Renewable Fuel Standards and Biofuels

Below is EPA's press release regarding the annual Renewable Fuel Standard targets for 2012.  Note the low standard for cellulosic biofuels, which at one time were expected to be the mainstay of biofuel production.  That hasn't happened, as some  companies find they can't meet production targets with cellulosic feedstocks, and have to use corn. However, some companies, like Mascoma, believe they've found a way to produce ethanol from wood chips for less than $2.00 a gallon, unsubsidized. Here's hoping they can do it, as a plant of that sort would be perfect for West Virginia.


WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today finalized the 2012 percentage standards for four fuel categories that are part of the agency’s Renewable Fuel Standard program (RFS2). EPA continues to support greater use of renewable fuels within the transportation sector every year through the RFS2   program, which encourages innovation, strengthens American energy security, and decreases greenhouse gas pollution.

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) established the RFS2 program and the annual renewable fuel volume targets, which steadily increase to an overall level of 36 billion gallons in 2022. To achieve these volumes, EPA calculates a percentage-based standard for the following year. Based on the standard, each refiner and importer determines the minimum volume of renewable fuel that it must ensure is used in its transportation fuel.

The final 2012 overall volumes and standards are:

Biomass-based diesel (1.0 billion gallons; 0.91 percent)
Advanced biofuels (2.0 billion gallons; 1.21 percent)
Cellulosic biofuels (8.65 million gallons; 0.006 percent)
Total renewable fuels (15.2 billion gallons; 9.23 percent)

Last spring EPA had proposed a volume requirement of 1.28 billion gallons for biomass-based diesel for 2013. EISA specifies a one billion gallon minimum volume requirement for that category for 2013 and beyond, but enables EPA to increase the volume requirement after consideration of a variety of environmental, market, and energy-related factors. EPA is continuing to evaluate the many comments from stakeholders on the proposed biomass based diesel volume for 2013 and will take final action next year.

Overall, EPA’s RFS2 program encourages greater use of renewable fuels, including advanced biofuels. For 2012, the program is implementing EISA’s requirement to blend more than 1.25 billion gallons of renewable fuels over the amount mandated for 2011.

More information on the standards and regulations: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/renewablefuels/regulations.htm

More information on renewable fuels: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/renewablefuels/index.htm

Update - Here's an article by Dan Piller of the Des Moines Register, who does a good job of explaining more about the history and status of biofuels.

Abandoned Mine Land Funds Released

One of the legacies of coal mining in West Virginia is the presence of unreclaimed mine sites that pre-date the adoption of the Surface Mine Control and Reclamation Act. Coal companies pay a a tax on each ton of coal mined, which is to be used for reclamation of these abandoned mine lands. 

The US Department of the Interior recently announced it was returning some of these fees to the states for their intended purpose - paying for site remediation.  Here's the West Virginia DEP's press release:

West Virginia’s Office of Abandoned Mine Lands and Reclamation will receive $66.5 million in federal grant money for 2012 to eliminate health and safety hazards created by historical coal mining.

West Virginia’s share comes from the nearly half a billion dollars in grants the U.S. Office of Surface Mining (OSM) is awarding state AML programs to address issues associated with pre-law mining. Funding for AML grants is generated through fees placed on coal mined both above and underground and is distributed to states through a congressionally mandated formula under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) of 1977.

A 2006 amendment to SMCRA called for a phase-in of increased funding for AML programs. Because of that increase, West Virginia will receive its highest funding amount ever in 2012, said Eric Coberly, who directs the state’s AML program for the Department of Environmental Protection.

West Virginia grant money will be used for reclamation projects, eliminating acid mine drainage in state streams and extending waterlines to communities in need of clean drinking water. Funding is set aside, as well, for emergency projects. Coberly said West Virginia currently has about 40 reclamation projects in design, worth about

$32 million.

“This money will enable us to maximize funding in all areas of our AML program and help us better carry out our mission of improving the quality of life for the citizens of West Virginia,” Coberly said.

West Virginia’s $66.5 million funding amount trails only Wyoming ($150 million) and Pennsylvania ($67.2 million).

OSM said AML funding in 2012 will generate more than $1 billion in economic activity and support thousands of jobs across the country.

