The EPA yesterday finally released a list of 44 coal fly ash waste sites with high hazard potential, over-ruling attempts by the Army Corps of Engineers to keep the list of high hazard dams private.

More than half of the coal waste ponds on the list are located in just three Appalachia states: twelve in North Carolina, four in West Virginia, and seven in Kentucky.

Members of Congress, lead by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) strongly criticized containment methods for coal fly ash following the TVA ash spill in Harriman, Tennessee last December. Boxer has continually pushed for stronger over-site of fly ash as a hazardous waste product, and successfully fought the recent order by the Department of Homeland Security and the Army Corps of Engineers to keep the 44 most toxic sites under wraps for security reasons.

“We are pursuing whether the handling of these sites is consistent with the handling of other similar facilities, because of the critical importance of the public’s right to know about threats in their communities,” Senator Boxer said in a press conference June 12. “If these sites are so hazardous and if the neighborhoods nearby could be harmed irreparably, then I believe it is essential to let people know.”

“Coal combustion waste is subject to very limited regulation – in fact, there are stronger protections for household garbage than for coal ash across the country.”

Last week, Appalachian Voices learned that a miner may have been injured during a non-violent act of civil disobedience that took place June 18th, when 14 activists climbed a dragline on a mine site. They were calling on the Obama Administration to end mountaintop removal coal mining. Though most reports now indicate that health concerns with the miner were unrelated to the protest incident, conflicting reports about the injury are still being resolved*. Appalachian Voices would like to issue the following statement:

Appalachian Voices recognizes the legitimate need for people to engage in non-violent acts of civil disobedience when the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government fail to protect them from the wanton abuses of powerful corporations and institutions. However, any acts of violence committed during civil disobedience–whether by protesters, antagonists or governmental authorities–must be fully investigated and all perpetrators brought to justice.

Mountain Aid – THIS WEEKEND!!

Music is often moving, but only once in a while does it help stop mountains from moving. That is the hope behind the inaugural Mountain Aid festival, taking place this Friday through Sunday, June 19 – 21, at the Shakori Hills festival grounds just south of Chapel Hill in Chatham County, NC. Mountain Aid is being billed as “a concert to end mountaintop removal and create a clean energy future for North Carolina and beyond.”

Mountain Aid will raise funds for the Pennies of Promise campaign to build a new school for the children of Marsh Fork Elementary. Located in Raleigh County, W. Va., the school sits just 225 feet from a coal loading silo that releases chemical-laden coal dust and 400 yards from a 385-foot tall leaking sludge dam with a nearly 3 billion gallon capacity.

Just last week, a West Virginia court approved the construction of a second coal silo to be built even closer to the school. Independent studies have shown the school to be full of coal dust.

Headlining the festival will be Grammy Award-winning country artist Kathy Mattea, whose recent release, COAL, deals specifically with the West Virginia native’s many personal ties to the subject. Raised near Charleston, W. Va., her mining heritage runs throughout both sides of the family: both her parents grew up in coal camps, both her grandfathers were miners, and her mother worked for the local United Mine Workers Association union office. Mattea’s father was saved from the mines by an uncle who paid his way through college.

Other performers include rising cello star Ben Sollee, festival favorites Donna The Buffalo, upbeat reggae-tinged rockers the Sim Redmond Band and more.

Pennies of Promise
When his granddaughter returned home from school sick, Pennies of Promise founder Ed Wiley fought to get the school moved away from the massive neighboring mountain top removal mine despite government inaction. According to West Virginia state officials, construction of a new school is a fiscal impossibility, but that was not going to keep Wiley and scores of concerned citizens from taking it upon themselves to come to the children’s aid.

To kick off the campaign, Wiley presented West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin with $400 in pennies. He then walked more than 300 miles from his home in Rock Creek, W. Va. all the way to Washington, D.C. to continue the fight. Funds generated by Mountain Aid will help the Pennies of Promise campaign move closer to their goal of $8 million to fund the new school and move the children out of harm’s way. For more information on the nonprofit, click to www.penniesofpromise.org.

Mountain Aid is sponsored by the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition (OHVEC), a nonprofit organization formed in 1987 whose mission is to organize and maintain a diverse grassroots organization dedicated to the improvement and preservation of the environment through education, grassroots organizing and coalition building, leadership development and media outreach.

Tickets for Mountain Aid are $30 at the gate. Tent camping passes are $10 and vehicle camping passes are $40. For more information, click to www.mtnaid.com.

Story by David Brewer

According to a report released today by The Pew Charitable Trusts, green jobs—Pew dubs these “clean energy jobs”— across the country grew at a national rate of 9.1 percent between 1998 and 2007, while traditional jobs grew by only 3.7 percent, a difference of nearly two and a half times. State levels also showed growth in clean energy outperformed overall job growth in 38 states and the District of Columbia during the same time period.

