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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. April 3, 2009
By Donald S. Garvin, Jr. Week 8 – Putting Lipstick On a Pig II The most disappointing of the Governor’s energy bills is SB 297, the "Alternative and Renewable Energy Portfolio Act." It is such a missed opportunity. Instead of offering a real renewable portfolio standard, it does a Texas two-step around it. SB 297 is a long and complex piece of legislation. It basically sets up a system of tradable credits for electricity produced by alternative and renewable sources. These credits will be used to meet the Governor’s goal that by the year 2025 25% of the electricity sold annually to customers in West Virginia comes from alternative or renewable sources. Credits are given for "renewable energy" resources, which include: solar photovoltaic or other solar electric energy, solar thermal energy, wind power, run of river hydropower, geothermal energy, biomass energy, biologically derived fuel including methane gas, ethanol not produced from corn or biodiesel fuel, fuel cell technology, and recycled energy such as waste heat recovery. Credits are also given for projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and for energy efficiency and demand-side energy reduction initiatives. However, credits are also given for "alternative energy" resources for the production or generation of electricity include all of the following: advanced coal technology, coal bed methane, natural gas, fuel produced by coal gasification or liquefaction, synthetic gas, integrated gasification combined cycle technologies, waste coal, tire-derived fuel, pumped storage hydroelectric projects, and nuclear energy. Well, there’s the heartburn. The Governor’s plan will actually award credits for continuing to produce and release more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. SB 297 is not about decreasing our carbon footprint, but instead promotes coal-to-liquids and other "clean coal" technologies, along with burning tires. SB 297 is all about mining more coal. It’s all about more mountaintop removal. Thirty-three states now have "real" renewable portfolio standards. West Virginia is not among them, and that’s a huge missed opportunity for the new renewable economy rising all around us. Spring rains are here again this Friday, so please continue to keep those bird feeders full. By John Christensen, WVEC Lobbyist It gives me great pleasure to report that HB 3000, also known as the Governor’s Transmission Line Tax Bill, met a timely demise in House rules committee Wednesday where it was laid to rest after making it to third reading with amendments pending. The bill garnered our attention weeks ago as it was introduced rather late (though not unexpected) and seemed to take on a life of its own on the fast track due to relentless pressure applied by the "Governor's people". In reality, this bill was all about two new transmission lines, not about the tax. Trail and PATH are the high voltage towers proposed by AEP and Allegheny Power to provide extension cords from the Ohio valley to east coast cities through 17 counties and 290 miles (PATH) or the one from Monongalia County to Virginia (Trail) which crisscross in beautiful Tucker county making an X across our state. The WVEC lobby team and friendly delegates tried to have it amended, put into a study resolution or just put on a shelf to die. And after a call to action from our members all across the Mountain State who have organized to oppose these gargantuan power lines, we organized a successful public hearing in the House chamber. We got an unsolicited gift from an unlikely delegate - Jonathan Miller (R-Berkeley) - who offered up two last minute floor amendments that looked like they might pass, but were apparently not acceptable either to the Governor or legislative leadership. As it turned out the bill met it’s final "coupe de gras" in House rules committee where it was pulled from final reading. Something tells me we haven’t seen the last of this turkey. We are hearing rumors that the Governor will call a "special session" to revisit this. So we need to keep sending emails and making phone calls thanking the rules committee delegates for their wise decision. The battle is not over on this one. By Frank Young, WVEC Treasurer Wednesday night’s "Green Jam" was one of our most profitable fundraisers ever — and it was put on at such short notice. Attendance was very, very good. I got there a little past 7:00 and it took me ten or 15 minutes to elbow my way to the bar to get a beer! I estimate that at the height of it there were 60 people there at one time. But some left and others came in all evening. And folks were generous with their donations to the West Virginia Environmental