Monday, February 8th, 2010

A much publicized tree-sit at the Bee Tree mine on Coal River Mountain has come to an end after nine days. Eric Blevins, 28, and Amber Nitchman, 19, descended from their trees this morning citing concerns from cold temperatures. Read the full press release by Climate Ground Zero.

Monday, February 8th, 2010

This blog post takes its title from a recent ABC report on a debate between Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Don Blankenship.

No matter who you think “WON” the debate, it was a great opportunity for mountaintop removal opponents and supporters to get together in the same room. There were no fights, name calling, and little vocalization in the debate room itself. Everyone was respectful of their long time adversaries… we were certainly impressed.

You should check out the commentary by the Appalachian Voice newspaper, and visit the University of Charleston’s official event page for video and audio of the event. They also have a roundup of radio and print articles.

Monday, February 8th, 2010

Ken Ward Jr. reports on his Coal Tattoo blog about a new study reviewing trends in Appalachian coal production. Prospects dont look good.

Given the numerous challenges working against any substantial recovery of the region’s coal industry, and that production is projected to decline significantly in the coming decades, diversification of Central Appalachian economies is now more critical than ever. State and local leaders should support new economic development across the region, especially in the rural areas set to be the most impacted by a sharp decline in the region’s coal economy.

That’s the take-home message from a major new report issued today by the Morgantown consulting group Downstream Strategies. The report is called, “The Decline of Central Appalachian Coal and the Need for Economic Diversification.”

It’s must-read material for anyone who cares about the future of the Appalachian coalfields, and especially for elected officials who keep hoping that the next coal boom is just around the corner.

Authors Rory McIlmoil and Evan Hansen make the case that a host of factors — competition from other coal-producing regions, rising interest in natural gas and renewable energy, and the depletion of Central Appalachia’s best reserves — has prompted a decline in regional coal production that is unlikely to be reversed.

. . .

Read the rest of his post on Coal Tattoo.

Monday, February 8th, 2010

Last week, a new study was released by by Dr. Michael Hendryx (Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine, West Virginia University)

Below is his own summary, and here is a link to the full text.

Education and Jobs, Jobs and Education: A proposal for funding economic redevelopment in Central Appalachia

To date, both the economic strength of the region and the education of its people have fallen far short of ideal. Our challenge is to find ways to redress these shortcomings. This essay will describe the educational and economic disadvantages experienced in Central Appalachia, and show how those disadvantages originate from the region’s overdependence on coal. The essay will also show that these disadvantages result in pervasive and severe health problems for the population. Then, the essay will propose a specific policy initiative based on redirecting funds from the coal severance tax to provide the financial and operational resources necessary to overcome these disadvantages and create a healthy, educated, productive population that will serve as the foundation for a renewed and sustainable economy for Central Appalachia.

Thanks to the Central Appalachian Prosperity Project for hosting the paper.

Monday, February 8th, 2010

“To each side, it looks like the EPA hasn’t made up its mind. Which
would make now the time to yell as loudly as possible,” said David A.
Fahrenthold, in his article “EPA crackdown on mountaintop coal mining
criticized as contradictory.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/27/AR2010012704588.html?referrer=emailarticle

Both sides of the mountaintop removal debate have the EPA under a
strict lens of scrutiny as decisions regarding permits emerge.

Decisions, such as as the agency’s decision to sign off on the Hobet
45 permit, one of the original 79 permits that the EPA withheld for
further review.

A decision that was released just days before a major study conducted
by members of the National Academy of Science was published in
“Science.” The study highlights the “pervasive and irreversible”
damage that mountaintop removal has on the environment and on the
people.

“But to many environmentalists and coal-industry leaders, the EPA’s
actions have seemed erratic and uncertain. It has criticized some
mines and approved others, both sides say, without drawing a clear
line between good and bad,” Farenthold said.

This incongruent decision-making paradigm leaves both sides wondering,
what will the EPA do next?

To read the full story click here.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/27/AR2010012704588.html?referrer=emailarticle

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Today, President Obama took questions from the House Republican Caucus, including one from Congresswoman Shelly Moore Capito (WV-02) about coal jobs in West Virginia. The exchange begins around minute 19.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Unofficial Transcript:

CONGRESSWOMAN CAPITO: Thank you, Mr. President, for joining us here today. As you said in the State of the Union address on Wednesday, jobs and the economy are number one. And I think everyone in this room, certainly I, agree with you on that.

I represent the state of West Virginia. We’re resource-rich. We have a lot of coal and a lot of natural gas. But our — my miners and the folks who are working and those who are unemployed are very concerned about some of your policies in these areas: cap and trade, an aggressive EPA, and the looming prospect of higher taxes. In our minds, these are job-killing policies. So I’m asking you if you would be willing to re-look at some of these policies, with a high unemployment and the unsure economy that we have now, to assure West Virginians that you’re listening.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Look, I listen all the time, including to your governor, who’s somebody who I enjoyed working with a lot before the campaign and now that I’m President. And I know that West Virginia struggles with unemployment, and I know how important coal is to West Virginia and a lot of the natural resources there. That’s part of the reason why I’ve said that we need a comprehensive energy policy that sets us up for a long-term future.

For example, nobody has been a bigger promoter of clean coal technology than I am. Testament to that, I ended up being in a whole bunch of advertisements that you guys saw all the time about investing in ways for us to burn coal more cleanly.

I’ve said that I’m a promoter of nuclear energy, something that I think over the last three decades has been subject to a lot of partisan wrangling and ideological wrangling. I don’t think it makes sense. I think that that has to be part of our energy mix. I’ve said that I am supportive — and I said this two nights ago at the State of the Union — that I am in favor of increased production.

So if you look at the ideas that this caucus has, again with respect to energy, I’m for a lot of what you said you are for.

The one thing that I’ve also said, though, and here we have a serious disagreement and my hope is we can work through these disagreements — there’s going to be an effort on the Senate side to do so on a bipartisan basis — is that we have to plan for the future.

And the future is that clean energy — cleaner forms of energy are going to be increasingly important, because even if folks are still skeptical in some cases about climate change in our politics and in Congress, the world is not skeptical about it. If we’re going to be after some of these big markets, they’re going to be looking to see, is the United States the one that’s developing clean coal technology? Is the United States developing our natural gas resources in the most effective way? Is the United States the one that is going to lead in electric cars? Because if we’re not leading, those other countries are going to be leading.

So what I want to do is work with West Virginia to figure out how we can seize that future. But to do that, that means there’s going to have to be some transition. We can’t operate the coal industry in the United States as if we’re still in the 1920s or the 1930s or the 1950s. We’ve got to be thinking what does that industry look like in the next hundred years. And it’s going to be different. And that means there’s going to be some transition. And that’s where I think a well-thought-through policy of incentivizing the new while recognizing that there’s going to be a transition process — and we’re not just suddenly putting the old out of business right away — that has to be something that both Republicans and Democrats should be able to embrace.

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

Did you see this?!?! Be sure to sign the pledge to help end mountaintop removal!

Friday, January 15th, 2010

Here are two articles about the recent adoption of “non-mandatory” mandatory changes to Kentucky surface mine regulations.

We’ll believe this changes surface mining practices when we see it!

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100107/GREEN/1070356/1008/NEWS01/Kentucky+adopts+tougher+surface-mining+guidelines
Kentucky has issued tougher guidelines for surface coal mines that officials say will protect streams and lead to faster and better reclamation of hillsides and mountains.
Advertisement

The guidelines, hammered out over the past year by federal and state regulatory officials, environmentalists and coal-industry representatives, call on coal operators to place more “spoil” material disrupted by mining — such as dirt and rock — back on the mine sites, instead of dumping it into valleys and stream beds. They are already in effect.

Though the guidelines aren’t mandatory, mine operators are expected to follow them because the state and federal agencies that issue permits for surface mining are part of the agreement and will base their permit decisions on it, said Linda Potter a spokeswoman for the state Department of Natural Resources.

….

http://www.kentucky.com/latest_news/story/1086985.html

The state is encouraging coal companies to use the new guidelines, but it’s not mandatory. However, federal agencies that have authority over some aspects of permit applications are requiring the use of the new practices, so as a practical matter, coal companies will use them, FitzGerald said.

And here is the response from Kentuckians for the Commonwealth:

http://www.kftc.org/blog/archive/2010/01/08/fill-minimization-will-it-happen

There is an important new protocol now in place for lessening the amount of toxic mining wastes dumped into streams. If enforced, it could help reduce significantly the destruction of our waterways. That is a good thing,

Titled the “fill placement optimization process” the document establishes a protocol (it reads largely like an engineering paper) for determining the amount of mining waste and where it should end up — first on the site being mined, then on adjacent abandoned mines and possibly in upper valley elevations (above stream level). It potentially diverts mining wastes from streams but does not ban dumping into streams. Basically, it establishes a possible protocol for enforcing existing law.

Download the Fill Placement Minimization Process document.

Download the state’s Reclamation Advisory Memorandum.

That’s the rub: state officials could (and should!) have been enforcing these laws all along had they chosen to do so. And the industry could have been obeying these laws. Instead, state officials have routinely granted waivers of the stream buffer zone (165 waivers out of a total of 251 new permits issued in 2005 and 2006) and reclamation laws. There is no evidence that they will not continue to do so, and this “new” policy — which the state is “encouraging” coal companies to follow — means nothing if the state and federal agencies are not going to require it. There are still plenty of loopholes.

That’s why the Stream Saver Bill and the Clean Water Protection Act are still needed. Coal companies should be prevented by law from filling our streams with their toxic wastes, not just “encouraged” to do so.

And given the Science journal study cited in our January 7 blog post, an outright prohibition of mountaintop removal and valley fills is the only real guarantee that our streams (and land and forests and people) will be protected and preserved.

We applaud the efforts of Tom FitzGerald and the Kentucky Resources Council to move the enforcement agencies a step closer to real enforcement of the law. Now it is up to enforcement officials to prove there will be action behind these words. Kentucky Resources Council to move the enforcement agencies a step closer to real enforcement of the law. Now it is up to enforcement officials to prove there will be action behind these words.

Mountaintop removal coal mine in Floyd or Magoffin County Kentucky by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, on Flickr

Friday, January 15th, 2010

This just in from the the great clean water advocates:

We are excited to announce that the Forum on the Future of Energy, where Waterkeeper Alliance President Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. will debate Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship, will be an online, interactive event.

Find out the latest news about the January 21, 2010 event and how you can participate by following us on Twitter and The Dirty Lie fan page on Facebook.

The University of Charleston will also be taking questions for the debaters in advance of the event - you can submit your questions to the University.

Thank you for your continued support of Waterkeeper Alliance and The Dirty Lie.

Sincerely,

Scott Edwards
Director of Advocacy
Waterkeeper Alliance

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

This just in from the Alliance for Appalachia Blog:

The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) is charged with enforcing the law on mountaintop removal. Unfortunately, decades of rollbacks and giving in to coal industry corruption have left coalfield communities virtually undefended. Exceptions to the surface mine law have become the rule, and problems with dust, blasting, toxic water and giant wastelands remaining unreclaimed are impacting the lives of thousands across the coalfields.

The OSMRE is asking for advice on how to enforce the law - and we need you to offer it. (link to website) Comments are due by January 19th - please click here to send in sample comments or offer your own. Many of you have had personal experiences with the OSMRE - and we encourage you to write about them.

When the OSMRE doesn’t hear from citizens, they assume you have nothing to say - please let them know we are paying attention and we expect the laws to be enforced.

Thanks for your help!