A National Coal Council meeting in downtown St. Louis was canceled following a protest from Washington University Green Action.
Directly after council members had finished taking roll call on Tuesday, students from Green Action and Missourians Organized for Reform and Empowerment entered the meeting at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark. The students unfurled a banner proclaiming, “Coal is never clean” and sang, “Clean coal is a dirty lie.”
“Clean coal doesn’t exist, and we’re opposed to the lie that there’s any way to use coal safely without hurting communities,” said Green Action member Harry Alper, a senior.
The group was escorted from the hotel by two officers from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. The Hilton’s head of security had not yet arrived at the event.
According to Officer Mana, the situation was “no big deal,” and students were polite and peaceful as they left the building.
Following the disturbance, the council chose to cancel the meeting, but members stayed to enjoy the private lunch they had already ordered.
The National Coal Council is a federal advisory committee to the U.S. secretary of energy. The meeting, which was open to the public, was intended to review an ongoing study on the use of Carbon Capture and Sequestration technologies.
The CEOs of St. Louis-based Peabody Energy and Arch Coal are both on the council and are members of the University’s board of trustees.
Sophomore Claire Christensen of Green Action urged students in an e-mail to join the rally.
“[T]here is NO SUCH THING AS CLEAN COAL and the coal industry should not be operating AT ALL,” Christensen wrote. “As students of Washington University, we need to ‘clarify’ our position to our Board of Trustees members and let them know we condemn their actions.”
Because of an error on the Federal Register, Green Action arrived to the Hilton more than an hour early and arrived back at campus later than expected.
“I missed the first half of my class on the civil rights movement, but my professor knows I’m there to learn from that movement and apply it to the climate justice movement,” Alper said. “There are other people who have to make much bigger sacrifices than being late for a class.”
After being escorted out, Green Action members continued their protest outside of the Hilton, where they engaged with passersby and various news outlets.
Members of the council declined to comment.
Black Warrior Riverkeeper has emailed an open letter to Dr. Robert E. Witt, President of the University of Alabama, asking UA to make a public decision as to whether they will lease their land and mineral rights to Shepherd Bend, LLC for coal mining directly across the river from the Birmingham Water Works Board’s Mulberry Fork Intake facility, which supplies tap water daily to 200,000 customers.
Dear President Witt:
Black Warrior Riverkeeper and other concerned citizens have been asking the University of Alabama (University) and the UA System Board of Trustees (Trustees) not to lease land or mineral rights to Shepherd Bend, LLC for a surface coal mine that will discharge polluted water to the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River 800 feet upstream of a primary drinking water intake for the Birmingham Water Works Board (“BWWB”). In previous correspondence, we have supplied extensive scientific information which indicates that the Shepherd Bend Mine will likely result in mining-related pollutants flowing into the intake and on to the BWWB’s treatment facilities. Every single day, over 200,000 of Alabama’s citizens rely on this intake for clean, safe, and affordable drinking water.
To date, neither the University nor the Trustees have taken a stand on this important issue of public interest, responding only that there is currently no proposal before you to lease the property. Given the fact that Shepherd Bend, LLC has the necessary regulatory permits to begin coal mining, we think it is time for the University and the Trustees to take a public stand as to whether you will lease land and mineral rights for this strip mine.
With an emphasis on education and service as well as a mission of improving the quality of life for all Alabamians, it is entirely appropriate for the University and the Trustees to play a leadership role on the Shepherd Bend Mine issue. You have a unique opportunity to demonstrate the importance of prudent long-term stewardship over short term gain. We ask that the University and the Trustees publicly answer this one question:
Will you lease land and mineral rights at Shepherd Bend to Shepherd Bend, LLC for their coal mining operation? YES or NO? A copy of the letter in PDF. Background information about the Shepherd Bend Mine proposal.
Coal is dirty, dangerous, deadly and unsustainable !
By Michael William Mullen
Mike Mullen, Choctawhatchee RIVERKEEPER
The recent Alabama Voices column by our new Public Service Commission member Twinkle Cavanaugh seeks to stir up folks about the costs of energy bills that are stalled in Congress and potential U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations to address emissions responsible for climate change.
