G.R.E.E.N.
Grass Roots Environmental Effort Newsletter
August, 1999
COME TO WVEC'S 11TH CONVENTION!!!
Having attended 9 of the 10 previous annual WVEC Fall Conventions, I find
that I have looked forward to each one with eagerness. This year we will have a
special presentation on publicly owned forests, "FOREVER WILD," that
will be a treat and inspiration to us all. The Convention's dates are September
17, 18, and 19 at Camp Pioneer in beautiful Randolf County.
I wholeheartedly agree with past President Jim Kotcon's assessment that WVEC
consists of the most exciting, friendly, interesting, committed, intelligent,
fun-loving, dedicated, creative, warm and knowledgeable people in West Virginia.
I am drawn like a magnet to return for fulfillment by associating with these
people who care deeply and are committed deeply to the protection of our state's
Beauty and environment.
In 1998, I was ready to "throw in the towel" and retire to other
pursuits in life. However, David Grubb's keynote address at last year's
convention inspired me to volunteer to be your President, and what a year it has
been. Never one to sit idly by, when I get involved, I get involved all over. My
theme, as President , has been to look at ourselves and our organization
"straight in the eye" and ask ourselves the following questions:
For the last 10 years, have we been doing the "BEST" we can for
West Virginia's environment? What are the "GOOD" things we have been
doing? What are we doing that needs changing? What should we do differently in
order to be more successful in protecting our environment?.
First, I want to thank all WVEC members for allowing me to be your President
and a special thanks to all of you that have given me your input concerning our
organization over the past year. Understanding that we must present a unified,
united front with all of our coalition partners in order to be successful in
challenging the special interests only concerned with profits, sometimes rubs
egos and agendas raw. We must continue, however, as this is our biggest strength
and the best course of action that has, and will continue to, in my opinion,
allow us to be successful.
I am confident that taking a good hard look at our strengths and weaknesses
and the pruning, if necessary, of the weaknesses will allow our WVEC to be a
stronger, better organized, and, therefore, a more successful organization as we
continue the good fight.
Just look at what we have accomplished in the last decade. With very little
visible assets, and with very strong support and commitment of the public and
our environmental partners we have remained dedicated to our mission:
"To facilitate communication and cooperation among citizens in
promoting environmental protection in West Virginia, to assist in organizing
grassroots groups, to facilitate interaction among established environmental
organizations and to correspond with all appropriate local, state and federal
agencies involved in the management of West Virginia's environment."
We have great accomplishments of which to be proud.
We must, in my opinion, nurture, embrace, sustain, enhance and support all of
our environmental partners by all means necessary, including:
Better and faster communications, better listening skills, better
organization skills, better use of our talents and skills and better work ethics
(working harder and smarter).
Promoting our interests without compromising our integrity and allegiance to
WVEC's goals and objectives as established yearly by the members at our fall
convention.
The pride I take in being a part of this organization's past performances and
the dedication that I have toward helping it achieve its goals and objectives
has been such a consuming interest in the 10 years since the formation of WVEC,
that I now find myself so entrenched that I see no way of becoming disengaged.
As I move from the Presidency to the office of Past President, I assure you that
I will continue to work to assist WVEC in sticking to its mission and help in
any way I can in obtaining WVEC Goals and Objectives.
I, as President, hereby issue a General invitation to all WVEC members and to
all Citizens of the Great State of West Virginia to please attend our WVEC Fall
Conference this year, and bring your families and friends with you to enjoy the
camaraderie and fun and good feeling that can be yours as you associate with and
help us that are dedicated to protecting the environment in West Virginia.
We firmly believe that you agree the following are important: air clean
enough to breathe; water fit to drink; a clean, healthy environment in which to
live, grow, raise our children, work and play.
Please come and enjoy the good feeling that comes from doing your part in
helping to protect your and your children's futures. Come, let us reason
together. Come, and be a part of making a difference. Come, and feel better
about yourself. Come and help. See below for agenda.
I thank you again for the honor and privilege of being WVEC president. I am
going to remain involved. You can reach me at: 304-286-2204 or E-mail: gsd01785@mail.wvnet.edu
or at HC-68, Box-25, Ivydale, WV 25113.
Mountain Musings
by Charlie Feldhake
On Friday August 6, Larry Gibson was walking near Oak Hill when confronted by
someone claiming to be a heavy equipment operator for a coal mining operation.
