West Virginia Blue
The Best Blogging Community in West Virginia Democratic politics, progressive policies, the good life and free living in Wild, Wonderful West Virginia.
The Kentucky Coal Association announced a new general counsel Tuesday: Lloyd Cress, who was the state's commissioner of environmental protection under former Gov. Ernie Fletcher.
"I look forward to assisting Kentucky's coal industry meet the increasing challenges that it confronts in providing the energy, jobs and tax revenue that benefit Kentucky so greatly," Cress said in a prepared statement.
Cress is married to U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell.
Cress' hiring is part of a management makeover at the coal association. Last month, the group hired Bill Bissett, chief of staff and senior vice president at Marshall University in West Virginia, as its president.
It would be great if Cress also looked forward to helping the industry meet its challenge to provide all those wonderful benefits as safely as possible, with as little environmental damage as possible, and in ways that met and exceeded the standards set by every regulating body.
But, maybe that's just not what he's getting paid for.
-Jeff Friedrich on the end of Climate Ground Zero's 9-day treesit: "Lies Don Blankenship Told Me: Why Climate Activists Are Heading To The West Virginian Coal Fields."
- Nitchman and Blevins still in jail. Total bail at $9,624.00.
- Logan Banner managing editor Michael Browning asks why we should care about celebrities' views on coal mining - unless, of course, they're named Ted Nugent or Hank Williams Jr and get a check from Blankenship for a rally that the Banner helped promote.
- Blankenship political operative Roman Stauffer would probably have a good idea what the schedule of disgraced judge Elliott "Spike" Maynard looks like. Stauffer, who's been pushing for a Maynard challenge to Rep. Rahall, says Spike is going to talk to John Raese's mouthpiece, Hoppy Kercheval, Monday at 10:00 a.m. Will Don's pal announce a coal owner-funded run?
- Mollohan and Rahall joined Capito's coal caucus.
- And President Obama took time from his smackdown of the House GOP at their Baltimore retreat to take a question from Capito.
Since their first night in the trees Massey has been harassing the sitters using sleep deprivation tactics; this is harming the hearing of both the security and the sitters. Security personnel are perpetually shining bright lights and employing the noise-making machines. A few hours ago Eric Blevins took action by calling the state police and reporting a noise violation. Quite soon after he called the noise machines turned off but they have since been turned back on. In a similar vein of harassment, Massey security has tied a rope to a smaller tree next to Amber's platform. They are pulling and releasing the rope so that the sapling smacks the bottom of her platform, hoping that she will feel unsafe and come down.
- Governor Manchin will meet with Bo Webb and other coalfields residents today.
- The stenographer of the week award goes to Bill Archer of The Bluefield Daily Telegraph for covering FACES of Coal.
- Big Laurel Coal is cited for ignoring dangers that contributed to a Virginia mine electrician's death.
-and Friends of Coal: The coloring book. really.
First off, here's all the important logistical details:
WHAT: The University of Charleston will present a public conversation between Waterkeeper Alliance President and environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Massey Energy Chairman and CEO Don Blankenship titled the Forum on the Future of Energy. The event will advance the national discussion about U.S. energy policy and its impact on jobs, the environment, the economy, and national security.
WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010, at 6:15 pm
WHO: Don Blankenship - Chairman and CEO, Massey Energy Co.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. - President, Waterkeeper Alliance
Dr. Edwin H. Welch - President, University of Charleston, event moderator
WHERE: University of Charleston's Geary Auditorium; live remote broadcast in Eddie King Gymnasium
If you want to attend in person, the tickets for the auditorium are "sold out" (they were never available for sale to the public), but free admission is available for the remote broadcast in the Eddie King Gymnasium.
The Forum has generated considerable interest and demand for tickets has exceeded the auditorium capacity. Event organizers will distribute tickets in advance, and no additional seats will be available. For all others, the forum will be broadcast live in Eddie King Gymnasium on the university's campus.
To accommodate television coverage, the University of Charleston requests that the audience be seated prior to 6:15 p.m. Those holding tickets will be seated in their respective sections, on a first-come, first-served basis, with early arrivals seated at the front. Doors will open at 5:00 p.m. and entry into the event will be through the Keenan lot entrance of Riggleman Hall only.
All interested parties are invited to submit questions for the participants in advance. Dr. Welch, as moderator, will ask the participants a balance of representative, challenging questions chosen from those submitted.
There's a lot of national interest in the debate and the fact that it is happening at all is significant. It is one more sign that folks are starting to take planning for West Virginia's post-carbon future a little more seriously.
