The Front Porch Blog

Working to Change an Energy Landscape: Reflections on a Summer Internship

Thursday, July 26th, 2012 | Posted by | No Comments

By Erin Burks
Red, White and Water intern, Summer 2012

Summer is coming to a close, as is my internship with AppVoices. Today is my last day. Two and a half months of my time with this organization has allowed me to travel, to write, to organize, and to learn.

The most important aspect of any internship is to learn from those around you. I’ve learned so much about the atrocities that mountaintop removal presents to communities and experienced little of it myself.
Citizens in mining communities of WV and KY wake up everyday with coal ash dust speckling their homes, black lung disease and cancers slowly killing off family members.
I wake up every morning, breathing clean air, removed from the realities of coal mining, but connected all the while.
Most Americans are able to flick a switch for electricity any time they need it. It’s so easy that most people don’t think about it–where this power source comes from and what the human cost is.

At the Alliance for Appalachia’s annual Week in Washington, I drew closer to the cause and heard firsthand accounts of sickness and unemployment in the coal-bearing regions of Appalachia. I heard anger and deep sadness in the voices of those who spoke about what mountaintop removal mining had done to their lives. Until recent years, I had not begun to think of the consequences of this energy system on which we so heavily rely.

Unfortunately, many people in coal country USA have been persuaded to believe their livelihood depends on coal usage. Coal mining has provided jobs for many generations, but with the advent of surface mining, coal companies moved in a more harmful direction. Mountaintop removal coal mining strips people of their jobs and gives the job of mining coal to machinery.

Coal companies are BIG. They have big money and a big voice. Their influence carries over in Congress and in the minds of many citizens.

To argue that coal is the only fuel that will keep America running, as coal companies do, is an insult to our ingenuity and capability as a species. Humans by nature are smart and adaptable creatures; surely we can adapt to a changing energy landscape. We can phase out the dirty resources that make our people and environment sick, and we can use the power of people and their voices to do so.

EPA Revising Air Pollution Standards

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012 | Posted by Thom Kay | No Comments

Last Friday, EPA announced it will be considering revisions to the first-ever standards for controlling mercury, arsenic, selenium and other toxic pollutants from coal fired power plants, issued in December. These standards are the result of a years-long process, and while Appalachian Voices applauded them, many coal and utility companies vocally opposed them because coal plants would have to install new pollution controls.

Those controls would not only dramatically reduce the harmful toxics, they would also help control soot and other pollution. EPA estimates the standards would prevent as many as 11,000 premature deaths and 4,700 heart attacks a year, and reduce childhood asthma symptom and acute bronchitis, meaning fewer hospital visits and sick days. In other words, the rule is too important for the country to undergo weakening revisions.

The concern is that EPA, in reconsidering the standards, may weaken these critical health protections for five proposed coal fired power plants across the country, including Plant Washington in Georgia. The cynical approach to the news is to assume that this a political move or a concession to the coal and utilities industries. The optimistic approach is to assume that this is simply EPA making small alterations in order to create a sensible rule that can be implemented and enforced.

For now, we don’t know precisely what changes the EPA will make, but it is necessary that they enforce the Clean Air Act and refuse to compromise the health of the American people. Appalachian Voices will be closely following this process to ensure there is no backsliding.

US Coal: Keeping the Lights On…In Chinese Boardrooms?

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012 | Posted by JW Randolph | No Comments

As American Coal Exports Skyrocket, Chinese Companies Look To Buy Up Appalachia

Much of the financial infrastructure for companies operating Appalachian surface mines may soon be in China, along with an increasing amount of Appalachian coal.

On May 7, Guizhou Guochuang Energy Holding Group said it had raised 3.9 billion yuan in a private placement to be used mainly to acquire and develop Triple H Coal Company, making it the first Chinese company to invest in coal in America…

I want to put this into a context for other Tennesseans. The United States exports ten times as much coal as we mine every year in Tennessee. We don’t need to continue mining mountaintops in our state to provide infrastructure, jobs, or electricity. What’s more, Tennessee congregations, citizens, and campuses are working together to make Tennessee the first state to ban mountaintop removal by passing the Tennessee Scenic Vistas Protection Act in the state legislature. The bill would ban surface mines on virgin ridges above 2000 feet in the state.

