|
|||||||
|
|
WVEC Green Legislative UpdateTo read the update online, scroll down to articles (or click on index links below). If you want to view or print an exact copy of the printed newsletter, try the PDF version. February 10, 2006
Under the Dome By Donald S. Garvin, Jr. Week 5 - Missing EQB The political hijinks over the state's water quality standards that began last week in the Senate Energy, Industry and Mining Committee continued on an even more pathetic level this week, as DEP officials huddled in the hallways with coal industry lobbyists discussing the best strategy for permanently weakening pollution limits for aluminum. Last week EIM Chairman Bill Sharpe (D - Lewis) agreed to "lay over" S.B. 326, DEP's legislative rule governing water quality standards, supposedly to accommodate an amendment supported by Bill Raney and the WV Coal Association. Later we learned that the Coal Association wants to jump the gun on DEP and make permanent the temporary standard in this year's rule that weakens the pollution limits for aluminum. DEP officials told us last week that they realized that any change in water quality standards requires a full public comment process under the provisions of the federal Clean Water Act, and therefore they would oppose the Coal Association proposal. This week activity at EIM resembled a scene out of an old Keystone Cops movie, as committee meetings were called, and then cancelled, and lobbyists from the Chamber of Commerce and the Coal Association were seen furtively whispering in the ears of committee staff and friendly committee members. It was only then that we heard rumors that DEP has decided to make the weaker aluminum standard permanent by filing it as an emergency rule. So much for DEP's belief in the public comment process. Let me quote to you the exact language from the water quality rule: "Until July 4, 2007, the aluminum criteria will be implemented as follows: the chronic aluminum criterion shall be 87 ug/l for trout waters (as defined in section 2.20 of this rule) and shall be 750 ug/l for all other waters of the state. The implementation of the interim criteria provides for a study to develop aluminum criteria for waters of the state which are based upon sound science and are protective of aquatic life." The rule clearly states that making the interim criteria for aluminum permanent depends on a study "based upon sound science and are protective of aquatic life." Well, friends, the first thing DEP did when it took over water quality standards rulemaking from the Environmental Quality Board was DUMP the aluminum study. Even though that study was being funded in some fashion with coal industry money, Evan Hansen representing the WV Rivers Coalition was participating in that study and was pointing out that the industry analysis was ignoring aluminum toxicity under the normally acidic pH conditions that exist in many waters of the state. In a letter to other members of the Aluminum Study Review Team, Evan wrote, "While your contractor has obviously put a lot of time and effort into its literature search, the analysis is fundamentally flawed." Well, not to worry. DEP dumped the study. This is not a new issue, folks. The coal industry has been trying to get the state to weaken the aluminum standard for years, yet to the best of my knowledge not one mining permit has been denied based on coal's inability to meet the stricter standard. So what's the rush? Where's the study? How can DEP justify making the weaker standard permanent by filing an emergency rule? And that's just one of many examples to come of why we will miss EQB. There's a snowstorm headed this way for the weekend, so don't forget to fill your bird feeders. Valentine's Are Green Too By Denise Poole, WVEC President Believe it or not, we purposefully chose Valentine's Day for our E-Day! at the Capitol this year. Visions of green hearts swirling in our heads, and brainstorming for a catchy theme, we just could not come up with anything better or simpler than "Love Your Environment". We decided it really doesn't get any more straight forward than that ..... sending out an SOS message of green - to redeem a clean, healthy environment. So what - we do love our environment, and I for one couldn't be prouder to display green hearts, or wear green for E-Day! So, if you attend E-Day, wear the color green so we can stand out from the rest and literally wear our (green) hearts on our sleeves. This has been an interesting year for the environmental movement. Marking the year from E-Day 2005 to E-Day 2006, we have experienced a heightened awareness of mercury poisoning, more evidence pointing to global warming, more sludge impoundment failures, more water quality issues, more mountains destroyed from mountaintop removal mining ... a light on West Virginia as a major dirty energy source with the recent underground mine disasters ... the list goes on. Why go over this now? It's elemental my fellow 'green hearts'. An old college philosophy professor of mine asked his students on the first day of class the answer to this very question: Why? Those that answered "because" received a B. Those that answered "why not?" received an A. I did receive an A that day, and felt very clever. As environmentalists we are always asking why not? As in, "why not switch to renewable energy sources?" Why not make sludge impoundments safe? Why not have a container law in West Virginia? Why not want to