The Front Porch Blog

Tennessee Votes on Scenic Vistas Tomorrow. CALL TODAY!

Tuesday, March 12th, 2013 | Posted by JW Randolph | 2 Comments

Call today and Urge Tennessee Legislators to Protect the Beauty and Economic Vitality of the Cumberland Plateau.

Tennessee legislators are scheduled to take up a critical vote tomorrow on the Scenic Vistas Protection Act — a good bill with broad, bipartisan support that would help one of Tennessee’s most important assets – our mountains.

Representative Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) will be carrying the bill (HB 43 / SB 99) in the House Subcommittee on Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Senator Lowe Finney (D-Jackson) in the Senate Committee on Energy, Agriculture, and Natural Resources.

Appalachian Voices urges you to call committee members and ask them to support the common sense “Tennessee Scenic Vistas Protection Act (HB 43 / SB 99)“.

House:
Chairman Ron Lollar (R-Bartlett) / 615-741- 7084
Curtis Halford (R-Dyer) / 615-741-7478
Andy Holt (R-Dresden) / 615-741-7847
Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma) / 615-741-7448
Billy Spivey (R-Franklin) / 615-741-4170
John Tidwell (D-New Johnsonville) / 615-741-7098
Ron Travis (R-Dayton) / 615-741-1450
Brenda Gilmore (D-Nashville) / 615-741-1997 [This is a “Thank you!” as Representative Gilmore is a cosponsor of the Scenic Vistas bill.]

Senate:
Chairman Steve Southerland (R-Morristown)/615-741-3851
Mae Beavers (R-Mt Juliet)/ 615-741-2421
Jim Summerville (R-Dickson) / 615-741-4499
Mike Bell (R-Riceville) / 615-741-1946
Charlotte Burks (D-Monterey) / 615-741-3978
Ophelia Ford (D-Memphis) / 615-741-1767
Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga) / 615-741-6682
Dolores Gresham (R-Somerville) / 615-741-2368
Frank Niceley (R-Knoxville) / 615-741-2061

Tell these legislators your name and let them know you are a Tennessean who cares about protecting our mountains. And please pass this along, so that legislators hear from as many Tennesseans as possible.

Talking points and bill information below… (more…)

An Uphill Climb Gets Steeper

Tuesday, March 12th, 2013 | Posted by | No Comments

Sequestration Comes to Appalachia

By Melanie Foley
Legislative Policy and Research Assistant, Summer 2013

In August 2011, Congress and President Obama made a pact. They agreed to $1.2 trillion worth of cuts over 10 years if another deficit reduction compromise could not be reached. Efforts to avoid the severe and widespread cuts failed, and as of the beginning of this month the sequester is in effect. President Obama, as required by law, has signed an order withdrawing $85 billion for the seven months left in fiscal year 2013. The Office of Management and Budget released a report calculating reductions of 13 percent for defense programs, and nine percent for non-defense programs over the remaining year.

Congressional Sequester

The Democrats on the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee released an analysis of nationwide effects of the sequestration predicting a major reduction in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency air quality enforcement due to loss of manpower and cuts to monitoring systems — an estimated 1,000 fewer inspections. The members cautioned that, “shutdown of some air monitoring sites would make it more difficult if not impossible to determine if some areas of the country meet Clean Air Act standards.” This is bad news for Appalachia, which is overrun with aging coal plants, high incidents of asthma, lung cancer and other respiratory diseases.

Reduced enforcement for clean air and water will threaten environmental and public health in every state. But here are the figures from The White House on reductions in Central Appalachian states:

Cuts for Clean Air and Water by State:
Kentucky – $2,100,000
North Carolina – $3,606,000
Tennessee – $2,211,000
Virginia – $2,997,000
West Virginia – $2,013,000
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North Carolina Cares About Clean Water

Thursday, March 7th, 2013 | Posted by | No Comments

By Ian Watkins
Red, White and Water Intern, Spring 2013

According to a recent report by Land for Tomorrow, 91 percent of residents in North Carolina and surrounding states believe it is “important” or “very important” to conserve and protect water and other natural resources. Additionally, a 2002 publication of the N.C. State Economist it was found that people are willing to pay more money in the form of travel expenses in order to enjoy higher levels of water quality. Based on an estimated 14.7 million water-related recreation trips each year by North Carolinians, annual economic savings from water improvements are estimated to be $11.9 million for the Neuse waterway, $14.7 million for Cape Fear improvements, and $6.5 for Tar-Pamlico. While protection of natural resources may sometimes be a divisive topic, residents of North Carolina share a common desire for clean water, with good reason. Clean water is good for the environment and the economy.

