Archive for the ‘Front Porch Blog’ Category
Tuesday, May 7th, 2013 - posted by thom
Yesterday, Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA) introduced the Clean Water Protection Act in the 113th Congress with 45 original cosponsors.
The Clean Water Protection Act, H.R. 1837, is a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives which would sharply reduce mountaintop removal coal mining by making it illegal to dump mining waste into valleys and streams. To date, more than 2,000 miles of streams have been buried or severely polluted.
As the bill sponsors point out in their Dear Colleague letter to other members of Congress:
An EPA scientific study in 2008 shows that more than 63% of the streams sampled below mountaintop removal coal mining operations exhibited long-term impairments to aquatic organisms. In some large watersheds, more than half of the streams are impaired.
Last Congress, more than 130 representatives, from Kentucky to Hawaii, took a stand against mountaintop removal coal mining by cosponsoring the Clean Water Protection Act.
It is crucial that we carry over the momentum we built during the last Congress by having a large group of cosponsors. For your Representative to sign onto the bill, they need to hear from you.
Take action now and tell your Congressperson you expect their support of this important legislation.
Tags: Appalachian Voices, Clean Water Act, EPA, Kentucky, Mountaintop Removal, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia
Posted in All Posts, Front Porch Blog | 22 Comments »
Monday, May 6th, 2013 - posted by Davis Wax
Scary things are going on in the NC Legislative Building in Raleigh. Photo by Yassie
Among the scary legislation developing in the North Carolina assembly, there are two bills — one a monster of bad environmental reform and the other back from the dead in order to snuff out the state’s renewable energy — which stand out from the creepy pack. These bills are not exactly the slow and shambling kind of creatures from old 50s horror movies, though, and are moving quickly through the state legislature.
The first, the newly-drafted Senate Bill 612, or Regulatory Reform Act, could have many wide-sweeping and detrimental consequences for environmental regulations in North Carolina. The legislation, which passed through the state Senate last Thursday, would limit how local governments can produce and control regulations to protect the environment. Among other measures to weaken environmental protections, the bill would:
- Loosen requirements for cleaning up groundwater pollution
- Loosen requirements for burying demolition debris
- Force state environmental rules to be equal to or less strong than federal standards
- Loosen regulations in place to help wetlands
- Create a fast-track system for erosion-control permits
The first point, fewer requirements for cleaning up pollution in groundwater, is hugely concerning. This provision would increase compliance boundaries to a facility’s property line, allowing coal-fired power plants and other industrial facilities to pollute groundwater farther away from their sites.
Second on the list, demolition debris can contain anything from lead paint to asbestos to PCBs, all of which are more likely to pollute water sources if not adequately buried. The provision does not clarify how coal ash waste applies to “demolition debris” and thus the bill could help power plants avoid certain aspects of the permitting process for coal ash ponds.
Another worrisome aspect of the bill is that it would require state environmental agencies and commissions to identify and repeal any existing rules that are stricter than similar federal rules and likewise would not allow local governments to produce rules stronger than state or federal rules. (more…)
Tags: Coal Ash, North Carolina, Politics, regulatory reform, Renewable Energy, Renewable Portfolio Standards
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Thursday, May 2nd, 2013 - posted by brian
An updated report by the Congressional Research Service provides a look at the current legal and legislative challenges to mountaintop removal.
Every day, more Americans become concerned with the threat of mountaintop removal in Appalachia. Just yesterday, I was made aware of a website called “What About Mountains?” created by a fourth grade class at the Episcopal School of Knoxville. These students may just be learning about the issue, but they know that “mountaintop removal coal mining is not OK,” and seeing a photo of lush mountains reduced to “ugly blobs of land” is as fine a place to start as any.
Whether you’re in fourth grade or in your forties, it’s helpful to have a convenient compendium on the issue of mountaintop removal, especially considering the ever-evolving legal battles, status of bills on Capitol Hill, and state and federal level regulations. An updated report from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service called Mountaintop Mining: Background on Current Controversies acts as a CliffsNotes for anyone concerned with the situation and interested in catching up.
The report summarizes the legal challenges, agency and congressional actions related to mountaintop removal and points out that, despite two recent court rulings underscoring the need for greater protections, few people on either side are please with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s record on the issue. Mountaintop removal supporters complain of onerous rules that hamper employment and opponents point to poisoned water, unhealthy communities and shortened lives.
(more…)
Tags: appalachia, Clean Water Act, Coal, EPA, Mountaintop Removal, Politics, Water Pollution
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Wednesday, May 1st, 2013 - posted by eric
Yesterday, Appalachian Voices submitted public comments on a proposed wastewater lab certification program in Kentucky. To discharge polluted water, coal companies must receive a permit under the Clean Water Act. This permit that requires companies to test wastewater and report the data to ensure it falls within the limits of the permit. In Kentucky, there are currently no standards for labs that do this type of testing.
The proposed certification program is a direct result of the lawsuits for falsified water monitoring data we filed against three of the state’s largest coal mining companies. Our investigation revealed that many coal companies were repeatedly submitting the same data and knowingly leaving out reports of any violations of their permits. After we filed these lawsuits, the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet inspected the labs being used for this monitoring and found that in many cases they were not even capable of correctly performing the required tests.
This graph shows some of the inaccurate data submitted by Frasure Creek Mining before our lawsuits lead them to start using a new lab. Click to enlarge.
We believe that enforcing standards on labs used by coal companies will help ensure that labs report accurate data, and that the regulations meant to protect water and those that depend on it from dangerous pollution are effectively enforced. This proposed rule will be a big step forward and we have applauded the cabinet for its efforts to fix these problems. However, there are several weaknesses in the rule that we hope are fixed before it is finalized.
All too often the cabinet has failed to live up to its obligations to protect the people and environment in Kentucky. That is why our comments suggest that discretionary duties given to the cabinet in this rule be made mandatory. Appalachian Voices will continue to work to require the state agencies to actually enforce these standards.
>>Click here to see our comments
>>Click here to read the proposed lab certification rule
>>Click here to read the draft lab manual
Tags: Appalachian Water Watch, Clean Water Act, Coal, Environment, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, Kentucky, Kentucky Litigation, Mountaintop Removal, Red White and Water, Water, Water Pollution
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Wednesday, May 1st, 2013 - posted by nathan
Learn about the electric membership cooperatives that serve Virginians and communities across the region on our Energy Savings for Appalachia page.
When it comes to energy efficiency, Virginia’s policymakers could do more, a lot more. The commonwealth came in 37th place on the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy’s (ACEEE) most recent state scorecard, which ranks states by energy efficiency policies.
The scorecard follows up on a report the group published in 2008, stating that Virginia could meet 31 percent of projected demand by 2025 with “cost-effective” energy efficiency initiatives.
The report defines cost-effective measures as those that would cost less to implement than what the average resident currently pays for electricity. In Virginia, that is slightly over 10 cents per kilowatt hour meaning that for less than 10 cents per kilowatt-hour, Virginia could avoid 31 percent of projected electricity demand. In fact, 85 percent of the recommendations would cost less than eight cents per kilowatt hour.
Contrasting what is possible with what would have a chance in the Virginia legislature, the report also looked at a less aggressive option of 19 percent efficiency by 2025. The costs for these measures would all be less than 8 cents per kilowatt hour and many would be under three cents — or less than one-third of what it would cost to fill that gap by burning coal and natural gas.
(more…)
Tags: appalachia, Appalachian Voices, Energy Efficiency, Virginia
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Tuesday, April 30th, 2013 - posted by jw
This is a post about how we can improve life for Tennesseans, protect an American culture that has endured for centuries, and promote our beloved Appalachian Mountains that once stood higher than the Himalayas, and are now threatened by mountaintop removal coal mining.
Tennessee Tuesdays is a new weekly feature on the Appalachian Voices Front Porch blog. While our main goal is to end mountaintop removal, we also hope to spread the gospel of hope, bring light to issues facing Tennesseans, and offer solutions on how we can move our state toward a cleaner and more energy efficient future.
Are you from Tennessee or nearby? Introduce yourself in the comments and let us know what you’d like to hear about. For now, welcome! Have a cup of coffee and take a minute to enjoy your Tennessee Tuesday.
What’s been happening in Tennessee lately?
Tennessee Legislature 2013
My home state has been in the national news a lot the last few months and not for the greatest reasons. Our legislature was constant fodder for late night comedians (catch Daily Show and Colbert’s greatest Tennessee hits here, here, and here) and was generally considered a bumbling embarrassment for most Tennesseans who don’t respond to “Senator.”
(more…)
Tags: appalachia, Appalachian Voices, Coal, Energy Efficiency, Mountaintop Removal, Politics, Tennessee, Tennessee Scenic Vistas Protection Act, TVA
Posted in Front Porch Blog | 4 Comments »
Thursday, April 25th, 2013 - posted by molly
Using electricity wisely is vital for Appalachia, a region that has borne the burdens of our national appetite for cheap energy. Unlocking the Southeast’s vast energy savings potential could be the key to forging a cleaner, greener future.
That’s the premise behind The Dollars and Sense of Energy Savings, our first-ever issue devoted to electricity conservation. This April/May issue is stuffed with 28 pages of stories, profiles and resources. The Appalachian Voice is available free on newsstands across the region, and is delivered to the mailboxes of Appalachian Voices members.
We begin with Power to the People, which takes a broad look at how different electricity providers approach energy efficiency — hint: companies such as Duke Energy have very different motivations than member-owned electric cooperatives. While researching the story Powering With Change, Matt Grimley discovers how member-owned electric cooperatives in South Carolina are finding ways to help homeowners trim utility bills while strengthening the cooperative as a whole.
(more…)
Tags: electricity, Energy Efficiency, Energy Savings, The Appalachian Voice, The Dollars and Sense of Energy Savings
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Thursday, April 25th, 2013 - posted by Alix
Growing up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., opportunities to marvel at the beauty of nature didn’t come often. Luckily, my grandparents lived Woodstock, Va., nestled in the Shenandoah Valley. On our trips to visit, we would often change into our most comfortable clothes, lace up our sneakers and head out to the mountains.
Feeling the fallen leaves crunch with every step I took, witnessing squirrels and rabbits frolic on the forest floor and listening to the silence — only disturbed by our voices or the call of a wild animal — was eye-opening. It showed this city girl why preserving the land was so important.
From April 22-26 all national parks waive their entrance fee. It’s the perfect week to celebrate the great outdoors and visit a national park near you.
Visit one of these national parks today:
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Courtesy of National Parks Service
- Size: 521,085 acres.
- Mammals: 65 species.
- Birds: Over 200 species.
- Amphibians/Reptiles: 80 species.
- Fish: 50 species.
- Flowering plants: 1,600 species.
- Trees: 100 species.
- Shrubs: 100 species.
- Always free to the public.
- Learn more
(more…)
Tags: Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, fishing, free, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, hiking, National Park, parks, Shenandoah National Park
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Wednesday, April 24th, 2013 - posted by Davis Wax
Shine On: Clean energy in North Carolina will continue to create jobs and yield benefits after a bill to repeal the state's renewable standard failed in committee today. Image licensed under Creative Commons.
A bill in the N.C. House that would repeal the state’s Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (REPS) failed today in the House Committee on Public Utilities and Energy by a vote of 18-13.
According to the N.C. Sustainable Energy Association talk of insufficient votes in the Environment Committee prompted Rep. Mike Hager to withdraw the “Affordable and Reliable Electricity Act” from the committee’s scheduled hearing in order to attempt to push it through the Public Utilities Committee, which he chairs.
“If the only way a business can move forward is with a subsidy, then maybe we need to rethink the business,” said Hager, a former Duke Energy employee and the bill’s primary sponsor. Fellow lawmakers responded by saying that Duke Energy has an effective subsidy through its huge monopoly on electricity distribution in the state and that subsidies have been used to help up-and-coming industries for decades.
Even after Hager agreed to keep the 12.5 percent commitment to renewable energy from retail sales of state utilities in the bill in order to make it more appealing, a bipartisan majority including several key Republicans in the Utilities Committee still killed the legislation. In the most recent version Hager pushed through, the bill would still allow companies like Duke Energy to let their renewable energy contracts run out without expecting them to pursue any further commitments to wind, solar, biomass, or other industries.
(more…)
Tags: Electric Utilities, North Carolina, Politics, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy
Posted in All Posts, Front Porch Blog | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013 - posted by brian
Earth Week is off to a good start after two major rulings in two days mean we may start seeing less of this.
We’re only two days into Earth Week — if we must limit it to one week out of the year — but it sure is getting off to a great start. In the past two days, two major court rulings have underscored the need for increased scrutiny from the federal agency responsible for evaluating environmental impacts of mountaintop removal coal mining according to the National Environmental Policy Act and issuing permits under the Clean Water Act.
Yesterday, the 6th U.S. Court of Appeals revoked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers use of Nationwide Permit 21 (NWP 21), a streamlined and inadequate process that has contributed to the expansion of mountaintop removal in Appalachia since 1992. Kentucky and West Virginia residents, with the support of groups including Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, Kentucky Waterways Alliance and the Kentucky Riverkeeper, have challenged the legality of NWP 21 in state and federal court for a decade.
In its ruling, the three-judge panel called the Corps’ actions “arbitrary and capricious” and found that the agency did not follow the applicable Clean Water Act (CWA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations, which require it to document its assessment of environmental impacts and examine past impacts before issuing new permits. From the ruling:
Though we generally give greatest deference to an agency’s “complex scientific determination[s] within its area of special expertise,” we may not excuse an agency’s failure to follow the procedures required by duly promulgated regulations.
After opting for streamlined nationwide permitting, the Corps took the easier path of preparing an environmental assessment instead of an environmental impact statement. Having done so, it needed to follow the applicable CWA and NEPA regulations by documenting its assessment of environmental impacts and examining past impacts, respectively. Failing these regulatory prerequisites, the Corps leaves us with nothing more than its say-so that it meets CWA and NEPA standards.
According to the Corps, approximately 70 surface mining permits authorized under NWP 21 qualify for a five-year accommodation to “provide and equitable and less burdensome transition” for coal operators. Whatever its impact on existing mountaintop removal permits, the ruling acknowledges that when it comes to protecting Appalachia, the Corps “say-so” is insufficient.
(more…)
Tags: appalachia, Clean Water Act, Coal, EPA, Mountaintop Removal
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