He was angry about Larry's protest-walk claiming Larry was a threat to his job.
He claimed he left a $9 an hour job in Kentucky for a $20 an hour job in West
Virginia and there was no way he could get another job making that much if his
mine got shut down.
That got me thinking a little bit about how the free market economy operates.
Before I continue with this train of thought I would like to first state that I
think underground miners deserve every penny they make and then some. But, it
would seem like a heavy equipment operator on a mountaintop removal site isn't
doing anything too different from a heavy equipment operator on a construction
site.
So, if this guy is telling the truth, why is a coal company paying him more
than twice as much as a construction company would? In a free market economy you
only have to pay as much as you need to in order to attract your required labor.
Why would a non-union coal company doing mountaintop removal in an area with
high unemployment pay twice as much as a construction company?
One answer might be that they do it out of the goodness of their hearts. It
might make them feel good to pay their employees extra. Somehow that answer
doesn't ring true. If they were so civic-minded they would not try to dodge
paying Workers Comp., and they would make sure they paid a fair property tax so
that schools in the counties in which they operate were adequately funded. They
would also make sure reclaimed land was put back to a economically beneficial
use for future generations.
If there is a differential between what the free market dictates a job skill
is worth and what a mountaintop removal job is paying, then just what is being
bought with that extra money?
I have heard it said that if a miner doesn't like what he sees being done to
a community by his coal company and dares to complain that he is likely to be
fired. Could it be that the extra money is buying silence?
I have heard horror stories of how mountaintop removal is ruining wells,
cracking foundations of houses, threatening people's safety with blasting
debris, and causing dust and noise pollution. Could it be this extra money is
buying insensitivity to doing harm to fellow citizens?
I have heard stories of people that refused to sell their property to coal
companies, fearing to let their children play outside because coal trucks
suddenly started swerving into their yard. I have heard of people who refused to
sell out having their dogs mysteriously shot. Could it be that extra money
occasionally buys harassment?
You routinely hear of companies shutting down mines and terminating jobs with
no more than minutes notice. Could it be that extra money is buying apathy over
how the company treats other workers? Could it be to pay for working with no job
security and working with the knowledge that when their own job is terminated no
one will protest? Could it be to help them not think about the overwhelming
probability that they will indeed someday be terminated?
Could the extra pay be a reward for being willing to swallow company
propaganda hook, line, and sinker? Could it be to help convince employees that
illegal permits are really OK and that being allowed to break the law is a good
trend for our country? Could it be to create a climate of desperation so
employees will do anything for the company just so they can hang on to the
life-style dangled before them with no alternatives.
I don't claim to know why those Mountain Top Removal jobs pay so well. I just
can't help wondering why they pay more than other jobs.
Quarry Industry Poised to Undermine Law
by Rick Eades
After the industry Quarry bill was defeated in 1998 and dead-on-arrival in
1999, the corpse now has fresh lipstick. Former House Judiciary lawyer Mike
McThomas and Mike Clowser (point man for the one-month-old Crushed Aggregate
Association) reflects an industry that wants to quietly bury environmental
concerns in rock dust. Look out Wood, Pocahontas, and Hardy County groups
already disgusted with a virtually unregulated industry.
Interim legislative meetings have revealed some bad omens for environmental
interests. DEP's Rocky Parsons offered his quarry slide show for an hour during
August interims (aerial photos across the state, with a litany of positive
comments and little mention of controversial permits). That after a so-called
stakeholder meeting in July occurred with only 2 citizens receiving prior notice
from the legislative committee co-chair, Herb Snyder.
The law is being drafted as you read this, and scary provisions could
eliminate a 100-foot buffer from roads, leave groundwater unprotected, underfund
any pretense of reclamation, and dissolve the only good provision in existing
28-year-old law to protect sensitive areas. Worse, the industry wants to
grandfather existing permits, some of which would allow mineing for 100 years
without meeting new requirements, and as always will strive to underfund the
enforcement program. Call your elected officials now, and co-chair Herb Snyder
(304-357-7866) ASAP and ask for realistic funding and sensitive area protection.
Lawmaker & Coal - MTR Humble Pie
by Rick Eades
In the August interim legislative meetings, coal heavyweights and DEP
regulators sat stone-faced, as the legislative committee heard a nearly 2-hour
presentation from the lawyers in the MTR mining lawsuit settlement. God Bless
Judge Haden, but on this day DEP lawyer Brian Glaser was the one serving humble
pie to all.
