect." Jim O'Connell of Friends of Dunkard Creek agreed, "How anyone could have granted this permit revision after the destruction we experienced last summer is beyond me. And you can bet that if there had been any public notice, DEP would have heard our objections loud and clear. It's time to reverse this backroom deal and clean up the water." A copy of the appeal filed by PennFuture is online at http://www.pennfuture.org/userfiles10/CalvinRunNOAwithoutattachments.pdf Contacts Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future Jeanne K. Clark, 412-258-6683 or 412-736-6092 info(a)pennfuture.org www.pennfuture.org ( http://www.pennfuture.org/ ) At A Glance Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture) Headquarters: Harrisburg, PA Website: http://www.pennfuture.org ( http://www.pennfuture.org/ ) CEO: Jan Jarrett Employees: 21 Organization: Non-profit Source: via Business Wire Updated 03/24/2009 by company Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100104006386/en/PennFuture%2C-Frien…

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MVCAC January 2010