And this growth has happened despite a lack of sustained government support for clean energy jobs. According to the report, by 2007 more than 68,200 businesses across the nation accounted for about 770,000 jobs.

By comparison, fossil-fuel industries—including utilities, coal mining and oil and gas extraction—comprised about 1.27 million workers in 2007.

Green industries are also creating well-paying jobs people of all skill levels and educational backgrounds, including engineers, plumbers, administrative assistants, construction workers, machine setters, marketing consultants, teachers and many others, with annual incomes ranging from $21,000 to $111,000.

Read the full press release on their website.

Appalachian Voices has filed a Freedom of Information Act request objecting to the secrecy over a new federal study focused on the safety of 15 high-risk sludge dams.

The study, by the federal Office of Surface Mine and Reclamation Enforcement, will be the first to combine elements of dam volume and downstream populations in a risk assessment. Although the engineering work is complete, release of the study is being held up so that coal companies and the state of West Virginia can review it, OSMRE said.

“Given the current state of emergency and severe flooding in West Virginia, we believe that this information has a direct bearing on vital issues of public safety,” Appalachian Voices said in a letter to OSMRE.

“We think that the government should not, indeed cannot in good conscience, wait for the document to be prepared in such a way as to satisfy stakeholders, but rather, that engineering data and draft conclusions must be released to the public immediately.”

Until recently, no federal office had taken a systematic approach to studying the safety of these earthen dams.

A previous FOIA request to the OSMRE this spring by Appalachian Voices revealed that since the late 1990s, the government has studied the safety of only a handful of “randomly selected” sludge dams. Those selected were among the smallest and newest in the region.

Greenpeace is calling for renewed leadership from President Obama and Congress following the release of the drastically weakened Waxman-Markey climate and energy bill today. The American Climate and Energy Security Act (ACES) was already in need of improvement when first released as a discussion draft in March, and has become severely worse as members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee actively worked to weaken the bill on behalf of fossil fuels industries and other corporate polluters.

“Despite the best efforts of Chairman Waxman, this bill has been seriously undermined by the lobbying of industries more concerned with profits than the plight of our planet. While science clearly tells us that only dramatic action can prevent global warming and its catastrophic impacts, this bill has fallen prey to political infighting and industry pressure. We cannot support this bill in its current state…”

Read the entire release and statement by Greenpeace

This just in from Jeff Bigger’s blog on Huffington post:

As American citizens in Mingo County and other areas of the flood-stricken Kentucky and West Virginia coalfields continue to dig themselves out of the muck, indefatigable Charleston Gazette reporter Ken Ward is reporting on his Coal Tattoo blog that the EPA has “signed off on almost all (87.5 percent, to be exact) of the mountaintop removal permits that has so far been reviewed under the initiative announced in March.”

Ward has just posted a letter dated yesterday from the EPA to US Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV), announcing that:

“EPA has raised environmental concerns with six pending permit applications in the Corps’ Huntington District out of a total of approximately forty-eight we have reviewed. We have advised the Corps that EPA does not intend to provide additional comments on the remaining forty-two permits. The Corps may proceed with appropriate permit decisions on those remaining projects.”

READ THE FULL POST

By Robin Bravender, E&E reporter

(05/01/2009) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced today that the aging Capitol Power Plant will no longer burn coal, a practice that has long been criticized by environmental groups.

Stephen Ayers, the acting architect of the capitol, has reported that coal would be burned at the plant only if it is needed as an emergency backup. The Architect of the Capitol made the transition to natural gas as the primary fuel source for generating steam in March, according to a statement from Pelosi’s office.

In February, days before a scheduled protest against coal combustion at the plant, Pelosi and Reid called on Ayers to switch the plant entirely to natural gas (E&ENews PM, Feb. 26).

“For years, the Capitol Power Plant has been the largest source of carbon emissions on the Capitol Complex,” Reid said today. “The Architect’s switch to cleaner burning natural gas shows that the House and Senate are leading by example in reducing our emissions. I look forward to working with the Architect’s office to achieve even greater energy savings and efficiency through our greening programs.”

The nearly century-old plant, located just south of House office buildings, has been a contentious issue for years in Congress. Environmentalists and D.C. residents have continually called for the plant to stop burning coal, while lawmakers from coal-producing states have fought efforts to switch the plant entirely to natural gas.

Converting another boiler to burn natural gas will allow the plant to eliminate the use of coal even in the case of emergency situations, Ayers told Pelosi in an April 24 letter. The conversion could be completed as early as November 2010 or as late as October 2011, he said.

According to an article published this week on the Institute for Southern Studies’ webzine Facing South, “the TVA has begun shipping toxic coal ash from the massive spill that occurred last December at its Kingston, Tennessee power plant to landfills in the neighboring states of Georgia and Alabama. The counties where the ash is going have large black populations and high poverty rates, raising questions about environmental justice.