“When our nation enacted mining reform in 1977, we made a simple and bold promise that the revenues from coal extraction today should help clean up the legacy of coal mining many years ago,” U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said in a news release. “These grants help fulfill that promise, while putting men and women to work across the country on restoration projects that will bring lands back to life, clean up rivers, and leave a better legacy for our children and grandchildren.”

Mercury MACT Rule Announced by EPA

The US EPA has proposed a new rule setting air toxics standards for utilities. Utilities will have to use Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) in order to meet strict new  emission limits on mercury, arsenic, acid gas, nickel, selenium, and cyanide.  Here's the start of EPA's press release:

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, the first national standards to protect American families from power plant emissions of mercury and toxic air pollution like arsenic, acid gas, nickel, selenium, and cyanide. The standards will slash emissions of these dangerous pollutants by relying on widely available, proven pollution controls that are already in use at more than half of the nation’s coal-fired power plants.


EPA estimates that the new safeguards will prevent as many as 11,000 premature deaths and 4,700 heart attacks a year. The standards will also help America’s children grow up healthier – preventing 130,000 cases of childhood asthma symptoms and about 6,300 fewer cases of acute bronchitis among children each year.

The  BNA report by Jessica Coomes and Andrew Childers is here.

Craig Rucker, says that the rule is based on "false science and economics."  He is with the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT) , which  appears to be a conservative advocacy group.  His take on the rule can be found here.

Shale gas is turning into a bonanza for West Virginia. It became viable economically because George Mitchell spent years developing ways to economically drill horizontal wells and frac them in order to release gas from tight shale formations. He is a pioneer that deserves the plaudits he is receiving.

Mike Shellenberger of the Breakthrough Institute has something to add to this history. As he notes in an article that was carried in the Washington Post, Mitchell benefited from substantial investment by the US government in the development of  horizontal drilling and fracturing shale, some of which research was done in Morgantown. The research was done during times that low prices for oil and gas would have discouraged private investment.

Giving the federal government credit where it is due takes nothing away from Mitchell, who was determined and tenacious. But the lesson of the shale gas revolution is that we should not be so quick to judge government investments in energy technology. Between 1978 and 2007, the Energy Department spent $24 billion on fossil energy research. Billions more were spent through the Gas Research Institute and non-conventional gas tax credits. Those investments were widely panned as a failure during the ’80s and early ’90s, when gas was plentiful and cheap.

Mike has a good point.  This is exactly the type of investment in research that the federal government should be making, whether for fossil fuels or alternative energy sources.  What it shouldn't do is pick winners in the marketplace, through tax credits, loan guarantees or other support for individual companies.  Solyndra is a good example of how that can turn out.

Report On Cumulative Effect Of Mountaintop Mining

A team from Duke University has reported on the cumulative effects of mountaintop mining on stream health in the latest Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. I haven't read it, but the  abstract is here, and stories from Ken Ward of the Gazette and Pam Kasey of  the State Journal are available.

West Virginia, Ecuador and the Legal System

Some West Virginians see the the state as one that was (and is) dominated by out-of-state coal, oil and gas and land  companies that manipulated the political and judicial process in order to take the state's treasures and leave it with little but environmental liabilities. Those who feel that way probably feel some kinship with the inhabitants of the Ecuadorian rain forest, who brought suit against Texaco, later purchased by Chevron, and won a multi-billion dollar judgment against the company for natural resource damages and personal injuries. The story was compelling - a large multinational was taking advantage of  the less sophisticated natives and destroying the land.  A documentary, Crude, was made about the lawsuit.

How much of that story is true, I couldn't tell you. But it was interesting to find out that the substance of the Ecuadorean lawsuit has been called into question.  Ann Meist, a member of Strauss Consulting and one of the experts who helped prepare the case for groundwater contamination against Chevron, is caught in a  film outtake in which the lead American lawyer, Steven Donziger, appears to be suggesting that a public outcry, rather than facts, are all that is needed to win the case in an Ecuadorian court. The clear impression I took away is that the contamination was not nearly as great as represented by Donziger and Meist in court.

Chevron has filed a RICO action against Donziger, Meist and others, alleging that they conspired to extort money from Chevron by means of a specious legal action in Ecuador, using ginned-up data and misrepresentations. It's an interesting read.

BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2011

BP has a fascinating  website that is called the Statistical Review of World Energy 2011.  It is full of information about energy usage, energy reserves, and all aspects of the industry, from renewables to fossil fuels. If you want to do research on energy sources there's a series of Excel spreadsheets that allow you to easily compare energy use by type, country, year, etc.

A Small Victory in the Battle Against Straight Pipes

Straight piping, or discharging sewage directly to a stream from a house or business, is a problem in rural West Virginia. In many of southern West Virginia's narrow hollows there is little space for a treatment system, and in any event there is often little money for building and maintaining the treatment plant. Here is one community in McDowell County, along Windmill Gap Creek, that managed to eliminate straight pipes with some innovative thinking and help from the Canaan Valley Institute.

The Interdependence of Coal, Electricity and Prosperity

Charles McElwee,one of the name partners of Robinson & McElwee and a consummate lawyer, has done an analysis of the relationship between coal, electricity and economic well-being. Among other things, he explains why renewable energy sources simply won't be sufficient to satisfy the growing need for power in the foreseeable future.  I have linked to the article here.  To get an idea of his position, the following is the preface to the article.

           

          Preface. The “renewable” energies of solar and wind are impractical  alternatives for generating within the next several years any significant percentage of the world’s, including the United States’, and West Virginia’s, demand for electricity.  To contend otherwise is promoting a myth.

Basic to the argument are (1) that all nations, particularly the developing ones, want their citizens to be increasingly prosperous; (2) that expanding prosperity is dependent on greater electricity consumption for there is a correlation between levels of prosperity and the use of electricity; and (3)  that presently and at least for the next twenty-five years, hydrocarbons are the only fuels that can generate electricity on the scale, at the cost, and with the dependability that the world, including the United States, will require.

Nationwide Permits and the Oil and Gas Industry

Staff from the US Army Corps of Engineers made a presentation to the West Virginia Oil & Natural Gas (WVONGA) Environmental Committee last week on the subject of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Regulatory Role in Oil and Gas Drilling Activities.   It was a very useful summary of the Corps' role in permitting stream crossings and all other oil and gas activities that occur in jurisdictional waters.

At the meeting we were given a nice compilation of the Nationwide Permits in West Virginia.  They set out the Nationwide Permits themselves, the permit-specific Regional Corps of Engineers  conditions, if any, and the permit-specific state 401 certification conditions, if any. In addition, there are the West Virginia 401 certification requirements that apply to all the nationwide permits.

For those wanting to learn more about nationwide permits, there is a reasonably good explanation in the February 16, 2011 Federal Register notice.  The nationwide permits expire in March of 2012, and the Corps already began soliciting comments on how they should be changed. In order to give time for commenting and for the Corps to prepare a response to comments, the Corps is expected to propose the new nationwide permits soon, perhaps this week.

Job Creation From The Energy Sector

The Wall Street Journal has an editorial pointing out the obvious - while billions have been poured into subsidies of green energy, it's traditional energy sources, principally oil and gas, that have provided thousands of jobs. If you have been traveling in northern West Virginia and needed a hotel room recently, you know the effect the Marcellus boom is having there.

None of this is to say that the federal government shouldn't have an energy plan.  But its efforts should be directed to basic research that helps bring better products, like batteries and more efficient engines, to the point where they can be marketed. After that, leave it to the market to decide what should survive and what should fail.  The federal government shouldn't be picking winners and losers through subsidies.

New Environmental Quality Board Members Appointed

There are two new members of the Environmental Quality Board, Dr. Charles Somerville , dean of the Marshall University College of Science, and Dr. Mitch Blake, coal program manager of the WV Geological and Economic Survey. I didn't find much written about Dr. Blake, although he has been quoted in a few newspaper articles and has been the author of several papers available on the web.

Drs. Somerville and Blake replace Ted Armbrecht and Dr. James Van Gundy, both of whom had been serving expired terms.  In fact, all five board members had been serving expired terms before the  most recent appointments. Now there are three members being carried over - Drs. Simonton, Snyder (chair) and Gillespie.  There has been no word as to whether they will be reappointed, or will continue to serve expired terms.

The EQB tends to have more academics serving on it than other environmental appeals boards, due to a requirement, originating in the Clean Water Act, that Board members only receive a certain amount of their income from organizations that hold NPDES permits. That prevents many person employed in industry from qualifying to serve on the Board.

Here is Ken Ward's article on the appointments.

