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TRAILCO - SIERRA CLUB RESP TO APPLICANT OPPOSITION TO PRUDENCE REVIEW
by William V. DePaulo, Esq. 28 Nov '08

28 Nov '08

Mr. Watkins: I attach the Sierra Club's response to TrAILCo's opposition to the Sierra Club's petition for a continuing prudence review. Please contact me if you have any questions regarding this submission. William V. DePaulo, Esq. 179 Summers Street, Suite 232 Charleston, WV 25301-2163 Tel: 304-342-5588 Fax: 304-342-5505 william.depaulo(a)gmail.com www.passeggiata.com

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Rep Wolf of VA wants "review"of TrailCo
by Jim Sconyers 25 Nov '08

25 Nov '08

Gazette November 25, 2008 Va. congressman wants review of power line plans Virginia Congressman Frank Wolf wants Gov. Timothy Kaine to take the lead in forming a compact with other states to review plans for a regional power line. By The Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia Congressman Frank Wolf wants Gov. Timothy Kaine to take the lead in forming a compact with other states to review plans for a regional power line. Wolf urged Kaine in a Monday letter to form a compact with the governors of West Virginia and Pennsylvania to take a final look at the project before it moves forward. Such a compact is allowed under federal law. Wolf's letter addresses a 500-kilovolt transmission line proposed jointly by the Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line Co. and Dominion Virginia Power. The line would stretch from Pennsylvania to West Virginia through portions of northern Virginia. In September, Wolf urged Virginia's attorney general to appeal a decision by the State Corporation Commission allowing the line, known as the TRAIL project, to move forward. Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last.

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Fwd: TrAILCo - Sierra Club Petition for Continuing Prudence Review
by William V. DePaulo, Esq. 23 Nov '08

23 Nov '08

To WV Chapter Energy Committee Attached is a petition filed with the PSC to request a "continuing prudence review" of the August 1 decision approving TrAILCo, in light of the dramatic drop in electricity demand, as reflected in a PJM decision to push out for one year from June 2012 to June 2013, the date for PATH to be in-service. Bill ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: William V. DePaulo, Esq. <william.depaulo(a)gmail.com> Date: Sun, Nov 23, 2008 at 1:35 PM Subject: TrAILCo - Sierra Club Petition for Continuing Prudence Review To: jwatkins(a)psc.state.wv.us Mr. Watkins: I attach a Petition for Continuing Prudence Review which is being served on all parties by email today and will be filed with the Commission tomorrow. Please call me if you have any questions pertaining to this filing. William V. DePaulo, Esq. 179 Summers Street, Suite 232 Charleston, WV 25301-2163 Tel: 304-342-5588 Fax: 304-342-5505 william.depaulo(a)gmail.com www.passeggiata.com -- William V. DePaulo, Esq. 179 Summers Street, Suite 232 Charleston, WV 25301-2163 Tel: 304-342-5588 Fax: 304-342-5505 william.depaulo(a)gmail.com www.passeggiata.com

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Rivesville power station renewal
by Duane330＠aol.com 21 Nov '08

21 Nov '08

The following was sent to you because you are a Member of the DEP Public Notice mailing list. =========================================================== Friday, November 21, 2008 @ 1:21 PM =========================================================== NOTICE OF COMMENT PERIOD FOR DRAFT/PROPOSED OPERATING PERMIT RENEWAL Title V of the Federal Clean Air Act and the state Air Pollution Control Act requires that all major sources and certain minor sources have a permit to operate which states all requirements (e.g. emission limitations, monitoring requirements, etc.) established by regulations promulgated under the aforementioned programs. The Division of Air Quality (DAQ) has determined that the draft/proposed permit renewal referenced herein meets this requirement. The DAQ is providing notice to the general public of its preliminary determination to issue an operating permit renewal to the following company for operation of the referenced electric generating facility: Monongahela Power Company Rivesville Power Station Plant ID No. : 049-00009 Jackson Street, Rt. 19 Rivesville, WV 26588 This notice solicits comments from the public and affected state(s) concerning the above preliminary determination and provides an opportunity for such parties to review the basis for the proposed approval and the "draft" permit renewal. This notice also solicits comments from the U.S. EPA concerning the same preliminary determination and provides an opportunity for the U.S. EPA to concurrently review the basis for the proposed approval as a “proposed” permit. This notice also incorporates changes to the General Requirements of the following preconstruction permit(s): R13-1098B All written comments submitted by the public and affected state(s) pursuant to this notice must be received by the DAQ within thirty (30) days of the date of publication of this notice. Under concurrent review, written comments submitted by the U.S. EPA must be received by the DAQ within forty- five (45) days from the date of publication of this notice or from the date the U.S. EPA receives this draft/proposed permit renewal, whichever is later. In the event that the 30th/45th day is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the comment period will be extended until 5:00 p.m. on the following regularly scheduled business day. The public shall have 135 days from the date of publication of this notice to file petitions for concurrently reviewed permits. Upon notice by the U.S. EPA to the DAQ, prior to the end of the 45- day notice period, the U.S. EPA may choose to hold the 30 day comment period on the draft permit and the 45 day comment period on the proposed permit sequentially. During the public comment period any interested person may submit written comments on the draft permit and may request a public hearing, if no public hearing has already been scheduled. A request for a public hearing shall be in writing and shall state the nature of the issues proposed to be raised in the hearing. The Director of the DAQ shall grant such a request for a hearing if he concludes that a public hearing is appropriate. Any public hearing shall be held in the general area in which the facility is located, after 30 day notice is given. The DAQ will consider all written comments prior to final action on the permit. Copies of the DAQ Fact Sheet and Draft/Proposed Permit Renewal may be downloaded from the DAQ's web site at the following address: http://www.wvdep.org/daq. Copies of the Permit Application, DAQ Fact Sheet, and Draft/Proposed Permit Renewal are available for public review at the following location between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.: WV Department of Environmental Protection Division of Air Quality 601 57th Street SE Charleston, WV 25304 Contact: Frederick Tipane (304) 926-0499 ext.: 1215 Comments and questions concerning this matter should be addressed to the above referenced individual. **************One site has it all. Your email accounts, your social networks, and the things you love. Try the new AOL.com today!(http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1212962939x1200825291/aol?re… %26icid=aolcom40vanity%26ncid=emlcntaolcom00000001)

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FW: [wvec-board] natural gas industry refuses to reveal what it uses to drill for fossil fuel
by Grubb, Karen 21 Nov '08