“Landfill officials in Georgia and Alabama told the paper that their facilities are lined with both clay and synthetic barriers, which makes them more protective than the unlined surface impoundment where TVA stored the ash prior to the spill.”

But according to the article, “researchers have found that solid waste landfills tend to be located disproportionately in communities of color and low-wealth communities. The communities that will be getting the coal ash from Tennessee apparently did not get a chance for meaningful involvement in that decision since neither the TVA — a federally-owned corporation — nor regulatory authorities provided an opportunity for public comment.”

“The urgency of doing something with the spilled ash is growing. Last week’s heavy rains in the Tennessee Valley washed large amounts of coal ash from the spill site and sent it flowing down the Emory River. There are also concerns that hot, dry summer weather will make it difficult to control airborne coal ash dust, a serious respiratory hazard.”

Read the full article on southernstudies.org

J.W. Randolph, our crack Washington, DC Legislative Associate who started his career with Appalachian Voices at our weekly volunteer nights, married his childhood sweetheart Elizabeth Vance in a beautiful wedding ceremony on April 18, 2009 in Chattanooga, TN. J.W. is our key individual lobbying for the Clean Water Protection Act, and has taken the bill far beyond our wildest dreams. He is currently on honeymoon in Costa Rica, if you’re there and happen to see him, tell him to get back to work!

Seriously, congratulations to J.W. and Elizabeth!

Charlotte, NC – On Monday, April 20th, 2009 over 300 citizens took a stand against the proposed Cliffside coal-fired power plant, and 44 were willingly arrested.

The demonstration was organized by a coalition of over a dozen environmental, faith-based and social justice groups, which are calling on Duke Energy and the state of North Carolina to cancel construction of the Cliffside coal power plant expansion. The new unit is predicted to cost $2.4 billion and emit an estimated six million tons of carbon dioxide every year for the next 50 years.

The Cliffside Climate Action is the latest in the growing wave of civil disobedience demanding that the country move away from coal power.

For more information, go to: stopcliffside.org

(reposted from YouTube)

“Controversial” resolution – introduced by Raleigh County Delegate Sally Susman with 41 Co-Sponsors and strong Raleigh County support – prevented from going to House Floor for a vote

CHARLESTON, WV – Early Wednesday evening, Speaker Rick Thompson and other members of the House Rules Committee decided to prevent H.C.R 52, or the “Resolution Supporting the development of a permanent utility-scale wind farm on Coal River Mountain in Raleigh County, West Virginia,” from being moved out of the Committee and back to the House Floor for a full vote.

Raleigh County Delegate Sally Susman introduced the resolution on Tuesday, March 31st, in recognition of the obvious economic advantage the wind farm would bring to her county in relation to the proposed mountaintop removal operation. At the time it was introduced, the resolution had a total of 6 original sponsors and 35 co-sponsors. Four out of the five Raleigh County delegates had signed on in support, with Republican Delegate Linda Sumner being the only delegate from the district to decline.

According to the resolution, “there are vast opportunities for diversifying the state energy portfolio, while creating new industries, new jobs and new sources of revenue that can complement those contributed by the coal industry in southern West Virginia counties,” and further, ” studies have shown that wind resources and the economic benefits of wind development are severely diminished and development rendered economically prohibitive as the ridge altitude is reduced as a result of surface mining.”

Reacting to the Rules Committee decision, Danny Chiotos, Organizer for the Student Environmental Action Coalition and West Virginia Youth Action League (WV-YAL) had this to say, “The House of Delegates lost an opportunity to show support for green jobs and clean energy by killing this resolution. We saw our government again side with big coal rather than the people, and it is high time that the House act to support a sustainable economy in West Virginia.”

The strong legislative support for the Resolution shows that there are varied perceptions as to how best to generate economic development in the southern West Virginia coal-producing counties. The stated purpose of the resolution was to “promote the diversification of the local and state economies and energy portfolios while allowing for continued responsible underground coal mining in the area.”

“Forty-one state legislators had signed on, recognizing that developing a wind farm was the better economic land-use option for Coal River Mountain, and that mountaintop removal would eliminate the chance for that to happen,” said Rory McIlmoil, Coordinator for the Coal River Wind campaign. “It is highly disconcerting that a handful of members of the Rules Committee can so blatantly undermine the democratic process and reject the support of nearly half the members of our House of Delegates.”

To which Vernon Haltom, Co-Director of Coal River Mountain Watch, added, “We applaud those delegates who stood with Delegate Susman in recognizing the need to diversify the economy of Raleigh County and all of southern West Virginia. I wish the rest of West Virginia’s legislators had the courage to do the same thing, and act in the best interest of the people of the state rather than continuing to prioritize serving the financial interests of a few out-of-state coal companies.”