Climategate 2 Is Breaking Now

Almost 2 years ago, before the Copenhagen Climate Change meeting, a large number of emails from East Anglia University and elsewhere showed that there was something rotten in the "science" of climate change studies.   It appears that a new release of emails has just occurred, which interested readers have begun to  be mine for information about the machinations of the global warming machine.

Try looking here and at TallblokesTalkshop blog.  Something is also now up on Watts Up With That, just posted a little bit ago.

I hate the tendency to add "gate" to everything to denote a scandal, but that's a fight  I lost a long time ago.

Why Durban Won't Result In A Greenhouse Gas Reduction Agreement

The nations are gathering in Durban, South Africa at one of their annual meetings to decry the continued havoc that they maintain greenhouse gases are wreaking on the world.  Leaving aside the question of whether the science supports their fears, nothing is going to be done to restrict GHG emissions.  National self-interest in developing countries will trump the science every day. 

The Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center has published the preliminary 2009 and 2010 global and national estimates of carbon emissions from fossil-fuel combustion and cement manufacture.  The data show huge increases in carbon emissions for the developing world, small reductions for much of the developed world. A chart based on the CDIAC data is in this article and easier to read.

Development isn't going to happen in the near term without fossil fuels.  Less developed nations aren't going to give up higher standards of living for the unproven benefits of reducing GHGs. 

David Brooks on Shale Gas Opportunities

David Brooks of the New York Times writes on the incredible opportunities represented by shale gas. Here's some of what he had to say:

John Rowe, the chief executive of the utility Exelon, which derives almost all its power from nuclear plants, says that shale gas is one of the most important energy revolutions of his lifetime. It’s a cliché word, Yergin told me, but the fracking innovation is game-changing. It transforms the energy marketplace. . . .

The U.S. now seems to possess a 100-year supply of natural gas, which is the cleanest of the fossil fuels. This cleaner, cheaper energy source is already replacing dirtier coal-fired plants. It could serve as the ideal bridge, Amy Jaffe of Rice University says, until renewable sources like wind and solar mature.

Already shale gas has produced more than half a million new jobs, not only in traditional areas like Texas but also in economically wounded places like western Pennsylvania and, soon, Ohio. If current trends continue, there are hundreds of thousands of new jobs to come.

A few weeks ago, I sat around with John Rowe, one of the most trusted people in the energy business, and listened to him talk enthusiastically about this windfall. He has no vested interest in this; indeed, his company might be hurt. But he knows how much shale gas could mean to America. It would be a crime if we squandered this blessing.

If only the rest of the NY Times writers could see it that clearly.

EPA Announces Plan For Studying Gas Well Fracking Effects

EPA has announced its plan for studying the effects of gas well fracking. While there will be some interim release of information, it is interesting that the final report won't be issued until sometime in 2014.  By that time, I predict that concerns about fracking largely will have disappeared.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced its final research plan on hydraulic fracturing. At the request of Congress, EPA is working to better understand potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources. Natural gas plays a key role in our nation’s clean energy future and the Obama Administration is committed to ensuring that we continue to leverage this vital resource responsibly.


In March 2010, EPA announced its intention to conduct the study in response to a request from Congress. Since then, the agency has held a series of public meetings across the nation to receive input from states, industry, environmental and public health groups, and individual citizens. In addition, the study was reviewed by the Science Advisory Board (SAB), an independent panel of scientists, to ensure the agency conducted the research using a scientifically sound approach.

The initial research results and study findings will be released to the public in 2012. The final report will be delivered in 2014. To ensure that the study is complete and results are available to the public in a timely manner, EPA initiated some activities this summer that were supported by the SAB and provide a foundation for the full study.

The final study plan looks at the full cycle of water in hydraulic fracturing, from the acquisition of the water, through the mixing of chemicals and actual fracturing, to the post-fracturing stage, including the management of flowback and produced or used water as well as its ultimate treatment and disposal. Earlier this year, EPA announced its selection of locations for five retrospective and two prospective case studies.

This administration continues to take steps to ensure that we can rely on this abundant resource for decades to come, including taking steps to fully understand any impacts related to the development of this resource. This study is in line with the priorities identified in the president’s Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future, and is consistent with the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board recommendations on steps to support the safe development of natural gas resources.

More information: www.epa.gov/hydraulicfracturing

BEST Evidence Not So Good?

Richard Muller, a  well-respected physicist and former MacArthur Foundation grantee, put together BEST, the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature project, to try to establish reliable temperature data sets that could be used to evaluate the extent of global warming. The idea was that at all parties in the debate over the cause of global warming could use the same sets of temperature data, even if they disagreed on how they should be interpreted.

Earlier this month Dr. Muller took the unusual step of publishing his results without going through any sort of peer-review process. The lack of peer-review doesn't really bother me, because an important (and public) project such as Dr. Muller was engaged in will be peer-reviewed eventually by any number of interested and talented professionals and amateurs. But in this case, he would have been well-advised to seek some sort of review before he published his initial reports.

The first opinions from the mainstream media were that the BEST  findings settled the global warming debate by showing late 20th century warming.  That, of course, would not be the case, since the warming that has occurred in the temperature record has not been widely rejected among skeptics.  It is the cause of the warming, and whether it is a bad thing, that is at the heart of most skeptics' arguments.

Today we learn that Judith Curry, a well-respected climatologist and co-author of the BEST report, is taking Muller to task for his premature release of two of the four BEST reports.   Steve McIntyre, who operates the  Climate Audit website, has posted on the subject, and noted several problems with the BEST analysis.  Mr. McIntyre also believes the data may confirm the end of the Little Ice Age, which in turn suggests the Medieval Warm Period occurred, a time during the Middle Ages when the world was warmer than today. Anthony Watts, who cooperated with Dr. Muller in evaluating the effect of urban heat islands on the temperature record, has objected to Muller using 60 years of data to compare with Watts' 30 years of data. Jeff Id notes that there is a significant error in the calculations Muller used.  Whether these folks are right or wrong, Dr. Muller probably would have been well-advised to listen to them before going all-out with the press release first.

And to top it all off, the  BEST data show that the last 10 years have shown no warming.  That has seriously puzzled the climate alarmists, according to a report that was on Greenwire.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Stucky Returns Mining NPDES Permit Appeal To Environmental Quality Board

On April 27th  I posted on the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection's appeal to the Kanawha County Circuit Court of a decision of the Environmental Quality Board  -  "DEP Appeals Environmental Quality Board Decision Remanding Patriot Mining NPDES Permit."  Judge Stucky heard the appeal and agreed with the DEP and Patriot Mining that the EQB failed to explain how the DEP was to establish numeric limits in the permit that would protect narrative water quality standards:

 In order to comply with the EQB's Final Order, WVDEP would have to determine the
specific levels of conductivity, TDS, and sulfate that have reasonable potential to cause or
contribute to an excess of narrative criteria. WVDEP concedes that it is impossible to
establish a numeric benchmark that will ensure the protection of the narrative criteria.
Although the EQB commanded WVDEP to establish effluent limits for conductivity, TDS,
and sulfate, they failed to explain through what CWA mechanism it was regulating these
parameters, mention WVSCI, or explain a basis which to proceed. Additionally, while the
EQB rejected Respondent's proposed effluent limits, they provided no clear guidance on
how to contrive these effluent limits.

As a result, Judge Stucky remanded the case to the EQB to more fully explain its decision:

This Court ORDERS the following. This case is REMANDED with the following
directions: the EQB shall provide written supplemental findings detailing a reasoned and
articulate decision in the Final Order. Additionally, these findings should include guidance to
calculate threshold values for regulating conductivity, TDS, and sulfate.

You can see the decision here. Thanks to Jennifer Hughes, who handled the appeal for the DEP, and who forwarded the decision.

West Virginia DEP Issues General Permit For Pesticide Application

Although the time for comment has passed, I thought this notice of issuance of a general permit for pesticide application was worth mentioning.  Several years ago the Sixth Circuit decided that the application of pesticides (and herbicides)  that could reach a water body constituted a discharge of pollutants through a point source, which means that an NPDES permit is required. The court reasoned that the pesticides were not intended to reach waters of the United States, and if they did they were pollutants at that point, and no longer products. As a result of that decision, EPA advised states that they needed to issue permits for pesticide application.  Since pesticide spraying is so ubiquitous, many states, including West Virginia, have decided to issue a general permit allowing spraying under certain conditions that are specified in the general permit.