Council. Thanks so much to musicians Chet Lowther & Maya Nye, Andy Park, Karen and Shawn, and others who all played for free. And let’s especially offer a big WVEC salute to Greg Carroll for the food and his other out-of pocket expenses of putting this on, for which Greg asked for not one penny of reimbursement. Thanks also to Chuck Wyrostok, Sally Swisher, Gary Zuckett and anyone else who helped pull off this shindig. It was a great time for all! Blair Mountain Added To National Historic Register Blair Mountain - site of the historic 1921 coal-mining labor battle – was named this week to the National Register of Historic Places. The designation, made by the Keeper of the National Register, includes a 10-mile stretch of Logan County ridges where thousands of miners fought federal troops as part of a United Mine Workers organizing fight. The designation covers about 1,600 acres, along a fairly narrow strip that runs northwest from near the town of Blair. "This is a major victory," said Bill Price, a Sierra Club staffer who worked on the project. "We are just thrilled at the Keeper’s decision and of the recognition it gives to labor history in Southern West Virginia." Getting this designation was a battle in itself. Congratulations to all those friends of WVEC who worked so hard for so long on making this happen! Senate Bill 753 Would Tie Counties’ Hands By Leslee McCarty, WVEC Lobbyist Senate Bill 753, introduced by Senator Don Caruth (R-Mercer), would effectively take regulation of natural resource extraction out of counties’ regulatory domain, even for counties with comprehensive land use plans. Caruth’s proposed addition to West Virginia Code Section 8A-4-6 ("Effect of adopted subdivision and land development ordinance") reads, "That nothing in this chapter authorizes an ordinance, rule or regulation preventing the complete use of natural resources by the owner outside of urban areas." Thursday’s meeting of the House Political Subdivisions Committee (passed overwhelmingly) drew interest from oil and gas and coal lobbyists in the bill, and we have heard from several counties with Marcellus shale gas exploration issues that they are very worried about this bill. Also concerned are people from Berkeley County, who are facing their own extractive industry issues. The last stop before a floor vote in the House is the Judiciary Committee, chaired by Carrie Webster (D-Kanawha). WVEC and WVCAG are now working together on this bill and may request a public hearing. We would need a really good showing, with county commissioners present. A list of the House Judiciary Committee members can be found here: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/committees/house/HouseCommittee.cfm?Chart=jud If you can help us by getting some county commissioners, planning commission members, or other officials to commit to coming for a hearing next week, contact me, Leslee McCarty lesleemac@frontiernet.net. We have no idea at this time when the hearing might be. And if you know any House Judiciary Committee members, please call them and discuss your opposition to this dangerous and pernicious bill. Down the Legislative Rabbit Hole By Leslee McCarty, WVEC Lobbyist Alice remarks to the Duchess: ‘The game’s going on rather better now,’ she said, by way of keeping up the conversation a little. "Tis so,’ said the Duchess: ‘and the moral of that is - "Oh, ’tis love, ’tis love, that makes the world go round!" ‘Somebody said,’ Alice whispered, ‘that it’s done by everybody minding their own business!’ ‘Ah, well! It means much the same thing,’ said the Duchess, digging her sharp little chin into Alice’s shoulder as she added, ‘and the moral of that is -"Take care of the sense, and the sounds will take care of themselves." From, Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. So why are we telling you a children’s fairy tale? Because when you visit the Legislature, you find many fables being presented as true stories. And every day I feel as though I have gone down the rabbit hole with Alice. For example, the Legislature was considering a bill declaring that wells going 6,000 feet deep are "shallow wells." Yes, it’s true! And why would they be doing that? They wanted to make it easier for out-of -state gas companies to extract gas from Marcellus Shale and potentially contaminate our water resources. Read the following article to find out how other communities are fighting back against drillers.http://www.fwweekly.com/content.asp?section=News&type=Feature "Clean coal" technologies are listed in the Governor’s Renewable Energy Portfolio, along with burning tires to make electricity, as "alternative energy" sources - and an amendment added nuclear power to the list of alternatives! All of these come before the list of renewables like solar, biomass and