“It appears that the only delegate from the Raleigh County district who didn’t want this is Delegate Linda Sumner. With the jobs this would create and the revenue this would bring to our county, why would anyone not want to be a part of this?” said Lorelei Scarbro, Community Organizer for the wind campaign.

“This money could last forever, and would go a long way toward stimulating new economic opportunities for the county, and for assisting our fire departments, ambulance services, sheriff’s departments and schools,” she added. “We need all of our delegates to do all they can in these hard economic times, and I’m severely disappointed in those legislators who aided in the squashing of this important resolution.”

For more information, or to view a list of sponsors, visit Coal River Wind.org or the state legislative website.

– – – – – – – –

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 52

(By Delegates Susman, Longstreth, Manypenny, Perdue, Staggers, Fleischauer, Argento, Barker, Beach, Boggs, Brown, Cann, Crosier, Doyle, Eldridge, Ellem, Fragale, Guthrie, Hatfield, Iaquinta, Klempa, Kominar, Lawrence, Louisos, Mahan, Manchin, Martin, McGeehan, Miley, Moore, Morgan, Moye, Reynolds, Rodighiero, Shook, Stephens, Talbott, Webster, Wells, White and Wooton)

Supporting the development of a permanent utility-scale wind farm on Coal River Mountain in the Coal River Mountain Area of Raleigh County, West Virginia, in order to promote the diversification of the local and state economies and energy portfolios while allowing for continued responsible underground coal mining in the area.

Whereas, the West Virginia coal industry provides a significant amount of energy for the United States and a vital source of jobs and economic revenue for West Virginia, including 1,100 mining jobs and over $1.5 million in annual coal severance taxes for Raleigh County; and

Whereas, there are vast opportunities for diversifying the state energy portfolio, while creating new industries, new jobs and new sources of revenue that can complement those contributed by the coal industry in southern West Virginia counties such as Raleigh County; and

Whereas, wind power provides one such opportunity, as there are substantial, economically feasible wind resources of both the large and small-scale that can be developed in southern West Virginia; and

Whereas, studies have shown that wind resources and the economic benefits of wind development are severely diminished and development rendered economically prohibitive as the ridge altitude is reduced as a result of surface mining; and

Whereas, a Coal River Mountain wind farm, consisting of 164 wind turbines and generating 328 megawatts of electricity, would provide over $1.74 million in annual property taxes to Raleigh County; and coal severance taxes related to proposed mountaintop removal mining, by comparison, would provide the county with only $36,000 per year; and

Whereas, a wind farm of this magnitude, combined with incentives for development of other wind farms in Raleigh County and other counties in southern West Virginia, could result in the development and growth of a viable and lasting wind industry; and

Whereas, by stimulating new economic opportunities in the rural parts of Raleigh County, the wind farm would provide greater opportunities for economic diversification than would be provided by the surface mining operations proposed for Coal River Mountain; and

Whereas, wind power development on Coal River Mountain is possible because of the unique topography of the region, and wind is a natural resource from which much of southern West Virginia will be unable to benefit economically if surface mining continues and is expanded on, and in adjacent areas of, Coal River Mountain; and

Whereas, Raleigh County coal production and mine productivity have been steadily declining since 1997, even as surface mine production has expanded, thus indicating that coal reserves in Raleigh County are being rapidly depleted, as will be the jobs and severance taxes that coal mining currently contributes to the county’s economy; and

Whereas, a December 2008 study shows that long-term economic stewardship of Coal River Mountain, allowing for both the continued recovery of coal by expanding underground mining while preserving the surface landscape of Coal River Mountain for wind farming, affords substantial and relatively greater economic benefits through diversified economic development and energy production than surface mining would, and which surface mining activity alone eliminates; and

Whereas, underground mining in West Virginia employs approximately twice the number of workers per ton of coal produced than surface mining; and

Whereas, developing alternative industries is necessary to ensure the future economic vitality of the Coal River Valley; and

Whereas, the proposed wind farm development for Coal River Mountain received the annual, nationally recognized and highly competitive “Building Economic Alternatives” award by the non-profit Green America (formerly Co-Op America); and

Whereas, formal surveys and opinion polls show that a decisive majority of West Virginia citizens support a ban on the surface mining practice of mountaintop removal mining, like that currently being permitted on Coal River Mountain, and that 62 percent of West Virginians support wind development rather than mountaintop removal mining for Coal River Mountain; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the West Virginia Legislature supports the development of a permanent commercial wind farm on Coal River Mountain in the Coal River Mountain Area of Raleigh County, West Virginia, in order to promote the diversification of local and state economies and energy portfolios while continuing to properly evaluate the permitting of responsible underground coal mining activity in the area; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the (House / Senate) is hereby directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection.