A week ago today, several CALP/MVCAC members made the trip to Charleston for our final appeal to the WV Supreme Court to overturn the Public Service Commission's approval of Longview's siting and transmission line certificates. The road to our day in court was, in fact, much longer than a 160 mile drive down I-79, because it really was the culmination of the effort to stop Longview that we began organizing in late 2002 and continued through the PSC's review from 2003 until now. As you have probably heard, the Supreme Court voted 4 to 1 not to hear our appeal. The justices' decision was a bitter disappointment given the many good arguments and the weight of evidence on our side. Although Longview still needs more permits, the Supreme Court's decision is the end of the road for challenging the PSC's approval of Longview's certificates.
This truly was a battle of David versus Goliath, and the big money and political influence wielded by Longview's proponents outweighed the public's welfare. It has been a reminder that the people who ultimately make the big decisions that influence our communities and environment often fly under the public's radar. Too few people are aware of the irresponsible decisions made by our County Commission, the pro-business appointees on the Public Service Commission, the corruption and incompetence of the Supreme Court justices, or the myopic lobbying by the construction trades. With West Virginia now being "Open for Business", we need to be even more vigilant and active in protecting our communities and environment. I am certainly looking at the recent deluge of election flyers from the Affiliated Construction Trades in a different light now.
So, where does this leave us? First of all, as Jim Kotcon has frequently reminded us, "we haven't lost--they haven't built Longview." We have been successful in delaying the construction of Longview, and perhaps it never will be built. Although coal-fired power plants are a hot commodity these days, the delay might have bought enough time for potential investors to want to take a closer look at whether it really is a good idea to build a new coal-fired power plant with out-of-date technology. Some utility companies are beginning to push for higher-tech, cleaner coal-fired power plants in anticipation of new and costly regulations that are likely to come into effect during the lifetime of the power plants. Perhaps those concerns will diminish the interest of investors in Longview. Second, our experience with Longview has greatly increased the local awareness of air quality issues, and we must continue to work on these issues. Our opposition to Longview was a reactive effort--it's time to be proactive.
----------------------------------- Now, for the important part!
Thanks to the all of the people who: *wrote letters to our County Commissioners, the DEP and the PSC *spoke out in favor of better air quality *made donations to help stop Longview *handed out flyers *attended countless organizational meetings *wrote letters to the editor opposing Longview *generally helped raise public awareness of our concerns about air quality
A special thanks must also go to Phil Gaujot, our fearless lawyer who led us through the legal jungle of the PSC & Supreme Court. Phil displayed a lot of passion and professionalism in preparing for the PSC & Supreme Court and going toe-to-toe with the lawyers for Longview. He ensured that we left no stone unturned in developing our case against Longview, and, judged on its merits, we should have prevailed.
Thanks,
Bill Wonderlin