Norm Steenstra Improving Kanawha County Recycling

Norm Steenstra has made some great changes at the Kanawha County Solid Waste Authority over the past year. I put out some plastic, metal cans and newspapers to be picked up and recycled, but wasn't aware until I saw the Daily Mail article that they can take glass at the main plant, or that such a wide variety of plastic can now be recycled. I don't know if they make much money from some of the recycling (the ground up glass is evidently given away), but it keeps the material out of the landfill and reduces the County's tipping fee. Any environmentally safe reuse is welcome.

Some of us came up against Norm in his former life as a lobbyist for West Virginia Citizen's Action Group, where he advocated on a variety of environmental topics. It is good to see his talents being employed to find an effective reuse of some of the County's solid waste.

Office of Surface Mining Completes Final Environmental Impact Statement on Stream Buffer Rule

Much of the coal mined in West Virginia can only be economically accessed by way of mountaintop mining, which involves removing significant amounts of overburden to reach layers of coal in a mountain. In the mountainous terrain of this state, the overburden has to be placed somewhere, and it will necessarily fill certain small headwater streams. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement rules prohibit placement of overburden closer than 100 feet from a stream, a standard which is almost impossible for miners in Appalachia to comply with.

OSM has just finished a final environmental impact statement, or FEIS, describing what impacts can be expected from the proposed buffer zone rule, which was published in August 2007. The FEIS is intended to address 2 requirements of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) - preventing additional sediment loading to streams outside the permit area, and minimizing adverse effects on fish and wildlife. The FEIS considers multiple alternative rule scenarios, and then picks a preferred alternative.

OSM is providing a 30 day public comment period on the FEIS. Here are some FAQs about the proposed rule.

The rule has generated a lot of comment, particularly among those opposed to mountaintop mining. An example of some of the comment is found at http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/16985, while strong opposition is registered at http://schreinervideo.com/wordpress/?p=1283

Industries of the Future to Hold Energy Efficiency Symposium in November

Industries of the Future -West Virginia (iof-WV) is offering a symposium on November 19, 2008 on the subject of Energy Efficiency for WV Companies, and the agenda looks interesting. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 challenges U.S. companies to reduce their energy intensity (amount of energy used per unit of product produced) by at least 2.5% per year during the 10-year period from 2007 through 2016 - a 25% reduction over the next decade. The U.S. DOE’s Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) is leading the charge by sponsoring industrial assessments, co-funding R&D projects, providing technical and financial assistance to companies, offering workshops and training on Best Practices software tools, and supporting implementation of advanced industrial technologies. These opportunities and programs will be discussed at the November 19 Symposium in Charleston and could provide some valuable insights into:

How energy-intensive companies are coping and surviving
Innovations in industrial energy efficiency – from the experts
First hand examples of how companies are saving energy and money with free energy assessments
Views from the WV Legislature on smart and efficient use of energy
How companies participate in large multi-year R&D projects
Climate change legislation being discussed in the U.S. Congress - and how it could impact WV industry

give Kathleen Cullen a call if you're interested 304 293-2867 x 5426 or email her at kathleen.cullen@mail.wvu.edu

Check Your BEACH

OK, West Virginia doesn't have any beaches to speak of (although Myrtle Beach has been referred to as the state's 56th county), but you may be planning a trip to the beach this fall or next year. If so, check out the report of beach conditions that is required under the Beach Assessment and Coastal Health Act (BEACH, get it?) which is found at Section 406(g) of the Clean Water Act. As EPA explains it,

Section 406(g) requires EPA to publish a list of discrete coastal recreation waters adjacent to beaches or similar points of access that are used by the public and to update the list periodically as new information becomes available. The list specifies whether the waters are subject to a monitoring and notification program consistent with the performance criteria (National Beach Guidance and Required Performance Criteria for Grants June 2002) EPA published under CWA section 406(a). The list contains information that coastal and Great Lakes States made available to EPA as of January 31, 2008, and it replaces the previous list that EPA published on May 4, 2004. The National List of Beaches provides a national baseline of the extent of monitoring of waters adjacent to beaches or similar points of access, which will allow EPA to measure State program performance in implementing the monitoring and notification provisions of the BEACH Act.

Go here to find a hyperlink to the list of beaches. And really, all you West Virginians out there, and you know who you are, there are lots of good beaches other than Myrtle. Give them a shot!

DC Appeals Court Strikes Down EPA Air Monitoring Rule

One of the ongoing debates in the area of air permitting is whether state and local air quality control officials could impose monitoring conditions in Title V permits in addition to those that are required by EPA. Title V permits are the permits for major air pollution sources, and information about the permits, and a list of those permits issued in West Virginia, can be found here. The Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, which hears many administrative law cases, has ruled that states like West Virginia can impose monitoring requirements in addition to those required by federal regulations.

An excellent article by Dustin Till of the Marten Law Group explains in greater detail the import of the court's decision.