21 Nov '08

From: wvec-board(a)yahoogroups.com [mailto:wvec-board@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Frank Young Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2008 10:36 PM To: wvec-board(a)yahoogroups.com Subject: [wvec-board] natural gas industry refuses to reveal what it uses to drill for fossil fuel ----- Original Message ----- From: Steve Fesenmaier <mailto:fesenms@wvlc.lib.wv.us> To: "Undisclosed-Recipient:;"@mailstore06.ntelos.net <mailto:> Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2008 4:51 PM Subject: *** SPAM *** natural gas industry refuses to reveal what it uses to drill for fossil fuel Features <http://www.sciam.com/department.cfm?id=feature-articles> - November 17, 2008 Drill for Natural Gas, Pollute Water http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=drill-for-natural-gas-pollute-water& print=true The natural gas industry refuses to reveal what is in the mixture of chemicals used to drill for the fossil fuel By Abrahm Lustgarten and ProPublica In July a hydrologist dropped a plastic sampling pipe 300 feet down a water well in rural Sublette County, Wy. and pulled up a load of brown oily water with a foul smell. Tests showed it contained benzene, a chemical believed to cause aplastic anemia and leukemia, in a concentration 1,500 times the level safe for people. The results sent shockwaves through the energy industry and state and federal regulatory agencies. Sublette County is the home of one of the nation's largest natural gas fields, and many of its 6,000 wells have undergone a process pioneered by Halliburton called hydraulic fracturing, which shoots vast amounts of water, sand and chemicals several miles underground to break apart rock and release the gas. The process has been considered safe since a 2004 study by the Environmental Protection Agency found that it posed no risk to drinking water. After that study, Congress even exempted hydraulic fracturing from the Safe Drinking Water Act. Today fracturing is used in 9 out of 10 natural gas wells in the United States. Over the last few years, however, a series of contamination incidents have raised questions about that EPA study and ignited a debate over whether the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing may threaten the nation's increasingly precious drinking water supply. An investigation by ProPublica, which visited Sublette County and six other contamination sites, found that water contamination in drilling areas around the country is far more prevalent than the EPA asserts. Our investigation also found that the 2004 EPA study was not as conclusive as it claimed to be. A close review shows that the body of the study contains damaging information that wasn't mentioned in the conclusion. In fact, the study foreshadowed many of the problems now being reported across the country. The contamination in Sublette County is significant because it is the first to be documented by a federal agency, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. But more than 1,000 other cases of contamination have been documented by courts and state and local governments in Colorado, New Mexico, Alabama, Ohio and Pennsylvania. In one case a house exploded after hydraulic fracturing created underground passageways and methane seeped into the residential water supply. In other cases the contamination occurred not from actual drilling below ground, but on the surface, where accidental spills and leaky tanks, trucks and waste pits allowed benzene and other chemicals to leach into streams, springs and water wells It is difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of each contamination, or measure its spread across the environment accurately, because the precise nature and concentrations of the chemicals used by industry are considered trade secrets. Not even the EPA knows exactly what's in the drilling fluids. And that, EPA scientists say, makes it impossible to vouch for the safety of the drilling process or precisely track its effects. "I am looking more and more at water quality issues... because of a growing concern," said Joyel Dhieux, a drilling field inspector who handles environmental review at the EPA's regional offices in Denver. "But if you don't know what's in it I don't think it's possible." Toxic Brew? Of the 300-odd compounds that private researchers and the Bureau of Land Management suspect are being used, 65 are listed as hazardous by the federal government. Many of the rest are unstudied and unregulated, leaving a gaping hole in the nation's scientific understanding of how widespread drilling might affect water resources. Industry representatives maintain that the drilling fluids are mostly made up of non-toxic, even edible substances, and that when chemicals are used, they are just a tiny fraction of the overall mix. They say that some information is already available, and that releasing specific details would only frighten and confuse the public, and would come at great expense to the industry's competitive business. "Halliburton's proprietary fluids are the result of years of extensive research, development testing," said Diana Gabriel, a company spokeswoman, in an email response. "We have gone to great lengths to ensure that we are able to protect the fruits of the company's research.... We could lose our competitive advantage." "It is like Coke protecting its syrup formula for many of these service companies," said Scott Rotruck, vice president of corporate development at Chesapeake Energy, the nation's largest gas driller, which has been asked by New York State regulators to disclose the chemicals it uses. Thanks in large part to hydraulic fracturing, natural gas drilling has vastly expanded across the United States. In 2007 there were 449,000 gas wells in 32 states, thirty percent more than in 2000. By 2012 the nation could be drilling 32,000 new wells a year, including some in the watershed that provides drinking water to New York City and Philadelphia, some five percent of the nation's population. The rush to drill comes in part because newly identified gas reserves offer the nation an opportunity to wean itself from oil. Natural gas, as T. Boone Pickens said recently, is "cleaner, cheaper... abundant, and ours." Burning gas, used primarily to heat homes and make electricity, emits 23% less carbon dioxide than burning oil. Gas is the country's second-largest domestic energy resource, after coal. The debate over water arises at a critical time. In his last days in office President George W. Bush has pushed through lease sales and permits for new drilling on thousands of acres of federal land. President-elect Barak Obama has identified the leasing rush as one of his first pressing matters and is already examining whether to try to reverse Bush's expansion of drilling in Utah. State regulators and environmentalists have also begun pressing the gas industry to disclose the chemicals they use and urging Congress to revisit the environmental exemptions hydraulic fracturing currently enjoys. But in the meantime, the drilling continues. In September the Bureau of Land Management approved plans for 4,400 new wells in Sublette County, despite the unresolved water issues. Tests there showed contamination in 88 of the 220 wells examined, and the plume stretched over 28 miles. When researchers returned to take more samples they couldn't even open the water wells; monitors showed they contained so much flammable gas that they were likely to explode. Dirty Water News that water in Sublette County was contaminated was especially shocking because the area is so rural that until a few years ago cattle were still run down Main Street in Pinedale, the nearest town to the gas field. The county is roughly the size of the state of Connecticut but has fewer people than many New York city blocks. With so little industry, there was little besides drilling that people could blame for the contamination. "When you just look at the data... the aerial extent of the benzene contamination, you just say . . . . This is huge," says Oberley, who is charged with water study in the area. "You've got benzene in a useable aquifer and nobody is able to verbalize well, using factual information, how the benzene got there." Other signs of contamination were also worrying residents. Independent tests in several private drinking wells adjacent to the anticline drilling showed fluoride -- which is listed in Halliburton's hydraulic fracturing patent applications and can cause bone damage at high levels -- at almost three times the EPA's maximum limit. "We need the gas now more than ever," says Fred Sanchez, whose water well is among those with high levels of fluoride. But gazing off his deck at the prized trout waters of the New Fork River, he wonders whether drilling has gone too far. "You just can't helter skelter go drilling just because you have the right to do it. It's not morally right to do it. There should be some checks and balances." Further east, in the town of Clark, the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality found benzene in a residential well after an underground well casing cracked. In Pavilion, another small town, a series of drinking water wells began running with dark, smelly water, a problem a state official speculated might be linked to drilling nearby. "There is no direct evidence that the gas drilling has impacted it," says Mark Thiesse, a groundwater supervisor for the Wyoming DEQ. "But it sure makes you wonder. It just seems pretty circumstantial that it's happening." On federal land, which is where most of the Sublette County wells are located, the BLM governs leasing and permitting for gas development, with secondary oversight from the state and only advisory input from the EPA. When the contaminated water results were first reported, both the BLM and the state downplayed their significance. The EPA's regional office in Denver sharply disagreed. But because it has only an advisory role in the federal review process, and hydraulic fracturing is exempted from the Safe Drinking Water Act, there was little the EPA could do. It rebuked the BLM in a strongly worded letter and gave the development plans in Sublette County a rare "unsatisfactory" rating. It also recommended that the project be stopped until further scientific study could be done. The BLM, backed by a powerful business lobby, ignored that recommendation. Why do a study if you can't prove something is wrong, industry argued. Drilling operators said the benzene came from leaky equipment on the trucks that haul water and waste to and from the drill sites - and in one or two cases, EPA scientists say that was likely. One theory put forth by the BLM blamed the benzene contamination on malicious environmentalists "hostile to gas production," an accusation the agency later said it had no evidence of. Thiesse, the DEQ supervisor, recounted a meeting where the debate dwindled down to semantics: "I called it contamination, and somebody said is it really contamination? What if it's naturally occurring?" The industry insisted, as it has for years, that hydraulic fracturing itself had never contaminated a well, pointing to an anecdotal survey done a decade ago by the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, a coalition of state regulatory bodies and, again, to the 2004 study by the EPA. "You have intervening rock in between the area that you are fracturing and the areas that provide water supplies. The notion that fractures are going to migrate up to those shallow formations -- there is just no evidence of that happening," says Ken Wonstolen, an attorney representing the Colorado Oil and Gas Association who has worked with the petroleum industry for two decades. "I think fracturing has been given a clean bill of health." A flurry of mail from industry representatives to the BLM said the sort of study the EPA wanted would needlessly slow production. "BLM's restrictions on drilling in the Intermountain west have seriously reduced the supply of natural gas reaching consumers," wrote the American Gas Association. Washington leaned down on Pinedale too. The message, according to Chuck Otto, field manager for the BLM: Make this happen by November. The 4,400 new wells were approved in September without any deadline for cleaning up the contamination or further research. State regulators told ProPublica that hydraulic fracturing was not even considered as a possible cause. "The BLM looks at it more as a business driven process," Otto said. "It's not like I have Vice President Cheney calling me up and saying you need to get this done. But there definitely is that unspoken pressure... mostly from the companies, to develop their resources as they'd like to see fit... to get things done and get them done pretty fast." Flawed Report? The 2004 EPA study is routinely used to dismiss complaints that hydraulic fracturing fluids might be responsible for the water problems in places like Pinedale. The study concluded that hydraulic fracturing posed "no threat" to underground drinking water because fracturing fluids aren't necessarily hazardous, can't travel far underground, and that there is "no unequivocal evidence" of a health risk. But documents obtained by ProPublica show that the EPA negotiated directly with the gas industry before finalizing those conclusions, and then ignored evidence that fracking might cause exactly the kinds of water problems now being recorded in drilling states. Buried deep within the 424-page report are statements explaining that fluids migrated unpredictably -- through different rock layers, and to greater distances than previously thought -- in as many as half the cases studied in the United States. The EPA identified some of the chemicals as biocides and lubricants that "can cause kidney, liver, heart, blood, and brain damage through prolonged or repeated exposure." It found that as much as a third of injected fluids, benzene in particular, remains in the ground after drilling and is "likely to be transported by groundwater." The EPA began preparing its report on hydraulic fracturing in 2000, after an Alabama court forced the agency to investigate fracturing-related water contamination there under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Political pressures were also mounting for the agency to clarify its position on fracturing. The 2001 Energy Policy, drafted in part by the office of Vice President Dick Cheney, a former Halliburton CEO, noted that "the gas flow rate may be increased as much as 20-fold by hydraulic fracturing." While the EPA was still working on its report, legislation was being crafted to exempt hydraulic fracturing from the Safe Drinking Water Act. Before that happened, however, the EPA sought an agreement with the three largest hydraulic fracturing companies, including Halliburton, to stop using diesel fuel in fracturing fluids. Diesel fuel contains benzene, and such a move would help justify the report's conclusion that no further studies were needed. "Our draft is pending release," a senior EPA official wrote to Halliburton's counsel in an August 2003 email. "It would certainly strengthen our preliminary position not to continue studying the issue... if the service companies were able to remove diesel all together, or even move in that direction." In a subsequent meeting, an EPA official's handwritten notes show that a Halliburton attorney asked federal officials: "are we willing to entertain regulatory relief in other areas; eg: fewer inspections?" "Willing...," was the reply from Tracy Mehan, then the EPA's assistant administrator for water. A Halliburton spokesperson declined to comment on this exchange. The diesel agreement was signed. But according to the EPA, it isn't legally enforceable and the agency hasn't checked to see if diesel is still being used. Furthermore, the agreement applies only to fluids used in a specific kind of gas drilling, not all drilling across the United States. Mehan did not return calls for comment about his negotiations. Roy Simon, associate chief of the Drinking Water Protection Division's Prevention Branch at EPA headquarters in Washington says the "EPA still stands by the findings outlined in the (2004) report." But one of the report's three main authors, Jeffrey Jollie, an EPA hydrogeologist, now cautions that the research has been misconstrued by industry. The study focused solely on the effect hydraulic fracturing has on drinking water in coal bed methane deposits, typically shallow formations where gas is embedded in coal. It didn't consider the impact of above-ground drilling or of drilling in geologic formations deep underground, where many of the large new gas reserves are being developed today. "It was never intended to be a broad, sweeping study," Jollie says. "I don't think we ever characterized it that way." Nevertheless, a few months after the report's release, the sweeping 2005 Energy Policy Act was passed. Almost no attention was paid to the three paragraphs that stripped the federal government of most of its authority to monitor and regulate hydraulic fracturing's impact on the environment. By default, that responsibility would now fall to the states. "That pretty much closed the door," said Greg Oberley, an EPA groundwater specialist working in the western drilling states. "So we absolutely do not look at fracking... under the Safe Drinking Water Act. It's not done." Dangerous Ground On April 30, 2001 a small drilling company now owned by the Canadian gas company Encana fractured a well at the top of Dry Hollow, a burgeoning field in western Colorado that has seen one of the fastest rates of energy development in the nation. The well sat at the end of a dirt drive among pinion pines and juniper at the crest of a small mesa overlooking the Colorado River. It was also less than 1,000 feet from the log farmhouse where Larry and Laura Amos lived. As usual that day, water trucks lined up like toy soldiers on the three acre dirt pad cleared for drilling just across the Amos' property line. They pumped 82,000 gallons of fluids at 3,600 pounds of pressure thousands of feet into the drill hole. Suddenly the Amos' drinking water well exploded like a Yellowstone geyser, firing its lid into the air and spewing mud and gray fizzing water high into the sky. State inspectors tested the Amos well for methane and found lots of it. They did not find benzene or gasoline derivatives and they did not test fracking fluids, state records show, because they didn't know what to test for. The Amoses were told that methane occurs naturally and is harmless. Inspectors warned them to keep the windows open and vent the basement, but they were never advised to protect themselves or their infant daughter from the water. It wasn't until three years later, when Laura Amos was diagnosed with a rare adrenal tumor, that she started challenging the state about the mysterious chemicals that might have been in her well. Much of what is known about the makeup of drilling fluids comes from the personal investigations of Theo Colborn, an independent Colorado-based scientist who specializes in low-dose effects of chemicals on human health and has testified before Congress on drilling issues. Although she opposes drilling, her research is referenced by scientists at the EPA, at the United States Geological Survey, and at state-level regulatory agencies and is widely believed to be the most comprehensive information available. Spurred by reports of water contamination in Colorado, Colborn painstakingly gathered the names of chemicals from shipping manifests that trucks must carry when they haul hazardous materials for oil and gas servicing companies. Whenever an accident occurred -- a well spill in Colorado, or an explosion at a drilling site in Wyoming - she took water and soil samples and tested them for contaminants, adding the results to her list. Industry officials say they use such tiny amounts of chemicals in the drilling - of the million or so gallons of liquid pumped into a well, only a fraction of one percent are chemicals - that they are diluted beyond harmful levels. But on some fracturing sites that tiny percentage translates to more than 10,000 gallons of chemicals, and Colborn believes even very low doses of some of the compounds can damage kidney and immune systems and affect reproductive development. In Garfield County there were signs this was already happening. Animals that had produced offspring like clockwork each spring stopped delivering healthy calves, according to Liz Chandler, a veterinarian in Rifle, Co. A bull went sterile, and a herd of beef cows stopped going into heat, as did pigs. In the most striking case, sheep bred on an organic dairy farm had a rash of inexplicable still births - all in close proximity to drilling waste pits, where wastewater that includes fracturing fluids is misted into the air for evaporation. Among Colborn's list of nearly 300 chemicals - some known to be cancer causing -- is a clear, odorless surfactant called 2-BE, used in foaming agents to lubricate the flow of fracking fluids down in the well. Colborn told Congress in 2007 that it can cause adrenal tumors. Laura Amos, who suffered from such a tumor, pressed Encana on whether the compound had been used to fracture the well near her house. For months the company denied 2-BE had been used. But Amos persisted, arguing her case on TV and radio. In January 2005 her lawyers obtained documents from Encana showing that 2-BE had, fact, been used in at least one adjacent well. "Our daughter was only six months old when fracturing blew up our water well," Amos wrote in a letter to the Oil and Gas Accountability Project, an anti-drilling group. "I bathed her in that water every day. I also continued breast-feeding her for 18 more months... If there was a chemical in my body causing my tumor, she was exposed to it as well." In 2006 Amos stopped talking to the media after she accepted a reported multi-million settlement from Encana. The company was fined $266,000 for "failure to protect water-bearing formations and ... to contain a release of (gas production) waste." Yet investigators also concluded, without further explanation, that hydraulic fracturing was not to blame. Asked about the Amos case and the rash of complaints in the area, an Encana spokesman said the company disagreed with the state's judgment on the Amos case and emphasized that there was no proof that fracturing had caused the explosion. Environmentalists had created a climate of fear in the community, he added. "The concerns residents have expressed - and some of them are legitimate and heartfelt concerns - a lot of them are out of misinformation," said Doug Hock. "Just because chemicals are used at a site does not create risk. We have a proven process that helps us ensure that there are no pathways." Deep Impact In the past 12 months a flurry of documented incidents has made such reports harder to dismiss. "We've kind of reached the tipping point," says Dhieux, the EPA inspector in Denver. "The impacts are there." In December 2007 a house in Bainbridge, Ohio exploded in a fiery ball. Investigators discovered that the neighborhood's tap water contained so much methane that the house ignited. A study released this month concluded that pressure caused by hydraulic fracturing pushed the gas, which is found naturally thousands of feet below, through a system of cracks into the groundwater aquifer. In February a frozen 200-foot waterfall was discovered on the side of a massive cliff near Parachute, Co. According to the state, 1.6 million gallons of fracturing fluids had leaked from a waste pit and been transported by groundwater, where it seeped out of the cliff. In a separate incident nearby in June benzene was discovered in a place called Rock Spring. Three weeks later a rancher was hospitalized after he drank well water out of his own tap. Tests showed benzene in his water, and the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission cited four gas operators, not knowing which one was responsible for the spill. Colorado state records show more than 1,500 spills since 2003, in which time the rate of drilling increased 50 percent. In 2008 alone records show more than 206 spills, 48 relating to water contamination. As more contamination cases are documented, state governments and Washington are being pressured to toughen oversight. One aim is to institutionalize the precautionary measures some companies are already experimenting with. When ProPublica visited an Encana drilling operation in Pinedale, for example, the company was placing its drill rigs on raised platforms to protect the underlying landscape and using rubber pools to catch spilled fluids before they could seep into the soil. Drilling companies in New Mexico have begun storing waste in enclosed steel tanks rather than open pits. Such efforts can add 10 percent to drilling costs, but they also dramatically lessen the environmental risks, an Encana employee said. Government Oversight State regulators and Washington lawmakers though are increasingly impatient with voluntary measures and are seeking to toughen their oversight. In September U.S. Congresswoman Diana DeGette and Congressman John Salazar, from Colorado, and Congressman Maurice Hinchey, from New York, introduced a bill that would undo the exemptions in the 2005 Energy Policy Act. Wyoming, widely known for supporting energy development, has begun updating its regulations at a local level, as have parts of Texas. New Mexico has placed a one year moratorium on drilling around Santa Fe, after a survey found hundreds of cases of water contamination from unlined pits where fracking fluids and other drilling wastes are stored. "Every rule that we have improved . . . industry has taken us to court on," said Joanna Prukop, New Mexico's cabinet secretary for Energy Minerals and Natural Resources. "It's industry that is fighting us on every front as we try to improve our government enforcement, protection, and compliance... We wear Kevlar these days." The most stringent reforms are being pursued in Colorado. Last year it began a top-to-bottom re-write of its regulations, including a proposal to require companies to disclose the exact makeup of their fracking fluids - the toughest such rule in the nation. In mid August the Colorado debate intensified when news broke that Cathy Behr, an emergency room nurse in Durango, CO, had almost died after treating a wildcatter who had been splashed in a fracking fluid spill at a BP natural gas rig. Behr stripped the man and stuffed his clothes into plastic bags while the hospital sounded alarms and locked down the ER. The worker was released. But a few days later Behr lay in critical condition facing multiple organ failure. Her doctors searched for details that could save their patient. The substance was a drill stimulation fluid called ZetaFlow, but the only information the rig workers provided was a vague Material Safety Data Sheet, a form required by OSHA. Doctors wanted to know precisely what chemicals make up ZetaFlow and in what concentration. But the MSDS listed that information as proprietary. Behr's doctor learned, weeks later, after Behr had begun to recuperate, what ZetaFlow was made of, but he was sworn to secrecy by the chemical's manufacturer and couldn't even share the information with his patient. News of Behr's case spread to New York and Pennsylvania, amplifying the cry for disclosure of drilling fluids. The energy industry braced for a fight. "A disclosure to members of the public of detailed information... would result in an unconstitutional taking of [Halliburton's] property," the company told Colorado's Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. "A number of studies have concluded there are no confirmed incidents of contamination of drinking water aquifers due to stimulation operations... EPA reached precisely this conclusion after undertaking an extensive study." Then Halliburton fired a major salvo: If lawmakers forced the company to disclose its recipes, the letter stated, it "will have little choice but to pull its proprietary products out of Colorado." The company's attorneys warned that if the three big fracking companies left, they would take some $29 billion in future gas-related tax and royalty revenue with them over the next decade. In August the industry struck a compromise by agreeing to reveal the chemicals in fracturing fluids to health officials and regulators -- but the agreement applies only to chemicals stored in 50 gallon drums or larger. As a practical matter, drilling workers in Colorado and Wyoming said in interviews that the fluids are often kept in smaller quantities. That means at least some of the ingredients won't be disclosed. "They'll never get it," says Bruce Baizel, a Colorado attorney with the Oil and Gas Accountability Project, about the states' quest for information. "Not unless they are willing to go through a lawsuit. When push comes to shove Halliburton is there with its attorneys." Asked for comment, Halliburton would only say that its business depended on protecting such information. Schlumberger and BJ Services, the two other largest fracturing companies, did not return calls for comment. Lee Fuller, vice-president for government relations at The Independent Petroleum Association of America, said the oil and gas industry's reluctance to release information about drilling chemicals is to be expected. "These operations are ones where companies have spent millions of dollars," he says. "They are not going to want to give up that competitive advantage. So I would fully expect that they will try to protect that right as long as they possibly can." Abraham Lustgarten is an investigative reporter for ProPublica <http://www.propublica.org/> , an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces journalism in the public interest. __._,_.___ Messages in this topic <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wvec-board/message/207;_ylc=X3oDMTMzYmwzZ TIwBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIxNTg0MDQxBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTM2NTM5MgRtc2dJZ AMyMDcEc2VjA2Z0cgRzbGsDdnRwYwRzdGltZQMxMjI3MjM4NTY4BHRwY0lkAzIwNw--> (1) Reply (via web post) <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wvec-board/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJwbzJzNTFrBF9T Azk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIxNTg0MDQxBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTM2NTM5MgRtc2dJZAMyMDcE c2VjA2Z0cgRzbGsDcnBseQRzdGltZQMxMjI3MjM4NTY4?act=reply&messageNum=207> | Start a new topic <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wvec-board/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJmaTdibTVnBF9T Azk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIxNTg0MDQxBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTM2NTM5MgRzZWMDZnRyBHNs awNudHBjBHN0aW1lAzEyMjcyMzg1Njg-> Messages <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wvec-board/messages;_ylc=X3oDMTJmN3JrY2x2 BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIxNTg0MDQxBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTM2NTM5MgRzZWMDZnRy BHNsawNtc2dzBHN0aW1lAzEyMjcyMzg1Njg-> | Files <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wvec-board/files;_ylc=X3oDMTJnZjI4bDFsBF9 TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIxNTg0MDQxBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTM2NTM5MgRzZWMDZnRyBHN sawNmaWxlcwRzdGltZQMxMjI3MjM4NTY4> | Photos <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wvec-board/photos;_ylc=X3oDMTJmcjQ2NzQ4BF 9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIxNTg0MDQxBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTM2NTM5MgRzZWMDZnRyBH NsawNwaG90BHN0aW1lAzEyMjcyMzg1Njg-> | Links <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wvec-board/links;_ylc=X3oDMTJnOWFycDF1BF9 TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIxNTg0MDQxBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTM2NTM5MgRzZWMDZnRyBHN sawNsaW5rcwRzdGltZQMxMjI3MjM4NTY4> | Database <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wvec-board/database;_ylc=X3oDMTJkMThudWht BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIxNTg0MDQxBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTM2NTM5MgRzZWMDZnRy BHNsawNkYgRzdGltZQMxMjI3MjM4NTY4> | Polls <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wvec-board/polls;_ylc=X3oDMTJnam8xdDhrBF9 TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIxNTg0MDQxBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTM2NTM5MgRzZWMDZnRyBHN sawNwb2xscwRzdGltZQMxMjI3MjM4NTY4> | Members <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wvec-board/members;_ylc=X3oDMTJmZXF1YjZmB F9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIxNTg0MDQxBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTM2NTM5MgRzZWMDZnRyB HNsawNtYnJzBHN0aW1lAzEyMjcyMzg1Njg-> | Calendar <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wvec-board/calendar;_ylc=X3oDMTJlOHI2aXZ0 BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIxNTg0MDQxBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTM2NTM5MgRzZWMDZnRy BHNsawNjYWwEc3RpbWUDMTIyNzIzODU2OA--> MARKETPLACE ________________________________ >From kitchen basics to easy recipes - join the Group from Kraft Foods <http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=13r2lotse/M=493064.12016295.13271503.108355 68/D=groups/S=1705365392:MKP1/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1227245768/L=/B=qv9VAkLaX.g-/J =1227238568676264/A=5530388/R=0/SIG=11nuutlas/*http:/explore.yahoo.com/g roups/kraftmealsmadesimple/> Yahoo! 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FW: Annual WV Environmental Council (WVEC) Fall Benefit
by Grubb, Karen 20 Nov '08

