The Front Porch Blog

Rushed Anti-Renewable Energy Bill Stalls in Committee

Wednesday, April 24th, 2013 | Posted by AV's Intern Team | 1 Comment

By Davis Wax
Editorial assistant, Spring/Summer 2013

Shine On: Clean energy in North Carolina will continue to create jobs and yield benefits after a bill to repeal the state's renewable standard failed in committee today. Image licensed under Creative Commons.

A bill in the N.C. House that would repeal the state’s Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (REPS) failed today in the House Committee on Public Utilities and Energy by a vote of 18-13.

According to the N.C. Sustainable Energy Association talk of insufficient votes in the Environment Committee prompted Rep. Mike Hager to withdraw the “Affordable and Reliable Electricity Act” from the committee’s scheduled hearing in order to attempt to push it through the Public Utilities Committee, which he chairs.

“If the only way a business can move forward is with a subsidy, then maybe we need to rethink the business,” said Hager, a former Duke Energy employee and the bill’s primary sponsor. Fellow lawmakers responded by saying that Duke Energy has an effective subsidy through its huge monopoly on electricity distribution in the state and that subsidies have been used to help up-and-coming industries for decades.

Even after Hager agreed to keep the 12.5 percent commitment to renewable energy from retail sales of state utilities in the bill in order to make it more appealing, a bipartisan majority including several key Republicans in the Utilities Committee still killed the legislation. In the most recent version Hager pushed through, the bill would still allow companies like Duke Energy to let their renewable energy contracts run out without expecting them to pursue any further commitments to wind, solar, biomass, or other industries.
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A Good Week for Mountains – Multiple Court Rulings Favor Science and Enforcement

Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013 | Posted by Brian Sewell | No Comments

Earth Week is off to a good start after two major rulings in two days mean we may start seeing less of this.

We’re only two days into Earth Week — if we must limit it to one week out of the year — but it sure is getting off to a great start. In the past two days, two major court rulings have underscored the need for increased scrutiny from the federal agency responsible for evaluating environmental impacts of mountaintop removal coal mining according to the National Environmental Policy Act and issuing permits under the Clean Water Act.

Yesterday, the 6th U.S. Court of Appeals revoked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers use of Nationwide Permit 21 (NWP 21), a streamlined and inadequate process that has contributed to the expansion of mountaintop removal in Appalachia since 1992. Kentucky and West Virginia residents, with the support of groups including Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, Kentucky Waterways Alliance and the Kentucky Riverkeeper, have challenged the legality of NWP 21 in state and federal court for a decade.

In its ruling, the three-judge panel called the Corps’ actions “arbitrary and capricious” and found that the agency did not follow the applicable Clean Water Act (CWA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations, which require it to document its assessment of environmental impacts and examine past impacts before issuing new permits. From the ruling:

Though we generally give greatest deference to an agency’s “complex scientific determination[s] within its area of special expertise,” we may not excuse an agency’s failure to follow the procedures required by duly promulgated regulations.

After opting for streamlined nationwide permitting, the Corps took the easier path of preparing an environmental assessment instead of an environmental impact statement. Having done so, it needed to follow the applicable CWA and NEPA regulations by documenting its assessment of environmental impacts and examining past impacts, respectively. Failing these regulatory prerequisites, the Corps leaves us with nothing more than its say-so that it meets CWA and NEPA standards.

According to the Corps, approximately 70 surface mining permits authorized under NWP 21 qualify for a five-year accommodation to “provide and equitable and less burdensome transition” for coal operators. Whatever its impact on existing mountaintop removal permits, the ruling acknowledges that when it comes to protecting Appalachia, the Corps “say-so” is insufficient.
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Coal Ash Floods Congress and the Courts

Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013 | Posted by Brian Sewell | 1 Comment

e. The trend is likely to continue until EPA announces clear rules to regulate the to

Since the 2008 Kingston, Tenn., coal ash spill, the toxic waste has been hotly debated in the media, Congress and the courts.

On April 11, the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Environment and Economy held a hearing in part to promote the Coal Ash Recycling and Oversight Act of 2013, drafted legislation that would prevent the EPA from implementing federal regulation of coal ash, leaving regulation up to the states.