By Glaser's own admission, complemented by Joe Lovett, the DEP was not
enforcing the law in so many areas that legislators must have felt blind-sided.
Lawmakers had hard looks for the faces in the crowd which had repeatedly assured
them the law was being followed, and had fed them so much BS the past 2 years.
Besides the buffer zone rule that still is unsettled, the DEP had not ensured
that water rights had been protected, had no objective policy to restore land to
approximate original contour, had no real post mining land use where variances
had been granted, had butchered the use of "woodlands" as an approved
post mining land use and.....you get the picture.
Moreover, Committee chair and SB681 sponsor, Lloyd Jackson, seemed concerned
that the settlement did not go far enough. He was surprised that blasting issues
had not been resolved and surprised by an obvious underestimation of the cost to
oversee the technical adherence to the settlement provisions. He also asked if
old sites that had been poorly reclaimed could be addressed. NOT! As Glaser and
Lovett noted, brutal compaction of poor quality soils have essentially left a
wasteland. It will be a lot harder to sell tickets to this year's coal gala,
celebrating reclamation heroes. Most of these folks may still be bloated from
such copious quantities of crow.
Let's not forget the sweat and tears of Jimmy Weekley, Carlos Gore, Patricia
Bragg, the WV Highlands Conservancy, Cindy Rank, Pat McGinley, Joe Lovett and
scores of others who have brought the truth to light. Stay tuned for the next
round of tricks from the coal industry and their many hired guns, including the
one in the Governor's mansion.
Blackwater Canyon Update
by Viv Stockman, WV Highlands Conservancy
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between John Crites and Governor
Underwood is still in the works. Lindy Point has not yet been transferred to the
state park system.
As we await this small protection for the Canyon, the WV Highlands
Conservancy continues its campaign to save the entire Canyon on several fronts.
To learn about the many aspects of the campaign visit www.wvhighlands.org
or e-mail inquiries to vivian@wvadventures.net.
Several months ago, Jason Huber, the Conservancy's attorney, filed an
Endangered Species Act based-lawsuit against AWP on behalf of the threatened and
endangered species living in Blackwater Canyon. We should soon have an
announcement regarding the lawsuit.
More organizations have joined with the Conservancy in calling for the
establishment of the Blackwater Canyon National Park. Your letters to elected
officials and editors help tremendously in this campaign, so please keep 'em
coming.
Several folks have asked how the Walk for the Mountains turned out. Answer:
Great!
Vivian Stockman, for OVEC, www.ohvec.org
OVEC is in the midst of calculating the mileage right now-it looks like Larry
Gibson logged a total of 492 miles.
Over 100 people turned up for the last event-the "Welcome Home" on
the State Capitol grounds in Charleston on Saturday, August 21. Larry, Julian
Martin and others gave moving speeches. At the end, everyone joined hands and
sang songs about our mountains. The event had the feeling of a wonderful family
reunion.
Throughout the walk, we had excellent press coverage, including quite a bit
of TV news. Media in areas of the state that had never covered mountaintop
removal before took note of the walk and explained the devastation caused by
this form of coal mining. The Walk for the Mountains was quite a success in
spreading the word about mountaintop removal. Thanks to all of you who helped!
One other note-send money if you can. We have encountered staggering
walk-related bills, especially the cell phone bill. Please earmark your
donations for "Walk for the Mountains." Send donations to: OVEC, POB
6753, Huntington, WV 25773.
Greenwashing the Public Schools
Bill Willers, Biology Dept., University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, willers@uwosh.edu
In the book "Let's Talk About Clearcutting: A Forestry Book For
Youth," published in 1998 by the Pennslyvania Bureau of Forestry and
"endorsed" by the Pennsylvania Forestry Assn., the first sentence is
"Let's talk about clearcutting - what it is, what it is not, why some
people do not like it, and why it is useful."
The last sentence in the book is "So you see...when clearcutting is done
in the right place, in the right way, and at the right time, it can be good for
people, good for wildlife, and good for the forest."
Everything in between is clever, subtle propaganda (dispensed with public
money).
The campaign to get industrial propaganda to children is multipronged -
through countless governmental and private programs that look valid on the
surface but that convey the industrial point of view.