20 Nov '08

From: WVEC - Don Alexander [mailto:paradox@spectrumz.com] Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2008 3:03 PM To: Grubb, Karen Subject: Annual WV Environmental Council (WVEC) Fall Benefit West Virginia Environmental Council Memo November 20, 2008 WVEC Alerts Archive <http://www.wvecouncil.org/take_action/index.html> ________________________________ Annual WV Environmental Council (WVEC) Fall Benefit When? Tuesday, November 25th >From 6:30 PM - 10:00 PM Where? The Empty Glass (now smoke-free) 410 Elizabeth Street, Charleston What? Live Music by Kodac Harrison from Atlanta and other local talent! Please come, visit with friends, have fun, and support the goals and mission of the West Virginia Environmental Council! A donation of whatever you can afford is appreciated at the door. An Auction will also take place featuring an array of interesting items. Refreshments will be served. Hope to see you there! ________________________________ Don Alexander <mailto:paradox@spectrumz.com> WVEC E-mail List Coordinator Subscribe or Unsubscribe Online <http://www.wvecouncil.org/take_action/index.html>

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FW: PATH resources updated on my site
by Grubb, Karen 20 Nov '08

20 Nov '08

From: Tina Rappaport [mailto:tinazipp@gmail.com] Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2008 4:09 PM To: Bill Howley (PATH) Cc: Connie McColley; Crystal Yoak; Dave Martin - Mountain Institute; James Kotcon (Sierra Club); Jane Doyle; Justin Honey; Grubb, Karen; Norma; Patsy Buvoltz; Sarah (from Spencer); Steve Gormezano; Tom & Connie; tinazipp(a)gmail.com Subject: PATH resources updated on my site Hi Bill, (and everyone else on my personal powerline list so far) http://urparamount.com/PATH-Powerline/ We now have an email sign up form, so we can all send out messages and notices as we see fit. I'll send out messages for all of us involved, if you send me the copy you want sent - of course after we accumulate names!! I've also redone the PATH Petition to include emails (and county) and then to be sent to me so I can enter the emails into the new database before sending the petitions on to either Steve or whomever. Note all the new links on the bottom and send me additional links as you see fit. I will be reorganizing the links soon. Are there any other ways we can make this page useful to all of us involved? By the way - some of the sales info (from my regular site) will be removed soon - my brilliant "webmaster-son" is creating a new "behind the scenes system" to turn on and off various sections. It will be helpful for everyone getting this email to actually sign up through the link above to make it onto the new, big database list. Thanks all! All suggestions welcome! My best always, Tina Rappaport www.URparamount.com <http://www.urparamount.com/> 304-655-0003 Tina(a)URparamount.com

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FW: Obama Energy & Environment Policy Transition Team
by Grubb, Karen 20 Nov '08

20 Nov '08

I sent in my comments and thought you might like to participate. From: John Podesta, Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team [mailto:autoresponse@esmtp.change.gov] Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 3:48 PM To: Grubb, Karen Subject: Take a look Obama-Biden Transition Team <http://www.change.gov/page/m2/3855d437/685439c3/2b90a01a/5e6bcbae/35318 17867/VEsH/> Dear Karen, 62 days. That's how much time we have left to prepare for the Obama-Biden Administration that will bring the change Americans demanded so strongly in this past election. President-elect Obama has set a high bar for the Transition team: to execute the most efficient, organized, and transparent transfer of power in American history. As a co-Chair for the Transition, I want to tell you about a few steps we've already taken to achieve this goal. First, we adopted the strictest ethics guidelines ever applied to any transition team. President-elect Obama pledged to change the way Washington works, and that begins with shifting influence away from special interests and restoring it to the everyday Americans who are passionate about fixing the problems facing our country. Opening up the Transition means listening to your ideas and stories and providing a window into how the process works. To give you a look at how we're approaching some of the nation's most pressing issues, we filmed this meeting of our Energy and Environment Policy Transition Team and interviewed team member Heather Zichal. Watch the video and submit your ideas on energy and the environment: <http://www.change.gov/page/m2/3855d437/685439c3/2b90a01a/5e6bcbad/35318 17867/VEsE/> Watch the video <http://www.change.gov/page/m2/3855d437/685439c3/2b90a01a/5e6bcbad/35318 17867/VEsF/> President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden have set an ambitious agenda, and we are going to make Change.gov <http://www.change.gov/page/m2/3855d437/685439c3/2b90a01a/5e6bcbac/35318 17867/VEsC/> a source of information, as well as a place to participate in the decisions being made about your government. Since the decisions we're making affect all Americans, we're counting on citizens from every walk of life to get involved. You can help us right now by making sure your friends and neighbors know about Change.gov <http://www.change.gov/page/m2/3855d437/685439c3/2b90a01a/5e6bcbac/35318 17867/VEsD/> and give their input, too. We're continuing to develop new ways to open up the process, and we'll keep you posted along the way. Thanks, John John Podesta Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team Content copyright (c) 2008. All rights reserved. This email was sent to: karen.grubb(a)fairmontstate.edu To unsubscribe, go to: http://www.change.gov/unsubscribe <http://www.change.gov/page/m2/3855d437/685439c3/2b90a01a/5e6bcbab/35318 17867/VEsA/> <http://www.change.gov/page/o2/3855d437/685439c3/2b90a01a/5e6bcbaa/35318 17867/open.gif>

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First Reserve Corporation's BLUE SOURCE
by Duane330＠aol.com 18 Nov '08

18 Nov '08

Goldman Takes Stake in Blue Source SustainableBusiness.com News, October 28, 2008. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) has purchased a minority stake in Blue Source LLC, a U.S. developer of carbon credits from greenhouse gas reduction project, according to a release issued yesterday by the two companies. The size of the equity stake and the purchase price were not disclosed. However, Reuters reported that a source close to the deal said the stake is less than 10%. Through the collaboration, Goldman Sachs will structure and market a broad range of verified emissions reductions (VERs) resulting from greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction projects in Blue Source's portfolio, including those associated with methane management from coal mining, wastewater treatment, landfills and animal waste; energy efficiency; carbon capture and sequestration from fertilizer and natural gas production; and industrial gas destruction. Goldman Sachs aims to bring the reductions to a market increasingly eager to engage in a low carbon economy. In addition, Goldman Sachs gains tools to help its clients manage GHG-related risks in both the voluntary and pre-compliance carbon markets. Furthermore, the recently announced _joint venture _ (http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/16627) between Blue Source and certain affiliated investment funds of Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (NYSE:OZM) provides a competitive source of funding to identify, develop and manage emission-related investments, thereby supporting the growth of Blue Source's offset portfolio. "Combining the market reach and trading capabilities of Goldman Sachs with the project development skills and supply position of Blue Source is not only a winning combination, but an important step in the development of the North American carbon market," said Bill Townsend, CEO of Blue Source. "This unique agreement is the next step for Blue Source as the US carbon market evolves from voluntary to compliance. We have been able to develop a high-quality portf olio of independently verified emission reductions from projects based in North America, and this new alliance creates an exceptional opportunity to reach a broad range of offset buyers through a highly experienced and well-trusted institution." "Goldman Sachs is committed to leveraging the first-mover position of Blue Source and its extensive experience and relationships to provide best-in-class risk management to North American voluntary and compliance buyers," said Leslie Biddle, Global Head of Commodity Sales at Goldman Sachs. "Interest in the pre-compliance carbon market in the US is growing rapidly and we are excited to be able to offer our clients immediate access to a diverse selection of emission reductions to manage their carbon risk." About Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a bank holding company that provides a wide range of services worldwide to a diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high net worth individuals. Founded in 1869, the firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong and other major financial centers around the world. About Blue Source, LLC Blue Source offers businesses multiple approaches for reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with climate change. Blue Source provides access to capital to fund project development, works with companies on developing projects and oversees production of long-term Verified Emission Reductions (VERs). Blue Source is a portfolio company of First Reserve Corporation, a leading private equity investor in the energy industry, who since 2006 has been a major equity partner in the company, and certain affiliated investment funds of Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC. Blue Source has offices in Salt Lake City, Utah; Calgary, Alberta; Houston; Denver, Colo.; Raleigh, N.C.; San Francisco; and New York. Website: _http://www.ghgworks.com/_ (http://www.ghgworks.com/) Source of News: _http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/17025_ (http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/17025) **************Get the Moviefone Toolbar. Showtimes, theaters, movie news & more!(http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1212774565x1200812037/aol?red… p://toolbar.aol.com/moviefone/download.html?ncid=emlcntusdown00000001)

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Fw: Texas Environmentalists Praise By-the-Mile Auto Insurance Option - Innovative Insurance Policy Reduces Premiums, Congestion and Air Pollution
by Jim Sconyers 18 Nov '08

18 Nov '08

Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: Ned Ford <Ned.Ford(a)FUSE.NET> To: CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 12:20:52 PM Subject: Texas Environmentalists Praise By-the-Mile Auto Insurance Option - Innovative Insurance Policy Reduces Premiums, Congestion and Air Pollution Hi Folks, This is something that some of you may be able to pick up and run with. It's a very important subtle way to shift rewards to less driving. Consumer activists should support this, but they may need some hand-holding to understand why it is valuable. Overcomes regressive insurance practices, incentivizes less driving, all the benefits of reduced driving. This has the same effect a carbon tax would. Pay at the Pump insurance would be better, but maybe this is a step in that direction. - Ned ________________________________ From: PTI Sustainability Members List To: SUSTAINABILITY(a)DISCUSSIONS.PTI.ORG Sent: Mon Nov 17 12:55:01 2008 Subject: Texas Environmentalists Praise By-the-Mile Auto Insurance Option - Innovative Insurance Policy Reduces Premiums, Congestion and Air Pollution: Dear Council members: Interesting idea....................... TexasEnvironmentalists Praise By-the-Mile Auto Insurance Option - Innovative Insurance Policy Reduces Premiums, Congestion and Air Pollution: Environmental Defense Fund, November 12, 2008 http://www.edf.org/pressrelease.cfm?contentID=8801 Texans will become the first in the nation to have a “by-the-mile” choice of auto insurance that gives drivers the opportunity to save money while also protecting the environment. MileMeter recently launched a pay-as-you-drive (PAYD) insurance program that will reward low-mileage drivers with lower premiums than traditional, flat-rate insurance. A Brookings Institution report released in July estimates that if PAYD were offered to all drivers, it would save two-out-of-three households an average of $270 per car, result in an 8 percent decline in driving, reduce driving-related damages by $50 billion to $60 billion, and cut carbon dioxide emissions and oil consumption. Thanks, Ronda Ronda Mosley Senior Director for Research and Government Services 937 667 4142 rmosley(a)pti.org www.pti.org - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS list, send any message to: CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp

2 1

EPA decision on coal plants could affect W.Va.
by Jim Sconyers 14 Nov '08

14 Nov '08

Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: "jim_scon(a)yahoo.com" <jim_scon(a)yahoo.com> To: jim_scon(a)yahoo.com Sent: Friday, November 14, 2008 8:56:36 AM Subject: [ Email Story ] EPA decision on coal plants could affect W.Va. jim_scon(a)yahoo.com sent you this article ----- November 13, 2008 EPA decision on coal plants could affect W.Va. By Ken Ward Jr. Staff writer The Bush administration has offered no valid legal reason to not limit greenhouse gas emissions from new coal-fired power plants, a federal environmental appeals board ruled Thursday. Read more ----- EPA one step closer to requiring CO2 controls for new power plants.