The benefits of clean water can also be understood by realizing the costs associated with water treatment. According to a report by the N.C. Division of Water Quality, costs to be considered include additional water treatment, developing new drinking water sources or providing emergency replacement water, public information campaigns when pollution incidents arouse public and media interest, and payment for consulting services and staff time. When Burlington, N.C., found contaminants in their source water that were not eliminated during treatment, city subsidies were used to eliminate it from source waters.

Perhaps a more important measurement of the economic benefits of clean water is the success of publicly funded solutions for addressing water pollution. The N.C. General Assembly established the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund in 1996 and its funding of resource conservation has strengthened the state’s economic vitality. According to a report by the Trust for Public Land, every dollar invested In the N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund returns four dollars to the state in the areas of drinking water protection, flood control, tourism and outdoor recreation.
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Renewed Resolve: Pushing for Energy Reform in Virginia

Wednesday, March 6th, 2013 | Posted by Nathan Jenkins | No Comments

Appalachian Voices remains committed to achieving a more robust renewable energy policy that brings clean energy and good jobs to the commonwealth.

Reform of Virginia’s renewable energy law was in the spotlight on both sides of the political spectrum in the General Assembly this year. In the end, only a few adjustments were made to the law, none of which encourage the vibrant solar and wind industries that Virginians want, nor support a market for small businesses promoting renewable technologies.

But the shortcomings of Virginia’s latest legislative session have only strengthened Appalachian Voices’ resolve to achieve a more robust renewable energy policy that actually brings clean energy and good jobs to the commonwealth.

Laws have been enacted in 38 states to encourage the development of the renewable energy industry – and they have ushered in cleaner air and job growth. In some of those states, the industry is growing exponentially, in thousands of jobs and tens of thousands of clean megawatts.

Virginia has had a renewable energy law since 2007, but utilities have purchased credits rather than investing in Virginia jobs. At times, state law has been interpreted so that utilities cannot invest in renewable energy despite the enactment of renewable energy goals.

Appalachian Voices hoped to fix that during this year’s legislative session by advocating for a requirement that Virginia utilities could only use new wind and solar power built in Virginia to satisfy the law. Instead, a law spawned by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli simply removed financial incentives for renewable energy and ignored our fix, despite support from the utilities.
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McCarthy Nominated to Lead EPA

Monday, March 4th, 2013 | Posted by Tom Cormons | No Comments

President Obama today announced the nomination of Gina McCarthy as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator, replacing Lisa Jackson who served throughout the president’s first term. McCarthy is currently the assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation.

Appalachian Voices released the following statement from Executive Director Tom Cormons:

“This nomination clearly shows the president’s commitment to addressing the very real environmental consequences of American energy policy.

“From the Romney statehouse to the Obama EPA, Gina McCarthy’s approach to environmental problems and solutions rises above partisan politics — which is exactly where this conversation needs to take place as the U.S. grapples with the immensely challenging issues affecting the nation’s natural resources upon which our economy, health and future rely.

“Appalachian Voices urges swift Senate approval, and looks forward to working with Ms. McCarthy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect citizens from coal ash pollution, and end the destruction of Appalachia’s mountains, waters and communities.”

Help Protect Kentucky’s Fish from Toxic Selenium

Wednesday, February 27th, 2013 | Posted by Eric Chance | No Comments

Two headed trout, a result of selenium pollution. Courtesy of USFWS.

The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet is currently attempting to significantly weaken the state’s water quality standards for selenium.