Some witnesses, including the former director of the Mine Safety and Health Academy, Jack Spadaro, and Lisa Evans, an attorney for Earthjustice focused on hazardous waste, testified against the draft, which is modeled on past legislation that failed and was called “unprecedented” in environmental law by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.

“Without a doubt, when mismanaged, coal ash harms Americans nationwide by poisoning water and air and by threatening the very existence of communities living near high hazard dams,” Evans said at the hearing. “We must work together to establish regulations that foremost prevent injury to health and ensure the safety of all communities.”

Spadaro, who has been involved in the evaluation and regulation of coal waste dams since 1972 and wrote federal and state regulations governing the structural integrity of dams in the wake of the Buffalo Creek Flood, cautioned subcommittee members against moving ahead with the draft. According to Spadaro, the proposed legislation lacks the adequate engineering requirements and enforcement by a federal agency necessary to prevent another spill similar to the TVA disaster that would lead to irreversible environmental damage and possible loss of life.

“There are thousands of such structures in the United States at this time,” Spadaro said, “and the failure of one or more of these dams is assured unless strict engineering standards are imposed.” The Southeast is home to 40 percent of the nation’s coal ash impoundments, and according to the EPA, contains 21 of the nation’s 45 high hazard dams.
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First Annual Climate Convergence in Raleigh, NC

Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013 | Posted by Sandra Diaz | No Comments

Citizens converged in Raleigh yesterday to demand that political leadership begin to address the challenge of climate change. North Carolina House Rep. Pricey Harrison reminds the crowd that the state legislature belongs to the people. She recently re-introduced the Appalachian Mountains Preservation Act that would a) ban the burning of mountaintop-removal coal in the state, b) put into place comprehensive rules for the storage and disposal of coal ash waste, c) place a moratorium on the construction of new coal plants, and d) divest state pension funds from fossil fuels.

Spring Brings Renewal to Appalachian Voices

Monday, April 22nd, 2013 | Posted by Tom Cormons | No Comments

Dear members,

Nothing beats spring in the Appalachians. Redbuds paint the mountainsides, beautiful shades of green color the forests, refreshing rains swell the creeks and birds practice their repertoire in earnest after the long winter. Spring is a time of renewal, and here at Appalachian Voices we took the opportunity at a special staff meeting last week in Boone to renew our spirits, camaraderie and commitment to our mission.
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EPA Releases Proposal To Update Clean Water Act Standards for Power Plant Pollution

Monday, April 22nd, 2013 | Posted by Sandra Diaz | No Comments

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has finally proposed a range of options to regulate waste water from power plants which are responsible for half of the nation’s water pollution. While the public comment period has yet to begin, a public hearing is schedule for July 9th in Washington, DC.

More details on the rule itself, and how to submit your comments will be become available on appvoices.org/rww/power-plant-waste/

Below is a press statement from Appalachian Voices and a number of allied organizations.

After 30 years of inaction, EPA finally proposes plans for power plant water pollution includes options protecting waters from toxic pollution as well as weaker standards that maintain the status quo

Washington, D.C. – The Environmental Protection Agency proposed a number of regulatory options late last Friday night, known as steam electric effluent limitation guidelines for power plants, two of which will finally clean up water pollution from hundreds of power plants.

Power plant water discharges are filled with toxic pollution such as mercury, arsenic, lead, and selenium – heavy metals that can cause neurological and developmental damage, cause harm in utero, damage internal organs and cause cancer. Power plants are the biggest sources of water pollution in the country, yet the EPA has not reviewed regulations for this industry in more than 30 years. To address this unacceptable delay, environmental groups filed a lawsuit in 2010 to force the EPA to take action and regulate this dirty industry.
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Renewable Energy Standard Targeted by N.C. Legislature

Friday, April 19th, 2013 | Posted by AV's Intern Team | No Comments

By Davis Wax
Editorial assistant, Spring/Summer 2013

North Carolina is number five in solar, but that huge success is under attack in Raleigh. Photo by SEIA.

Despite job creation directly linked to North Carolina’s burgeoning clean energy industry, the state’s modest renewable energy standard continues to be targeted by lawmakers.