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Fwd: Fw: "Ruling: Coal Plants Must Limit C02"
by James Kotcon 13 Nov '08

13 Nov '08

It never rains, but it pours. In addition to the PA-PUC decision earlier today, the EPA Environmental Appeals Board issued this decision today in a case where Sierra Club appealed an air permit for the Deseret coal-fired power plant in Utah, on the grounds that the permit did not include limits on CO2 emissions. While the decision goes against the Club on several counts, it does conclude that EPA MUST include a BACT analysis in air permits for coal-fired power plants. It includes some interesting language that states that, because the Utah Chapter had raised the CO2 issue in its original comments (even before the May 2007 Supreme Court ruling that CO2 was a pollutant subject to regulation by EPA), EPA was obliged to consider CO2 in this permit. We have raised the CO2 issue in our comments on Longview, but I suspect that our settlement agreement precludes us from raising that issue here. However, we also cited the issue in our comments on TrAILCo power line, and we will certainly raise them with any new power plant. Hence, I think this is a pretty big decision with a lot of relevance for us in WV. Limits on CO2 will be inevitable for new power plants, and may be applicable to existing plants not too many years in the future JBK >>> Paula Carrell <Paula.Carrell(a)sierraclub.org> 11/13/2008 7:07 PM >>> ----- Forwarded by Paula Carrell/Sierraclub on 11/13/2008 04:06 PM ----- Christina Yagjian/Sierraclub 11/13/2008 03:49 PM November 13, 2008 Contact: Virginia Cramer, 804-225-9113 x 102 Ruling: Coal Plants Must Limit C02 In a move that signals the start of the our clean energy future, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) ruled today EPA had no valid reason for refusing to limit from new coal-fired power plants the carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming. The decision means that all new and proposed coal plants nationwide must go back and address their carbon dioxide emissions. “Today’s decision opens the way for meaningful action to fight global warming and is a major step in bringing about a clean energy economy,” said Joanne Spalding, Sierra Club Senior Attorney who argued the case. “This is one more sign that we must begin repowering, refueling and rebuilding America.” “The EAB rejected every Bush Administration excuse for failing to regulate the largest source of greenhouse gases in the United States. This decision gives the Obama Administration a clean slate to begin building our clean energy economy for the 21st century,” continued Spalding The decision follows a 2007 Supreme Court ruling recognizing carbon dioxide, the principle source of global warming, is a pollutant under the federal Clean Air Act. “Coal plants emit 30% of our nation’s global warming pollution. Building new coal plants without controlling their carbon emissions could wipe out all of the other efforts being undertaken by cities, states and communities across the country," said Bruce Nilles, Director of the Sierra Club’s National Coal Campaign. “Everyone has a role to play and it’s time that the coal industry did its part and started living up to its clean coal rhetoric.” The Sierra Club went before the Environmental Appeals Board in May of 2008 to request that the air permit for Deseret Power Electric Cooperative’s proposed waste coal-fired power plant be overturned because it failed to require any controls on carbon dioxide pollution. Deseret Power’s 110 MW Bonanza plant would have emitted 3.37 million tons of carbon dioxide each year. “Instead of pouring good money after bad trying to fix old coal technology, investors should be looking to wind, solar and energy efficiency technologies that are going to power the economy, create jobs, and help the climate recover,” said Nilles. To get background information and see how the case unfolded visit www.sierraclub.org/coal/plantlist.asp A copy of the decision can be found here: http://yosemite.epa.gov/oa/EAB_Web_Docket.nsf/PSD%20Permit%20Appeals%20(CAA… (Embedded image moved to file: pic31322.gif) Christina Marie Yagjian National Conservation Organizer Sierra Club, Global Warming and Energy 202.675.7911

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Fwd: [Pa-transmission] PA PUC approves portion of TrAILCo project
by James Kotcon 13 Nov '08

13 Nov '08

>>> <Elena.Saxonhouse(a)sierraclub.org> 11/13/2008 1:25 PM >>> In case you haven't seen this--- bad news on the TrAILCo line. The 1.2-mile portion was the important part. Elena K. Saxonhouse Sierra Club Environmental Law Program 85 2nd St., 2nd Floor San Francisco, CA 94105 (415) 977-5765 (415) 977-5793 (fax) ----- Forwarded by Elena Saxonhouse/Sierraclub on 11/13/2008 10:21 AM ----- "Ginny Kreitler" <g.kreitler(a)comcast.net> Sent by: pa-transmission-bounces(a)lists.conserveland.org 11/13/2008 08:28 AM Please respond to PA Transmission Listserv <pa-transmission(a)lists.conserveland.org> To "listserve" <pa-transmission(a)lists.conserveland.org> cc Subject [Pa-transmission] PA PUC approves portion of TrAILCo project The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) today approved an agreement that allows a 1.2-mile portion of the 37.2-mile transmission line proposed by the Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line Co. (TrAILCo) and stays the remainder of the proceeding for further consideration. More details below. PUC OKs Portion of TrAILCo Transmission Line, Establishes Collaborative Process for Other Issues November 13, 2008 HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) today approved an agreement that allows a 1.2-mile portion of the 37.2-mile transmission line proposed by the Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line Co. (TrAILCo) and stays the remainder of the proceeding for further consideration. The Commission voted 4-1 to adopt a motion by PUC Chairman James H. Cawley that approves the 1.2-mile Pennsylvania segment of the 502 Substation to Loudoun line. Vice Chairman Tyrone J. Christy dissented. In a separate motion by Chairman Cawley, the Commission voted 3-2 to stay the remainder of the proposal and directed the active parties in the case to establish a collaborative process to discuss and develop possible alternatives regarding the remainder of the line. Vice Chairman Christy and Commissioner Wayne E. Gardner dissented. Audio of the PUC meeting is available here. “In approving the 502 Junction Facilities, it is important to note the seriousness this Commission attaches to regional reliability,” Chairman Cawley said in a statement. “We approved this project despite Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) policies that currently discourage regional cooperation. FERC policies make all PJM customers pay equally for major backbone transmission projects, independent of who actually benefits. More sound policies would rationally allocate most costs to beneficiaries, while allocating a smaller portion to all customers given the long term uncertainty and overall grid-wide reliability benefits of a well interconnected grid.” “As a PUC Commissioner, balancing the interests of the public with that of our utilities is my primary responsibility,” said Vice Chairman Tyrone J. Christy in his dissenting statement. “It is clear that customers in western Pennsylvania will receive little in return for the siting of these lines in their back yards except upward pressure on the price they will pay for generation and transmission. Only the stockholders, generation owners and perhaps customers in eastern PJM will benefit. I can not support a project that imposes all of the costs and none of the benefits on one segment of the public. I would like to make it clear that my comments should not suggest that I am opposed to the construction of new, large, high-voltage electric transmission projects in the Commonwealth. Transmission line siting cases present two fundamental issues to this Commission - whether the need for the line exists; and, whether the proposed route is the best of all alternatives considered. It is painfully apparent from the record that TrAILCo did not come close to meeting its burden of proof in this case on either count.” “There is a great need to improve the infrastructure of this Commonwealth and our country,” said Commissioner Robert F. Powelson in a statement. “This need extends well past improving our roads and bridges, but also to the facilities that transmit our necessary public utility services to us whether they be gas or water mains, telephone cables or electric transmission facilities. As a nation, the United States spends less than 2 percent of the country’s gross domestic product on infrastructure, compared to China, which spends 9 percent and India, which spends 6 percent. As policymakers, we play an important role in reversing this historic failure to invest, and that role starts with approving projects such as these.” Commissioner Kim Pizzingrilli made a statement from the bench. Commissioner Gardner also issued a statement. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission balances the needs of consumers and utilities to ensure safe and reliable utility service at reasonable rates; protect the public interest; educate consumers to make independent and informed utility choices; further economic development; and foster new technologies and competitive markets in an environmentally sound manner. For recent news releases, audio of select Commission proceedings or more information about the PUC, visit our Web site at www.puc.state.pa.us. _______________________________________________ Pa-transmission mailing list Pa-transmission(a)lists.conserveland.org http://lists.conserveland.org/mailman/listinfo/pa-transmission To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.conserveland.org/mailman/listinfo/pa-transmission or email info(a)conserveland.org with the subject line UNSUBSCRIBE - TRANSMISSION LISTSERV.

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Fw: [ Email Story ] Obama expected to tighten coal regulations
by Jim Sconyers 09 Nov '08

09 Nov '08

jim_scon(a)yahoo.com sent you this article ----- November 9, 2008 Obama expected to tighten coal regulations By Ken Ward Jr. Staff writer CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Coal industry watchdogs are looking for Obama to reverse Bush administration rule changes, beef up enforcement, and put the nation's first ever limits on carbon dioxide from power plants. Read more ----- forward it

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Fw: The Obama Agenda
by Jim Sconyers 09 Nov '08

09 Nov '08

The timing couldn't be more propitious for the "Green New Deal" espoused by Van Jones. The perfect marriage of Keynesian economics ( the answer in depression), renewed infrastructure, good job creation, and energy solutions. No time to be timid. Krugman on "the Obama agenda" below. Question: How do we make it work in WV? Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: Frank Slider <fslider(a)verizon.net> To: Undisclosed Recipients <fslider(a)verizon.net> Sent: Sunday, November 9, 2008 11:25:10 AM Subject: re: The Obama Agenda The Obama Agenda By PAUL KRUGMAN Published: November 7, 2008 Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008, is a date that will live in fame (the opposite of infamy) forever. If the election of our first African-American president didn’t stir you, if it didn’t leave you teary-eyed and proud of your country, there’s something wrong with you. Skip to next paragraph Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times Paul Krugman But will the election also mark a turning point in the actual substance of policy? Can Barack Obama really usher in a new era of progressive policies? Yes, he can. Right now, many commentators are urging Mr. Obama to think small. Some make the case on political grounds: America, they say, is still a conservative country, and voters will punish Democrats if they move to the left. Others say that the financial and economic crisis leaves no room for action on, say, health care reform. Let’s hope that Mr. Obama has the good sense to ignore this advice. About the political argument: Anyone who doubts that we’ve had a major political realignment should look at what’s happened to Congress. After the 2004 election, there were many declarations that we’d entered a long-term, perhaps permanent era of Republican dominance. Since then, Democrats have won back-to-back victories, picking up at least 12 Senate seats and more than 50 House seats. They now have bigger majorities in both houses than the G.O.P. ever achieved in its 12-year reign. Bear in mind, also, that this year’s presidential election was a clear referendum on political philosophies — and the progressive philosophy won. Maybe the best way to highlight the importance of that fact is to contrast this year’s campaign with what happened four years ago. In 2004, President Bush concealed his real agenda. He basically ran as the nation’s defender against gay married terrorists, leaving even his supporters nonplussed when he announced, soon after the election was over, that his first priority was Social Security privatization. That wasn’t what people thought they had been voting for, and the privatization campaign quickly devolved from juggernaut to farce. This year, however, Mr. Obama ran on a platform of guaranteed health care and tax breaks for the middle class, paid for with higher taxes on the affluent. John McCain denounced his opponent as a socialist and a “redistributor,” but America voted for him anyway. That’s a real mandate. What about the argument that the economic crisis will make a progressive agenda unaffordable? Well, there’s no question that fighting the crisis will cost a lot of money. Rescuing the financial system will probably require large outlays beyond the funds already disbursed. And on top of that, we badly need a program of increased government spending to support output and employment. Could next year’s federal budget deficit reach $1 trillion? Yes. But standard textbook economics says that it’s O.K., in fact appropriate, to run temporary deficits in the face of a depressed economy. Meanwhile, one or two years of red ink, while it would add modestly to future federal interest expenses, shouldn’t stand in the way of a health care plan that, even if quickly enacted into law, probably wouldn’t take effect until 2011. Beyond that, the response to the economic crisis is, in itself, a chance to advance the progressive agenda. Now, the Obama administration shouldn’t emulate the Bush administration’s habit of turning anything and everything into an argument for its preferred policies. (Recession? The economy needs help — let’s cut taxes on rich people! Recovery? Tax cuts for rich people work — let’s do some more!) But it would be fair for the new administration to point out how conservative ideology, the belief that greed is always good, helped create this crisis. What F.D.R. said in his second inaugural address — “We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics” — has never rung truer. And right now happens to be one of those times when the converse is also true, and good morals are good economics. Helping the neediest in a time of crisis, through expanded health and unemployment benefits, is the morally right thing to do; it’s also a far more effective form of economic stimulus than cutting the capital gains tax. Providing aid to beleaguered state and local governments, so that they can sustain essential public services, is important for those who depend on those services; it’s also a way to avoid job losses and limit the depth of the economy’s slump. So a serious progressive agenda — call it a new New Deal — isn’t just economically possible, it’s exactly what the economy needs. The bottom line, then, is that Barack Obama shouldn’t listen to the people trying to scare him into being a do-nothing president. He has the political mandate; he has good economics on his side. You might say that the only thing he has to fear is fear itself. More Articles in Opinion » A version of this article appeared in print on November 7, 2008, on page A35 of the New York edition. Past Coverage * ECONOMIC SCENE; Top Priority Is Stabilizing the Patient (November 6, 2008) * A Towering Economic To-Do List for Obama (November 6, 2008) * NEWS ANALYSIS; For Obama, Long-Term Ills and Short-Term Pain (November 6, 2008) * Obama Aides Tamp Down Expectations (November 6, 2008)

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Fw: Al Gore Group Urges Obama To Create US Power Grid | CommonDreams.org
by Jim Sconyers 09 Nov '08

09 Nov '08

Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: Fred Heutte <phred(a)SUNLIGHTDATA.COM> To: CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Sent: Sunday, November 9, 2008 2:45:51 AM Subject: Re: Al Gore Group Urges Obama To Create US Power Grid | CommonDreams.org I have said this before so let me go through the basic points once more. The yearning for a "national grid" is the triumph of slogans over substance from well-meaning people. But in addition, there is a fleet of would-be financiers, construction, utility and power marketing deep thinkers who would love to make crazy money off the difference between physical rights and financial rights for long distance transmission under the guise of a national grid. Let me explain. Electric power transmission is effectively limited by the loss of power from resistive heating. Even at very high voltages -- 500 kilovolts (kv) and up, this means that with rare exceptions feasible transmission paths are about 800 miles or less. The longest transmission lines in the world, such as the two AC and one DC lines forming the Pacific Intertie from the Columbia River to southern California, exist because of special conditions. For example, the Intertie exists to accommodate "seasonal diversity exchange," where surplus spring and summer hydro from the Northwest is sent to California, and the energy is generally returned from surplus gas peaking capacity in the LA basin and other resources from this time in the winter through early spring. Planning for the Intertie was effectively in place in the late 1960s, -40- years ago. The longest Intertie path is just short of 1000 miles. The longest transmission line in the world, Inga-Shaba in Congo, is just slightly longer at 1,050 miles. It was constructed with Eximbank finance guarantees to promote copper and cobalt production in Katanga (and thus undermine the 1970s insurgency there), as a benefit to then-Zaire president Mobutu, who may have personally skimmed tens of millions of dollars from this project alone. The story is more complicated, but suffice it to say it was never economical and with the ongoing civil war in Congo, the line is basically permanently defunct. Very-high-voltage lines longer than about 600 to 800 miles are not feasible because they lose too much power (for AC lines) or synchronization costs too much (DC). For the AC Intertie lines, for example, power losses between the Columbia River and southern California range from 10% to 15%. When the Intertie is fully loaded (which is not very common), therefore, about 1,000 of its 8,000 megawatt capacity is lost due to resistive heating and other conditions. That's the equivalent of dropping two full-size coal, gas or hydro facilities over that distance. The only reason to do the Intertie was the special conditions prevailing with hydro variability between the winter and the summer in the Northwest. It was and is an appropriate exception to the rule for transmission distance (although it opened the Northwest to being clobbered through no fault of its own by California's catastrophic deregulation policy and the 2000-2001 power crisis that followed). It is absurd to think of generating solar power in Arizona or wind power in Montana and shipping it to Boston or Atlanta, which is the implicit promise of all the so-called national grid schemes. If this were tried, at least half the power would be lost over the transmission path. It isn't going to happen. Period. Proponents then quickly change the subject and start talking about advanced transmission technology to overcome resistive heating and other technical issues. They usually refer to superconductivity (and other variants). Certainly this is a way to decrease resistive losses, but the problem is that superconductive transmission line development has been in the labs for 40 years and will be there another couple decades barring a miraculous leap. There are other issues with a "national grid" as well, such as voltage regulation and phase synchronization, but I'll skip the details since I'm not a power engineer to begin with and there are plenty of resources on this around the Internet. Thus, it is no surprise that no new Intertie-length transmission lines have been built in the US since the 1970s, nor will there be in any foreseeable future, much less the backbone for a "national grid." We can't do it and we don't need it, since plenty of renewables exist in -all- regions to serve those regions over much shorter distances. Instead, I want to talk about the real motivation for the "national grid" concept, which is a combination of greed and power. Specifically, the greed comes from Wall Street and business interests who want to create a national system of financial rights for transmission and link the regional grids together -as if- they are a unified physical entity. This ignores the reality of voltage loss and lack of physical transmission paths and costs, of course, and would create yet another electric power casino for hot money to go and yield big quick profits and create grand market distortions, as happened on a smaller geographic scale in California and the west in 2000-2001 and on a lower but chronic level in the existing regional transmission organizations today (NEISO, NYISO, PJM, MISO and CAISO), where physical rights and financial rights at least have some bearing on each other. The current transmission policy at the federal level as promulgated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission claims to produce four results: (1) lower costs; (2) higher reliability; (3) investment in new transmission where needed; and (4) greater accountability and transparency. In reality, the RTOs do none of those. Instead, they permit utilities and marketers to make more money by selling power over longer distances while increasing congestion, raising prices and decreasing reliability, while hiding behind "stakeholder" process games. The answer to these problems is to make the RTOs more complicated. For example, the California ISO MRTU (Market Redesign and Technology Upgrade) will basically add a bunch more features to the California power pool and lots of fancy and complicated software, while putting handcuffs on renewable energy development. Naturally, it will cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and the project is already far over budget and years late. Yet the "primitive" west coast bilateral power market just hums along as it has for 20 years, filling power and transmission needs and keeping prices at a reasonable level. (The bilateral market wasn't intended for planning, however, so that is a big gap that should be filled.) We need real reform of federal electric transmission law. We need national standards for reliability and transmission sales that do not handcuff electric customers to a one-size-fits-all rigged market to benefit generators, transmission operators and speculators. We need to shorten the distance of physical and financial transmission deals, and we need to direct new transmission funding to where the renewable resources are, and keep the new lines away from high- impact lands and habitats. The answer is -not- to move toward a "national grid" which will go the next step toward beyond the ill-begotten "energy corridors" of the 2005 Energy Act in completely suppressing even poorly run state siting authority. The answer is also not to give in to Southern Co. and others who want to use the existing fragmentary and weak state siting process to lock in permanent dependence on coal. What we need is federal transmission policy reform that: (1) creates strong regional planning bodies that unlike RTOs do -not- operate transmission markets; and (2) provide national standards for reliability and environmental protection and renewable development while allowing regional flexibility. Neither a national nor a local focus is appropriate for transmission planning: the regional level, which is the natural and economically defined limit of transmission systems, is the right level. The "national grid" as presently envisioned will strip states of siting authority, proceed with new transmission corridors that override even federal law in some circumstances (already happened in the Energy Act of 2005), assign quasi-governmental authority, including the authority to override state jurisdiction, to private entities, the RTOs (already happened in 2005), rely on "the market" to make decisions about investment in new transmission with no reference to studies of need and environmental value and impacts (a system that has already failed at the regional level), and make short-term power and transmission market pools supreme over other market forms (including well-functioning bilateral markets) as well as avoid the hard work needed for transmission capacity assessment, planning and siting. In the words of my geek friends, the "national grid" poses a potential "epic fail." Unless we define "national grid" very differently than I have seen out there from any number of sources. fh - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS list, send any message to: CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp

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Regina Hendrix has sent you a message from truthout
by regina1936＠verizon.net 06 Nov '08

06 Nov '08

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The RAND Corporation reports.............
by duane330＠aol.com 06 Nov '08

06 Nov '08

RAND study warns of liquid coal problems By Ken?Ward Jr., Staff writer, Charleston Gazette, November 5, 2008 CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Alternative sources of fossil fuels such as coal-to-liquids technologies have "significant economic promise," but also major environmental challenges, according to a recent study by the RAND Corp. Turning coal into liquid fuel could significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions, and the costs of reducing those emissions might make the process too costly, according to the study by RAND's Environment, Energy and Economic Development Program. "Because the potential environmental impacts are considerable, decision makers need to assess the economic and other benefits of alternative fuels relative to these environmental concerns," said Mike Toman, lead author of the report. The report, issued last month, analyzes coal-to-liquids fuels along with Canadian oil sands technologies, considers possible impacts of fuel costs from carbon dioxide limits and compares the costs of these alternative fuels to projected conventional petroleum prices in 2025. In West Virginia, Gov. Joe Manchin is pushing for coal-to-liquids plants. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., has been running campaign ads to say that the state's coal miners "will free us from foreign oil." But many energy experts are worried that liquid coal creates perhaps twice as much carbon dioxide as traditional gasoline. Liquid coal would produce greenhouse gases when the fuel is made, and then again when it is burned. Producing liquid fuel from oil sands poses similar problems, and - like coal mining - can harm local water quality and cause large-scale disturbances of land. The RAND study found that liquid coal and oil sands "do not, in themselves, offer a path to greatly reduced [carbon dioxide] emissions, though there are additional possibilities for limiting emissions." RAND found that even when carbon dioxide emissions from fuel production are captured and stored, "life-cycle emissions of [carbon dioxide] for these alternative fuels are comparable to those of conventional fuels." "Large-scale production of these unconventional fuels does not reduce emissions of CO2," the RAND study said. RAND said the future cost of liquid coals could "be reasonably competitive" with conventional petroleum, provided that: Oil prices do not fall back to pre-2006 levels; there are further improvements in coal-to-liquids technology as production volumes grow; and carbon dioxide limits do not impose "too large a cost burden on liquid fuels from coal relative to conventional fuels." "Since major investments in coal-to-liquids become more likely if environmentally sound carbon capture and storage can be commercialized at relatively low cost, the future expansion of this fuel source will be strongly influenced by future private sector and government initiatives to support such commercialization," Toman said. "However, even with carbon capture and storage deployed, neither alternative fuel offers a path toward large long-term reductions in total carbon dioxide emissions to limit climate change," Toman added. "There will still be a need to develop lower-carbon fuel options, such as fuel synthesized from a mixture of coal and sustainably grown biomass." RAND is a nonprofit research organization "providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world." Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kw...(a)wvgazette.com or 348-1702. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews+articleid_2772241.html

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Longview's Acid Rain Permit
by duane330＠aol.com 06 Nov '08

06 Nov '08

=========================================================== Thursday, November 6, 2008 @ 3:31 PM =========================================================== NOTICE OF COMMENT PERIOD FOR DRAFT/PROPOSED ACID RAIN PERMIT Under Phase II of the Acid Rain Program (40 CFR 72 and 45CSR33), the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Air Quality (DAQ) proposes to approve a Phase II Acid Rain Permit, R33-56671-2013-1, for Unit 001 at Longview Power LLC’s Longview Power facility located near Morgantown, West Virginia. Longview Power is not eligible to receive sulfur dioxide (SO2) allowance allocations from the U.S. EPA under 40 CFR part 73, but may acquire allowances from other sources. This unit is still obligated to hold SO2 allowances as required under and in accordance with 40 CFR §72.9(c)(1). One allowance authorizes the unit to emit one ton of sulfur dioxide. The permit does not affect Longview Power’s responsibility to meet all other existing local, state and federal requirements related to SO2 and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. The Designated Representative for Longview Power is Mr. Charles Huguenard of Longview Power LLC, 306 Dents Run Road, Morgantown, WV 26501. All written comments submitted by the public and affected state(s) pursuant to this notice must be received by the DAQ within thirty (30) days of the date of publication of this notice. Under the Direct proposed procedures of 40 CFR §72.72(b)(1)(v), if no significant, adverse comments are timely submitted, the proposed permit will be deemed issued on the publication date of this notice or from the date the USEPA receives this draft/proposed permit, whichever is later. Written comments submitted by the USEPA must be received by the DAQ within forty-five (45) days from such date. If significant, adverse comments are timely submitted, the proposed permit will be issued in accordance with 40 CFR §72.72(b)(1)(iv). In the event that the 30th//45th day is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the comment period will be extended until 5:00 p.m. on the following regularly scheduled business day. Copies of the Draft/Proposed Permit may be downloaded from the DAQ's web site at the following address: http://www.wvdep.org/daq The Draft/Proposed Permit and the Administrative Record, except information protected as confidential, are available for public review at the following location(s) between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.: WV Department of Environmental Protection Division of Air Quality 601 57th Street, SE Charleston, WV 25304 Contact: Frederick Tipane (304) 926-0499 ext. 1215 OR WV Department of Environmental Protection Division of Air Quality North Central Regional Office 2031 Pleasant Valley Road, Suite #1 Fairmont, WV 26554-9295 (304) 368-3910 Send comments, and/or requests for a public hearing to John A. Benedict, Director, Division of Air Quality, at the above Charleston address. Submit all comments in duplicate and identify the permit to which the comments apply. The submission shall include the commenter’s name and address, the commenter’s interest in this matter and the affiliation, if any, the commenter has to the owner or operator of the unit(s) covered by the permit. All relevant, timely comments will be considered except for those pertaining to any standard requirement under 40 CFR §72.9 and issues not related to the permit, such as the environmental effects of acid rain or permit issuance procedures or actions on other permit applications not relevant to the issuance or denial of the permit. Any person who requests a public hearing must state the issues proposed to be raised in the hearing. If the DAQ finds that a hearing will contribute to the decision making process by clarifying significant issues affecting the draft/proposed permit, a hearing will be announced.

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Fw: Bottle bill as climate response
by Jim Sconyers 06 Nov '08

06 Nov '08

Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: Ned Ford <Ned.Ford(a)FUSE.NET> To: CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Sent: Thursday, November 6, 2008 12:40:37 AM Subject: Bottle bill as climate response I don't normally bother with petitions, but we really need a national bottle bill as part of a climate response. The petition is just a token effort, but it might be something that some of you can pass along. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/support-a-national-bottle-bill If you want to know a whole lot more about bottle bills, go to http://www.container-recycling.org/ A national bottle bill would be a free way to create 100,000 new jobs, recycle about 1.5 billion containers every year, and save a percent or so of our national energy each year. 14 states have bottle bills and nothing industry has ever said to oppose this legislation is true. - Ned - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS list, send any message to: CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp

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Fw: Sign-on letter to stop abuse of Yucca Mt licensing process
by Jim Sconyers 04 Nov '08

04 Nov '08

Do we want to sign on to this? BTW/FYI - WVSC was a leader in the early 90s, getting, in effect, a ban on nuke power in WV through the WV legislature. Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: Jane Feldman <janefeldman(a)EARTHLINK.NET> To: CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Sent: Monday, November 3, 2008 4:36:08 PM Subject: FW: Sign-on letter to stop abuse of Yucca Mt licensing process For more than a decade DOE has been conducting studies and preparing to seek a license to construct a repository at Yucca Moun For your information and the action of your home organizations. Jane Las Vegas ________________________________ From:Michael Mariotte [mailto:nirsnet@nirs.org] Sent: Monday, November 03, 2008 1:11 PM To: janefeldman(a)earthlink.net Subject: Sign-on letter to stop abuse of Yucca Mt licensing process Sign-on letter to stop abuse of Yucca Mountain licensing process November 3, 2008 Dear Friends, Below is a letter we intend to send in mid-November to the NRC Commissioners and relevant members of Congress. It describes some of the many problems associated with the Department of Energy’s application to the NRC for licensing of the proposed Yucca Mountain , Nevada , radioactive waste dump, and particularly the difficulties this process has placed on potential intervenors and everyone interested in this issue. The license application itself is massive, and incomplete. New information submitted by the DOE since their initial application already has changed that application. Yet the NRC is plowing along with the process, and sticking with its deadlines, as if it weren’t already a complete mockery of public participation and fairness. We hope you’ll sign onto this letter by November 15, 2008. To sign on your organization, send your name, organization name, city and state to nirsnet(a)nirs.org. Individual sign-ons are also welcome to the same address. Thanks for all you do! Michael Mariotte Executive Director Nuclear Information and Resource Service Chairman Dale E. Klein Commissioner Gregory B. Jaczko Commissioner Peter B. Lyons Commissioner Kristine L. Svinicki Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001 Dear Commissioners: For more than a decade DOE has been conducting studies and preparing to seek a license to construct a repository at Yucca Mountain . During the time of Site Characterization technical exchanges were held between NRC and DOE to determine the most important questions to be addressed and answered regarding the suitability and safety of a proposed repository. All of this was being done, we were told, in order to make a sound suitability determination and to insure that an eventual license application would be thorough and complete. During the last several years the DOE has been postponing or abdicating their responsibility to uphold agreements made with the NRC and others regarding providing information and technical or scientific study results. As dates were moved ahead for deadlines to make information available, NRC and the public were finally assured that everything would be provided at the time of License Application (LA) and that the application itself would be of high quality and complete. Knowing that various studies had not been finished at the time that the application was submitted in June 2008, many of us raised complaints about the completeness of the application and about DOE’s certification of its document collection posted on the Licensing Support Network (LSN). We were told by NRC officials both before and after receipt of the application that they would carefully review it and it would not be accepted or docketed if it was incomplete. NRC held a public meeting in Nevada to go through and explain their process in making these decisions and to tell us about timelines that would begin if the LA was docketed. After offering comment explaining our belief that DOE was not submitting a complete or high quality License Application, we could only wait for NRC to do its initial review and make its own decision. That decision was made and the LA was accepted, docketed and a Federal Register notice was posted in October 2008 beginning the clock for parties to participate in the licensing process by submitting contentions before a December 2008 deadline. Since submission of the LA, a series of new reports have come from DOE and also supplementation of their LSN collection. Most recently a revision of the repository design basis was released which will cause changes or supplements to the LA that was submitted in June and declared “complete.” Any party who intends to participate in licensing is now in the position of having to reassess contentions that have been written by carefully reading this large document and attempting to compare it to the more than 8,000 page LA to see what changed and how significant it is. All other parties involved in or concerned about Yucca Mountain are at a serious disadvantage to the agencies of the federal government, most especially the non- governmental public interest organizations. With very limited budgets and less capable computer equipment, we are trying to represent our members and the general public by participating in this project that will affect people throughout the country. The NRC licensing process financially excludes many groups and the DOE is difficult for even the most experienced people to deal with. We are attempting to stay up to date and on schedule to provide comment for several documents that are now out for public review and at the same time examining how, if at all possible, we can participate in upcoming Yucca Mountain licensing hearings. Trying to do all that, as DOE continually adds to or changes information to make up for omissions in its incomplete LA, is more than we should be expected to do. The NRC’s mission is to insure public safety and to regulate licensees, one of whom would be the DOE if a Yucca Mountain license is granted. In the current process, the NRC is far more accommodating to the DOE than it is to the public. If the DOE is allowed to toss in new information and updated documentation at will throughout the process, other parties and the public are put at an even more severe disadvantage. The actions of the DOE also place a heavier burden on the NRC but, as the regulator, it can make demands on the applicant regarding schedules and performance. If NRC condones these actions by this applicant, it appears to all of us that the process is unfair and has the appearance and the actual effect of intentionally putting the public at an overwhelming disadvantage. We ask that you take immediate steps to require the DOE to finalize all documents, designs, and issues that must be included in a complete and high quality LA. All matters that may be the subject of contentions must be available in final form so that the other parties have adequate time and a reasonable opportunity to examine the final application and supporting documents and write contentions within the allowed time. Sixty days are allowed for the submission of contentions after a Notice of Hearing is published. We ask that you reset that clock now, based on DOE’s practice of updating supporting LA documents, and at any future time that DOE significantly changes, updates, or supplements the LA. Telling us that we can play along by writing late contentions as we are able to learn more is not acceptable. Filing late contentions makes us players in a piecemeal process and increases our disadvantage. We ask that NRC put a stop to the DOE’s abuse of the process and instill public fairness for the benefit of all. Sincerely, Michael Mariotte Executive Director Nuclear Information and Resource Service Takoma Park, MD - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS list, send any message to: CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp

3 2

FW: TrAIL - PATH resolution- final version
by Grubb, Karen 03 Nov '08

03 Nov '08

Here is a WVHC resolution against PATH and TrAIL. It should be in the next Highlands Voice.

