Mon Valley Clean Air Coalition Monthly Meeting Minutes April 10, 2006 The monthly meeting of the Mon Valley Clean Air Coalition was held on Monday, April 10, 2006 at the Prete Building. There were nine participants in attendance. Duane provided a Treasurer’s Report on behalf of Deborah, who has stepped down as Treasurer, but will remain as a signatory on the bank account, as Treasurer-II if the need arises. We currently have a balance of $4,613. Paula is maintaining a list of donors. This week, Duane will go to the bank with Cindy, our new treasurer, so that her name can be put on the account. Bill mentioned that in order to remain a public charity, 1/3 of an organization’s donations must come from the public. No single donor can give more than 2% of the total donations. If an organization does not meet this criterion, it is considered to be a private foundation, rather than a public charity. Duane stated that our 501c3 application has been submitted, and we received a postcard from the IRS acknowledging receipt of the application. Duane announced that he was going to request an invoice from the company, Synapse Energy Economics, that provided an expert witness for the PSC hearing last month related to the financial aspects of Longview. He moved that we authorize payment to Synapse of up to $4,000 of their total bill. Paula seconded and the motion passed by consensus. Paula suggested that we might want to send a press release to let the public know that we are still active and that Longview is not a “done deal.” Jim stated that he thought that letters to the editor might be more effective than a press release. Duane asked various participants to write letters to the editor. Duane provided an overview of the events at the PSC hearing regarding the siting and transmission line certificates for Longview. During the public comment period at the beginning of the hearing, 4-5 union members spoke, as did Jarrett and his mother. The proceedings went on for two days, after which Phil requested that the hearings be ended. As a result, rather than testifying in person, the testimonies of our noise expert (Chuck), George Blankenship (expert for Allegheny on transmission issues), and Scott Harvey (expert for Longview on transmission lines) were entered into the record. Phil, Duane, Jim, and Bill are working to finish a brief that is a summary of arguments and evidence regarding the siting and transmission line certificates. It is due at the PSC by April 24. Jarrett is working to determine the status of the Longview air permit, whether it has expired, and perhaps was renewed by the WV-DEP Air Quality Branch. Duane asked the participants whether MVCAC should join the West Virginia Environmental Council. The dues would be $100/year. By consensus, the participants present decided that MVCAC would become a member of the WVEC. Duane circulated a draft copy of the brochure that is being created by Cliff and John. The group agreed that the text was too small and dense and needed to be shortened. In addition, it was felt that the graphic on the front was difficult to decipher. In new business, Bill suggested that, once we had defeated Longview, MVCAC might want to consider partnering with other local groups to have joint meetings. This would reduce the number of meetings that an individual participant had to attend and allow groups to pool resources for speakers, etc. Don brought up the issue of the truck traffic through Morgantown. He said that it was difficult for the city to address this issue, because we do not have home rule in West Virginia. He suggested that participants might want to write to their delegates and senators to ask them to change state law and permit home rule. Robert brought flyers, tickets, and bumper stickers for the Mon-Earth concert to be held on April 22 at Morgantown High School. He is looking for volunteers to help with activities such as ticket sales and putting up flyers. If you are willing to help, you can contact him at tower@toweringideas.com. The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 pm. Respectfully submitted, Linda Shuster, Secretary. [NOTES: 1. Our mailing address is: MVCAC, P. O. Box 4679, Morgantown, WV 26504-4679. Notice that the zip code is 26504, which is actually in Star City. 2. The tentative date for the next MVCAC meeting is May 15th, to avoid any possible conflicts with activities leading up to the primary election on Tuesday, May 9th.] 3. These same minutes are attached in the Microsoft Word format, without Notes.