Meanwhile, Triple H Coal – the company which looks to be in Chinese hands soon – is the only remaining Tennessee-owned company with active surface mining permits above 2,000 feet. In other words, assuming the deal to buy out Triple H is finalized, if Tennessee politicians talk about opposing the scenic vistas bill, they are talking about protecting companies that are leaving their pollution in Tennessee, but are sending most of the benefits (both mineral and financial) either out of state, or out of the country.

Tennessee coal makes up less than 1% of TVA’s coal purchases. Most coal from the Volunteer State is shipped by rail to South Carolina and Georgia. Unfortunately for Appalachian citizens, in the near future much of the financial infrastructure associated with nearby coal operations may no longer be locally invested either. It certainly doesn’t sound like these Chinese investors plan to stop with Triple H either…

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A Long Journey Across Water: Appalachian Coal Exports on the Rise, Study Says

Thursday, July 19th, 2012 | Posted by Jamie Goodman | No Comments

A fair percentage of mountaintop removal-mined Appalachian coal is apparently not staying in Appalachia. Nor the Southeast. Nor even the U.S.

As a Chinese fortune I once saw said, it’s heading for a long voyage across the great water.

According to a report prepared by the Democratic staff of the Natural Resources Committee and Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass), exports of mountaintop removal mined coal in Appalachia have exploded in the past few years, with more than 97 mountaintop removal mines in Appalachia collectively exporting 27 percent of their production in 2011 — more than doubling the export percentage from 2008.

The coal is apparently heading for places like Russia, South America, China and India.

Other highlights of the report include:

Coal exports from these mines in [West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Virginia] have grown by 91 percent since 2009 to 13.2 million tons in 2011.
Twenty-five of those mines exported more than half of their production in 2011.
One Russian company is exporting nearly 83 percent of the coal from three mines in West Virginia
Five mines are shipping 100 percent of their coal abroad

According to the Committee’s press release, the study’s results were gathered using “data from the Energy Information Administration, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration, and included self-reported data from the mines themselves.”

The report, entitled “Our Pain, Their Gain,” seems to point to the fact that Appalachian communities, and even Appalachian miners (see Ken Ward’s post titled “Strip miners face serious black lung risks”) are being sacrificed for profit from overseas sales. But the coal industry wouldn’t think of doing that, now would it?

Or, would it?

Sadly, I think it already is.

Read the full release and report here.

Community Organizing & Water Testing Training

Thursday, July 19th, 2012 | Posted by Pallavi Podapati | 1 Comment

Kentuckians for the Commonwealth is hosting an Organizing and Water Testing Training in Whitesburg, KY. This will be a hands-on training about ways to use the tools of community organizing and citizen water testing to protect our water and health. Conductivity meters will be available at the training for use. No prior experience is necessary. We encourage volunteers to invite friends to the training and for later testing to build community ownership.

When: Saturday July 28th, from 10:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Where: Ermine Senior Citizen’s Center, 156 Main St. Whitesburg, KY
If you plan to attend: Please contact Lisa Abbott at (859) 986-1277 or lisa@kftc.org; we want to be sure we have enough equipment for everyone.
Lunch: We will provide soup beans, cornbread, drinks, and snacks, but please feel free to bring another dish to share with everyone.

We will start off the morning by reviewing some principles of organizing and how this can be incorporated with water testing. In this first training we will be learning how to use basic conductivity meters and we will get an understanding of what conductivity is and why is it important. We will also be thinking through and developing skills to involve local communities in water testing, and understanding the implications and uses of the results.

Participants will also learn how to post their test results in an on-line public database, Appalachian Water Watch. This database provides an interactive map of test results, as well as other useful resources for citizens.

Appalachian Voices has been working with KFTC, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards (SAMS), and the Sierra Club since the spring of 2011 to collect stream and river water quality data throughout Eastern Kentucky and Southwestern Virginia. These data provide an overview of baseline water quality, as well as indications of where industries may be polluting public water.

If you are interested in learning more about this program, please email aww-admin@appalachianwaterwatch.org or erin@appvoices.org

Another Coal Show in Abingdon

Tuesday, July 17th, 2012 | Posted by Kara Dodson | No Comments

Yesterday I witnessed an award-winning political stunt attacking the EPA in defense of Big Coal. Representatives Griffith (VA), Roe (TN), and Whitfield (KY) led a field hearing in Abingdon, VA part of the House Subcommittee on Energy and Power series meant to investigate the EPA’s new greenhouse gas emission standards. The congressmen stated that Abingdon was chosen for the hearing since coalfields residents are the ones who will ultimately suffer from the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas New Source Performance Standards (NSPS).

It seems our representatives had forgotten about the thousands of Americans who suffer from asthma attacks triggered by smog worsened from coal plant emissions. Or perhaps they haven’t read the news about record high temperatures leading to larger wildfires and more extreme droughts in the US. For years we have known climate change is real and now taking effect. That’s why 72% of polled Americans support carbon limits (ALA). That’s why the Supreme Court upheld the EPA’s right to regulate carbon under the Clean Air Act in 2007 and requested a progressive plan be set forth. And that’s what the EPA is doing.

Morgan Griffith said he was happy to see “that the people of Southwest Virginia have this opportunity to add their voices to the conversation about the Obama Administration’s energy policies,” but, I’m sure he wasn’t pleased to see over 50 citizens holding signs in support of EPA’s carbon limits. We sent a clear message that Appalachia would benefit much more from hearings focused on renewable energy jobs, overall regional economic diversification, and leadership to reduce carbon pollution linked to climate change and smog. I guess that’s too progressive for Mr. Griffith and the coal companies that fund him.
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Court Update on Frasure Creek and ICG Clean Water Act Cases

Monday, July 16th, 2012 | Posted by Erin Savage | No Comments

A status conference was held today regarding the Clean Water Act enforcement lawsuits against Kentucky coal mining companies, Frasure Creek and International Coal Group (ICG). The conference was ordered by Judge Phillip Shepherd, of the Franklin Circuit Court in Kentucky, to update the court on progress made toward settlement in both cases.

Appalachian Voices, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, Waterkeeper Alliance, Kentucky Riverkeeper, and four individuals originally gave notice of intent to sue both companies in 2010 and 2011 for more than 24,000 violations of the Clean Water Act. In response, the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet filed its own enforcement against the companies and negotiated a settlement to resolve the violations in December of 2010. Appalachian Voices and its partners intervened in the state enforcement to challenge the settlement, which, among other deficiencies, inadequately fined the companies less than 1% of allowable fines under the law. In April of this year, the Kentucky Supreme Court set legal precedent by affirming the rights of Appalachian Voices and our partners to intervene in the state’s enforcement.

The last hearing in these cases in the Franklin Circuit Court, held in September 2011, allowed parties to present evidence on whether the state’s proposed settlement was “fair, adequate, reasonable, and in the public interest.” After that hearing, Judge Shepherd ordered the parties back to mediation. Settlement talks with both companies have been ongoing since January of this year.

In preparation for today’s conference, Judge Shepherd ordered Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, Bruce Scott, to submit an affidavit detailing the status of the department’s budget and staffing. Further summary of responses by the Cabinet and Bruce Scott can be found here and here.

After hearing from the parties today, Judge Shepherd indicated that he is prepared to make a ruling on the original state settlements with the companies, but will give the parties 60 days to complete negotiation of a new settlement.

Appalachian Voices and its partners continue to work diligently to reach settlements that will be in the best interest of the people and waterways of Eastern Kentucky.

Sustainability: What it Means and How to Achieve it.

Friday, July 13th, 2012 | Posted by | No Comments

By Erin Burks
Red, White and Water intern, Summer 2012

On Monday I had the opportunity to hear Chief Scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute Amory Lovins speak at the campus of Appalachian State University. The lecture took place in the midst of the Appalachian Energy Summit, presented by Sustain Appalachia. If you missed the speech in person, you can check out the TED talk version of it.

“Sustain Appalachia,” I cannot think of a better name for the university’s mission.

Our organization, working with citizens nationwide, strives to sustain Appalachia everyday. Our goals include working to end the destruction of our land from mountaintop removal mining and protecting our air and water from the burning of coal and the resulting waste it produces. We are working to clear the way for a cleaner and more sustainable energy future.

What does sustainability mean to you?

Perhaps it means protecting the health of people and the environment today. Maybe it means ensuring that businesses can continue generating products and customers into the future, or maybe it means transitioning to an energy source that won’t run out. Sustainability is all of these things and more.

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A Sad Day for Va — Wise County Coal Plant Fires Up

Wednesday, July 11th, 2012 | Posted by Tom Cormons | 2 Comments

Despite statewide resistance from over 40,000 Virginians who joined Appalachian Voices and the Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition in opposing it, Dominion Power’s Wise County coal plant in St. Paul went online this morning after four years of construction.