New Report Warns of Decline of Central Appalachian Coal Argues for New Focus on Economic Diversification and Renewable Energy for the Region
MORGANTOWN, WV - As the legislative season begins across Central Appalachia, a new report by Downstream Strategies details future challenges to coal production in the region and argues that policy-makers should strongly support renewable energy and the development of new economic opportunities for coal-producing areas.
"Coal has contributed significantly to local and state economies in Central Appalachia, but production has fallen substantially over the last 12 years as other coal basins and sources of fuel have become more competitive," said lead author Rory McIlmoil. "This trend is expected to continue as mining costs increase due to the depletion of the lowest cost coal reserves, and as new environmental regulations are implemented. As this happens, local and state economies will need new sources of jobs and revenue to replace coal mining jobs and taxes."
According to the report, Central Appalachian coal production is projected to fall by nearly 50% within the next ten years. Central Appalachia includes the coal-producing counties in southern West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, southwest Virginia, and eastern Tennessee
The report points to renewable energy and energy efficiency as two sectors where new jobs and tax revenues can be created, as the region has a wealth of clean energy resources. The report concludes that losses related to the decline of the coal industry can be recaptured by gains from wind, solar, low-impact hydro, and sustainable biomass production, and from a strong focus on energy efficiency improvements.
To support the diversification of the regional energy economy, the report outlines a series of policy instruments, including requiring each state to provide 25% of their energy from renewable sources; the provision of grants, tax credits, clean energy bonds, or low-interest loans to support renewable energy development and manufacturing; the implementation and strengthening of net metering laws; and the development of workforce programs aimed at providing the skills and knowledge required for renewable energy industries. The study also argues for strong incentives for local ownership of energy development, to help maximize the local economic benefits of renewable energy projects.
"Given that coal production is projected to decline significantly in the coming decades, diversification of Central Appalachian economies is now more critical than ever," said co-author Evan Hansen, President of Downstream Strategies. "State leaders should use this legislative session to increase support for 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."
In December 2009, West Virginia Senator Robert C. Byrd stated, "West Virginians can choose to anticipate change and adapt to it, or resist and be overrun by it. The time has arrived for the people of the Mountain State to think long and hard about which course they want to choose."
According to McIlmoil, "The same is true for all of Central Appalachia, and we hope this report helps policy-makers understand the changes that are coming so that they can support new industries. The renewable energy sector offers one of the greatest opportunities for economic development."
Downstream Strategies is an environmental consulting company in Morgantown, West Virginia, with program areas in environmental policy, environmental science, and geographic information systems. The company provides science, research, and tools to organizations, businesses, and agencies. It offers clients an alternative to mainstream environmental consulting by combining sound interdisciplinary skills with a core belief in the importance of protecting the environment and linking economic development with natural resource stewardship.
- U.S. mining deaths hit a record low in 2009, thanks to stricter safety regulations.
Don Nehlen and Friends of Coal's "Be more like China" plan foiled?
- Got a question for one of the participants in the upcoming Kennedy-Blankenship debate? Go here to submit it.
- The four Climate Ground Zero activists arrested last week have been freed.
"It was a trumped up charge by Walker Cat," said James McGuinness, " who we were told by correctional officers has just been sold to an out of state company. At this point it is not about jobs..."
The reason I keep harping about frac'ing fluids used in Marcellus Shale natural gas extraction is because, yes, they really are a threat to clean water. Our political leaders are fond of talking about "balance" between the needs of industry and the needs of individuals to enjoy a clean environment. What's scary in this case is there is no existing regulatory framework in place to protect us.
I'm not one to fear-monger, but this is an example of where commerce is out-pacing any balancing regulation. You, me, and our neighbors who have well water in the Marcellus Shale region will be ones who get screwed. Even if you have municipal water your rates could go up just to boost natural gas drilling profits.
For more than a decade the energy industry has steadfastly argued before courts, Congress and the public that the federal law protecting drinking water should not be applied to hydraulic fracturing, the industrial process that is essential to extracting the nation's vast natural gas reserves. In 2005 Congress, persuaded, passed a law prohibiting such regulation.
Now an important part of that argument -- that most of the millions of gallons of toxic chemicals that drillers inject underground are removed for safe disposal, and are not permanently discarded inside the earth -- does not apply to drilling in many of the nation's booming new gas fields.
Three company spokesmen and a regulatory official said in separate interviews with ProPublica that as much as 85 percent of the fluids used during hydraulic fracturing is being left underground after wells are drilled in the Marcellus Shale, the massive gas deposit that stretches from New York to Tennessee.