Project Learning Tree (PLT) is in the public schools in every state.
Teachers, many of whom know virtually nothing about forests, are easily
convinced that PLT programs are objective, and so they become tools for
conveying the industrial view of forest to future generations.
New Blasting Rules & Aftershocks
by Rick Eades
Blasting rules to meet the new MTR mandates have been drafted by the
"Stakeholder Process," which had a 3:1 initial and 16:1 final ratio of
"I Love Coal" folks to citizens concerned with blasting damages.
Coalfield residents who have suffered damages and worked for 2 years with the
legislature to address their needs for protection and compensation must be
feeling aftershocks.
The new law creates the Office of Explosives and Blasting within DEP, yet as
recently as August 18, new DEP Director Castle has offered some coalfield
residents a remedy from what they feel is poor responsiveness from DEP's Logan
field office. Mr. Castle has directed those residents to forward complaints to
the Nitro Office. Kudos to Mr. Castle, but he will be hard pressed to run the
OEB, given its required tasks and pathetic allocation of funds from the
legislature.
Water levels in wells will not be measured prior to blasting as the law
requires. The simple reality, as I noted many times to legislators last session,
is that liability for damaging wells to check water levels and interrupting
supply will preclude any sensible contractor from collecting the data. Again,
residents will have no baseline water level data on which to base claims.
Bye-bye to the cornerstone of well replacement that coal and lawmakers wanted so
much credit for in March.
Worse, the claims and arbitration process that was developed with such good
intentions traps citizens if they seek to use it. As the new rules move through
the legislature, the arbitration provisions may well allow for a horribly
imbalanced process. Draft rules were offered that could see arbitration with a
coal executive, a blasting or engineering expert, and their attorney sitting
across from Mom, Pop, and their (above $1,000 costs) pro bono representative.
Good luck, Mom and Pop!
Studies mandated by the new law to determine blast impacts and set design
standards for preventing damage are at present a bigger pipe dream. First, the
EPA in its environmental impact statement on the industry is going to allocate
exactly zero dollars to measuring water level fluctuations in wells during
blasting. That leaves the legislature to fund that and other research efforts,
which DEP has estimated will costs $350K (and I contend that is a paltry sum to
really do the job).
But the biggest gut punch to citizens and the DEP makes all the former issues
(and many more unlisted herein) insignificant. With over 2,600 claims of
blasting damage, a brand new claims process set up to deal with those damages,
and all the studies required by law to be finished in 16 months, the legislature
appropriated a whopping $100K to fund the new office until June of 2000. I
wonder whose wisdom and influence contributed to such a robust and sincere
commitment to the new OEB. Welcome to the whipping post, Mr. Castle.
Oh by the way, and with no correlation in any regard except for
the amount of explosives used, the 314,000 tons used in West Virginia
(90% in coal mining) is roughly equivalent to 1,000 Oklahoma City blasts per
county per year. Perhaps a call to your legislator to suggest reasonable
funding for the OEB would be appropriate.
Canyon Critters Study
by Viv Stockman for WVHC
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between John Crites and Governor
Underwood is still in the works. Lindy Point has not yet been transferred to the
state park system.
As we await this small protection for the Canyon, the WV Highlands
Conservancy continues its campaign to save the entire Canyon on several fronts.
To learn about the many aspects of the campaign visit: www.wvhighlands.org,
or e-mail inquiries to vivian@wvadventures.net.
Several months ago, in one arm of the campaign to save the Canyon, Jason
Huber, the Conservancy's attorney, filed an Endangered Species Act based-lawsuit
against Appalachian Wood Products (AWP) on behalf of the threatened and
endangered species living in Blackwater Canyon. An order by the judge in the
case has cleared the way for the first-ever surveys of endangered species on AWP
Canyon property.
More organizations have joined the Conservancy in calling for the
establishment of the Blackwater Canyon National Park. The National Park Trust is
featuring the Canyon as a potential new national park in its current report.
Your letters to elected officials and editors help tremendously in this
campaign, so please keep 'em coming.
TMDL Draft Report Comments
by Lew Baker
In June, the EPA released its draft TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) for
dioxin for the Kanawha River, Pocatalico River and Armour Creek. The period to
enter public comments ended on August 16. The following are excerpts from
comments submitted to EPA by Lew Baker on behalf of the West Virginia Citizen
Research Group and OVEC.