Photos taken on 13 June, 2012 by Matt Wasson. Flight courtesy of Southwings

As Dominion says, the 585 megawatt plant is one of the “cleanest U.S. coal-fired power stations in terms of air emissions with one of the nation’s strictest air permits.” Dominion, however, fails to mention two key points.

First, “cleanest” is a relative term. Even a coal plant with strict air permits and modern pollution controls is a major contributor to smog, acid rain, and the accumulation of toxic mercury in our waterways. What’s more, these strict pollution controls do nothing to lessen the destruction of mountaintop removal mining to supply coal to the plant – or the plant’s massive annual greenhouse gas emissions, which will be equivalent to the annual emissions of nearly one million cars.

Secondly, while Dominion would like to take credit for the plant’s strict air emissions permits, it was the uprising of thousands of concerns Virginians, combined with legal arguments on behalf of the Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition, that led to the strict limits.

Thanks to these efforts, the plant will emit 94% less mercury and 82% less acid-rain producing sulfur than Dominion originally proposed.

The precedent set by these strict limits has made it more difficult to permit new coal plants anywhere in the U.S. In Virginia, this precedent led the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to reject proposed emissions levels for the new coal plant currently proposed by the Old Dominion Electric Co-Op (ODEC) – ultimately leading ODEC to withdraw, at least temporarily, its air permit applications.

The Virginia City Hybrid Electricity Center, as the new plant is called, comes online at the same time coal-fired electricity generation is experiencing a steady decline (see image at left).

Polls, Politics, and the Power of Your Voice

Monday, July 9th, 2012 | Posted by Thom Kay | 2 Comments

With the elections coming up in only a few months, public opinion polls are starting to become more common. There are bound to be thousands of horse race polls (Obama vs. Romney), but politicians are often more interested in issue polls, such as the one released by the Washington Post recently, which asked people if they thought the natural environment is better, worse, or about the same as it was 10 years ago.
cap rally small
Only 10% believe the environment is better, while a majority, 58%, believe the environment is worse now than it was 10 years ago. Unfortunately, the 58% are quite correct, though the public at least being aware of the declining state of the environment should be viewed as a good thing.

The next question respondents were asked to answer was “thinking ahead to 10 or so years from now, do you think the natural environment will be better, worse, or about the same?”

A plurality of those polled, 40%, believe that the environment will be worse, while only 19% believe it will be better. That response is troubling. (more…)

Did A Steamed Bun Ask the White House To Label Coal Ash As Non-Hazardous?

Thursday, July 5th, 2012 | Posted by Sandra Diaz | 1 Comment

Last week, we escaped another harrowing attempt by Rep. David McKinley (WV) and company to allow coal-fired utilities to keep getting away with polluting our water (and sometimes air) with coal ash, the toxic byproduct of burning coal for electricity.

While a rider to stop the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from issuing federal standards on coal ash disposal and storage did not make it into the Transportation bill, McKinley is far from throwing in the towel.

In an E&E article about the Transportation bill (reposted on WNCA’s website), McKinley declared, “We’re not finished. I can say that. We’re not finished.”

While opponents of stronger protections on coal ash are not done trying to stop the EPA from issuing final rules, they also aren’t done telling blatant untruths…. (more…)

Celebrating the Past, Working for the Future

Wednesday, July 4th, 2012 | Posted by Brian Sewell | No Comments

I have only seen a bald eagle in the wild once. It was during an otherwise uneventful excursion on Lake James near Morganton, N.C. It soared silently overhead, and in a matter of seconds I felt my stomach tighten, the hair on my arms stood up and tears welled up in my eyes. I considered it a gift.

The patriotic pin

That’s the first memory that came to mind when I began to write this post — how I once was lucky enough to see a bald eagle, our national bird and a symbol of our national pride, glide across a lake. The Fourth of July calls not only for the commemoration of our still young nation’s independence, but for the multitude of things that make America great. But before we light up the sky tonight, it seems appropriate to reflect on the nature of our national pride.

Surveying my desk, the lack of red, white and blue makes me self-conscious. Finally, I spot one of the “I Heart Mountains” pins so ubiquitous around the Appalachian Voices office. Its blue ridges and bright red heart bring the same emotions as that tried and true trio of colors. But it’s the simple phrase that evokes feelings of pride for the places and people we work to protect. After all, when we say we love America, we mean we love the people and places in America as much as the ideals on which the nation was founded. (more…)

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