The Marcellus Shale, denoted in brown, primarily cuts across large swaths of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. (Map by Jennifer LaFleur/ProPublica)
The industry has long argued for exemptions from regulation and--so far--as largely gotten those exemptions:
If another industry proposed injecting chemicals -- or even salt water -- underground for disposal, the EPA would require it to conduct a geological study to make sure the ground could hold those fluids without leaking and to follow construction standards when building the well. In some cases the EPA would also establish a monitoring system to track what happened as the well aged.
But because hydraulic fracturing is exempt from the Safe Drinking Water Act, it doesn't necessarily have to conform to these federal standards. Instead, oversight of the drilling chemicals and the injection process has been left solely to the states, some of which regulate parts of the process while others do not.
As the industry was lobbying Congress for that exemption -- and ever since -- the notion that most fluids would not be left underground continued to emerge as a recurring theme put forth by everyone from attorneys for Halliburton, which developed the fracturing process and is one of the leading drilling service companies, to government researchers and regulators.
"Hydraulic fracturing is fundamentally different," wrote Mike Paque, director of the Ground Water Protection Council, an association of state oil and gas regulators, to Senate staff in a 2002 letter advocating for the exemption, "because it is part of the well completion process, does not 'dispose of fluids' and is of short duration, with most of the fluids being immediately recovered."
But, that's not what is happening. Substantial amounts of water is being left in the ground. Much of the water that comes back out of the ground is disposed of without adequate treatment.
What can be done to address this?
It will fall to Congress -- and then to the EPA -- to decide whether that is truly the case. Sponsors of the Frack Act hope for a vote this spring. If it passes, and if the EPA finds reason to change the conclusions it reached in 2004, the agency would then have to decide exactly how fracturing will be addressed by the Safe Drinking Water Act.
"The thinking we did then, the study that we did then, we were really looking at a different set of circumstances," said Heare, the EPA's Drinking Water Protection Division director. "The agency has not investigated the impacts of hydraulic fracturing in other settings such as shale gas production and at this time is unable to quantify the potential threat."
The acting environmental commissioner of New York City has called on New York state to withdraw its draft regulations approving the natural gas drilling in its watershed.
New York City environmental officials said Wednesday that months of scientific research had indicated that hydraulic drilling for natural gas upstate could contaminate the watershed serving the city.
The study, undertaken by the city's Department of Environmental Protection, also showed that the drilling could damage infrastructure, including aqueducts, the officials told the city's water board at a briefing.
In a forceful letter to the State Department of Environmental Conservation on Tuesday, the city's acting environmental commissioner, Steven W. Lawitts, called on the state to withdraw its draft regulations approving the drilling.
[snip]
Already concerned about the watershed, the city's environmental department hired scientists and environmental engineers who specialize in gas drilling last January to research the potential impact of the drilling. The report concludes that drilling is dangerous for several reasons.
Extracting gas from the shale involves blasting water mixed with chemicals into the rock at a high pressure, which causes the natural gas to flow out. But the process results in significant amounts of wastewater, which can contaminate water supplies and damage the infrastructure, the report found.
Twenty percent to 50 percent of the chemicals used in extraction ends up in the wastewater, for which the state has no disposal method, said Paul Rush, the department's deputy commissioner, who presented the report at the briefing.
He added that the projected operating costs would increase water rates for New York City residents by at least 30 percent because an increase in filtering costs.
Mr. Rush said the environmental engineers and scientists hired by the department collected data from hydraulic fracturing in other states to draw their conclusions.
"We took a technical look at this and made a decision based on the science," he said.
Citing data from drilling in Fayetteville, Ark., the scientists estimated that drilling in the New York watershed could result in hundreds of tons of chemicals per day seeping through the watershed over a 20-year period.
Substantial industrial development would be needed to dig and maintain the 3,000 to 6,000 wells in the watershed, the report said. Maintenance alone could result in up to 600,000 trips by truck per year within the watershed's boundaries, it said.
[snip]
Mehul Patel, a member of the water board, also spoke out against the drilling at the meeting. "We're trading off the most precious natural resource we have," he said. "It's appalling to me that the state would consider this."
Pa. points to mine discharge for Dunkard Creek fish kill By Don Hopey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A heretofore undisclosed underground flow of mine pool water between Consol Energy's Blacksville No. 1 and No. 2 mines may have contributed to the highly salty, polluted discharges that caused the massive, month-long fish kill on Dunkard Creek.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said stream sampling shows discharges high in dissolved solids and chlorides from Consol Energy's Blacksville No. 2 Mine are the "primary immediate source" of the fish kill that last month wiped out aquatic life on 35 miles of the 38-mile stream that meanders along the Pennsylvania-West Virginia border.