If she were doing her job, she would be researching all aspects, including hidden costs associated with production of electricity from coal. However, she appears to be much too busy writing op-ed pieces that seek to maintain the status quo to do serious research that might benefit the citizens of Alabama.
If one takes a comprehensive look at all of the costs of producing electricity from coal, not just the price of electricity, he or she will very quickly understand that coal is destructive, dangerous and deadly. The facts, when examined with an open mind, bring one to realize that electricity produced from coal is simply a fool's bargain.
To understand the true cost of electricity from coal, one has to add up all the external costs. These costs include the health costs -- black lung disease suffered by miners, increased asthma rates and associated costs and deaths suffered by the public who breathe the coal plant emissions, impacts upon water quality and associated costs for providing clean water, the costs associated with wear and tear on roads, costs associated with acid rain, sludge spill costs, the accumulation of the nerve poison mercury released from coal burning in fish and fish consumers, including human beings, the miners killed in accidents and many other costs not listed here, including horrific environmental impacts.
West Jefferson Power Plant, Alabama
New information just released by the EPA shows that a form of chromium, hexavalent chromium, a form known to cause cancer, is present in coal ash and in surface and groundwater around coal ash disposal sites.
A number of years ago a Canadian study showed that the true cost of electricity produced by coal was about 25 cents per kilowatt hour, or at that time about the same as electricity from solar photovoltaic panels.
Solar energy is abundantly available in the Southeast. Even in Germany, with its colder climate, solar for both electricity and hot water is having a major positive impact on their economy. If Commissioner Cavanaugh were truly interested in serving Alabamians and the economy of Alabama, she would be working to set goals for solar and other ecologically sustainable sources of renewable energy. Instead she seems content to put out the orthodoxy of the status quo as she serves Alabama Power Co. and Alabama Gas Co.
We recently installed a solar water heater that will pay for itself in around eight years and thereafter provide hot water at no out-of-pocket cost for another 17 or 18 years. If we lived in Florida, we would have received a check for $1,000 as an incentive for installing renewable energy because the utilities have a renewable energy goal that they must meet. There are no similar incentives for clean energy in Alabama.
If Cavanaugh and the Alabama PSC were as concerned about the well-being of Alabamians as they are profits of the power company, they would create goals for clean, renewable energy and conservation. If they wanted to reach those goals, they would create incentives for clean, renewable energy and conservation.
By doing so, they would protect public health, take out an insurance policy against climate change and ultimately help to grow Alabama's economy.
Michael William Mullen, executive director, Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper Banks Alabama.
Friends,
Check out this truly fantastic news for citizens everywhere dealing with coal ash.
I would like to point out that only one Alabama representative voted NO.
Thank you Terri Sewell, [D] AL-7
This law would have been devastating to the momentum to regulate toxic coal ash. We have a prime example here in Alabama of how a seemingly innocent community with absolutely no ties to the coal fields can be condemned to a life of toxic coal ash in their communities and invading their lives, harming their health and peace of mind.
The vote yesterday / last night was a monumental success for us all!
From:
Lisa Evans
Senior Administrative Counsel
Earthjustice The House voted on the McKinley Amendment (217) last night at about 2:00 am -- and the amendment passed, but WE GOT THE VOTES WE NEEDED to keep the fight alive in the Senate and to demonstrate to EPA that there is support in the House for the coal ash rulemaking. YOUR HARD WORK brought us many many votes that otherwise would have been lost! It was critical that we make a strong show of opposition and, with YOUR help, we did!
The vote was 239 to 183. Your calls/emails/letters amazingly brought to our side 19 republicans (about 3 times as many as any other environmental rider) including reps from OH, VA, IL and TN! This was a fantastic feat!
Please check the voting list below and PLEASE thank your representative with a call or email if he/she voted with us. We will certainly be asking more of these reps this summer, and they will remember that you thanked them. Also, next week we will be sending out an organizational letter thanking all who opposed the amendment. Special thanks to Reps Waxman and Moran who spoke from the floor in opposition at about 1 am.
Again-- you all were key to this great vote. We will need your help in the senate next week to defeat this amendment, but for now, have a wonderful weekend!
Sincerely,
Lisa Evans
Senior Administrative Counsel
Earthjustice
21 Ocean Ave.
Marblehead, MA 01945
T: (781) 631-4119
F: (212) 918-1556 www.earthjustice.org
Good Votes
No NY-5 Ackerman, Gary [D]
No PA-4 Altmire, Jason [D]
No NJ-1 Andrews, Robert [D]
No CA-43 Baca, Joe [D]
No WI-2 Baldwin, Tammy [D]
No NH-2 Bass, Charles [R]
No CA-33 Bass, Karen [D]
No CA-31 Becerra, Xavier [D]
No NV-1 Berkley, Shelley [D]
No CA-28 Berman, Howard [D]
No GA-2 Bishop, Sanford [D]
No NY-1 Bishop, Timothy [D]
No OR-3 Blumenauer, Earl [D]
No PA-1 Brady, Robert [D]
No IA-1 Braley, Bruce [D]
No FL-3 Brown, Corrine [D]
No NC-1 Butterfield, George [D]
No CA-23 Capps, Lois [D]
No MA-8 Capuano, Michael [D]
No MO-3 Carnahan, Russ [D]
No DE-0 Carney, John [D]
No LA-6 Cassidy, Bill [R]
No FL-11 Castor, Kathy [D]
No CA-32 Chu, Judy [D]
No RI-1 Cicilline, David [D]
No MI-13 Clarke, Hansen [D]
No NY-11 Clarke, Yvette [D]
No MO-1 Clay, William [D]
No MO-5 Cleaver, Emanuel [D]
No SC-6 Clyburn, James [D]
No TN-9 Cohen, Steve [D]
No VA-11 Connolly, Gerald [D]
No MI-14 Conyers, John [D]
No TN-5 Cooper, Jim [D]
No CT-2 Courtney, Joe [D]
No NY-7 Crowley, Joseph [D]
No MD-7 Cummings, Elijah [D]
No IL-7 Davis, Danny [D]
No CA-53 Davis, Susan [D]
No OR-4 DeFazio, Peter [D]
No CO-1 DeGette, Diana [D]
No CT-3 DeLauro, Rosa [D]
No FL-19 Deutch, Ted [D]
No WA-6 Dicks, Norman [D]
No MI-15 Dingell, John [D]
No TX-25 Doggett, Lloyd [D]
No PA-14 Doyle, Michael [D]
No MD-4 Edwards, Donna [D]
No MN-5 Ellison, Keith [D]
No NY-17 Engel, Eliot [D]
No CA-14 Eshoo, Anna [D]
No CA-17 Farr, Sam [D]
No PA-2 Fattah, Chaka [D]
No CA-51 Filner, Bob [D]
No PA-8 Fitzpatrick, Michael [R]
No TN-3 Fleischmann, Chuck [R]
No VA-4 Forbes, J. [R]
No NE-1 Fortenberry, Jeffrey [R]
No MA-4 Frank, Barney [D]
No OH-11 Fudge, Marcia [D]
No CA-10 Garamendi, John [D]
No TX-20 Gonzalez, Charles [D]
No TX-9 Green, Al [D]
No TX-29 Green, Raymond [D]
No AZ-7 Grijalva, Raul [D]
No IL-4 Gutierrez, Luis [D]
No HI-1 Hanabusa, Colleen [D]
No FL-23 Hastings, Alcee [D]
No NY-19 Hayworth, Nan [R]
No NM-1 Heinrich, Martin [D]
No NY-27 Higgins, Brian [D]
No CT-4 Himes, James [D]
No NY-22 Hinchey, Maurice [D]
No HI-2 Hirono, Mazie [D]
No NJ-12 Holt, Rush [D]
No CA-15 Honda, Michael [D]
No MD-5 Hoyer, Steny [D]
No WA-1 Inslee, Jay [D]
No NY-2 Israel, Steve [D]
No IL-2 Jackson, Jesse [D]
No TX-18 Jackson-Lee, Sheila [D]
No TX-30 Johnson, Eddie [D]
No GA-4 Johnson, Henry [D]
No IL-15 Johnson, Timothy [R]
No OH-9 Kaptur, Marcy [D]
No MA-10 Keating, William [D]
No MI-5 Kildee, Dale [D]
No NC-8 Kissell, Larry [D]
No OH-10 Kucinich, Dennis [D]
No NJ-7 Lance, Leonard [R]
No RI-2 Langevin, James [D]
No WA-2 Larsen, Rick [D]
No CT-1 Larson, John [D]
No OH-14 LaTourette, Steven [R]
No CA-9 Lee, Barbara [D]
No MI-12 Levin, Sander [D]
No GA-5 Lewis, John [D]
No IL-3 Lipinski, Daniel [D]
No NJ-2 LoBiondo, Frank [R]
No IA-2 Loebsack, David [D]
No CA-16 Lofgren, Zoe [D]
No NY-18 Lowey, Nita [D]
No NM-3 Lujan, Ben [D]
No MA-9 Lynch, Stephen [D]
No NY-14 Maloney, Carolyn [D]
No MA-7 Markey, Edward [D]
No CA-5 Matsui, Doris [D]
No WA-7 McDermott, James [D]
No MA-3 McGovern, James [D]
No NC-7 McIntyre, Mike [D]
No CA-11 McNerney, Jerry [D]
No NY-6 Meeks, Gregory [D]
No ME-2 Michaud, Michael [D]
No CA-7 Miller, George [D]
No NC-13 Miller, R. [D]
No WI-4 Moore, Gwen [D]
No VA-8 Moran, James [D]
No CT-5 Murphy, Christopher [D]
No NY-8 Nadler, Jerrold [D]
No CA-38 Napolitano, Grace [D]
No MA-2 Neal, Richard [D]
No MA-1 Olver, John [D]
No NJ-6 Pallone, Frank [D]
No NJ-8 Pascrell, William [D]
No AZ-4 Pastor, Edward [D]
No MN-3 Paulsen, Erik [R]
No NJ-10 Payne, Donald [D]
No CA-8 Pelosi, Nancy [D]
No CO-7 Perlmutter, Ed [D]
No ME-1 Pingree, Chellie [D]
No CO-2 Polis, Jared [D]
No NC-4 Price, David [D]
No IL-5 Quigley, Mike [D]
No NY-15 Rangel, Charles [D]
No WA-8 Reichert, Dave [R]
No TX-16 Reyes, Silvestre [D]
No CA-37 Richardson, Laura [D]
No LA-2 Richmond, Cedric [D]
No VA-2 Rigell, E. [R]
No NJ-9 Rothman, Steven [D]
No CA-34 Roybal-Allard, Lucille [D]
No MD-2 Ruppersberger, C.A. [D]
No IL-1 Rush, Bobby [D]
No OH-17 Ryan, Timothy [D]
No CA-39 Sanchez, Linda [D]
No CA-47 Sanchez, Loretta [D]
No MD-3 Sarbanes, John [D]
No IL-9 Schakowsky, Janice [D]
No CA-29 Schiff, Adam [D]
No OR-5 Schrader, Kurt [D]
No PA-13 Schwartz, Allyson [D]
No GA-13 Scott, David [D]
No VA-3 Scott, Robert [D]
No NY-16 Serrano, José [D]
No AL-7 Sewell, Terri [D]
No CA-27 Sherman, Brad [D]
No NC-11 Shuler, Heath [D]
No NY-28 Slaughter, Louise [D]
No WA-9 Smith, Adam [D]
No NJ-4 Smith, Christopher [R]
No CA-12 Speier, Jackie [D]
No OH-13 Sutton, Betty [D]
No MS-2 Thompson, Bennie [D]
No CA-1 Thompson, C. [D]
No MA-6 Tierney, John [D]
No NY-21 Tonko, Paul [D]
No NY-10 Towns, Edolphus [D]
No MA-5 Tsongas, Niki [D]
No OH-3 Turner, Michael [R]
No MD-8 Van Hollen, Christopher [D]
No NY-12 Velazquez, Nydia [D]
No IN-1 Visclosky, Peter [D]
No FL-20 Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D]
