Encouraging news from our friends in Virginia at Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards:

Contact:
Kathy Selvage (276) 523-4380, (276) 219-2721
Adam Wells (276) 523-4380, (804) 240-4372
samsva@gmail.com
www.samsva.org

Community delivers letter to DMME urging denial of Ison Rock Ridge permit with over 300 signatures.

Concerned residents delivered a letter addressed to Jackie Davis at the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy office requesting that the Department deny the proposed mountaintop removal permit on Ison Rock Ridge near the town of Appalachia in Wise County, Virginia. The letter, which was accompanied by the signatures of over 300 potentially impacted community members, was based on an earlier EPA directive to the US Army Corps of Engineers to deny the ‘nationwide 21’ permit for surface mining operations on Ison Rock Ridge.

“These signatures represent the overwhelming community opposition to strip mining on Ison Rock Ridge.” Said Larry Bush, retired mine federal mine inspector and chairman of the board for Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards. “These signatures came from our friends and neighbors here in the coal camps”, said Bush.

After presenting their letter to DMME, the group displayed two certificates. One, a “Certificate of Appreciation” the other, a “Certificate of Failure to Protect Communities and Follow Science”. A spokesperson from the group informed DMME that one of the two awards would be given once DMME makes a decision on the pending permit. A ruling from DMME is expected within the next week. It is their hope to award the “Certificate of Appreciation”

Residents of the town of Appalachia, Andover, Inman, Derby and other nearby communities fear that strip mining on Ison Rock Ridge would seriously degrade their quality of life and put their family’s safety at risk. Portions of the proposed permit are within town limits. The EPA’s letter to the Army Corps cites that the cumulative impacts of prior surface mining operations in the Powell River watershed render the ecosystems unable to absorb any more damages from sedimentation and heavy metal run-off.

“The EPA has created a clear mandate.” Said Derby resident Bob Mullins who worked to gather over 100 of the signatures from his neighbors. “ Now it’s DMME’s turn to show that they will follow the science laid out by the EPA and listen to the voices from the community. I hope that DMME will deny this permit.”

The Ison Rock Ridge permit covers nearly 1,300 acres and would destroy three miles of streams and fill nine lush valleys with more than 11 million cubic yards of rock and dirt. The massive mountaintop removal coal mine would surround the community of Derby, bringing destruction within a half mile of the historic district. Other nearby affected communities include Andover, Inman, and Osaka and the Town of Appalachia.

Another letter, also signed by community members, was delivered to the EPA this morning thanking the Agency for taking action to protect the communities threatened by strip mining on Ison Rock Ridge. This letter was delivered at a meeting, hosted by the Power Past Coal project, between the EPA and 6 delegates from across the county representing different stages of the coal ‘life cycle’. This meeting is a part of the final events of the “100 days of action to power past coal”.

Attached is a media advisory for this event as well as both letters from the community.

“What we’re doing today is just one more step to prove to DMME that this permit should not be granted.” Said retired coal miner Pete Ramey, President of Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards. “We hope to soon be able to send a thank you letter to DMME like the one delivered today to EPA.”

J.W. Randolph, our crack Washington, DC Legislative Associate who started his career with Appalachian Voices at our weekly volunteer nights, married his childhood sweetheart Elizabeth Vance in a beautiful wedding ceremony on April 18, 2009 in Chattanooga, TN. J.W. is our key individual lobbying for the Clean Water Protection Act, and has taken the bill far beyond our wildest dreams. He is currently on honeymoon in Costa Rica, if you’re there and happen to see him, tell him to get back to work!

Seriously, congratulations to J.W. and Elizabeth!

Charlotte, NC – On Monday, April 20th, 2009 over 300 citizens took a stand against the proposed Cliffside coal-fired power plant, and 44 were willingly arrested.

The demonstration was organized by a coalition of over a dozen environmental, faith-based and social justice groups, which are calling on Duke Energy and the state of North Carolina to cancel construction of the Cliffside coal power plant expansion. The new unit is predicted to cost $2.4 billion and emit an estimated six million tons of carbon dioxide every year for the next 50 years.

The Cliffside Climate Action is the latest in the growing wave of civil disobedience demanding that the country move away from coal power.

For more information, go to: stopcliffside.org

(reposted from YouTube)

Former Appalachian Voices’ executive director Mary Anne Hitt recently received the University of Tennessee’s Notable Woman award.

The award, given every year since 1995 by the University of Tennessee Commission for Women, honors “a woman whose accomplisments bring distinction to the university.” Margaret Crawford, who serves as chair of the commission, says they were drawn to Hitt, because she “exemplified a person who was committed to the type of work that she was doing as an undergraduate.”

Hitt’s thesis for UT’s College Scholars program, entitled “The Greening of the Big Orange,” examined campus policies concerning recycling, energy use and waste disposal, and has since become the framework for the campus’ sustainability agenda. She also founded the campus’ first environmental group, SPEAK, or Students Promoting Environmental Action in Knoxville. The group continues to make an impact on the campus today.

Since graduating from UT in 1997, Hitt has worked tirelessly to end mountaintop removal in Appalachia. She served as the Executive Director for Appalachian Voices until 2008, while there she partnered with Google Earth Outreach to use satellite images to show the devastating effects of mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia. She now serves as the deputy director of the National Coal Campaign for the Sierra Club.

“Controversial” resolution – introduced by Raleigh County Delegate Sally Susman with 41 Co-Sponsors and strong Raleigh County support – prevented from going to House Floor for a vote

CHARLESTON, WV – Early Wednesday evening, Speaker Rick Thompson and other members of the House Rules Committee decided to prevent H.C.R 52, or the “Resolution Supporting the development of a permanent utility-scale wind farm on Coal River Mountain in Raleigh County, West Virginia,” from being moved out of the Committee and back to the House Floor for a full vote.

Raleigh County Delegate Sally Susman introduced the resolution on Tuesday, March 31st, in recognition of the obvious economic advantage the wind farm would bring to her county in relation to the proposed mountaintop removal operation. At the time it was introduced, the resolution had a total of 6 original sponsors and 35 co-sponsors. Four out of the five Raleigh County delegates had signed on in support, with Republican Delegate Linda Sumner being the only delegate from the district to decline.

According to the resolution, “there are vast opportunities for diversifying the state energy portfolio, while creating new industries, new jobs and new sources of revenue that can complement those contributed by the coal industry in southern West Virginia counties,” and further, ” studies have shown that wind resources and the economic benefits of wind development are severely diminished and development rendered economically prohibitive as the ridge altitude is reduced as a result of surface mining.”

Reacting to the Rules Committee decision, Danny Chiotos, Organizer for the Student Environmental Action Coalition and West Virginia Youth Action League (WV-YAL) had this to say, “The House of Delegates lost an opportunity to show support for green jobs and clean energy by killing this resolution. We saw our government again side with big coal rather than the people, and it is high time that the House act to support a sustainable economy in West Virginia.”

The strong legislative support for the Resolution shows that there are varied perceptions as to how best to generate economic development in the southern West Virginia coal-producing counties. The stated purpose of the resolution was to “promote the diversification of the local and state economies and energy portfolios while allowing for continued responsible underground coal mining in the area.”

“Forty-one state legislators had signed on, recognizing that developing a wind farm was the better economic land-use option for Coal River Mountain, and that mountaintop removal would eliminate the chance for that to happen,” said Rory McIlmoil, Coordinator for the Coal River Wind campaign. “It is highly disconcerting that a handful of members of the Rules Committee can so blatantly undermine the democratic process and reject the support of nearly half the members of our House of Delegates.”

To which Vernon Haltom, Co-Director of Coal River Mountain Watch, added, “We applaud those delegates who stood with Delegate Susman in recognizing the need to diversify the economy of Raleigh County and all of southern West Virginia. I wish the rest of West Virginia’s legislators had the courage to do the same thing, and act in the best interest of the people of the state rather than continuing to prioritize serving the financial interests of a few out-of-state coal companies.”

“It appears that the only delegate from the Raleigh County district who didn’t want this is Delegate Linda Sumner. With the jobs this would create and the revenue this would bring to our county, why would anyone not want to be a part of this?” said Lorelei Scarbro, Community Organizer for the wind campaign.

“This money could last forever, and would go a long way toward stimulating new economic opportunities for the county, and for assisting our fire departments, ambulance services, sheriff’s departments and schools,” she added. “We need all of our delegates to do all they can in these hard economic times, and I’m severely disappointed in those legislators who aided in the squashing of this important resolution.”