The “Affordable and Reliable Energy Act,” which narrowly passed the House Commerce Committee, would warp the state renewable energy portfolio standard into a shadow of the law created with bipartisan support and the backing of the state’s largest electric utilities in 2007.

According to a study by RTI International and La Capra Associates, the state’s renewable standard has led to a net gain of over 20,000 clean energy jobs even while more than 100,000 jobs were lost in the N.C. economy during the same five years. The state’s clean energy investment has created a net revenue of $113 million since 2007, while the total economic benefit of clean energy over the past five years was $1.7 billion.

Investors are listening up and jumping on board, too, as clean energy investment has grown 13-fold over the past five years in North Carolina, resulting in an estimated 8.2 million megawatt-hours being saved through renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. Additionally, it is estimated that state government energy efficiency programs have saved $427 million in taxpayer money.

Solar energy has soared in North Carolina due to the REPS. The state is fifth in the nation in solar installed and is projected to reach number four by this year, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. Out of the 30 utility-scale solar projects in the Southeast in 2012, 21 were in North Carolina.

Those benefits could be cut short if the tunnel vision that has taken over North Carolina politics prevails.
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Meet Your New Interior Secretary

Monday, April 15th, 2013 | Posted by Brian Sewell | 1 Comment

Sally Jewell, 51st Secretary of the Interior

Last week the U.S. Senate approved Sally Jewell, the chief executive of the outdoor retailer REI, as the Secretary of the Department of the Interior. Jewell was confirmed after an 87-11 vote — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was the only Appalachian senator to vote against her confirmation.

The day before her confirmation, President Obama said that Jewell had an “appreciation for our nation’s tradition of protecting our public lands and heritage, and a keen understanding of what it means to be good stewards of our natural resources.” Likewise, Oregon Sen. Rob Wyden, who chairs of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, stood in support saying Jewell had the “right kind of leadership” to rise to the task of reconciling competing environmental and energy interests.

No matter where you stand, Jewell faces a daunting task considering the department’s duty to oversee more than 500 million acres of public lands including national parks used for recreation and energy development. And regardless of her bipartisan support, Jewell will face a cantankerous Congress whose polarization is without precedent.

The broadly defined department’s responsibilities range from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. Also under the Interior’s purview — and of particular interest to Appalachian politicians — is the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, which oversees regulation of mountaintop removal under the Surface Mine Control and Reclamation Act. Since the beginning of 2009, OSM has worked to rewrite the stream protection rule to protect waterways from valley fills, and the process has been challenged, delayed and slowed-down at every turn.
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“War on Coal” Claims are a War on Reality

Wednesday, April 10th, 2013 | Posted by | No Comments

By Melanie Foley
Legislative Policy and Research Assistant, Summer 2013

A national average of 88,152 coal mining jobs under President Obama represents a 15 percent increase from the average under the Bush administration of 76,470. Graph by Appalachian Voices

The coal industry and the members of Congress who depend on its support have accused President Obama and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of waging a “war on coal.” Industry supporters argue that limits on emissions from coal-fired power plants and increased scrutiny of mountaintop removal mining permits are killing jobs. But the numbers show that, aside from being a tired rhetorical trope, the “war on coal” is also a myth.

This week, Appalachian Voices released an analysis of the latest data from the Mine Safety and Health Administration that reveals the fallacy behind “war on coal” claims. An average of 88,152 coal mining jobs under Obama represents a 15 percent increase from the Bush average of 76,470. Employment in 2011 and 2012 was the highest two-year period in 15 years. Each of the top 10 coal-producing states have seen more jobs on average under Obama than under Bush, and nine of those states saw higher employment in 2012 than at any point during the Bush years.

One of the main factors contributing to the employment increase is a decrease in productivity. Coal is growing scarce and difficult to reach, especially in Appalachia, and it takes more miners than it once did to mine the same amount of coal. Since its peak in 2000, productivity has declined 30 percent. Increased underground mining explains some of this decline since it requires more workers than large-scale surface mining methods such as mountaintop removal.
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Appalachian Voices Applauds the Nomination of Marilyn Brown to TVA Board

Monday, April 8th, 2013 | Posted by JW Randolph | No Comments

Dr. Marilyn Brown has the background to promote energy solutions in the Southeast and nationwide. So why are U.S. Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker opposing her nomination to TVA Board of Directors?

Appalachian Voices applauds President Obama’s decision to re-nominate Marilyn Brown, a longtime advocate for energy efficiency, to the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors. The president’s move was criticized by Tennessee senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, who had been pushing for a nominee more friendly to “economic development” in the Tennessee Valley.

Dr. Brown has done a great service to the southeastern United States by serving on the TVA Board since 2010. A veteran of Oak Ridge National Laboratories, she has a long and distinguished career promoting solutions that help move America’s energy policy forward.

Brown was a co-lead of the “Scenarios for a Clean Energy Future” report, which was a groundbreaking look at the potential costs and benefits of cleaner energy alternatives. Other reports led by Brown have focused on the unharnessed economic potential for energy efficiency, industrial energy efficiency, metropolitan carbon footprints, and reviving manufacturing with federal cogeneration policy.

She is currently the director of the Climate And Energy Policy Laboratory at Georgia Tech, which researchs global energy security, clean energy employment, energy efficiency, climate change mitigation, renewable energy policies and trends in the American South, smart grid policies, and demand response. Brown was also cofounder of the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance, where she currently serves on the Board of Directors.
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Elevated Selenium Levels Found in TN Streams

Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013 | Posted by JW Randolph | No Comments

From the folks at United Mountain Defense, comes the sad but unsurprising news that Tennessee watersheds are suffering from surface mining. New stream data shows some of the highest selenium levels ever collected by UMD.

Selenium In Water Points to Destruction of Appalachian Streams, Water Quality

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee (April 03, 2013) – New water testing results obtained by United Mountain Defense (UMD) from a proposed coal strip mine near Claiborne, Tennessee show levels of selenium- an element known to cause developmental abnormalities- in water high enough to disrupt or destroy ecosystems and potentially effect human health.

The water testing, conducted on the site of Cooper’s Ridge (36.553086,-83.892117) and the site of a proposed surface strip mine by Kopper Glo Fuels LLC, analyzed 10 water samples from sediment pond discharge points. This analysis detected selenium at four testing points, ranging from 1.1 to as high as 5.0 mcg/L (parts per billion).

“These are some of the highest levels of selenium ever detected by our organization” said James Kane, UMD president and director of field operations, “5.0 mcg/L is unbelievable- this level of selenium is death for wildlife and could affect all downstream users. What happens to children who play in these streams? These results show that the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) are utterly failing the people of Tennessee by allowing these toxic discharges and not adequately regulating mining activities.” (more…)

Clean Water News: Congress Backs Down, N.C. Steps Up

Tuesday, March 26th, 2013 | Posted by Sandra Diaz | No Comments

Thallium was once used as rat poison. Now DENR is suing Progress Energy for Thallium polluting the French Broad River from its Asheville power plant.

Last week, there was concern that the U.S. Senate budget resolution would end up containing measures to decrease funding for initiatives of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency such as the release of guidelines for coal ash disposal and rules to ensure states are following water quality standards. Thanks to good Americans like yourself speaking up, the Senate budget remained free of dirty water amendments.

While the budget resolution is non-binding, and the Senate Appropriations Committee decides how funding gets allocated later in the process, the resolution send a strong message regarding the Senate’s priorities. Unfortunately, one of the more controversial amendments that did pass was in support of building the Keystone XL pipeline.

While the Senate backed down on loading up the budget resolution with dirty water clauses, the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources stepped and up and decided to take legal action against Progress Energy for the release of toxic heavy metals from their Asheville plant into the French Broad River.

Western North Carolina Alliance, Sierra Club, and Southern Alliance for Clean Energy had filed a notice of intent to sue Progress Energy for violating the Clean Water Act for unpermitted seeps into the French Broad River. It appears DENR took notice and is now taking up their own case against Progress Energy. DENR is seeking injunctive relief and demanding Progress Energy solve the issue in lieu of the state seeking monetary damages.
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