Archive for February, 2013
Recently, the Kentucky Division of Water attempted to sneak weakened selenium standards into their three-year review of water quality standards after the original 30-day public comment period. Kentuckians spoke up. Now the DOW has agreed to seek additional comments from the public on the selenium standards until March 1st.
Please tell the DOW to protect Kentucky’s aquatic resources from toxic selenium pollution.
The DOW has proposed to raise the acute standard for selenium in streams from 20 to 258 micrograms per liter, or even higher in some cases. The DOW has also proposed to replace the current chronic standard of five micrograms per liter in streams, with a measurement of the concentration of selenium in fish tissue. The current standards are supported by the EPA and scientific research, and should not be made less stringent.
Selenium is toxic to aquatic life even at very low levels. It bioaccumulates, meaning that it increases in concentration as it moves up the food chain, affecting fish and even aquatic birds. In fish, selenium toxicity can result in deformities and reproductive failure. Important Kentucky fish species, such as bluegill, sunfish and catfish, are particularly sensitive to selenium. At higher levels, selenium is toxic to people. Humans can be exposed to selenium through the water they drink and the fish they eat. Long-term exposure can damage the liver, kidneys, nervous system, and circulatory system.
Tell the DOW NOT to weaken Kentucky’s selenium water quality standards.
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For thousands in Kentucky and across Appalachia, Feb. 14th is more than just Valentine’s Day, it’s I Love Mountains Day. Our friends at Kentuckians for the Commonwealth shared photos, video and blog posts from the event, where mountain lovers celebrated their hope for Appalachia’s Bright Future. We wanted to share some of the highlights from an amazing event. Read more at www.kftc.org/blog/
Voices of I Love Mountains Day
KFTC members and friends celebrated their hope for Appalachia’s Bright Future at the annual I Love Mountains Day march and rally in Frankfort today.
“I believe in Harlan County’s Bright Future, in Kentucky’s Bright Future, in Appalachia’s Bright Future,” KFTC member Carl Shoupe of Benham told the crowd on the capitol steps. “But we must do more than want it. We have to dream it. We have to build it and protect it, together. We have to demand it and work for it every day. We have to organize for it and we have to vote for it.”
More than a thousand people met at the Kentucky River and marched up Capital Avenue to call for New Power – new energy, economic and political power – and an end to mountaintop removal and other destructive mining practices that threaten our mountains, water, air and health.
Twelve-year-old Ella Corder of Somerset, winner of the first I Love Mountains Day essay contest, also spoke at the rally. “We all have a fire in our hearts. It may have started as a small, weak flickering flame, but it grew, as does our love for our treasured mountains. We need to use that burning fire to stand up for what we believe in and let our voices be heard.”
Message to Members: I Love Mountains Day 2013 from Kentuckians For The Commonwealth on Vimeo.
Keynote speaker Silas House challenged those gathered to take action. “We have talked for years about the problems of mountaintop removal and this outlaw industry. For the past decade, KFTC has actively worked toward solutions with four main goals: enforcing existing laws, passing stronger laws where needed to protect health and environment, developing a diverse and sustainable local economy, and, lastly, developing clean energy solutions in the region. New Power.”
Elizabeth Sanders, who left the mountains with her family before she started high school and than returned as an adult, said, “Like many people I know, I reject the idea that people have to leave eastern Kentucky if they want opportunities and a good life. Some people will choose to leave; that’s their call. But many of us are choosing to stay, or choosing to come back. We love this place. We are committed to building a better future here.”
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Don’t forget, I Love Mountains Day 2013 is less than one week away.
On February 14th, join with hundreds of Kentuckians to call for an end to the destructive practice of mountaintop removal coal mining and ask our leaders for the clean energy solutions that provide good, safe jobs and healthy communities for Kentucky.
Will you join us at the capitol?
All over eastern Kentucky and Central Appalachia, residents of communities like Eolia, Hueysville, Benham, Lynch and Montgomery Creek are speaking up to protect their health and homeland from the destruction of coal and to create a more sustainable economy.
Come be one of the more than 1,200 people standing up for clean water, clean energy, and a just economic transition for eastern Kentucky.
9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Optional Citizen Lobbying in Room 111, Capitol Annex.
12:00 p.m. Gather at the Kentucky River below the bridge at Capitol Ave.
12:30 p.m. March to the Capitol (Flat route is .6 miles.)
1:15 p.m. Rally on the Capitol steps — speakers, music, and a vision for Ky.
2:00 p.m. I Love Mountains Valentine Delivery
Able to arrive early? Help us welcome our friends at Footprints for Peace as they Walk for a Sustainable Future
Wear red, invite a friend, and bring a homemade sign and a valentine for the governor.
Register online and learn more at www.kftc.org/love/.
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Later this month Administrator Lisa Jackson will retire as head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. During her term, the EPA took several important steps to encourage coal companies to do more to protect the water in Appalachia from destructive coal mining practices. Unfortunately it was not enough: a key guidance that EPA issued to protect Appalachian streams and communities is not legally binding.
Half-measures like these are unacceptable when the health of entire communities are on the line.
Mining companies and state agencies — who have made it clear that they will do everything they can to avoid these kinds of recommendations — need to be held accountable. We need real protections. The EPA must issue legally binding water quality standards for conductivity under the Clean Water Act to to protect streams and communities in Appalachia from mountaintop removal mining pollution.
Tell EPA and President Obama that everyone deserves clean water. Urge them to act now to permanently protect Appalachia from mountaintop removal mining!
Lisa Jackson made it clear that destroying mountains in Appalachia and poisoning streams and communities was not acceptable. We need to make sure her successor works alongside President Obama to finish the job.
Tell President Obama and that EPA that you will measure the legacy of his presidency by what he does to protect Appalachians from the effects of mountaintop removal.
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