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Fwd: AP: Future Gen Update
by James Kotcon 31 Oct '08

31 Oct '08

Bad ideas, like Sauron, never truly die. JBK >>> Kathy Andria <kathyandria(a)GMAIL.COM> 10/31/2008 1:48 PM >>> Posted on Fri, Oct. 31, 2008 Coal plant backers see new hope in a new president By DAVID MERCER Associated Press Writer When the U.S. Department of Energy scrapped plans to build an experimental coal-fired power plant in a corn field outside Mattoon, citing ballooning costs, the project appeared dead. But an alliance of power and coal companies that had worked with the government on the project, dubbed FutureGen, stuck together. Their allies in Washington pulled strings to keep the project breathing - though just barely - long enough to let President Bush's successor consider it. Now the FutureGen Alliance, which chose Mattoon over a site in Texas, believes there is a good chance to revive plans to build the plant, which would test whether greenhouse gases could be stored underground instead of sent out smokestacks. "We're awaiting the change of administration, I'll put it that way," said Mike Mudd, chief executive of the FutureGen Alliance. Members talk regularly to policy experts on the campaign staffs for Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain, pushing the idea that FutureGen should be a national priority, Mudd said. "The message that we have been delivering and will just ratchet up is that FutureGen at Mattoon is not just a public works project in Illinois," he said. Sen. Dick Durbin, one of the project's most vocal backers, said he believes Mattoon has a chance with either candidate, "perhaps a little better chance with Sen. Obama." Neither campaign responded to a request for comment from The Associated Press, but Obama and McCain repeatedly talked during their last televised debate about the merits of clean-coal technology to control carbon-dioxide emissions. Obama has expressed support for building FutureGen in his home state, while McCain and running-mate Sarah Palin have pledged to spend billions to develop technology to capture and stores the carbon from coal. That's what FutureGen, launched in 2003 by President Bush, was designed to do. But the plan - which called for building the plant at one site - was falling out of favor with the Energy Department even before Mudd announced in December that Mattoon, a town of 17,000 about 50 miles south of Champaign, had been selected. Then the DOE, which was going to cover 74 percent of the costs, scrapped the project in January, complaining that its projected price tag had increased from $950 million to $1.8 billion. But the project's backers rejected the cost argument, blaming Bush's Texas roots and the snub of two sites in that state. The agency later announced plans to spend $1.3 billion on carbon-capture technology at several still-to-be-selected sites around the country. DOE spokesman John Grasser said the agency is reviewing "several" bids from interested builders and plans to announce the next step for that project in December. Still, Mudd and Mattoon officials believe they could keep the original plan alive. Angela Griffin, the president of the local economic development group Coles Together, says FutureGen and its prospects come up at every business meeting. "Regardless of the nature of the meeting, it always comes up - 'Where are we? What are we doing? What can we expect with the next administration?'" she said. "We've had tremendous optimism in the county and in the region, frankly, for a new administration doing the right thing." One of the reasons they're optimistic is the support they've gotten from Durbin, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat. Durbin, who complained bitterly that the decision to shelve the plan to build FutureGen at Mattoon was driven by Bush and other Texans in his administration, convinced the Senate Appropriations Committee to set aside more than $134 million in federal money for FutureGen into 2009. Durbin also threatened to block any nominations the president makes to the Energy Department through the end of Bush's term because of the administration's withdrawal from the project. "I think Sen. Durbin last summer made a very strong case in Illinois and Washington that this project was needed and that he was going to continue to watch what was happening and help," said John Mead, director of the Coal Research Center at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. "Coming from somebody in leadership, that means a lot. I think that's very important." The Illinois congressional delegation and the companies behind the project also gathered congressional and coal-industry allies in key coal states such as Wyoming and Kentucky. Project supporters and outside observers, like Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Howard Herzog, also note that the Mattoon site was already well into the planning stages when the DOE walked away. "The biggest reason I think that FutureGen mattered was it was the most advanced along the way, and I think there is some time urgency," said Herzog, who last year co-authored a study on the future of coal power. "We start hearing from the scientific community that we need to put the technologies in place sooner rather than later." On Oct. 20 the International Energy Agency said the world's most industrialized countries, including the United States, aren't doing nearly enough work on carbon-capture projects to make the technology viable. The agency, which makes energy policy recommendations for its 28 member countries, said the world needs 20 demonstration projects over the next decade. Even if a new president does revive FutureGen, it'll be years before it's up and running. That's why Durbin hopes FutureGen will be in the next president's first budget, something Congress typically gets its initial look at in February. And if all goes well, Mudd would like to start building in 2010 and have the plant running by 2013. Although environmentalists have mixed feelings on clean-coal technology, many say it's clear that coal is not going to disappear as a source of electricity. "Regardless of which candidate receives the majority of votes on November 4th, on November 5th the majority of the United States' electricity is still going to be coming from coal," said John Thompson, a Carbondale, Ill., resident and a member of the Massachusetts-based Clean Air Task Force. "If we don't change the way coal is used, it's gonna' kill us." Associated Press Writer Jim Suhr contributed to this article from St. Louis. (c) 2007 Belleville News-Democrat and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.belleville.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS list, send any message to: COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp

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Re: [EC] New Report on Coal Costs
by Michael Price 30 Oct '08

30 Oct '08

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Re: [EC] Fw: Please sign onto GNEP comment extension letter!
by Michael Price 30 Oct '08

30 Oct '08

1 0

New Report on Coal Costs
by James Kotcon 30 Oct '08

30 Oct '08

Attached is a new report by Tom Sanzillo of the firm TR Rose Associates done for the Conservation Voters of South Carolina regarding the Santee Cooper power plants in South Carolina. The financial analysis is devastating to coal-fired power plants, with the concern that these plants are being hit by a triple whammy of increased construction costs, long-term increases in fuel costs, and the virtual certainty of carbon mitigation costs. It calls for full disclosure of these costs and financial risks to investors and ratepayers. I suggest that we might want to take this approach with the PSC, provided we get the right consultants, on the PATH hearings. In fact, we might want to launch a pre-emptive strike by getting this issue into the media now, and do whatever we can to force the PSC to deal with it in upcoming proceedings. Whaddya Tink? Jim Kotcon

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Fw: Please sign onto GNEP comment extension letter!
by Jim Sconyers 30 Oct '08

30 Oct '08

Folks - do we want to sign and send this letter? Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: John Hartz <Hartzjm1(a)AOL.COM> To: CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2008 1:37:21 PM Subject: Please sign onto GNEP comment extension letter! FYI ________________________________ -----Original Message----- From: Nickolas Roth <nroth(a)ananuclear.org> To: bananas(a)ananuclear.drizzlehosting.com Sent: Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:30 pm Subject: [Bananas] Please sign onto GNEP comment extension letter! To all, Tomorrow is the deadline for signing onto the letter to DOE requesting an extension to the GNEP PEIS comment period. More than local and national 20 groups have signed on. If you have already signed on, YOU ROCK! If you have not yet done so, FOR SHAME. However, there is still time. Be part of a growing movement! Sign today! Thanks, Nick Samuel Bodman Secretary of Energy 1000 Independence Ave, SW Washington, DC 20585 Dear Mr. Bodman, On behalf of our members, the undersigned local and national environmental, peace and security, taxpayer and public health organizations, we request a 120-day extension to the comment period for the Draft Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) programmatic environmental impact statement currently scheduled to end on December 16, 2008, before the final PEIS is released. We believe this extension is warranted because (1) Department of Energy (DOE) failed to provide analysis of nonproliferation impacts within the PEIS even though DOE had indicated that this important assessment would be made available in conjunction with the PEIS, (2) reference materials cited in the PEIS have not been made available for review, (3) the proposal is technically complex with national implications, and (4) the comment period coincides with the upcoming Presidential elections, and holidays, which may make it more difficult for the public to review and comment on the PEIS. Most significantly, DOE has failed to provide any nonproliferation analysis within the EIS. Instead, the PEIS simply states that a separate assessment of the nonproliferation aspects of the programmatic alternatives is being prepared and that it “will be considered by DOE in decisions regarding the GNEP proposal.” No timetable is given for the documents release other than “in the same time frame as this Draft GNEP PEIS.” Given that the nonproliferation impacts of GNEP are one of the most important aspects of the program, the public cannot adequately comment on the GNEP proposal until a complete nonproliferation impact analysis is provided. Once the nonproliferation analysis is released, the public needs adequate time to review and comment. Furthermore, the DOE GNEP website contains a 22-page index to the draft PEIS references (http://www.gnep.energy.gov/peis/Draft_PEIS/ReferenceIndex.pdf), but does not make all of these reference documents accessible to the public. Reference documents should be more than just publicly available; they need to be easily accessible. All of the reference documents cited in the 22-page index need to be posted online. After that, the public will need additional time for the documents to be read. In addition, the comment period is insufficient to enable the public to thoroughly review and comment on this highly technical and enormous document. DOE acknowledges in the Draft PEIS that GNEP affects “the entire United States because facilities associated with the programmatic alternatives could be deployed anywhere in the country” and that the “PEIS involves a technically complex subject matter with unique concepts and terminology.” In 2007, the national scale and complex nature of the GNEP proposal required a scoping period of 151 days, which resulted in an unprecedented 14,000 comments submitted to DOE. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires that public scoping comments must be at least 30 days (10 CFR 1021.311(c)) and that public comment on a draft EIS must be at least 45 days (10 CFR 1021.313(a)). The intent of this regulation is that the public comment period for the draft EIS be longer than the scoping comment period. Since the GNEP scoping comment period was 151 days, the public comment period on the draft PEIS should be longer, at least 180 days. Finally, the current period allotted for public comment spans the last few weeks of an historic presidential and congressional election, followed by turbulent period of transition between old and new administrations, and also includes a large part of the holiday season. This is the worst possible time for members of the public and interested agencies to be attempting to review and comment on a complex document such as this, on such a sensitive and controversial subject, and without any of the supporting documentation yet made available to the public. The new teams coming into DOE and other relevant executive agencies, and new members of Congress and their staffs, deserve adequate time to review and comment on the PEIS before the agency moves to a Record of Decision. In order to bring the national public’s attention to the GNEP proposal and allow sufficient time to respond to the draft PEIS, an extension of the comment period is essential. Therefore, we ask that the comment period extend well into the New Year. Failure to provide adequate time for public review and comment on the draft PEIS, nonproliferation impact statement, and all EIS supplementary references would marginalize and compromise the public’s role as an essential participant in the NEPA process. It would have a further negative impact on the Department’s ability to assess the impacts of the vast GNEP proposal. We believe that the requested 120-day extension is necessary and reasonable. It would allow for the distribution of the nonproliferation impact statement, associated reference materials, and provide adequate time for the public to provide comments to DOE. Thank you for your consideration, Nickolas Roth Program Director Alliance for Nuclear Accountability 322 4th Street NE Washington, DC 20002 (p)202-544-0217 (f) 202-544-6143 ________________________________ Plan your next getaway with AOL Travel. Check out Today's Hot 5 Travel Deals!- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS list, send any message to: CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp

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Fwd: Thursday webinar on coops, munis, and coal financing
by Paul Wilson 30 Oct '08

30 Oct '08

fyi, paul ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Mark Kresowik <mkresowiksc(a)earthlink.net> Date: Tue, Oct 28, 2008 at 5:40 PM Subject: Thursday webinar on coops, munis, and coal financing To: COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS(a)lists.sierraclub.org Friends, There is a great opportunity to learn more and hone your activist skills - whether fighting coal plants, promoting clean energy, or encouraging corporate accountability - on Thursday, October 30th at 3 PM EDT. The director of the Sierra Club's National Coal Campaign, Bruce Nilles, and former First Deputy Comptroller for the State of New York Tom Sanzillo will give a webinar on electric cooperatives and public power involvement in the coal rush. They will also go over strategies and tools to target financing and decision-making processes for coops and munis. This webinar is part of the Energy Foundation's series to foster common approaches toward greening Rural Electric Cooperatives, Municipal Utilities and other public entities. The first call on the series (October 14th) can be listened to/viewed at this link: https://cc.readytalk.com/play?id=o26hzy9y. I definitely recommend joining us on Thursday at 3:00 PM Eastern Time. More info and call/online info below: The Coal Rush and Public Power Date/Time: Thursday, October 30th at 2pm Central time (3pm Eastern; 1pm Rocky Mountain, 12pm Pacific). Presenters: Tom Sanzillo and Bruce Nilles of the Sierra Club's National Coal Campaign Duration: 90 minutes. It is not necessary to register. We will be using ReadyTalk web and telephone conference service. ReadyTalk is accessible at: http://www.ReadyTalk.com. The toll-free conferencing number is: 866-740-1260. The access code will be: 6619009 If you have any questions - or can't make this call and would like the link when it is available - please email me at mark.kresowik(a)sierraclub.org. Thanks! Mark Mark Kresowik Corporate Accountability Representative Sierra Club's National Coal Campaign mark.kresowik(a)sierraclub.org 319-621-7393 (cell) 608-257-4994, x118 (work) 608-257-3513 (fax) 122 W. Washington Ave. Suite 830 Madison, WI 53703 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS list, send any message to: COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-6975 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha

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Re: [EC] MIC Leak in September
by Regina Hendrix 29 Oct '08