For more information, or to view a list of sponsors, visit Coal River Wind.org or the state legislative website.

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HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 52

(By Delegates Susman, Longstreth, Manypenny, Perdue, Staggers, Fleischauer, Argento, Barker, Beach, Boggs, Brown, Cann, Crosier, Doyle, Eldridge, Ellem, Fragale, Guthrie, Hatfield, Iaquinta, Klempa, Kominar, Lawrence, Louisos, Mahan, Manchin, Martin, McGeehan, Miley, Moore, Morgan, Moye, Reynolds, Rodighiero, Shook, Stephens, Talbott, Webster, Wells, White and Wooton)

Supporting the development of a permanent utility-scale wind farm on Coal River Mountain in the Coal River Mountain Area of Raleigh County, West Virginia, in order to promote the diversification of the local and state economies and energy portfolios while allowing for continued responsible underground coal mining in the area.

Whereas, the West Virginia coal industry provides a significant amount of energy for the United States and a vital source of jobs and economic revenue for West Virginia, including 1,100 mining jobs and over $1.5 million in annual coal severance taxes for Raleigh County; and

Whereas, there are vast opportunities for diversifying the state energy portfolio, while creating new industries, new jobs and new sources of revenue that can complement those contributed by the coal industry in southern West Virginia counties such as Raleigh County; and

Whereas, wind power provides one such opportunity, as there are substantial, economically feasible wind resources of both the large and small-scale that can be developed in southern West Virginia; and

Whereas, studies have shown that wind resources and the economic benefits of wind development are severely diminished and development rendered economically prohibitive as the ridge altitude is reduced as a result of surface mining; and

Whereas, a Coal River Mountain wind farm, consisting of 164 wind turbines and generating 328 megawatts of electricity, would provide over $1.74 million in annual property taxes to Raleigh County; and coal severance taxes related to proposed mountaintop removal mining, by comparison, would provide the county with only $36,000 per year; and

Whereas, a wind farm of this magnitude, combined with incentives for development of other wind farms in Raleigh County and other counties in southern West Virginia, could result in the development and growth of a viable and lasting wind industry; and

Whereas, by stimulating new economic opportunities in the rural parts of Raleigh County, the wind farm would provide greater opportunities for economic diversification than would be provided by the surface mining operations proposed for Coal River Mountain; and

Whereas, wind power development on Coal River Mountain is possible because of the unique topography of the region, and wind is a natural resource from which much of southern West Virginia will be unable to benefit economically if surface mining continues and is expanded on, and in adjacent areas of, Coal River Mountain; and

Whereas, Raleigh County coal production and mine productivity have been steadily declining since 1997, even as surface mine production has expanded, thus indicating that coal reserves in Raleigh County are being rapidly depleted, as will be the jobs and severance taxes that coal mining currently contributes to the county’s economy; and

Whereas, a December 2008 study shows that long-term economic stewardship of Coal River Mountain, allowing for both the continued recovery of coal by expanding underground mining while preserving the surface landscape of Coal River Mountain for wind farming, affords substantial and relatively greater economic benefits through diversified economic development and energy production than surface mining would, and which surface mining activity alone eliminates; and

Whereas, underground mining in West Virginia employs approximately twice the number of workers per ton of coal produced than surface mining; and

Whereas, developing alternative industries is necessary to ensure the future economic vitality of the Coal River Valley; and

Whereas, the proposed wind farm development for Coal River Mountain received the annual, nationally recognized and highly competitive “Building Economic Alternatives” award by the non-profit Green America (formerly Co-Op America); and

Whereas, formal surveys and opinion polls show that a decisive majority of West Virginia citizens support a ban on the surface mining practice of mountaintop removal mining, like that currently being permitted on Coal River Mountain, and that 62 percent of West Virginians support wind development rather than mountaintop removal mining for Coal River Mountain; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the West Virginia Legislature supports the development of a permanent commercial wind farm on Coal River Mountain in the Coal River Mountain Area of Raleigh County, West Virginia, in order to promote the diversification of local and state economies and energy portfolios while continuing to properly evaluate the permitting of responsible underground coal mining activity in the area; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the (House / Senate) is hereby directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection.