Virginia Rejects WV IGCC Plant

American Electric Power has proposed building a integrated gasification combined cycle coal burning power plant in Mason County. This state-of-the-art facility would be a great step toward burning coal more cleanly and efficiently. Unfortunately, the Virginia State Corporation Commission rejected the IGCC, and it's approval was necessary because Appalachian Power Company's service area includes Virginia, so some of the cost recovery would have been required from Virginia ratepayers. You can read more about it at
http://dailymail.com/Business/GeorgeHohmann/200804240216

Article on Kelly Goes, Secretary of the Department of Commerce

A healthy economy requires a balance between wealth creation and protection of the environment. As Justice Neely said, environmental statutes require us to "strike a balance between a vibrant economy in which we all live in a sewer and a land of sparkling waters where everyone lives on the dole." Four-H Road Comm. v. Chief Div. of Water Resources; 177 W.Va. 643;355 S.E.2d 624 (W. Va. 1987).

Balancing economy and ecology requires an ability to understand real dangers, which in turn requires some understanding of complex technical matters. In my limited experience with Kelly Goes, Secretary of the Department of Commerce, I have observed that she is unusually good at understanding technical arguments and winnowing the wheat from the chaff. You can learn more about her in an article by George Hohmann in the Charleston Daily Mail at http://dailymail.com/Business/200804240208

Coal Companies Agree to Limit Valley Fills

Ken Ward reports in today's Charleston Gazette that three surface coal mining companies have agreed to limit their valley fills, and to give notice to citizen groups if they intend to start additional fills. The agreement was a concession by the companies to be allowed to continue mining, and was made because Judge Chambers has temporarily blocked any new permits, based on his earlier decisions. In 2007, Judge Chambers ruled the Corps of Engineers had to perform additional studies before granting certain permits to Massey Energy, and later ruled that instream sediment ponds at the valley fill toes were not allowed. Those decisions have been appealed to the Fourth Circuit by Massey and the Corps, and the Court was scheduled to hear the appeals on May 13. The 4th Circuit has now changed that to early September. The Gazette article can be accessed at http://www.wvgazette.com/News/Business/200804230695

West Virginia Coal Association

The West Virginia Coal Association represents mining interests in the Mountain State. Coal is one of West Virginia's chief natural resources, and the severance taxes it generates provide a large chunk of state and county revenues. Visit its website for more information about the industry and the importance of coal mining, including mountaintop mining, to the economy of the state and America's energy independence.

Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition Targets Coal Plants

The Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition (OVEC) is one of the better known environmental organizations in West Virginia, and it has consistently opposed mountaintop mininng in West Virginia. A sampling of its issues and positions can be gleaned from its website, at p://www.ohvec.org/ovec_news.html For a counterpoint, see the next post.

ORSANCO Accepting Comments on Pollution Control Standards

The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO), is an interstate commission representing eight states and the federal government. Member states include: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Its pollution control standards apply on the Ohio River in lieu of West Virginia's water quality standards when the ORSANCO standards are more stringent. Any discharger into the Ohio River should follow ORSANCO's development of standards.

ORSANCO is initiating a review of its Pollution Control Standards for Wastewater Discharges to the Ohio River. The Commission Standards include designated uses of the Ohio River, numerical water quality criteria established to protect the uses, and effluent limits necessary to meet those criteria. It is the policy of the Commission to conduct a formal review of its Standards every three years; the last such review was completed in October 2006. You can find the issues that ORSANCO expects to be raised for the review of its pollution Control standards at http://www.orsanco.org/review/PCSIssues.doc


Comments on any portion of the Standards will be accepted until May 16, 2008. All comments received by that date will be considered by the Commission’s Pollution Control Standards Committee; their consideration may result in proposed revisions to the Standards. Any proposed revisions will be presented at a public hearing and will be subject to an additional public comment period before they are acted upon by the Commission.

In order to facilitate review of the current Standards, five public workshops will be held. Each workshop will include brief descriptions of the authority and purpose of the Commission Standards, their relationship to state and federal standards, the content of the current Standards, and issues that are expected to be addressed in the current review. The major portion of each workshop will be devoted to questions and discussions on the Standards and related issues. The workshops will not be recorded and no formal statements will be taken; they are being held to facilitate discussion of Standards- related issues and to assist persons who may be considering the submittal of comments. Information on the public workshops will be posted on the Commission web site http://www.orsanco.org/.

Comments on the Standards should be submitted to the following address:
ORSANCO
5735 Kellogg Avenue
Cincinnati, Ohio 45228
Att: PCS Comments

Comments may also be submitted by email to ptennant@orsanco.org by fax to 513/231-7761. Comments should arrive by the close of business on Friday, May 16, 2008. Any and all comments received will be considered by the Commission’s Pollution Control Standards Committee. A summary of all comments received and their disposition will accompany the proposed revisions when they are presented for public review. If you have any questions in this matter, please contact the Commission staff.

Voluntary Rural & Outdoor Heritage Conservation Act

Rob Lannan, who is a member of the Board of Trustees for The Nature Conservancy in West Virginia, reports that Governor Manchin recently signed the Voluntary Rural & Outdoor Heritage Conservation Act. The Act establishes a new Outdoor Heritage Conservation Fund (to be initially capitalized by a minimal fee on the recording of deeds and certain other documents). The Fund is designed to leverage private, federal and local monies to permit the State to purchase lands for conservation purposes. The legislation also establishes a Board of Trustees composed of the Director of the Division of Natural Resources and the Director of the Division of Forestry (ex officio) and nine (9) voting members to be appointed by the Governor. The nine appointed members are to be representative of (1) the West Virginia Agricultural Land Protection Authority; (2) a registered forester; (3) 501(c)(C) land trusts; (4) professional experts in biology or ecology nominated by the West Virginia Academy of Sciences; (5) a member with demonstrated expertise in public health and public recreation; and (6) a representative of sportsman and sportswomen. The Fund is also authorized to receive monies from a variety of sources, including the issuance of revenue bonds.


Significantly, a broad spectrum of varying political interests, under the leadership of The Nature Conservancy, came together to support the legislation including land trusts, sportsmen and sportswomens’ groups, farm land protection boards, various wildlife groups, land owners, agricultural interests, and the business community. A copy of the legislation can be accessed at:
http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Text_HTML/2008_SESSIONS/RS/BILLS/SB622%20SUB2%20enr.htm.

Rob also reports that the West Virginia Environmental Institute, on whose Board he also sits, will be holding its 2008 Annual Conference on the Environment at the Marriott in Charleston, on Wednesday, May 7. The conference theme is “Sustainable Communities and the New Economy.” The keynote speaker will be Governor Parris N. Glendening, the former Governor of Maryland and now President of the Smart Growth Leadership Institute. More information about the Conference, including registration information, can be found at the Institute’s website, www.wvei.org/conference.html.