wind. And as we reported last week, energy efficiency, which would be the easiest thing to do to reduce emissions, is hardly mentioned! It seems West Virginia will never get away from being a "coal state" until the last lump of coal is extracted. Maybe we need a new campaign called "Count the Cost of Coal." Besides the few good legislators we can count on to talk sense in the Capitol, and a few good public servants (like those who make presentations about the harm of selenium and then watch as legislators vote to allow coal mines to avoid more regulation), the only hope we seem to have these days is the new administration in Washington. So far, they have tied stimulus funds to green jobs, energy efficient buildings and renewables, and threatened to enforce the Clean Water Act - sending our Governor to Washington to plead the Mountain Top Removers’ case and occasioning a Senate Resolution (SR 50) declaring that our undying love affair with coal is not over! Of course, Clean Elections legislation will not pass this year, despite Herculean efforts, but we may be inching ever closer to that elusive goal. If we continue to have a Governor and Legislature that can be bought and paid for by the highest bidder, we will never get the protections we need for the environment or the clean energy and green jobs we need. We must have leadership to move us – out of our days as the state everyone feels sorry for and laughs at – to a brighter image as an innovator in the new world of renewable energy we must all embrace. Something must force the changes we need in West Virginia. The Coal Boys are not going quietly, and the Marcellus Gas Boys are right behind them at the trough, and hey, move over, the Power Company Boys want in!! But if we can elect an Obama at the national level, maybe we can fix what is wrong with our state before it is stripped, exploited and scarred beyond recognition in every area. By the way, our state is one of only three that DO NOT have legislative proceedings available online for folks to see what is actually happening at the Capitol. Perhaps if we could see them in action, West Virginians would get mad as Hell and not take it anymore! When will the public begin to call the tune? "Will you walk a little faster?’ said a whiting to a snail. In Coal We Trust? The Epitome of Denial ... By John Christensen, WVEC Lobbyist In a move that should have happened a day earlier, (April Fool’s Day), the State Senate proclaimed the coal mining industry the state’s most important economic benefactor. SR 50 proclaims the black rock to be "the be-all-to-end-all" of our great state and many influential senators got up to speak on coal’s behalf. Senator Frank Deem (R-oil and gas) spoke about the concept of global warming and climate change being "grossly exaggerated" and that it had nothing to do with human activities. Senator Jeff Kessler (D-black gold) spoke that without coal there was no "viable alternative" left for citizens to count on to keep the lights on and challenged environmentalists by saying in effect, that they couldn’t handle it if the lights were to be turned off for forty eight hours, and that they’d be "begging" for coal-powered electricity producers to turn the lights back on. Senator Walt Helmick (D-bottled water) rose in support of the black rock for it’s substantial revenue enhancing qualities. Then, it was announced that the coal association would be holding a reception just outside the senate chamber after the session for free food and drink - and even a big black (chocolate) cake with blue icing! It was a huge surprise for me personally when one of my own senators from the eastern panhandle, Senator Herb Snyder (D-Solid Waste), rose to speak the praises of how wonderful it is to have coal money distributed in the panhandle - and how the industry was like mom and apple pie. It took me awhile to get over that one. One by one, a total of eight senators spoke with forked tongue about the glories of the coal industry - but the biggest whopper of all was told by Senator Ron Stollings (D-Massey) whose county has the most coal mining. He said he has treated coal miners and their families for many years (he’s a doctor) but failed to mention the harmful effects of coal mining. Stollings went on to sing praises for Coal’s contribution to the workman’s comp fund, and again failed to mention an important fact - it was renegade coal companies that bankrupted the fund years ago when Govenor Underwood was in charge. Perhaps the most incredible claim of the entire affair came at the beginning of the proclamation where the first "whereas" talked about how the legislature works tirelessly to improve the "quality of life" for the citizens of the mountain state … I just felt like shouting "April Fools!" Federal Judge Blocks Streamlined MTR Permits Federal regulators may not approve new mountaintop removal operations through a streamlined permitting process until they further study the impacts of the proposed mining, a federal judge ruled this morning. U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin issued an injunction that blocked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from authorizing new valley fills through its "nationwide permit" procedure. In a long-awaited ruling, Goodwin concluded that the corps had not fully examined the cumulative impacts of approving mountaintop removal mines through this streamlined procedure. "The loss of thousands of miles of streams in Appalachia over the past twenty years ... and the loss of over 200 miles of streams in West Virginia alone vividly illustrates the impacts associated with mountaintop mining," Goodwin wrote in a 63-page opinion. Goodwin ruled in a case that had been awaiting a decision since August 2007, when lawyers asked the judge to review new issues after a federal appeals court overturned a previous decision by Goodwin against the corps. The decision puts more pressure on the Obama administration to work out its plans for dealing with the mountaintop removal issue. Corps lawyers have 60 days to decide if they will appeal Goodwin’s decision. "Judge Goodwin, I think, properly observed that the corps has not be complying with the law," said Joe Lovett, director of the Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment. "I hope with the new Obama administration the corps was already in the process of changing its behavior, and I hope this will help it along." The case differs from the one in front of U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers. Chambers ruled on — and was later overturned by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on — whether the corps had properly studied the potential impacts of "individual" clean water act permits for mountaintop removal mines. Goodwin was reviewing, in a suit brought by the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and other groups, the corps’ previously typical practice of using the more streamlined "nationwide permit" process for valley fills. Since Goodwin’s initial ruling in July 2004, the coal industry has more frequently been using individual permits than the streamlined process, said Carol Raulston, spokeswoman for the National Mining Association. But the ruling is still another blow to the coal industry, and a victory for citizen groups who are fighting to reduce or eliminate mountaintop removal. Since Jan. 1, the corps’ Huntington District has issued at least three nationwide permit authorizations for surface mining activities, according to agency records. Goodwin’s ruling and injunction apply only within the boundaries of the U.S. District Court’s Southern District of West Virginia. But within the district, the judge not only enjoined the corps from authorizing new mines under the streamlined process, but also blocked mine operators who intervened in the case "from all activities authorized" under the streamlined permit process. (From a March 31 Charleston Gazette article by reporter Ken Ward Jr.). Gazette Endorses McGinley for OSM Head In an April 1 editorial the Charleston Gazette endorsed West Virginia University law professor – and long-time WVEC friend – Pat McGinley for Director of the U.S. Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement. The Gazette says that the Obama administration is considering at least two Appalachian lawyers with records of representing coalfield residents for the position. One is McGinley, and the other is Joe Childers of Lexington, KY. Over the weekend, the Louisville Courier-Journal endorsed the Kentucky candidate to lead OSM, citing Childers’ 30 years of work on behalf of coalfield residents. Not wanting to be outdone, the Gazette urged "President Obama and his Interior Department to pick McGinley." "He has also spent a career representing coalfield families on issues involving property rights, taxes, water and blasting," the Gazette said. "McGinley also has an impressive scholarly record in the subject and is a confirmed champion of openness in government. He would bring the perfect background and ethic to the job of protecting the public’s interest." We here at WVEC couldn’t agree more! Public Financing for Supreme Court Races Killed in Senate Judiciary Committee By Carol Warren Last week we reported that the Supreme Court Public Financing Pilot Project (SB 311) was taken up and passed out of Judiciary Committee. We received some excellent support from friendly Senators and sponsors of our legislative bill, as well as House allies, in our effort to convince Senator Walt Helmick (D-Pocahontas) to place the bill on the Finance Committee agenda. We were elated Tuesday morning to find the bill on the Finance Committee agenda (I have copies of the agenda, suitable for framing!). Julie Archer and I went into the Finance Committee meeting feeling upbeat and relatively confident. The meeting was well underway when Del. Tim Manchin (D-Marion) came into the room to let us know the bill had been pulled. Apparently, the Governor is thinking of forming a commission to deal with judicial elections, thought this legislation might "interfere" with the commission’s work, and asked Senator Helmick not to take it up. Of all the outcomes we never expected! A number of our allies were quite upset, and even some opponents told us they were sorry about the way things had happened. We intend to explore ways to obtain representation for the WV Citizens for Clean Elections coalition on the Governor’s commission! The last couple of weeks have really been a roller coaster ride for those of us working on the Public Campaign Financing bills! Thanks so much to all of you who have supported our efforts with phone calls, email, and letters to legislators over the past weeks and years. Rest assured that Citizens for Clean Elections will continue the fight for public financing of political campaigns. House Resolution Supports Coal River Wind Farm By Alison Knezevich More than 40 members of the House of Delegates have signed a resolution supporting the development of a wind farm on Coal River Mountain in Southern West Virginia. Members of the group Coal River Mountain Watch hit the Capitol Thursday to lobby for the resolution, which was introduced this week by Raleigh County Democrat Sally Susman. Advocates for developing a utility-scale wind farm say it would produce more jobs and tax revenue than Massey Energy’s planned mountaintop removal mining operation. If strip mining continues to expand in the area, they say, local communities won’t be able to benefit economically from wind energy potential. On Thursday, the group held a news conference with several delegates to promote the resolution. "We are for West Virginia energy, no matter what it is," Susman said. "It is an energy state, and we just have to keep it open for everybody." The project could make West Virginia a national leader in renewable energy, supporters say. Another sponsor, Mike Manypenny, D-Taylor, said the state could have commercialized wind energy "a long time ago." "It’s time that we diversify West Virginia’s resources," he said. "Coal’s been king. Well, it’s time that wind sits on the throne next to coal." Rock Creek resident and community organizer Lorelei Scarbro said people who live in the area fear the effects of Massey’s plans. "Everything that I have is at risk, along with many, many other people who live along this mountain," she said. "What we are trying to do is salvage what’s left in our area." The resolution has been referred to the House Rules Committee. Editor’s Note: The amazing number of signatures on this resolution is the result of a tremendous lobbying effort by Rory McIlmoil and Lorelei Scarbro. Between the two of them they burned a lot of shoe leather and refused to take the first "no" as an answer. You guys ROCK!
The Final Week – What To Look For True to form, the Legislature has put off decisions on most of the important environmental legislation until the very last week of the session. Other than the Governor’s "transmission line tax bill" – HB 3000 – none of the Governor’s major energy related bills has passed both houses. So the WVEC lobby team is still working on: SB 297 – The Alternative and Renewable Energy Portfolio Act SB 375 – Post Mining Land Use Master Plans HB 2860 – Carbon Dioxide Sequestration Regulations Good energy related bills that are still alive include HB 2535, which would provide a $2,000 residential solar energy tax credit, and HB 2976, which updates state building codes. We are concerned about SB 279, industrial accidents and emergency response regulations that are far too weak, and which does not address at all the problem of MIC. And there is a host of terrible bills that should suffer a fitting death. These include: SB 45 — Authorizing DEP Secretary to sign NPDES permits SB 461 — Extending selenium compliance time for coal mines SB 564 — Requiring DEP finalize mine permits in six months SB 753 — Limiting land development ordinances HB 2931 — Eliminating the timber severance tax As you can see from our bill tracking list, we have removed all the "dead wood" – all the bills that have already failed to make it through the legislative process. We will deal with all that in our Legislative Wrap Up issue. Right now, we have more than enough "live wood" to deal with! |
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2206 Washington Street East - Charleston, WV 25311 (304) 414-0143 www.wvecouncil.org |