The Sixth Circuit decision that started this is  National Cotton v. EPA, 553 F.3d 927 (6th Cir. 2009). Environmental and industry groups had challenged an EPA  rule that exempted pesticide spraying from NPDES permitting. Challenges were filed in eleven circuit courts throughout the United States, and then consolidated in the Sixth Circuit.

Here is the general permit notice.

      

Public Notice No.:      Pesticide General Permit

Public Notice Date:     August 24, 2011

GENERAL WV/NPDES WATER POLLUTION CONTROL PERMIT WASTEWATER DISCHARGES FROM HIGHWAY OR PESTICIDE GENERAL PERMIT FOR POINT SOURCE DISCHARGES WV/NPDES PERMIT NO. WV0116645

The Division of Water and Waste Management is proposing to issue the General WV/NPDES Water Pollution Control Permit to regulate the discharge of wastewater into the waters of the State from the application of (1) biological pesticides or (2) chemical pesticides that leave a residue (hereinafter collectively “pesticides”), when the pesticide application is for one of the following pesticide use patterns:  

1.    Mosquito and Other Flying Insect Pest Control - to control public

health/nuisance and other flying insect pests that develop or are present during a portion of their life cycle in or above standing or flowing water.

Public health/nuisance and other flying insect pests in this use category include mosquitoes and black flies.

2.    Aquatic Weed and Algae Control - to control weeds, algae, and

pathogens that are pests in water and at water’s edge, including ditches and/or canals.

3.    Animal Pest Control - to control animal pests in water and at water’s

edge. Animal pests in this use category include fish, lampreys, insects, mollusks, and pathogens.

4.    Forest Canopy Pest Control - application of a pesticide to a forest

canopy to control the population of a pest species (e.g., insect or pathogen) where, to target the pests effectively, a portion of the pesticide unavoidably will be applied over and deposited to water."

The General Permit will authorize the operation and maintenance of establishments engaged in pesticide applications or parts thereof, and the direct discharge of treated wastewater to the waters of the State.  It is proposed that this General Permit be issued for a five (5) year term. This permit shall only be issued if EPA's final Pesticide General Permit is issued.

      The Director of the Division of Water and Waste Management retains authority to require any owner/operator to apply for and obtain an individual WV/NPDES Permit.  This authority will be exercised when the Director determines that such individual permit will better protect the receiving water.

The Draft Permit and Fact Sheet may be inspected by appointment between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday at the Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Water and Waste Management, Public Information Office, 57th Street SE, Charleston, WV  25304.  Copies of the documents may be obtained from the Division at a nominal cost.

Any interested persons may submit written comments on the Draft Permit. 

Comments will be accepted until September 23, 2011.   They should be addressed

to:

Director, Division of Water and Waste Management Department of Environmental Protection

601 57th Street, SE

Charleston, WV  25304

Attention: Devereux, Lori K

Phone: (304) 926-0499, Extension 1065

Fax: (304) 926-0463

E mail: Lori.K.Devereux@wv.gov

All comments received within this period will be considered prior to acting on the Draft Permit.  Correspondence should include the name, address, and telephone number of the writer; and a concise statement of the nature of the issues being raised.

      Requests for additional information should be directed to Lori Devereux at (304) 926-0499, Extension 1057.

TMDLs Developed For Elk and Lower Kanawha Rivers

The DEP is accepting comment on the Total Maximum Daily Loads that have been prepared for the Elk River and the Lower Kanawha River.  The following is the aannouncement for the Lower Kanawha, but a similar announcement was made for the Elk River, except that the public meeting was held Sept 27 at Elkview Middle School.


      The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is announcing a comment period on proposed water quality improvement plans for selected streams in the Lower Kanawha River Watershed, located in southwestern West Virginia.

The DEP welcomes input and comments from the public on the proposed plan known as a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). The comment period began Sept. 12 and extends through Oct. 14, inclusively.

A TMDL is defined as the amount of a pollutant which can be discharged into a stream and still allow the stream to meet water quality standards. Each of the streams under TMDL development has been identified as violating state water quality standards. The pollutants of concern are pH, total iron, dissolved aluminum, dissolved oxygen and fecal coliform. In addition, some streams have also been identified as having impairments to biological integrity. 

A public meeting is scheduled for Sept. 28 to present a general discussion of the draft TMDLs and to answer questions regarding the proposed TMDLs. The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Winfield High School in Winfield, W.Va.