The West Virginia Citizens Research Group provided US EPA Region III
Administrator McCabe and Assistant Administrator Voltaggio a dioxin fingerprint
analysis for the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers, tracing most of the rivers' dioxin
toxicity back to Monsanto at Nitro, WV. Dioxin with Monsanto's Agent Orange
fingerprints can be recognized for hundreds of miles downstream in the Ohio
River and its fish! Three decades after Vietnam, the Kanawha River's fish still
contain unsafe levels of Agent Orange's dioxin. Thirty years after Vietnam, and
EPA's negligence, Kanawha River fish still represent a one in a thousand cancer
risk level. This draft TMDL did not compare fish data to risk levels, in order
to establish load allocations, as did the EPA's Dioxin TMDL for the Columbia
River.
On a spring day last year, the Kanawha's measured dioxin load was 25% greater
than EPA's estimated total daily dioxin discharge from 104 pulp mills!
Data show that the highest dioxin concentration also coincided with the
highest flow, a clear indication suspended sediments can account for most of the
dioxin loading. Contaminated sediments, such as the Kanawha River hot spots
discovered by EPA last year, may even account for most of the loading under
moderate to low flow conditions. More data should be collected. Will it be?
The TMDL study failed to mention EPA's own Contaminated Sediment Management
Strategy document, which calls for cleanup of seriously contaminated sediments
by the responsible party (in this case Monsanto), with Superfund program
oversight. An honest omission? Will this be corrected?
Will EPA add the dioxin contaminated sediments in the Nitro area to its
National Inventory of Contaminated Sediments? Somehow they have been omitted
from that inventory, even though EPA has known about them for many years. Will
this be omission be corrected?
Will EPA ask the US Army Corps of Engineers to cooperate in planning how to
deal with the serious dioxin contaminated sediments in the Nitro area? Dredging
may stir up dioxins and let them spread, even if done carefully. Dredging cannot
be done without their support or involvement.
The Corps issues permits for dredging of the rivers' sediments. A permit has
been issued by WV DEP and the Corps to Voyager Coal to mine the Kanawha River's
sediments for coal fines, between the Coal River and Nitro. This permit was
issued over citizens' objections, as it violated the EPA/Corps guidance, as well
as common sense. The draft TMDL failed to mention commercial dredging, or even
barge traffic for that matter, as potential means of re-suspending contaminated
sediments. It happens here. Will the TMDL study be revised to acknowledge this
fact?
The Corps has an outdated (1981) Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the
effects of dredging clean sediments in the Ohio River. As it is also
contaminated with dioxins, PCBs, etc., shouldn't the EPA and the Corps be
writing a new EIS on the effects of commercial dredging of contaminated
sediments in these waters? Will the draft TMDL be revised to recommend input
from the Corps?
The draft report's multiple omissions speak volumes, leaving little doubt the
TMDL team at Region III hasn't put forward the effort equal to the task.
Therefore a new TMDL team should be assembled at EPA Region III. If the multiple
shortcomings in the draft TMDL listed above cannot be remedied prior to the
TMDL's deadline, then the new TMDL team should begin gathering the available
information from EPA's RCRA, CERCLA, and NPDES programs to produce a new draft
ASAP. The new team should offer all other willing stake-holders a place at the
table from the beginning, and be open to honest dialogue.
What to do with Tires?
by Tom Degen
Judiciary Subcommittee A is studying tires, and at the August meeting I heard
the re-hashed discussions of whether facilities should pay or charge to burn
tires, framed by extremely suspect claims that waste tires are a
"fuel" that burns cleaner than coal. Those discussions are advanced by
a distinct minority of the committee, while the rest of the members are quiet.
It seems to me that the committee is floundering over the question of what to do
with tires.
As I walked across the Capitol's roof on my way to the legislators' offices,
I noticed that it was being replaced. The material being used is rubber, widely
considered to be the best roofing material according to my friends in the
roofing business. When I was working on my truck last week, I noticed there are
rubber pieces in the fender wells to deflect mud. On my way home, I drove
through a stretch of interstate that was being repaved. When the little country
road that I live on was repaved earlier this year, the roadbase was built up to
widen the road. The other day when I bought new tires for my truck, I couldn't
help but notice that they are made from rubber.
I know that the technology exists to use rubber from tires in all of these
applications, yet I wondered how much recycled rubber from tires was actually in
all these products.