But the DEP, in a letter dated Wednesday, has also asked Consol to provide information of the underground connections between its active Blacksville No. 2 Mine in West Virginia and its inactive Blacksville No. 1 Mine in Pennsylvania, and requested that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency revoke a deep well injection permit for coalbed methane waste water at the inactive mine.
The DEP also said it has obtained information that the mine pool in the inactive mine is flowing into the mine pool in Blacksville No. 2. Consol has previously said that the wastewater from the inactive Blacksville No. 1 mine is not flowing into the active Blacksville No. 2 mine. Fish, freshwater mussels, salamanders and aquatic insects started dying on Sept. 1 and continued dying throughout the month.
The Pennsylvania DEP has also asked the West Virginia DEP, in a letter dated Oct. 2, to "take necessary enforcement measures" to control pollution discharges of total dissolved solids, chlorides and sulfides from the Blacksville No. 2 mine treatment facility.
Friends in the White House Come to Coal's Aid By CHRISTOPHER DREW and RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.
On a rainy day in August 2000, with polls showing that he had a chance to carry West Virginia, Mr. Bush stopped in Charleston to rally support. Just before he left, he paused on the airport tarmac for a brief meeting that helped lay the seeds for the changes in environmental rules that favor the Appalachian coal industry.
In a roped-off area behind the rental cars, Bill Raney, the president of the West Virginia Coal Association, an industry group, and Dick Kimbler, who headed a local chapter of the mine workers union, told Mr. Bush about layoffs at mountaintop mines. They said they also complained that a growing emphasis on environmental protection was delaying the approval of mining permits and eliminating jobs.
Mr. Bush replied that the problems underscored the need to develop a national energy policy, the other men said. Less than two hours later, Donald L. Evans, then Mr. Bush's campaign chairman and now the commerce secretary, called Mr. Raney, who said they talked about making the permitting process less cumbersome.
Mr. Raney and Mr. Kimbler then created the Balanced Energy Coalition, an industry group that persuaded many coal miners to back Mr. Bush. They also worked with the state's most prolific Republican fund-raiser, James H. Harless, a coal operator who collected $275,000 for Mr. Bush, five times what Mr. Gore raised in the entire state.
President Addresses West Virginia Coal Association Story by Ann Ali
Coal Association President Bill Raney warmed the crowd for Bush's 30-minute speech, sharing how he told Bush's advance team that West Virginians try to do four things when someone they like comes to visit -- "We pray, we say the pledge, we like to eat, and we give them a ballcap."
Raney said the meeting was the proudest moment in the Association's 93-year history, and West Virginia coal should enjoy its moment in the spotlight.
"We've got natural advantages," Raney said after Bush's remarks. "Topographic proximity, it's very convenient, and it's a great responsibility.
"We should be proud. A coal miner in Sophia has a great bearing on someone's way of life in Boston."
Raney said coal was making progress in the struggle of public perception, but each day presented a new challenge.
[snip]
After Bush's address, Peter Lilly, president of the coal group for CONSOL Energy, spoke to West Virginia Media President and CEO Bray Cary about coal's cleanup and possible technologies to provide the world.
"Our plan with this, to ultimately capture and sequester carbon dioxide, is not quite set," Lilly said. "But America has such a vast amount of coal reserves, and we are so dependent on foreign sources for other forms of energy, it makes absolute sense to move in this direction carefully and do it right."
Lilly said virtually all of the country's coal-fired plants now are scrubbed or will be in a few years, and the definition of pollution has changed.
"It used to be acid rain, the impact on the ozone layer, then the mercury," he said. "We've cleaned all those things as attention has been focused, and now we have climate change, and it's debatable, that's for sure."
West Virginia coal operators have started seeking water pollution settlements with the state Department of Environmental Protection to avoid federal enforcement actions or citizen lawsuits, officials said Thursday.
[snip]
Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association, said he wouldn't be surprised to see more such deals coming soon.
A $20 million fine Massey Energy paid to settle a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean Water Act suit stunned industry officials, Raney said. Companies are also concerned about new citizen suits such as those filed by the Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment over selenium violations at several state mines.
"There's a good bit of concern about all of that," Raney said Thursday.
"Every coal miner in the state is under attack by EPA," West Virginia Coal Association President Bill Raney told the crowd, which gathered for the noontime rally at the coal miner statue on the Capitol grounds.