Written comments on the proposed plans may be submitted by U.S. Mail, electronic mail, and fax. The preferred form for comment submissions is e-mail or disk in order to expedite the review and response process. Written comments should be postmarked no later than Oct. 14, 2011. Comments should be sent to:

Steve Young – Lower Kanawha TMDLs

West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection

601 57th Street

Charleston, WV 25304

E-mail: stephen.a.young@wv.gov

The TMDLs are available for review on DEP’s webpage:

http://www.dep.wv.gov/WWE/watershed/TMDL/Pages/default.aspx

CDs may also be obtained by calling Steve Young at (304) 926-0495, TTY 711

(304) 558-2751.

If you go to the DEP website, you'll see that TMDLs were done for the following constituents:

Elk
Stream name		Date approved	Pollutants
Draft Elk TMDL Report
Draft TMDL presentation from September 27, 2011 - Elkview Middle School
	Fecal allocations spreadsheet
	Metals and pH allocations spreadsheet
	Selenium allocations spreadsheet
Elk River TMDL and tributaries		2001	Al, Fe, Pb
	Decision rationale

Lower Kanawha
Stream name		Date approved	Pollutants
Draft Lower Kanawha TMDL Report
Draft TMDL presentation - September 28, 2011 - Winfield High School
	Fecal allocations spreadsheet
	Metals and pH allocations spreadsheet
Lower Kanawha approved TMDL report		2006
Heizer Creek appendix
Tupper Creek appendix
Twomile Creek appendix
Lower Kanawha fecal coliform allocations spreadsheets
Lower Kanawha metals allocations spreadsheets
Lower Kanawha sediment allocations spreadsheets
Lower Kanawha dissolved aluminum addendum
Lower Kanawha dissolved aluminum final addendum
Lower Kanawha decision rationale
Lower Kanawha EPA approval letter
Flat Fork of Pocatalico River		2001	PCBs
	Decision rationale
Kanawha River, Armor Creek and Pocatalico River		2000	Dioxin
Ridenour Lake		1999	Al, Fe, Nutrients, Sediment
	Decision rationale

Methane Farming?

There is news from Wyoming of two companies that are seeking approval for "methane farming", which involves injecting several types of microbes into coal seams.  The microbes convert the coal to methane gas. At a time when minable coal seams are getting harder to find, this may be good news for Appalachia.  There is lots of coal in West Virginia and elsewhere that is  unrecoverable because it is in seams that are too thin to mine underground, and are under too much cover to strip mine economically.  The Casper Tribune reports on the two processes:

Two companies, Luca Technologies and Ciris Energy Inc., are preparing to employ the process in Wyoming. Both use processes that accelerate methane production by microbes that feed on coal beds. But there are differences between the two: While Luca pumps nutrients underground to the gas-producing microbes, Ciris uses a process that breaks down coal into a solution for easy feeding by the microbes. Unlike Luca, Ciris plans to use an above-ground facility.

Business Week also had a report on it.

EPA Inspector General Criticizes EPA Climate Change Endangerment Finding Procedures

The Inspector General of the EPA has just issued a report concluding that EPA did not follow its own guidelines for reviewing data before it concluded that that greenhouse gases pose an environmental danger, referred to as the Endangerment Finding.  The following sentence is taken from the AP and Washington Post:

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration cut corners before concluding that climate-change pollution can endanger human health, a key finding underpinning costly new regulations, an internal government watchdog said Wednesday.

The Endangerment Finding was the foundation of all the GHG regulations that have followed its issuance in December of 2009.  EPA has been criticized for failing to evaluate the Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change report that was the primary  basis for EPA's actions, and this report by the IG seems to confirm those complaints.  If an objective analysis of the IPCC report is performed, it is not likely to stand close scrutiny in light of the evidence that has mounted against anthropogenic global warming since that report was issued.

Peak Oil Is Often Predicted, But Hasn't Arrived

I remember when the natural gas crisis hit in the late 1970s and we stayed home from school one winter for an extended period because natural gas was being saved for "critical users" such as hospitals and manufacturing.  Gas supplies were too low, there weren't any large reserves remaining, and we were told that we should get used to living in the cold.

Then they deregulated natural gas prices, and an amazing thing happened.  As prices rose, gas exploration and drilling increased. As they increased, new reserves were found that could be profitably exploited.  Recently we've seen this trend continue, as a method has developed for accessing the huge amounts of natural gas, and some petroleum, located in tight shale formations.

Daniel Yergin writes on this phenomenon in a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, explaining why peak oil never seems to arrive. There have been predictions since the late 1800's that we would run out of oil, and they've always been wrong. As he remarks:

 Things don't stand still in the energy industry. With the passage of time, unconventional sources of oil, in all their variety, become a familiar part of the world's petroleum supply. They help to explain why the plateau continues to recede into the horizon—and why, on a global view, Hubbert's Peak is still not in sight.

Former Mine Sites Prove Valuable

New ways of using mountaintop removal sites keep popping up.  The Charleston Gazette's Rick Steelhammer reports on a former mine site that is being used to test armored troop carriers that will be sent to Afghanistan.  Another use is to put roads in the areas the mines were located, as Kentucky is doing with Route 460 and West Virginia is doing with the King Coal Highway.  The roads will not only make good use of the disturbed land, it is hoped they will also entice people to build homes  out of the floodplain, where many people in southern West Virginia live.

Obama Administration Puts GHG Regulation on Hold

I haven't had a chance to look at this, but the Wall Street Journal reports that the Obama Administration is putting greenhouse gas (GHG) regulation on hold.  A New York Times blog entry on the story is here. There hasn't been any announcement on when the regulations will be forthcoming.

DEP Schedules Youth Environmental Conference

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection will sponsor its 36th annual Youth Environmental Conference, Sept. 30-Oct. 2, at Twin Falls Resort State Park, near Mullens. The deadline to register for the conference is Sept. 15.

The conference is open to members of the DEP’s Youth Environmental Program, ages 13 to 18. A limited number of scholarships are available on a first-come, first-serve

basis.  

Environmental workshops are scheduled for Friday evening of the conference. Conference participants also will visit the Raleigh County Solid Waste Authority’s state-of-the-art landfill and the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine. Other activities include a recycling contest, group reports and a Sunday morning motivational program.

For information on how your youth group can become a member of the Youth Environmental Program and take part in the Youth Environmental Conference, please contact Diana Haid at 304-926-0499, Ext. 1114 or email diana.k.haid@wv.gov .

Licensed Remediation Specialist Exam Set for September 21.

In order to conduct a brownfield clean up in West Virginia under the Voluntary Remediation and Redevelopment Act, one needs to have the remediation process planned and overseen by a Licensed Remediation Specialist (LRS). In order to become a LRS one must pass the exam, which has been scheduled for September 21st in South Charleston. 

The rule governing VRRA clean ups, which is the subject of the test,  is found at 60 CSR 3.  It includes the general remediation agreement and default clean up levels. The DEP's notice follows:

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s next examination to certify licensed remediation specialists is scheduled from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., on Sept.

21, at the Marshall Graduate College in South Charleston.

The exam will be given in Room 213 of the Robert C. Byrd Academic Center Building, 100 Angus E. Peyton Dr., South Charleston.

Certification is required for anyone submitting voluntary remediation and brownfields cleanup designs to the agency’s Office of Environmental Remediation (OER) for review.

A bachelor’s degree in an approved scientific field and at least six years of relevant professional experience, or a high school diploma and 10 years of relevant professional experience, are needed to qualify for the exam. In either case, at least one year of supervisory or project management experience is needed.

To take the exam, register online at http://www.dep.wv.gov.

Under the Office of Environmental Remediation, go to the licensed remediation specialist online application and follow the instructions. Fees of $300 for the application and $250 for the examination are required.  Online applications must be received by Sept. 9.

Only approved candidates with picture identification cards will be admitted to the testing site. Photo identification and the $250 testing fee must be presented before the exam starts.

For more information about the exam, call Jamie Wolfe, CEGAS manager, at (304) 696-6042, or by email at jawolfe@marshall.edu. Marshall University (CEGAS) administers the licensing exam for OER.

The state legislature enacted the voluntary remediation and brownfields law during the 1996 legislative session.

Voluntary remediation involves a responsible party cleaning up a site for future development, and brownfields involves clean up by a third party.

============================================================

To Unsubscribe from this Mailing List, login at:

http://apps.dep.wv.gov/MLists/