When I got home, I wiped my feet on our doormat that is made from strips of
rubber cut from tires. The facility that makes these is operated by the solid
waste authority of which I am a member, and also makes bed liners for trucks,
speed bumps for parking lots, and playground equipment out of the same material.
The fledgling operation is in trouble due to the fact that the grant programs
that made it possible are drying up.
The answers of what to do with tires are all around us. Please contact the
committee members and suggest to them that they can use various combinations of
requirements and incentives to encourage these proactive uses. I think they
would appreciate the help.
Quarries
by Tom Degen
At Judiciary Subcommittee A's August meeting, Rocky Parsons, Assistant Chief,
Office of Mining & Reclamation, submitted a letter that presented the DEP's
concerns and objectives concerning quarry legislation. Briefly, these are:
Regulate sand, sandstone, and limestone;
Provide for site specific mining and reclamation plans;
Requiring reclamation bond;
Providing for permanent disposal areas for excess material (read "valley
fill")
Regulate chert, flint, slate, and dolomite;
Authority to allow transfer, reassignment or sale of permits;
Changing inspection frequency from 15 days to 30 days or as often as
necessary;
Monitoring and protecting quantity and quality of surface and groundwater;
Water rights replacement;
Public hearings on permit applications and significant revisions;
Authority for permit modification and revisions;
Providing for exception to current 100 foot buffer;
Training and certification of blasters;
Changing enforcement from criminal to civil and restricting the issuance of
cessation orders to situations of imminent harm to environment, public safety,
or failing to abate a Notice of Violation;
Providing opportunity for consent agreements;
Exempting federal, state, and locally funded construction from permit
requirements;
Reclamation fund to provide for rehabilitation of abandoned sites;
Requiring pre-blast surveys for new permits;
Grandfathering for existing disturbed areas that have been stabilized.
Many disagreements exist on how these would be implemented. For example,
there is merit to the idea of site specific plans, but these plans provide the
opportunity to write in what some consider too much discretion on the director's
(and the applicant's) behalf. Grandfathering of only existing disturbed areas is
great, but only requiring pre-blast surveys on new permits essentially means
very few pre-blast surveys would be required. Public hearings on significant
revisions sounds good, but who gets to request a hearing, and how one defines
significant revisions will have a great effect on that. Water rights replacement
will probably not happen without a presumption of liability similar to that in
the oil and gas law.
Funding issues raised during the meeting included the low permit fees, low
bonding and insurance requirements, and whether to fund reclamation from a bond
pool or a per ton severance tax.
According to Rocky, there are 130 sites covering 11,000 acres in West
Virginia. Last year, 16 million tons of rock were quarried. When asked how many
counties these quarries were in, he said that they were pretty well distributed.
When asked how many abandoned sites there were, Rocky said he didn't know, they
were everywhere, many of them are small.
I have heard that staff will be working on a draft bill for the next interim
session, so I would urge anyone with concerns to contact committee members,
especially the co-chairs, Senator Snyder and Delegate Linch.
AGENDA -- 11th Annual WVEC Convention September 17, 18 & 19, 1999 Camp
Pioneer, Beverly, WV
"Moving into the 21st Century, Protecting our Environment Against
Degradation"
Friday, Sept. 17, 1999
5:00 - 9 PM Registration
6:00 - 8:00 PM - Open Spaces - Introduction by Mary Pat Peck & Liz
Sampson. Design and conduct your own Workshop, Your Subject. New Concept that
can be very Interesting.
Corridor H Alternatives and Rivers Coalition presentations
8:00 PM - Informal celebration/discussion with Larry Gibson and his
Walk For the Mountains
9:00 PM - Free time and informal work groups on the latest issues
Saturday, Sept. 18, 1999
7:30- 8:30 AM - Breakfast - Bring your own or reserve for $5
8:45- Noon: Registration
9:00 AM Welcome - Elizabeth Sampson, President, WVEC
9:10 - 10:15 AM "We all live on a DOT" Session. Everyone
participates!!!
1) introduce yourself; 2) explain what issue brought you here; 3) what you
would like to receive from this convention; and 4) what got you off the couch
10:15 - 10:25 Break - Ten Minutes!