breath clean air and drink clean water? And there's a whole litany of answers when we offer solutions to better our environment and say "because": "Because it makes sense to use renewable energy - "fossil fuel is finite - renewable energy is infinite." "Because clean air and water lead to better health." And the best 'because' of all - that does deserve an A today: "Because It's E-Day!" So, with no grading system in mind please, here's your top 10 reasons to attend to E-Day! Just attend. It does help our cause - tap into your altruism and join WVEC at the capitol. It really is a great opportunity to do something. Don't forget to wear green! Top 10 Reasons to Attend E-Day!: 10) You just don't get enough use from your Marshall Thundering herd green sweat-shirt or your Saint Patrick's Day hat and you can use E-Day as a good excuse to wear them both at the same time. 9) That poster you made that says "Stop Mountaintop Removal" gives you something to bring with you. 8) You bought an extra heart shaped box of chocolates and want to pass them out to your friends for Valentine's Day .... and most of the ones you really care about will be at the capitol, so again - "why not?" 7) You noticed that the "Bottle bill" the "Clean Elections" bill, and the "sludge impoundments" bill have sponsors, are in committees and are really going somewhere - hey, you want in on the action. Now's the time to talk with your legislators about them. (see related articles and action alerts in this issue of Update. 6) You have been saving your beverage containers all month, and want to rake in $5.00 for them at the recycling center (open from 11:00 till 1:00 only - so get to the capitol early.) 5) You have intended to attend for years and decided you'd see for yourself what all the buzz is about. 4) The 2006 award recipients have really made a difference for WVEC, and you want to give them all a hug for Valentine's/E-Day. 3) You would feel guilty all year if you didn't go. 2) It's the right (left) thing to do. Besides, you get free bumper stickers! 1) It's E-Day. The more environmentalists that show up at the capitol the better.... and afterward, the Valentine's Soiree at Perfater Law Office Lobby beckons you. Nurses Should Know By Allan Tweddle, WVEC Lobbyist Some Legislators call us tree huggers, but standing in front of 100+ nurses at the Cultural Center this week, I said “I’d rather hug a nurse”. And embrace them we have. They are joining us in the fight to defeat WV DEP’s proposed Rule 45-CSR 37 (SB316 & HB4140). I hope you all read the article in last week’s issue of Legislative Update, the reprint of “The Failure of Chemical Regulation: The Case of Mercury” by Peter Montague (from Rachel’s Democracy & Health News #840, Feb. 2, 2006). I suggest that you read it again, and then read the citations that we offer here today. When you understand the deadly facts about mercury, you, too, will be angry. The WV DEP is ignoring the science and bowing to the pressure of the industry-driven Bush EPA, rather than pursuing the “Protection” part of their responsibilities. Your E-Council is building a coalition of organizations to fight the roll-back of mercury control standards that the Bush Administration (and, by default, the WV DEP) is calling “a toughening of standards”. We know from other documented sources that the EPA was on a path to tighten the controls until the Bush Administration took a 90º turn to the right (naturally) and came up with a sweet sounding name “Clean Air Mercury Rule”. In fact, it’s quite sour—a roll back, a delay and, for the first time in the 30+ year history of the Clean Air Act, advocating trading of emission credits of a toxin! After years of progressive discussions with all stakeholders, the EPA abandoned consensus building and adopted just what coal and the power companies wanted…a rule that is touted to be doing the “right” thing. In fact, in the opinion of the professionals, it has the potential to do nothing until 2018! Two national organizations of professional air pollution control officers, State and Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators (STAPPA) and the Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials (ALAPCO), have issued an excellent document critical of the Bush-driven EPA action. It traces the history of the efforts to control mercury and its deadly form, methylmercury. It is 47 pages long, but well worth your time to read. The web site is www.4cleanair.org, and the title is “Regulating Mercury from Power Plants: A Model for States and Localities”. WV DEP is a member of these organizations, while ignoring the excellent STAPPA and ALAPCO professional opinions and analysis. DEP cites our State’s legal structure that says they can be “no more stringent than” and must adopt whatever the Federal EPA forces upon them, and no more, whether or not it is in the best interest of our citizens and our health. In the Senate Finance hearing Thursday, Secretary Timmermeyer added that if they do not adopt the EPA rule, the “Feds” will force it upon them/us. If that is the case (we are researching the legal aspects of this situation), then something must change. If we determine that the Feds are not being good enough, then “good enough…isn’t” and West Virginia must do better. Back to the nurses. The STAPPA/ALAPCO report cites 26 scientific and medical studies and reports, including several by EPA (all prior to the Bush ordered “right” turn), that build the case for tightening mercury controls. Here are just a couple of examples of their findings: “…studies reveal that the harmful effects tied to methylmercury exposure, such as cognitive impairment, are likely irreversible…” “…there is no evidence of a safe level (of mercury exposure)…” “Mercury is “highly toxic, persistent, and bioaccumulates in the food chain…remaining in breast milk many months after exposure….resulting in severe effects in children such as mental retardation, cerebral palsy, deafness and blindness.” If that isn’t enough, we received a 2006 edition of the “State of the Evidence” report by the Breast Cancer Fund (www.breastcancerfund.org). It also cites the connection to breast cancer from minute exposures to methylmercury in the food chain. The technology is both technically and financially viable to remove 95% of all coal-powered mercury emissions by 2009. It is time to say “ENOUGH…Make our rivers, our fish, our women and children…indeed all of us…absolutely clean of the neurotoxin methylmercury.” I am left with the question…why would Stephanie Timmermeyer, herself a new bride, and every other woman in the Legislature want to support the roll back of mercury controls. Why, if the national and international scientific literature is saying “there is no safe limit of mercury in our food chain”, why would they tolerate this? Why, when the technology is available to greatly reduce the threat, why wait? We have the nurses with us. We have educators with us. We are expecting two of the State’s biggest religious organizations to support us with letters and to stand beside us at the next hearings and on the floor of the houses of the Legislature. West Virginia environmental groups last week sought a new federal court order to block three mountaintop removal mining permits issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Lawyers for the three groups asked U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers for a preliminary injunction to stop the mining operations. The new legal motions were made as part of a suit originally filed in September 2005 to force the corps to conduct more detailed environmental studies before it approves valley fill permits for new mining operations. Plaintiffs in the suit include the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy and Coal River Mountain Watch. "Trying to get the Corps of Engineers to follow the law is like trying to nail Jell-O to a wall: It is awfully hard to make it stick," said Vivian Stockman, project coordinator for OVEC. Senate Judiciary Poised to Take Up Bottle Bill By Linda Frame, WV-CAG linda@wvcag.org After receiving technical clean-up in subcommittee, the WV Container Recycling and Litter Control Act (SB 136) will probably be taken up by Senate Judiciary next week. Legislators are getting lots of calls from the Pro-Litter Coalition, made up of the beverage industry and retailers, who think a litter tax is the best way to clean up trash along our roads and in our streams. Unfortunately they refuse to acknowledge that a Bottle Bill is the time-tested way to clean up a large percentage of our state's litter and is an incentive for the trash to not get there in the first place. A litter tax would simply fund others to clean up after litter bugs. We've said it before, we'll say it again - now is the time to call the committee! Calls to members of Senate Judiciary are crucial at this time. Please contact Senate Judiciary committee members and ask them to vote for SB 136. Its members are: Senators Kessler (Marshall), Oliverio (Mon), Caruth (Mercer), Barnes (Randolph), Harrison (Kanawha), Dempsey (Lincoln), Jenkins (Cabell), Lanham (Putnam), Weeks (Raleigh), Fanning (McDowell), Chafin (Mingo), Minard (Harrison), Deem (Wood), Foster (Kanawha) - bill sponsor, Hunter (Mon), White (Webster) - bill sponsor, McKenzie (Ohio) - bill sponsor. Link to their e-mails at www.legis.state.wv.us/committees/senate/judiciary/sencomJUD.cfm or call them toll-free at 1-877-565-3447. In your message, ask them to support SB 136 to increase recycling in West Virginia and to follow the lead of 11 other states in adopting a Bottle Bill, the most effective litter prevention policy, for our state. Remember, February 14 is the Third Annual Deposit Day at the state Capitol. Bring your empties to our booth and we'll "refund" you 10-cents for each one (up to 50). Wear green and meet your legislators. We'll let you know if the SB 136 is on the agenda for that day. Thanks so much for your time and to those of you who have already called your senators. If you have any questions contact me at linda@wvcag.org or 304-346-5891. Did you know: Special interest groups spent more than $700,000 to defeat the expansion of Connecticut's bottle bill according to CT Common Cause. Even though the measure passed the Senate 31-3, it died in the House. Two days after the release of Common Cause's report, CT Governor Rell called a special session to consider public financing of campaigns. "The death of the bottle bill is a case study of how campaign contributions have corrupted the legislative process," said Andy Sauer, Executive Director of Common Cause. By Ted Boettner, WVEC Lobbyist We have a bill. This past week the sludge safety lobby team, along with the critical support of our lead sponsor Del. Larry Barker, was able to get five delegates to co-sponsor our sludge bill. They are Charlene Marshall (D - Monogalia), Bobbie Hatfield (D- Kanawha), Cliff Moore (D - McDowell), and Lidella Hrutkay (D - Logan). These delegates should be applauded for supporting this bill; it's certainly not easy these days to take a stand against the coal lobby when re-election is just around the corner. On Thursday, the bill was sent down to bill drafting and will be introduced some time early next week. The sludge bill does the following:
At noon this Tuesday, February 14th, during E-Day at the Capitol, we will hold a press conference in the lower Rotunda (First Floor) on the introduction of this bill. We hope to see you there. Climate Change? What? Me Worry? Last month was the ninth-warmest January on record for Charleston, according to the National Weather Service. The NWS started recording area temperatures in 1901. The coldest morning last month was Jan. 27, when the temperature dropped to 20 degrees. In 1977, the coldest January on record, the monthly mean temperature was 18.6 degrees. The mean daily temperature was 43.2 degrees in Charleston, 9.8 degrees warmer than average. Only 3.1 inches of snow fell, which was 8 inches less than average. January was 11 degrees warmer than average in Huntington, where just two-tenths of an inch of snow fell. Parkersburg was also 11 degrees warmer than average. Groups Ask U.S. Court to Block Mine Permits By Ken Ward Jr., Staff writer for Charleston Gazette West Virginia environmentalists on Wednesday (Feb. 01) sought a new federal court order to block three mountaintop removal mining permits issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Lawyers for the three groups asked U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers for a preliminary injunction to stop the mining operations. "Trying to get the Corps of Engineers to follow the law is like trying to nail Jell-O to a wall: It is awfully hard to make it stick," said Vivian Stockman, project coordinator for the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition. "The corps gives coal companies permits that are little more than a wink and a nod, and the coal companies waste little time before ripping out trees, choking off streams and filling in valleys with mining waste." The coalition sought the injunction along with the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy and Coal River Mountain Watch. Wednesday's legal motions were made as part of a suit originally filed in September 2005 to force the corps to conduct more detailed environmental studies before it approves valley fill permits for new mining operations. The case was a follow-up to a ruling by U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin to block the corps from reviewing valley fill proposals through a streamlined "general permit" process. Goodwin's ruling has since been overturned by a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but environmental groups have asked the full appeals court to reconsider that decision. In the new case, the environmentalists argue that the corps was wrong to approve mining operations through more detailed "individual permit" reviews because those reviews did not include a study called an Environmental Impact Statement. Originally, the suit targeted just one new Massey Energy surface mine in Logan County. It later added another Massey mine in Boone County, and on Wednesday lawyers targeted a third Massey operation near the intersection of Kanawha, Fayette and Raleigh counties. "The mining and valley fills at these three mines collectively will destroy over 2,000 acres of land and smother over seven miles of streams," the lawyers said in the court papers. "Yet, the corps has neglected to examine in a meaningful way the inevitable damage that will be caused by these mines, or to develop any realistic plan for mitigating that damage." By Freddie Davis, Charleston resident What is your car to you? Admit it. You eat in your car, work in your car, catch up on the news or rock out to music. Your car does more than just carry you around. Placement of cupholders is important. Your car is an extension of your personality and your lifestyle. I'm active with lots of diverse interests. I 'm not fussy about appearances and I'm messy. I wanted a work horse, a chamelion and a clown. I wanted a car that could carry all that stuff that we all carry, you know- the exercise bag, the packages to be mailed, the books to return to the library and even the dogs. And I need a car in which I can easily load and unload 50 pound bags of horse feed or an extra bale of hay. I need a car I can fill with two weeks of recycling, including a large bag of glass, a large bag of cans, stacks of newspaper, boxes, etc. I need a car that I can throw things in the backseat without guilt (doesn't everyone use it as a temporary trash can), that I can park and jump in and out of easily and a car that makes me laugh when I see it. Oh, and I'd always wanted a hybrid. I test drove the original Prius and Honda, but they were sedans. Then, at the Auto Show two years ago I saw the hatchback Prius. Love at first sight and no regrets. It is fun, functional and simple. So far the only maintenance is the regular oil changes. And my Prius is making me a better driver. It has a screen that shows your gas mileage at any moment so it let's you know when you are driving efficiently. No more fast starts and stops. If only my daughter's car had this! |
|
|
2206 Washington Street East - Charleston, WV 25311 (304) 414-0143 www.wvecouncil.org |