Selenium is a pollutant common at some coal mines that deforms and kills aquatic life. It bioaccumulates, increasing in concentration as it moves up the food chain, affecting larger fish and aquatic birds. At higher levels, selenium is toxic to people. Humans can be exposed to selenium through the water they drink and the fish they eat. Long-term exposure can damage the liver, kidneys, nervous system, and circulatory system.

Selenium pollution is expensive to prevent and to treat. By loosening standards, the cabinet is trying to protect the bottom line of polluters at the expense of the health of the state’s waterways and those that depend on them.

To learn more about selenium and why it is a problem in Kentucky, click here to read our selenium fact sheet (PDF).

Public comments are being accepted through Friday, March 1. Please help protect Kentucky’s fish from the toxic effects of selenium. Take a minute to make your voice heard by submitting a comment.

Even The Daily Show has taken note of the problem of selenium pollution in our nation’s waterways. The clip focuses on pollution from phosphate mines in Idaho, but the similarities between what happened there and what is going on in Kentucky are striking.

Celebrate A Natural Heritage of Appalachia

Tuesday, February 26th, 2013 | Posted by Tom Cormons | No Comments

Dear members,

I am honored to be writing you for the first time as executive director of Appalachian Voices.

Tom Cormons, Executive Director I still remember my excitement when I first learned about Appalachian Voices 12 years ago after a day of climbing at West Virginia’s Seneca Rocks. Relaxing in town after descending from the knife-edge summit, I was elated from the climb and the beautiful view from the top: a bucolic patchwork of fields and woodlots in the river valley surrounded by lushly forested mountains stretching as far as the eye could see. It was in this state of mind that I picked up my first copy of The Appalachian Voice newspaper.

Here was a celebration of the Appalachian Mountains and our connection to them – from fishing to kayaking, homesteading to hunting – that resonated deeply with my experience. But it was something more that really drew me in.

Appalachian Voices was about our shared responsibility for this natural heritage: bringing people together to address the monumental environmental threats to the region, from mountaintop removal coal mining to water and air pollution. I soon became a member, and even while I was away at UCLA law school, I closely tracked Appalachian Voices’ work. When I returned, I was proud to join the team and open our Virginia office.

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Lesson Learned: The Buffalo Creek Flood

Tuesday, February 26th, 2013 | Posted by Brian Sewell | No Comments

Inspecting the Aftermath: Residents of Buffalo creek worried constantly about the stability of the slurry dams upstream. Nothing was done. Photo courtesy of West Virginia State Archives.

I woke up this morning to a frozen world. Fog and ice descended on the hills above Boone, N.C., last night and are still waiting around for the thaw. It was silent other than the periodic crack of a branch and the following echo that bounced around the hills. Stepping outside after reading Ken Ward Jr.’s remembrance of the Buffalo Creek Flood, I wondered if this stillness was similar to what the residents of communities in Logan County, W.Va., felt that morning 41 years ago today.

To contain the refuse of a coal preparation plant operated by Buffalo Mining Co., a series of three dams were built upstream from the communities along Buffalo Creek in the 1950s and 60s, as Logan County continued to grow into one of southern West Virginia’s prolific coal-producing counties. Dam No. 3, the largest, stood 60 feet above the pond and downstream dams below. When it gave way on the cold morning of Feb. 26, 1972, the others collapsed instantly.

The poor construction and regulation of coal waste impoundments that precipitated the Buffalo Creek Flood intensified during boom times when coal preparation plants used more water and produced more slurry just to keep up with coal production. As Jack Spadaro, a former superintendent at MSHA’s Mine Health and Safety Academy, told me for a story last year, “All along, as these dams were being built, they weren’t really constructed using any engineering methods. They were simply dumped, filled across the valley.”
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Virginia Transportation Board OKs Coalfields Expressway Project

Thursday, February 21st, 2013 | Posted by Nathan Jenkins | 1 Comment

Approved on Wednesday by the Commonwealth Transportation Board, the redrawn route prioritizes Alpha Natural Resources' access to coal, not travelers' access to local communities. Click to view the full-size map.

Yesterday, Virginia’s Commonwealth Transportation Board approved a four-lane divided highway that will flatten steep mountain ridges in southwest Virginia along a route proposed by Alpha Natural Resources — the largest coal company operating in Appalachia today.