No CA-35 Waters, Maxine [D]
No NC-12 Watt, Melvin [D]
No CA-30 Waxman, Henry [D]
No NY-9 Weiner, Anthony [D]
No VT-0 Welch, Peter [D]
No VA-1 Wittman, Rob [R]
No VA-10 Wolf, Frank [R]
No CA-6 Woolsey, Lynn [D]
No OR-1 Wu, David [D]
No KY-3 Yarmuth, John [D]
Bad Votes
Aye FL-24 Adams, Sandy [R]
Aye AL-4 Aderholt, Robert [R]
Aye MO-2 Akin, W. [R]
Aye LA-5 Alexander, Rodney [R]
Aye MI-3 Amash, Justin [R]
Aye OH-7 Austria, Steve [R]
Aye MN-6 Bachmann, Michele [R]
Aye AL-6 Bachus, Spencer [R]
Aye PA-11 Barletta, Lou [R]
Aye GA-12 Barrow, John [D]
Aye MD-6 Bartlett, Roscoe [R]
Aye TX-6 Barton, Joe [R]
Aye MI-1 Benishek, Dan [R]
Aye ND-0 Berg, Rick [R]
Aye IL-13 Biggert, Judy [R]
Aye CA-50 Bilbray, Brian [R]
Aye FL-9 Bilirakis, Gus [R]
Aye UT-1 Bishop, Rob [R]
Aye TN-6 Black, Diane [R]
Aye TN-7 Blackburn, Marsha [R]
Aye AL-1 Bonner, Jo [R]
Aye CA-45 Bono Mack, Mary [R]
Aye OK-2 Boren, Dan [D]
Aye IA-3 Boswell, Leonard [D]
Aye LA-7 Boustany, Charles [R]
Aye TX-8 Brady, Kevin [R]
Aye AL-5 Brooks, Mo [R]
Aye GA-10 Broun, Paul [R]
Aye FL-13 Buchanan, Vern [R]
Aye IN-8 Bucshon, Larry [R]
Aye NY-25 Buerkle, Ann Marie [R]
Aye TX-26 Burgess, Michael [R]
Aye IN-5 Burton, Dan [R]
Aye CA-44 Calvert, Ken [R]
Aye MI-4 Camp, David [R]
Aye CA-48 Campbell, John [R]
Aye TX-23 Canseco, Francisco [R]
Aye VA-7 Cantor, Eric [R]
Aye WV-2 Capito, Shelley [R]
Aye CA-18 Cardoza, Dennis [D]
Aye IN-7 Carson, André [D]
Aye TX-31 Carter, John [R]
Aye OH-1 Chabot, Steven [R]
Aye UT-3 Chaffetz, Jason [R]
Aye KY-6 Chandler, Ben [D]
Aye NC-6 Coble, Howard [R]
Aye CO-6 Coffman, Mike [R]
Aye OK-4 Cole, Tom [R]
Aye TX-11 Conaway, K. [R]
Aye CA-20 Costa, Jim [D]
Aye IL-12 Costello, Jerry [D]
Aye MN-8 Cravaack, Chip [R]
Aye AR-1 Crawford, Eric [R]
Aye FL-4 Crenshaw, Ander [R]
Aye PA-12 Critz, Mark [D]
Aye TX-28 Cuellar, Henry [D]
Aye TX-7 Culberson, John [R]
Aye KY-4 Davis, Geoff [R]
Aye CA-19 Denham, Jeff [R]
Aye PA-15 Dent, Charles [R]
Aye TN-4 DesJarlais, Scott [R]
Aye FL-21 Diaz-Balart, Mario [R]
Aye IL-10 Dold, Bob [R]
Aye IN-2 Donnelly, Joe [D]
Aye CA-26 Dreier, David [R]
Aye WI-7 Duffy, Sean [R]
Aye SC-3 Duncan, Jeff [R]
Aye TN-2 Duncan, John [R]
Aye NC-2 Ellmers, Renee [R]
Aye MO-8 Emerson, Jo Ann [R]
Aye TX-27 Farenthold, Blake [R]
Aye TN-8 Fincher, Stephen [R]
Aye AZ-6 Flake, Jeff [R]
Aye LA-4 Fleming, John [R]
Aye TX-17 Flores, Bill [R]
Aye NC-5 Foxx, Virginia [R]
Aye AZ-2 Franks, Trent [R]
Aye NJ-11 Frelinghuysen, Rodney [R]