29 Oct '08

Maya: Oh, my God, we have to do something about this. We can't let this pass. We are sitting ducks here in Kanawha Valley. Expendable people. Another Bhopal in the making. Regina Maya Nye wrote: > Bayer Communication Issues Continue, County Officials Say > > Posted: 5:15 PM Oct 27, 2008 > Last Updated: 7:32 PM Oct 27, 2008 > Reporter: Mike Waterhouse > Email Address:mike.waterhouse@wsaz.com > <http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/mailto:mike.waterhouse@wsaz.com?subject=…> > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > A > <http://gray.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=Bayer+Commun…> | A > <http://gray.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=Bayer+Commun…> | A > <http://gray.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=Bayer+Commun…> > > KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Kanawha County's emergency services > director says he should have been informed about a minor situation > involving the chemical MIC at the Bayer CropScience Plant in Institute. > > In fact, county officials say the first they heard about it is when > WSAZ.com contacted them about it. > > > MIC, short for methyl isocyanate, is an extremely toxic chemical used > in the production of some pesticides. > > Tom Dover, spokesperson for Bayer, confirms a tank associated with MIC > storage was opened during inspections in the west side of the plant, > but says the amount of chemical leaked was far below reporting levels. > The situation happened near the end of September. > > Workers took action after smelling the odor of MIC, which Dover says > has a strong smell even at very low levels. Employees then left the > area and several were checked out at the plant's medical facility. One > contractor then decided on his own to go to an outside hospital after > his shift. Dover says he was released with nothing found. > > Dover tells WSAZ.com there was no harmful exposure of MIC to employees > or anyone outside the plant. He called this a "non-incident" because > the levels were not anywhere near dangerous levels. > > "At no point was anyone in danger," Dover said. > > Dover adds that Bayer would have notified county officials "without > hesitation" had the amount of MIC reached reportable levels. > > Dale Petry, Kanawha County Emergency Services Director, says he's a > little disturbed that he didn't know about this situation, even if the > amount of MIC involved did not meet a reportable level. > > "I wish I had known about it," said Petry. "Let me make the decision > whether it should be reported to the public." > > Petry says he doesn't think this latest incident will hurt the > county's relationship with the plant. He wants to continue to work > with Bayer to improve communication. > > Bayer came under fire for its lack of communication to the county > after an explosion at its Larvin unit in early September. Two workers > died as a result of the blast. Kanawha County officials say Bayer > waited hours to release any detailed information about the severity of > the incident. > > As a result of having little information, county officials issued a > shelter-in-place for the western portion of Kanawha County, affecting > thousands of people. > > Bayer later admitted that it should have provided better information > during the explosion and agreed to change its notification system. > > >

4 5

Fwd: please vote for my friend's film...
by Paul Wilson 29 Oct '08

29 Oct '08

Greetings: My friend Kate Watters is the executive director of Crude Accountability. She risks her life to bring information about the pollution and harm to people caused by oil refineries in Kazakhastan. Her organization has made a film and it is an entry in a contest sponsored by the World Bank. *Judging has been extended to this Thursday morning, ending at 9AM*. A lot of these films are focused on Global Warming. But I am aking you to help me to pass the word along to ask for your vote for Kate's film, # 76 .."Silence is Betrayal.." Thank you. Paul Wilson p.s. you will probalby need to cut and paste the web address listed below in Kate's letter. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kathleen Watters" < kate(a)crudeaccountability.org> To: <kate(a)crudeaccountability.org> Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 7:48 AM Subject: Vote Now for Crude Accountability's New Film "Silence is Betrayal...Voices from a Village" *Vote Now for Crude Accountability's New Film "Silence is Betrayal…Voices from a Village"* Crude Accountability invites you to watch our newly released 5-minute film /Silence is Betrayal…Voices from a Village/, a look at how the villagers of Berezovka, Kazakhstan are risking their lives to meet the world's demand for fossil fuels. The film is an entry in the World Bank's "Vulnerability Exposed: Social Dimensions of Climate Change" Micro-Documentary Contest, which features films from around the globe that highlight the social aspects of climate change. And you can vote the film—listed as Number 76—as your favorite by visiting www.worldbank.org/sdccfilmcontest <http://www.worldbank.org/sdccfilmcontest> (Click on View and Vote). Only the 15 films that receive the most public votes will proceed to the next level of judging, meaning every vote counts! *Voting ends at 9:00 am, Thursday, October 30^th .* As Mark Warford, Director of /Silence is Betrayal/, explains "The brave struggle by the people of Berezovka, Kazakhstan to save their village and culture serves as a strong reminder that pointing to fluctuating weather trends as the primary cause for social displacement belies the true cause of the disintegration of these communities - a global dependence on fossil fuels." Thank you! Crude Accountability -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.549 / Virus Database: 270.8.4/1752 - Release Date: 10/28/2008 10:04 AM -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-6975 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha

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Re: [EC] MIC Leak in September
by Michael Price 28 Oct '08

28 Oct '08

1 0

FW: Sierra Club & Jesse Johnson for Governor
by Grubb, Karen 28 Oct '08

28 Oct '08

From: mountainpartyexcom(a)googlegroups.com [mailto:mountainpartyexcom@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Frank Young Sent: Sunday, October 26, 2008 9:05 PM To: JesseForWVGovernorGroup(a)yahoogroups.com; Mt. Party executive committee Subject: Sierra Club & Jesse Johnson for Governor Well, although the WV media has apparently totally boycotted the Sierra Club's endorsement of Jesse, someone noticed: http://cagreening.blogspot.com/2008/10/jesse-johnson-for-governor-of-wv- sierra.html

5 4

Fwd: EPA Must Fight Global Warming Pollution
by Paul Wilson 28 Oct '08

28 Oct '08

I suppose that the case could be made that increasing transmission lines and the assoc. increase in coal fired power plants would fall under the EPA's venue to control Global Warming. paul ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Patricia Matejcek <patachek(a)juno.com> Date: Tue, Oct 28, 2008 at 12:17 AM Subject: EPA Must Fight Global Warming Pollution To: CONS-WPST-MARINE-FORUM(a)lists.sierraclub.org The impacts of climate change are becoming more visible with each passing month. America must take full responsibility for our contribution to global warming... and take real steps to reduce it. The Supreme Court has told the EPA that it can act to cut emissions that are responsible for global warming. It's time for the EPA to act now. Now is the time to join me and Earthjustice and let the EPA know that you support taking real, effective, and practical action to curb global warming. Take action at the link below: http://action.earthjustice.org/campaign/global_warming_1008?rk=i7AW9G71uC18W If you do not wish to receive emails sent from your peers on behalf of this organization, please click this link: http://action.earthjustice.org/earthjusticeaction/opt-out-taf.tcl?friend_em… ****************************** This email is Powered by Convio, Inc. http://www.convio.com ****************************** - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the CONS-WPST-MARINE-FORUM list, send any message to: CONS-WPST-MARINE-FORUM-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-6975

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Fw: EREC-Greenpeace study - "World Can Halt Fossil Fuel Use By 2090"
by Jim Sconyers 28 Oct '08

28 Oct '08

Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: Darrell Clarke <darrclarke(a)GMAIL.COM> To: CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2008 1:38:06 AM Subject: EREC-Greenpeace study - "World Can Halt Fossil Fuel Use By 2090" http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=6119855&page=1 Greenpeace link: http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/energy-revolution-now World Can Halt Fossil Fuel Use By 2090 Report Is One of Few to Examine in Detail How Energy Use Would Be Overhauled to Meet IPCC Recommendations New Scientist staff and Reuters Oct. 27, 2008 The world could eliminate fossil fuel use by 2090, saving $18 trillion in future fuel costs and creating a $360 billion industry that provides half of the world's electricity, the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC) and environmental group Greenpeace said on Monday. The 210-page study [pdf] is one of few reports – even by lobby groups – to look in detail at how energy use would have to be overhauled to meet the toughest scenarios for curbing greenhouse gases outlined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. "Renewable energy could provide all global energy needs by 2090," according to the study, entitled "Energy (R)evolution." EREC represents renewable energy industries and trade and research associations in Europe. A more radical scenario could eliminate coal use by 2050 if new power generation plants shifted quickly to renewables. Solar power, biomass such as biofuels or wood, geothermal energy and wind could be the leading energies by 2090 in a shift from fossil fuels blamed by the IPCC for stoking global warming. The total energy investments until 2030, the main period studied, would come to $14.7 trillion, according to the study. By contrast, the International Energy Agency (IEA), which advises rich nations, foresees energy investments of just $11.3 trillion to 2030, with a bigger stress on fossil fuels and nuclear power. Rajendra Pachauri, head of the IPCC, which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with ex-US Vice President Al Gore, called Monday's study "comprehensive and rigorous." Dangerous change "Even those who may not agree with the analysis presented would, perhaps, benefit from a deep study of the underlying assumptions," Pachauri wrote in a foreword to the report. EREC and Greenpeace said a big energy shift was needed to avoid "dangerous" climate change, defined by the European Union and many environmental groups as a temperature rise of 2 degrees Celsius since before the Industrial Revolution. The report urged measures such as a phase-out of subsidies for fossil fuels and nuclear energy, "cap and trade" systems for greenhouse gas emissions, legally binging targets for renewable energies and tough efficiency standards for buildings and vehicles. The report said renewable energy markets were booming with turnover almost doubling in 2007 from 2006 to more than $70 billion. It said renewables could more than double their share of world energy supplies to 30% by 2030 and reach 50% by 2050. The projections are far more optimistic for renewables than the IEA, which foresees just 13% of energy from renewables in 2030 with fossil fuels staying dominant. Sven Teske, Greenpeace's leading author of the report, said the recommendations would involve big job-creating investments that could help counter the worst financial crisis since the 1930s. "The current unstable market situation is a strong argument for our energy evolution concept," said. He said investments would be repaid by savings in fuel costs. "We had a 'dot.com bubble' and a 'finance bubble' - but I'm confident that we will not have a renewables bubble - as the need for energy is real - and growing especially in developing nations," he said. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS list, send any message to: CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp

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Van Jones book
by Grubb, Karen 24 Oct '08

24 Oct '08

I'm sure those of you at the Blue-Green Alliance meeting in Pittsburgh remember Van Jones. Green Jobs Book Lands on New York Times Bestseller List <http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=OICTjqwksfht3H6C 1FzDgOpssayx2mcH> <http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=e50T5MYz4XGi2gWC 3iYaL%2Bpssayx2mcH> Green Collar Economy <http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=e50T5MYz4XGi2gWC 3iYaL%2Bpssayx2mcH> <http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=e50T5MYz4XGi2gWC 3iYaL%2Bpssayx2mcH> For years, right-wingers have claimed that economic growth and environmental protection are contradictory aims. Imagine their dismay then at this week's bestselling debut of Van Jones' new book: "The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems." Jones, perhaps the most prominent leader in the burgeoning "green jobs <http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=CVdTaS0UTmkovWmI %2FYh8fepssayx2mcH> " movement, makes a compelling case that investments in clean energy and efficiency will create millions of jobs and jumpstart the economy. If you're looking for some autumn reading, you can order his book here <http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=jQeFlht0j8eKczgX nDAhHOpssayx2mcH> . If you like Jones' message, call your member of Congress today at 202-225-3121 and ask him or her to ensure that any stimulus package invests in clean infrastructure and creates green jobs.

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Americans oppose mountaintop removal, according to poll
by Jim Sconyers 24 Oct '08

24 Oct '08

Confirms the 2004 survey, this time nationally. Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: "jim_scon(a)yahoo.com" <jim_scon(a)yahoo.com> To: jim_scon(a)yahoo.com Sent: Friday, October 24, 2008 8:19:10 AM Subject: [ Email Story ] Americans oppose mountaintop removal, according to poll jim_scon(a)yahoo.com sent you this article ----- October 23, 2008 Americans oppose mountaintop removal, according to poll By Ken Ward Jr. Staff writer CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Americans oppose mountaintop removal coal mining by a wide margin, according to the first nationwide poll on the issue to be made public. Read more ----- send out

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CTL Plant Plan scrapped!
by Jonathan Rosenbaum 23 Oct '08

23 Oct '08

Yeah! http://www.wboy.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=45883 -Jonathan

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Fwd: Fw: VA Climate Change Opinion Survey attached
by James Kotcon 23 Oct '08

23 Oct '08

You might appreciate the attached survey results from Virginia. It is always helpful to know how much support there is for various options, if for no other reason than to help frame your message. JBK >>> <Paula.Carrell(a)sierraclub.org> 10/23/2008 12:24 PM >>> thought you might like to know about this ----- Forwarded by Paula Carrell/Sierraclub on 10/23/2008 09:23 AM ----- "Glen Besa" <glen.besa(a)sierraclub.org> 10/22/2008 01:49 PM VA Opinion Survey Attached Poll: Majority of Virginians worried about climate change By Scott Harper The Virginian-Pilot © October 22, 2008 Three out of four Virginians think global warming is real and most want government at all levels - federal, state and local - to take actions to fight it, according to a statewide opinion poll released Tuesday. Authors described the poll of 660 state residents as one of the first and most comprehensive snapshots of how Virginians of all ages, backgrounds and political sympathies feel about one of the great environmental issues of the era. The Virginia Climate Survey was conducted by phone interviews between Sept. 4 and 24 and was financed with grants from private foundations and donors through the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. It has a margin of error of 4 percentage points. Among its findings, 39 percent of respondents think human activity spurs climate change by the burning of fossil fuels, 20 percent think the Earth is simply going through a natural warming cycle, and another 30 percent say a combination of natural and man-made causes are to blame. Among believers, 61 percent think global warming is a "very serious" problem, and 72 percent want government to "take immediate action." The most popular policy option, according to the poll, is requiring power companies to generate electricity with a prescribed percentage of renewable energies, such as wind, solar, geothermal and biomass. Increased gasoline taxes and a carbon tax finished last on a list of 15 options offered to survey participants. Nuclear energy was fairly popular as an alternative source, with 30 percent "strongly supporting" its expansion in Virginia and 14 percent "strongly opposing" it. Virginia Dominion Power, the state's largest electric utility, is seeking government approval to build at least one new nuclear reactor at its Lake Anna power station northwest of Richmond. Barry Rabe, a visiting scholar at the Miller Center, who helped to oversee the poll, said the results "roughly mirror" those seen nationally. For example, 75 percent of Virginians think global warming is occurring; nationwide, 71 percent think so. Similarly, 13 percent of state residents don't think global warming is really happening; 21 percent nationally feel the same way. During a presentation of the findings Tuesday, Rabe said he was especially struck by the "across-the-board" belief that all levels of government are responsible for fixing the problem. The poll comes as the governor's Commission on Climate Change winds down its yearlong study of how best to reach a key goal established by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's administration - reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2025. Secretary of Natural Resources L. Preston Bryant Jr. said the poll should provide political cover in the state General Assembly, where any Virginia-specific global-warming programs would need to be approved. Showing such widespread support for government action to reluctant state delegates and senators, Bryant said, "hopefully will mean something, that so many Virginians believe this is real and important." The co-author of the poll, Christopher Borick, director of the Institute of Public Opinion at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa., said one key question asked of Virginians is why they believe or don't believe in global warming. The No. 1 response among believers is personal experience - "they felt, personally, that things were warmer," Borick said. The second-most popular was evidence that glaciers and polar ice are melting. One percent said they were convinced by former Vice President Al Gore's award-winning documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth." The top reason offered by skeptics is that natural patterns sufficiently explain any fluctuation in temperatures. Twelve percent gave no reason, and 5 percent said the media is misleading the public about the issue. Scott Harper, (757) 446-2340, scott.harper(a)pilotonline.com Highlights of the survey Some highlights of the Virginia Climate Survey, on public opinions of 660 state residents about global warming, as released Tuesday: Q. “From what you’ve read and heard, is there solid evidence that the average temperature on Earth has been getting warmer over the past four decades?” A. Yes, 75 percent; no, 13 percent; not sure, 12 percent Demographic breakdown Republican – 57 percent said yes; 24 percent said no; 19 percent said not sure Democrat – 88 percent yes; 3 percent no; 9 percent not sure Independent – 75 percent yes; 13 percent no; 15 percent not sure Male – 71 percent yes; 16 percent no; 13 percent not sure Female – 78 percent yes; 10 percent no; 11 percent not sure White – 73 percent yes; 14 percent no; 12 percent not sure Non white – 81 percent yes; 9 percent no; 10 percent not sure Education College educated – 71 percent yes; 15 percent no; 14 percent not sure Noncollege – 80 percent yes; 11 percent no; 10 percent not sure 18-44 – 73 percent yes; 11 percent no; 16 percent not sure 45-64 – 77 percent yes; 14 percent no; 9 percent not sure 65 and older – 76 percent yes; 14 percent no; 11 percent not sure Northern VA – 78 percent yes; 13 percent no; 10 percent not sure Tidewater – 75 percent yes; 15 percent no; 10 percent not sure Richmond/Charlottesville – 68 percent yes; 13 percent no; 19 percent not sure Q. “Is the Earth getting warmer because of human activity such as burning fossil fuels or mostly because of natural patterns in the Earth’s environment? A. Human activity, 39 percent; natural patterns, 20 percent; a combination, 33 percent; not sure, 8 percent Q. “In your view is global warming a very serious problem, somewhat serious, not too serious or not a problem?” A. Very serious, 61 percent; somewhat serious, 28 percent; not too serious, 6 percent; not a problem , 4 percent; not sure, 1 percent Q. “Do you or do you not think global warming requires immediate government action?” A. Requires immediate, 72 percent; no, it does not, 19 percent; don’t know/not, 9 percent Q. Most favored policy options? (by level of “strong support”) 1) Creation of renewable portfolio standard, 55 percent 2) Increased support for clean coal technology, 51 percent 3) Increased fuel efficiency standards for automobiles, 49 percent 4) Energy efficiency requirements for residential and commercial buildings, 49 percent 5) Tax reductions for hybrid vehicle purchase, 47 percent Q. Least favored policy options? (by level of “strong opposition”) 1) Increased gasoline tax, 55 percent 2) Increased fossil fuel tax, 37 percent 3) Increased support for ethanol development, 18 percent 4) Restrictions on suburban development, 17 percent 5) Establishment of cap-and-trade program, 15 percent Glen Besa, Chapter Director Sierra Club-Virginia Chapter 422 East Franklin Street, Suite 302 Richmond, VA 23219 O-804-225-9113 x 104 F-804-225-9114 C-804-387-6001 glen.besa(a)sierraclub.org If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it. -- Margaret Fuller