The proposed 26-mile Coalfields Expressway is only a few miles off of several less destructive routes studied by the Virginia Department of Transportation in 2001 when it conducted a detailed environmental review of the area. The difference is that VDOT looked for a suitable place to build a highway. Alpha and other coal companies such as Rapoca Energy, on the other hand, selected the most profitable route for surface mining, using the highway as justification for the environmental toll they would inflict along the way.

This difference in purpose of the proposed routes is apparent when you look at the estimated impacts. The route VDOT selected in 2001 would have a 750-foot right of way that would disturb about 1,100 acres of land, four miles of streams and 720 acres of forest. Those impacts alone are daunting, but they pale in comparison to the redrawn route. Alpha’s path of destruction, with its 2,200-foot right of way, would flatten more than 2,100 acres, bury 12 miles of streams and clear-cut more than 2,000 acres of forest — not to mention destroy two churches and three cemeteries.

Nevertheless, VDOT sees this “coal-synergy” project as beneficial because it will cost taxpayers $2.8 billion to build, as opposed to the projected $5.1 billion without collaboration from the coal industry. The savings are disputable, however, and do not factor in the environmental cost of the road’s relocation. VDOT’s rush to make this project a reality has led them to disregard recommendations from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — all of which are asking for a full environmental review of the new route.
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A Clearcut Connection Between Mountaintop Removal and Climate Change

Wednesday, February 20th, 2013 | Posted by | 1 Comment

By Melanie Foley
Legislative Policy and Research Assistant, Summer 2013

Mountaintop Removal and other destructive land uses could turn the Southern Appalachians from a carbon sink to a carbon source in as little as 12 years.

Scientists from the universities of Kentucky and California recently released a study detailing the climate implications of coal extraction by mountaintop removal. If coal mining continues at its current pace, the authors predict the next 12 to 20 years will see Southern Appalachian forests switch from a net carbon sink to a net carbon source — meaning the area will emit more carbon than it takes in.

Consequently, ending mountaintop removal may have more environmental benefits than originally realized. The long-standing goals of mountaintop removal opponents have been to protect human lives, improve drinking water, and support ecosystem health. This new research shows that ending this destructive mining practice would also be a victory in the fight against climate change — and not just by moving away from dirty coal.
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Finding Arsenic in Mountain Island Lake: Even a Sixth Grader Can Do It

Wednesday, February 20th, 2013 | Posted by Matt Grimley | No Comments

Just recently, sixth grader Anna Behnke found high levels of arsenic near her home on Mountain Island Lake, a drinking water source for hundreds of thousands in the Charlotte, N.C. metro area. The contamination — which exceeds EPA drinking water standards twenty-fold — comes from coal ash seepage at Duke Energy’s Riverbend power plant, which the utility announced it will decommission in April without a plan to deal with the coal ash ponds on site.

View full article here.

N.C. State Rep. Harrison: Let the EPA Do Its Job

Wednesday, February 20th, 2013 | Posted by AV's Intern Team | No Comments

By Davis Wax
Editorial assistant, Spring/Summer 2013

Watch N.C. Rep. Pricey Harrison testify before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Environment and Economy.

What should the role of the states be in protecting human health and the environment?

Last Friday, the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Economy held a hearing to untangle that complex question. North Carolina Rep. Pricey Harrison testified to the committee on the need for increased oversight and regulatory enforcement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“The question is not whether states or the federal government have a role in environmental protection,” she told subcommittee members, “but whether each is playing its appropriate role under current law.”

Harrison highlighted the growing concerns of North Carolinians’ surrounding coal ash pollution from disposal ponds owned by Duke Energy as an example of how states are failing to protect citizens. The state began requiring more extensive groundwater monitoring a few years ago. But even now, with known instances of groundwater standards violations, no action has been taken by the state to get Duke Energy to address the contamination.

Another emerging issue is the reckless push to bring hydraulic fracturing to the state. State Senate Bill 76 would allow fracking in the state in two years, no matter the status of the state’s regulatory development, resources or staffing.

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