Aye CA-24 Gallegly, Elton [R]
Aye CO-4 Gardner, Cory [R]
Aye NJ-5 Garrett, Scott [R]
Aye PA-6 Gerlach, Jim [R]
Aye OH-18 Gibbs, Bob [R]
Aye NY-20 Gibson, Chris [R]
Aye GA-11 Gingrey, John [R]
Aye TX-1 Gohmert, Louis [R]
Aye VA-6 Goodlatte, Robert [R]
Aye AZ-1 Gosar, Paul [R]
Aye SC-4 Gowdy, Trey [R]
Aye TX-12 Granger, Kay [R]
Aye MO-6 Graves, Samuel [R]
Aye GA-9 Graves, Tom [R]
Aye AR-2 Griffin, Tim [R]
Aye VA-9 Griffith, H. [R]
Aye NY-13 Grimm, Michael [R]
Aye NH-1 Guinta, Frank [R]
Aye KY-2 Guthrie, Brett [R]
Aye TX-4 Hall, Ralph [R]
Aye NY-24 Hanna, Richard [R]
Aye MS-3 Harper, Gregg [R]
Aye MD-1 Harris, Andy [R]
Aye MO-4 Hartzler, Vicky [R]
Aye WA-4 Hastings, Doc [R]
Aye NV-3 Heck, Joe [R]
Aye NV-2 Heller, Dean [R]
Aye TX-5 Hensarling, Jeb [R]
Aye CA-2 Herger, Walter [R]
Aye WA-3 Herrera Beutler, Jaime [R]
Aye PA-17 Holden, Tim [D]
Aye KS-1 Huelskamp, Tim [R]
Aye MI-2 Huizenga, Bill [R]
Aye IL-14 Hultgren, Randy [R]
Aye CA-52 Hunter, Duncan [R]
Aye VA-5 Hurt, Robert [R]
Aye CA-49 Issa, Darrell [R]
Aye KS-2 Jenkins, Lynn [R]
Aye OH-6 Johnson, Bill [R]
Aye TX-3 Johnson, Samuel [R]
Aye NC-3 Jones, Walter [R]
Aye OH-4 Jordan, Jim [R]
Aye PA-3 Kelly, Mike [R]
Aye WI-3 Kind, Ronald [D]
Aye NY-3 King, Peter [R]
Aye IA-5 King, Steve [R]
Aye GA-1 Kingston, Jack [R]
Aye IL-11 Kinzinger, Adam [R]
Aye MN-2 Kline, John [R]
Aye ID-1 Labrador, Raúl [R]
Aye CO-5 Lamborn, Doug [R]
Aye LA-3 Landry, Jeff [R]
Aye OK-5 Lankford, James [R]
Aye IA-4 Latham, Thomas [R]
Aye OH-5 Latta, Robert [R]
Aye CA-41 Lewis, Jerry [R]
Aye MO-7 Long, Billy [R]
Aye OK-3 Lucas, Frank [R]
Aye MO-9 Luetkemeyer, Blaine [R]
Aye WY-0 Lummis, Cynthia [R]
Aye CA-3 Lungren, Daniel [R]
Aye FL-14 Mack, Connie [R]
Aye IL-16 Manzullo, Donald [R]
Aye TX-24 Marchant, Kenny [R]
Aye PA-10 Marino, Thomas [R]
Aye UT-2 Matheson, Jim [D]
Aye CA-22 McCarthy, Kevin [R]
Aye TX-10 McCaul, Michael [R]
Aye CA-4 McClintock, Tom [R]
Aye MI-11 McCotter, Thaddeus [R]
Aye NC-10 McHenry, Patrick [R]
Aye CA-25 McKeon, Howard [R]
Aye WV-1 McKinley, David [R]
Aye WA-5 McMorris Rodgers, Cathy [R]
Aye PA-7 Meehan, Patrick [R]
Aye FL-7 Mica, John [R]
Aye MI-10 Miller, Candice [R]
Aye CA-42 Miller, Gary [R]
Aye FL-1 Miller, Jeff [R]
Aye SC-5 Mulvaney, Mick [R]
Aye PA-18 Murphy, Tim [R]
Aye NC-9 Myrick, Sue [R]
Aye TX-19 Neugebauer, Randy [R]
Aye SD-0 Noem, Kristi [R]
Aye FL-5 Nugent, Richard [R]
Aye CA-21 Nunes, Devin [R]
Aye MS-1 Nunnelee, Alan [R]
Aye TX-22 Olson, Pete [R]