10:25 to 11:00 AM - Issue Reviews, Introduction by Liz Sampson: Lobby
team describes legislative initiatives-- 1) Solid Waste, Quarries, Tires: Tom
Degen 2) Mining Issues: to be announced 3) Election Reform: Mike Withers 4)
Clean Water: Rick Eades 5) Clean Air: Denise Poole 6) Blackwater Canyon: Vivian
Stockman
11:00 - Noon - Legislators' Panel - What do they need to hear from us
to convince them to promote our legislative agenda?
Noon - 1:30 PM - Regional Meetings and LUNCH (bring your own). Join
with others in your region to discuss and identify local issues. Select your
Regional member of the WVEC Board.
1:30 PM - 2:45 PM - Plenary Session: "FOREVER WILD", an
inspiring presentation about protecting our publicly owned lands, by Robin
Smith, Representative for the Ohio Region of The Native Forest Council, Eugene,
Oregon. Followed with Discussion/Questions.
2:45-3:00 Break
3:00-4:00 Concurrent workshops (facilitators)
1) Mountaintop Removal: Frank Young; 2) Utility Deregulation: Jim Kotcon,
Linda Mallet; 3) PERC-WV(Election Reform): Janet Fout, Norm Steenstra; 4) Timber
Issues (public/private): Mike Withers
4:00 - 5:00 PM Concurrent workshops (facilitators)
5) Effective Press Releases & Media Contact: Vivian Stockman; 6)
Quarries, tires & solid waste: Tom Degen et al; 7) Poultry 8) TMDLs and
other Water Issues (e.g., Dioxin): Evan Hanson & Lew Baker; 9) Air Quality
Regulations: Mary O'Ferrell & Jim Kotcon
5:00 PM - Annual North/South Softball - Bring your glove
6:00-7:00 PM - Pot Luck Supper
7:00 PM - Environmental Activities for Young People (ages 6-12) - to
be announced
7:00 -9:00 PM - Group Discussion - What are our legislative concerns?
Priorities set Sunday AM by Group.
9:00 PM Silent Auction Concludes. Top Bids Announced
10:00 PM Camp Fire - Songs, Fun & Frolic. (Bring your musical
instrument)
Sunday, September 19
7:30 - 8:45 AM - Breakfast On your own or reserve for $5
8:30 AM - 9:00 AM - Non-denomination Church Worship Services,
conducted by Mary Ellen O'Farrell
9:00 AM - 10:30 AM - Continue Legislative Discussions
10:30 AM - 10:45 AM - Break
10:45 AM - Noon - Building Consensus on a Legislative Agenda. Vote for
your priorities. Volunteer for Campaign Committees. Write bills!
Noon - Wrap-up and Clean Up
12:30 - 1:30 PM - WVEC Board Meeting (elect officers, schedule
future meetings, etc.)
SILENT AUCTION
Plan on donating something to the auction. Food, art, a service, and/or white
elephants cluttering up your home are excellent (and fun) things to bring. The
more creative you get, the more fun and funds we'll bring in. For more details
and suggestions on how you can support the auction, call us at 346-5891.
DIRECTIONS TO CAMP PIONEER
From Elkins, WV go south on Rt 219 to Beverly. In Beverly, turn left on Files
Creek Road. Travel approximately 3 miles to 4-H Camp Rd., turn right and you're
there! If you have any problems, call the camp at (304) 636-3638.
REGISTRATION FORM
State Forests Comments
Give your input on the state's forests. Dates for the WV Division of
Forestry's release of draft plans for the state forests are:
Cabin Creek------------------Oct/Nov 1999
Seneca and Calvin Price-----Nov/Dec 1999
Kumbrabow------------------Jan/Feb 2000
Panther------------------------Mar/Apr 2000
Cabwaylingo-----------------May/June 2000
Kanawha----------------------July/Aug 2000
Coopers Rock----------------Sept/Oct 2000
Submit your concerns for the state forests NOW, so that you can have a voice
as the drafts are being developed. Call 558-2788.
MTR Comment Period
Judge Haden's comment period on the proposed mountaintop removal settlement
ends on September 30. He has promised to personally review all submitted
comments. To let him know how you feel about mountaintop removal, please send a
letter to:
- Judge Haden
- Clerk, United States District Court
- PO Box 3924
- Charleston, West Virginia 25339
Information on the settlement is on-line at www.fedcourtwvsd.com
and hard copies are available at the federal courthouses in Charleston and
Huntington.
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