Letter from Rep. Shelley Moore Capito to Ms. Lisa Jackson, Administrator U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Dear Administrator Jackson,
We are writing to express strong concerns about the coal mining permit applications currently being held up at the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers by the Environmental Protection Agency.
[snip]
While much has been made of the recent approval of 42 long-delayed permits still waiting to be issued, hundreds more remain un-resolved and face further delay. These actions will force mines to idle production and rob us of some of the highest paying jobs in the region.
STATEMENT FROM GOV. MANCHIN AND DEP SECRETARY RANDY HUFFMAN: ABOUT OBAMA ADMINISTRATION'S ANNOUNCEMENT TODAY
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Gov. Joe Manchin and DEP Secretary Randy Huffman released this statement today about the Obama Administration's action to strengthen oversight and regulation for surface mining:
[snip]
Gov. Joe Manchin added, "I have always said that mining is vital to West Virginia's economy, but at the same time, we must constantly look for ways to improve mine safety and operate in an environmentally responsible way. That is why today I asked EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to examine our Post-Mine Land Use legislation that was recently passed in the special session. I explained how responsible this piece of legislation is and how it will assist us in finding the balance between protecting our environment and protecting our jobs.
"We will continue to work with the federal government to ensure that coal companies comply with environmental regulations every step of the way, so that the environment is protected while the West Virginia economy stays strong and our people stay working. We also ask for the administration to work with us to find the balance between our economy and our environment.
"I truly believe that coal is essential in meeting our nation's energy needs and keeping our economy strong and competitive, while allowing our country to be less dependent on foreign oil and more secure. Rest assured, I will continue to do everything I possibly can to fight for West Virginia families and the jobs that support them."
DEP Secretary Randy Huffman says he is frustrated by the Environmental Protection Agency stepping on his agency's toes.
EPA officials were in Charleston last week. The EPA is raising concerns about several mountaintop removal permits, including two in West Virginia, but Huffman says all mining-related activities are already heavily regulated by the DEP.
"We are the environmental regulators here in West Virginia," he said. "We are the ones on the front line here. We are the ones responsible for protecting the environment. We have a very rigorous and robust regulatory program that is basically being challenged.
[snip]
Huffman says the sticking point is that the EPA believes that creating valley fills-the practice where the tops of the mountains are removed and put into a nearby valley-contribute to stream degradation. But Huffman says valley fills are essential to mountaintop removal, as well as the state's economy.
"Mainly what we're concerned about as regulators is the ability to develop land after mining," he said. "You need valley fills if you're going to have a viable post mining economy. You need flat land. And in order to have flat land you need to have valley fills, and one of our biggest concerns is that EPA is wanting to reduce the size and number of valley fills in Appalachia."
The EPA has avoided making any kind of blanket declarations on mountaintop removal, and has said only that future permits will be closely scrutinized.
New DEP Secretary Expects To Make The Tough Decisions
New West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Randy Huffman is the first one to admit he doesn't have all the answers, but he says he'll work to get them.
[snip]
Huffman, who has filled many roles at DEP for 21-years, says he'll run the agency much like Timmermyer did during the Wise administration and the last four years under Governor Joe Manchin. Huffman says that will include making the tough decisions.
"Our nature is to want to be facilitators and mediators and help people through their problems," he recently told MetroNews. "But at the end of the day, sometimes a decision is going to have to be made that upsets someone and that's the nature of the beast."
Huffman says he'll use the expertise already on staff at DEP to help him make those decisions.
Secretary Huffman says he'll make no wholesale changes at the DEP. He says that's one reason why he got the job. He says the governor likes the direction things are currently headed.
Huffman promises DEP will be vigilant when it comes to coal mining regulations. "There's a demand to get the coal out of the ground, but our job is to make sure the environment is protected in the process. We don't want to sacrifice anything in the long-term for short-term gain and short-term profits," he said.
The secretary also anticipates the identification of the state's water resources and protecting the state's water to be growing concerns.
"We have a lot of high-quality water," Huffman said. "And we want to protect it for our future use."
Copyright 2011 West Virginia Blue
Site content may be used for any purpose without explicit permission unless otherwise specified.
This site exists thanks to financial support from BlogPAC, dedicated volunteers and participation by members of this community. The views expressed at West Virginia Blue belong solely to their respective authors.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Gov. Joe Manchin and DEP Secretary Randy Huffman released this statement today about the Obama Administration's action to strengthen oversight and regulation for surface mining:
DEP Secretary Randy Huffman says he is frustrated by the Environmental Protection Agency stepping on his agency's toes.