Aye NY-23 Owens, William [D]
Aye MS-4 Palazzo, Steven [R]
Aye NM-2 Pearce, Steven [R]
Aye IN-6 Pence, Mike [R]
Aye MN-7 Peterson, Collin [D]
Aye WI-6 Petri, Thomas [R]
Aye PA-16 Pitts, Joseph [R]
Aye PA-19 Platts, Todd [R]
Aye TX-2 Poe, Ted [R]
Aye KS-4 Pompeo, Mike [R]
Aye FL-15 Posey, Bill [R]
Aye GA-6 Price, Tom [R]
Aye WV-3 Rahall, Nick [D]
Aye NY-29 Reed, Tom [R]
Aye MT-0 Rehberg, Dennis [R]
Aye OH-16 Renacci, Jim [R]
Aye WI-8 Ribble, Reid [R]
Aye FL-25 Rivera, David [R]
Aye AL-2 Roby, Martha [R]
Aye TN-1 Roe, Phil [R]
Aye KY-5 Rogers, Harold [R]
Aye AL-3 Rogers, Michael [R]
Aye MI-8 Rogers, Michael [R]
Aye CA-46 Rohrabacher, Dana [R]
Aye IN-4 Rokita, Todd [R]
Aye FL-16 Rooney, Thomas [R]
Aye IL-6 Roskam, Peter [R]
Aye FL-18 Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [R]
Aye FL-12 Ross, Dennis [R]
Aye AR-4 Ross, Mike [D]
Aye CA-40 Royce, Edward [R]
Aye NJ-3 Runyan, Jon [R]
Aye WI-1 Ryan, Paul [R]
Aye LA-1 Scalise, Steve [R]
Aye IL-17 Schilling, Robert [R]
Aye OH-2 Schmidt, Jean [R]
Aye IL-18 Schock, Aaron [R]
Aye AZ-5 Schweikert, David [R]
Aye GA-8 Scott, Austin [R]
Aye SC-1 Scott, Tim [R]
Aye WI-5 Sensenbrenner, F. [R]
Aye TX-32 Sessions, Peter [R]
Aye IL-19 Shimkus, John [R]
Aye PA-9 Shuster, William [R]
Aye ID-2 Simpson, Michael [R]
Aye NE-3 Smith, Adrian [R]
Aye TX-21 Smith, Lamar [R]
Aye FL-2 Southerland, Steve [R]
Aye FL-6 Stearns, Clifford [R]
Aye OH-15 Stivers, Steve [R]
Aye IN-3 Stutzman, Marlin [R]
Aye OK-1 Sullivan, John [R]
Aye NE-2 Terry, Lee [R]
Aye PA-5 Thompson, Glenn [R]
Aye TX-13 Thornberry, William [R]
Aye OH-12 Tiberi, Patrick [R]
Aye CO-3 Tipton, Scott [R]
Aye MI-6 Upton, Frederick [R]
Aye MI-7 Walberg, Timothy [R]
Aye OR-2 Walden, Greg [R]
Aye IL-8 Walsh, Joe [R]
Aye MN-1 Walz, Timothy [D]
Aye FL-8 Webster, Daniel [R]
Aye FL-22 West, Allen [R]
Aye GA-3 Westmoreland, Lynn [R]
Aye KY-1 Whitfield, Edward [R]
Aye SC-2 Wilson, Addison [R]
Aye AR-3 Womack, Steve [R]
Aye GA-7 Woodall, Rob [R]
Aye KS-3 Yoder, Kevin [R]
Aye FL-10 Young, C. W. [R]
Aye AK-0 Young, Donald [R]
Aye IN-9 Young, Todd [R]
Didn't Vote
Not Voting AZ-8 Giffords, Gabrielle [D]
Not Voting CA-36 Harman, Jane [D]
Not Voting TX-15 Hinojosa, Rubén [D]
Not Voting NY-4 McCarthy, Carolyn [D]
Not Voting MN-4 McCollum, Betty [D]
Not Voting TX-14 Paul, Ronald [R]
Not Voting MI-9 Peters, Gary [D]
Not Voting AZ-3 Quayle, Ben [R]
Not Voting NJ-13 Sires, Albio [D]
Not Voting CA-13 Stark, Fortney [D]
Not Voting FL-17 Wilson, Frederica [D]
Lisa Evans
Senior Administrative Counsel
Earthjustice
21 Ocean Ave.
Marblehead, MA 01945
T: (781) 631-4119
F: (212) 918-1556
www.earthjustice.org
Author, "Reckoning at Eagle Creek: The Secret Legacy of Coal in the Heartland"
Posted: February 2, 2011 10:51 PM
Taking their cue from the widely disgraced West Virginia politicos and Big Coal lobbyists, some legislators in Virginia are courting a bad regulatory romance bill that could cost the state dearly -- the morning after.
And the nation is watching: In the face of countless studies that link water quality to devastating cancer rates, health care crises and environmental destruction in the coalfields, a handful of Virginia politicians appear more intent on providing loopholes to circumvent growing national concern over clean water laws than to protect their own citizens -- and their own state budget.
If the coal industry gets its way, the state of Virginia just might have to abandon its tourist slogan -- Virginia is for Lovers -- and its long-time promotion of its mountain ranges.
Under the proposed SB 1025 and HB 2123 bills, Big Coal lobbyists are making an unprecedented attempt to eliminate a Jeffersonian commitment to citizens' participation and basic regulatory oversight of clean water laws for strip-mining in their beloved mountains, by ultimately shifting control of water quality to a political appointee. In effect, according to concerned residents in the coalfields, coal lobbyists have concocted a bill that places a stranglehold on state officials by restricting the state's ability to adequately review stream monitoring or toxicity testing in permitting and enforcement actions.
"If the coal industry doesn't want state officials testing the water, what are they afraid the tests will reveal?" asked Tom Cormons, Virginia Director for Appalachian Voices. "The industry is trying to tie state officials' hands to prevent them from doing their job."
The end result could be breathtakingly costly, both in human and financial terms, for the state. According to most estimates, Virginia already subsidizes the coal industry with $45 million in taxpayer funds. Studies in similar coal states like Kentucky and West Virginia have long demonstrated how the state already shoulders huge external and legacy costs from environmental and health impacts from strip-mining.
As Justin Maxson of the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development wrote in a letter to the Washington Post last spring:
In fact, coal mining jobs amount to only about 2 percent of employment in the central Appalachian region; the percentage is only slightly higher if you consider related employment. It does not account for anything approaching most of the employment. In Wise County, where The Post's story was set, there were 2,537 coal miners, or about 11 percent of total county employment, in 2004. That's fewer workers than hold jobs in retail trade (3,118).
This begs the question, especially for anyone making backroom bar room deals: If other industries, such as the liquor industry, must follow the laws and be held accountable for their actions, why shouldn't the declining coal industry have to follow basic laws? As one industry analysis has noted, the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that Virginia has 735 million tons of estimated recoverable reserves of coal and 296 million tons of recoverable coal reserves at actively producing mines (EIA, 2010a). At 2008 production rates, that is enough coal to last for approximately 12 years without opening any new mines.
The response from Big Coal lobbyists winking in the corner?
Quoted in the Richmond Times-Dispatch this week, Donald L. Ratliff, a lobbyist for Abingdon-based Alpha Natural Resources, "said he has spoken to McDonnell about EPA rules, and the administration agreed to step in as needed."
Speaking on behalf of a company with an estimated $15 billion value (after their recent move to purchase Massey Energy), Ratliff added: "We can't meet the standards that they've put on us right now. It's just too stringent."
Read that again: Assuring that the second largest coal company in the United States follows basic clean water laws is "too stringent"?
Before going through with this bad deal, Virginian legislators might want to chat with coal miners in Mingo County, West Virginia, who were trapped in an underground mine flood for 24 hours, after an Alpha subsidiary "did not regularly monitor and properly maintain the mine's system of diversion ditches," according to a MSHA report.
For more information on this landmark decision in Virginia, see the Wise Energy for Virginia updates.