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Fw: Fwd: Fw: Reconfiguration of PATH Project
by Jim Sconyers 23 Oct '08

23 Oct '08

So - they heard the resistance from the suburban communities in the E. Panhandle? trying to avoid those backyards? and send the pain to less urbanized/suburbanized parts of WV...? Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: James Kotcon <jkotcon(a)wvu.edu> To: ec(a)osenergy.org Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2008 9:12:07 PM Subject: [EC] Fwd: Fw: Reconfiguration of PATH Project This came out Friday. It looks like PATH will be delayed till "the first quarter of 2009", and will be shorter than originally planned. Unfortunately, I think this is a political maneuver to avoid the worst of the political opposition, without fundamentally altering the impacts of the line. JBK >>> Letty Butcher <multiflora123(a)yahoo.com> 10/17/2008 7:55 PM >>> --- On Fri, 10/17/08, PATH News <askpath(a)pathtransmission.com> wrote: From: PATH News <askpath(a)pathtransmission.com> Subject: Reconfiguration of PATH Project To: multiflora123(a)yahoo.com Date: Friday, October 17, 2008, 4:50 PM Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline, LLC Announces Reconfiguration of PATH Project GREENSBURG, Pa. and COLUMBUS, Ohio, October 17, 2008 – Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline, LLC, a joint venture of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) and Allegheny Energy (NYSE: AYE), said today that PJM Interconnection announced a reconfiguration of PATH, a proposed high-voltage transmission line project. PJM, the organization responsible for the transmission grid covering 13 states and the District of Columbia, directed the construction of PATH to ensure the reliability of the region’s transmission grid. The original project configuration included a 765-kilovolt (kV) transmission line from the Amos substation near St. Albans, W.Va., to the Bedington substation near Martinsburg, W.Va., and twin-circuit 500-kV lines from Bedington to the proposed Kemptown substation southeast of Frederick, Md. The reconfiguration is a result of constraints identified as a result of comprehensive siting studies; interaction with government agencies; public input; and a desire to identify a solution that reduces line mileage and minimizes the impact on communities and the environment. The new configuration will: Consist of a single 765-kV line from Amos to Kemptown, Eliminate the connection with the Bedington substation and the twin-circuit 500-kV lines from Bedington to Kemptown, including many previously evaluated routes in that area, and Include a new mid-point substation in the vicinity of eastern Grant County, northern Hardy County, or southern Hampshire County, near existing PATH alternative routes. The substation site has not been determined. Based on the re-configured project, the PATH team is developing new route alternatives between the mid-point substation area and Kemptown. PATH continues to work toward identifying the complete line route and expects to file applications for approval by state regulatory commissions during the first quarter 2009. Additional open houses will be scheduled in areas where the new alternatives are identified. PJM recently confirmed that the reconfigured project addresses its reliability concerns. Allegheny Energy Headquartered in Greensburg, Pa., Allegheny Energy is an investor-owned electric utility with total annual revenues of over $3 billion and more than 4,000 employees. The company owns and operates generating facilities and delivers low-cost, reliable electric service to 1.6 million customers in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia. For more information, visit our Web site at www.alleghenyenergy.com. American Electric Power American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning more than 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network that includes more 765-kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP’s transmission system directly or indirectly serves about 10 percent of the electricity demand in the Eastern Interconnection, the interconnected transmission system that covers 38 eastern and central U.S. states and eastern Canada, and approximately 11 percent of the electricity demand in ERCOT, the transmission system that covers much of Texas. AEP’s utility units operate as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). AEP’s headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio. This message was sent from PATH News to multiflora123(a)yahoo.com. It was sent from: PATH, 800 Cabin Hill Drive , Greensburg, PA 15601 . You can modify/update your subscription via the link below. Manage your subscription Share this message with others: del.icio.us Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ EC mailing list EC(a)osenergy.org http://osenergy.org/mailman/listinfo/ec

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Fwd: Fw: Reconfiguration of PATH Project
by James Kotcon 22 Oct '08

22 Oct '08

This came out Friday. It looks like PATH will be delayed till "the first quarter of 2009", and will be shorter than originally planned. Unfortunately, I think this is a political maneuver to avoid the worst of the political opposition, without fundamentally altering the impacts of the line. JBK >>> Letty Butcher <multiflora123(a)yahoo.com> 10/17/2008 7:55 PM >>> --- On Fri, 10/17/08, PATH News <askpath(a)pathtransmission.com> wrote: From: PATH News <askpath(a)pathtransmission.com> Subject: Reconfiguration of PATH Project To: multiflora123(a)yahoo.com Date: Friday, October 17, 2008, 4:50 PM Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline, LLC Announces Reconfiguration of PATH Project GREENSBURG, Pa. and COLUMBUS, Ohio, October 17, 2008 – Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline, LLC, a joint venture of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) and Allegheny Energy (NYSE: AYE), said today that PJM Interconnection announced a reconfiguration of PATH, a proposed high-voltage transmission line project. PJM, the organization responsible for the transmission grid covering 13 states and the District of Columbia, directed the construction of PATH to ensure the reliability of the region’s transmission grid. The original project configuration included a 765-kilovolt (kV) transmission line from the Amos substation near St. Albans, W.Va., to the Bedington substation near Martinsburg, W.Va., and twin-circuit 500-kV lines from Bedington to the proposed Kemptown substation southeast of Frederick, Md. The reconfiguration is a result of constraints identified as a result of comprehensive siting studies; interaction with government agencies; public input; and a desire to identify a solution that reduces line mileage and minimizes the impact on communities and the environment. The new configuration will: Consist of a single 765-kV line from Amos to Kemptown, Eliminate the connection with the Bedington substation and the twin-circuit 500-kV lines from Bedington to Kemptown, including many previously evaluated routes in that area, and Include a new mid-point substation in the vicinity of eastern Grant County, northern Hardy County, or southern Hampshire County, near existing PATH alternative routes. The substation site has not been determined. Based on the re-configured project, the PATH team is developing new route alternatives between the mid-point substation area and Kemptown. PATH continues to work toward identifying the complete line route and expects to file applications for approval by state regulatory commissions during the first quarter 2009. Additional open houses will be scheduled in areas where the new alternatives are identified. PJM recently confirmed that the reconfigured project addresses its reliability concerns. Allegheny Energy Headquartered in Greensburg, Pa., Allegheny Energy is an investor-owned electric utility with total annual revenues of over $3 billion and more than 4,000 employees. The company owns and operates generating facilities and delivers low-cost, reliable electric service to 1.6 million customers in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia. For more information, visit our Web site at www.alleghenyenergy.com. American Electric Power American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning more than 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network that includes more 765-kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP’s transmission system directly or indirectly serves about 10 percent of the electricity demand in the Eastern Interconnection, the interconnected transmission system that covers 38 eastern and central U.S. states and eastern Canada, and approximately 11 percent of the electricity demand in ERCOT, the transmission system that covers much of Texas. AEP’s utility units operate as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). AEP’s headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio. This message was sent from PATH News to multiflora123(a)yahoo.com. It was sent from: PATH, 800 Cabin Hill Drive , Greensburg, PA 15601 . You can modify/update your subscription via the link below. Manage your subscription Share this message with others: del.icio.us Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Fw: [fom] new website
by Grubb, Karen 22 Oct '08

22 Oct '08

----- Original Message ----- From: Bill Price <mailto:bill.price@sierraclub.org> To: fom(a)lists.riseup.net ; the-alliance-for-appalachia(a)googlegroups.com Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2008 4:16 PM Subject: [fom] new website I'm not sure this has made the lists yet. If so, sorry for duplication www.coalisnottheanswer.org Bill Price, Sierra Club EJ Program 922 Quarrier Street, Suite 304 Charleston, WV 25311 Phone 304-342-3182 Cell 304-389-8822 Fax 304-342-3183

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More Sadness For Appalachia - MTR in NY Times
by Jim Sconyers 22 Oct '08

22 Oct '08

Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: Coal River Mountain Watch <coalriver(a)crmw.net> To: amersamiz(a)mindcontrolforums.zzn.com; angie_tinsley(a)msn.com; bhughes2(a)mac.com; c.smithwaugh(a)yahoo.com; crmtnw(a)gmail.com; Daniel Abel <dabel(a)coastal.edu>; danny(a)seac.org; davecooper928(a)yahoo.com; Don Alexander <paradox(a)spectrumz.com>; ecoleman(a)thecolemanfoundation.org; Erin Thomas <ervins32003(a)yahoo.com>; fedorkomr(a)appstate.edu; fom(a)lists.riseup.net; hillary(a)crmw.net; hrohmer(a)earthlink.net; jgg1947(a)aol.com; jim_scon(a)yahoo.com; Julie Phillips <julie(a)thephillipsplace.net>; Justin Weinstein <jweinstein(a)cironline.org>; la110605(a)ohio.edu; LORELEI SCARBRO <CANDLELIGHT29(a)aol.com>; Lorelei Scarbro <candlelight29(a)gmail.com>; marthamaddy(a)hotmail.com; mcfowl(a)wm.edu; mcm(a)agiweb.org; molly_mclaughlin(a)brown.edu; mountainjusticesummer(a)lists.riseup.ne; mountainsidhe(a)gmail.com; ncj(a)schottlegal.com; nirs(a)main.nc.us; richardfry(a)wayne.edu; Samantha McCreery <sam.mccreery(a)gmail.com>; sarah.smith(a)sierraclub.org; stella(a)osorjos.com; wildance(a)windstream.net; wwsvh(a)msn.com Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2008 11:28:57 AM Subject: More Sadness For Appalachia Link to the NY Times http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/21/opinion/21tue2.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=sl -- Coal River Mountain Watch coalriver(a)crmw.net www.crmw.net www.coalriverwind.org www.mountainjustice.org www.penniesofpromise.org

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FW: Public gubernatorial forum in Morgantown
by Grubb, Karen 21 Oct '08

21 Oct '08

Reminder: debate tonight at South Middle School in Morgantown at 6:30. The Sierra Club endorsed Jesse Johnson for governor, and he will be there. From: Grubb, Karen Sent: Saturday, October 18, 2008 7:46 PM To: WV Chapter Energy Committee Subject: FW: Public gubernatorial forum in Morgantown Let's get a lot of us out to support Jesse at the debate in Morgantown October 21. ----- Original Message ----- From: Randy Vealey <mailto:rvealey@dominionpost.com> To: 'jesse(a)mtparty.org' ; 'info(a)mtparty.org' ; 'Russ(a)russweeks2008.com' Sent: Friday, October 17, 2008 12:04 PM Subject: RE: Public gubernatorial forum in Morgantown Jesse and Russ, I wanted to make sure you all have decent directions on how to get to next Tuesday's debate at South Middle School. Just to be clear it starts at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday (Oct. 21) and should not run over 90 minutes. I have enclosed the debate's format in an attachment. It's standard and you are probably familiar with it. We will be prompt with the time apportioned to each candidate in the interest of fairness. Obviously, anyone can answer questions in less time that is prescribed. As for the directions: Take Interstate 68 East off Interstate 79 North at the 148 mile marker. Next take Exit 1 the University Avenue exit off I-68 East. At the end of the exit ramp take a left on U.S. 119. You will travel no more than a few miles on this road 2-3 at best. You will pass a Go-Mart, then a small community park called Dorsey's Knob and then descend a steep hill toward Morgantown's University Avenue. Take the first right at a traffic light near the bottom of this hill onto Green Bag Road (W.Va. 857). You will travel on this road no more than 2-3 miles, also. You will drive by the entrance to the Mountaineer Mall and a large Giant Eagle supermarket. This road is temporarily a two-lane road and then narrows into a one-lane one. After it becomes one-lane road in less than a mile make a left onto M-TEC Drive or Road (can't remember) (there's also a sign there for an ice rink and White Park, too). Bear right on this road until it dies out and you will be next to the parking area for South Middle School. There's a large vocational school directly before you get to South Middle School, so don't confuse the two. If you would need anything just call me up until about 5 p.m. here at the DP at 291-9470. Otherwise call the front desk of our newspaper at 292-6301 and ask for David Beard or call him at 291-9436 or Pam Queen at 291-9433. And if all that fails just ask for anyone in the newsroom to help you with directions. I would recommend you try to get there by 6 p.m. I know the governor's staff plan to have him there by 5:45 p.m. We don't have a holding room, per se, for you all to relax or put yourself together, but of course there are nearby rest rooms and large open area throughout the school if you need to do some preparation. Hope this helps. Randy Randy B. Vealey Opinion Page editor The Dominion Post 1251 Earl L. Core Road Morgantown, WV 26505 Phone: (304) 291-9470 Email: opinion(a)dominionpost.com ________________________________ From: Geri Ferrara Sent: Tuesday, June 03, 2008 9:28 AM To: Randy Vealey Subject: Forum --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Mountain Party Executive Committee" group. To post to this group, send email to mountainpartyexcom(a)googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to mountainpartyexcom+unsubscribe(a)googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/mountainpartyexcom?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---

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FW: NYT editorial on SBZ rule -TAKE ACTION-
by Grubb, Karen 21 Oct '08

21 Oct '08

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/21/opinion/21tue2.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&ore f=sl From: Announcements from the National Coal Campaign team. [mailto:COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS@LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG] On Behalf Of Verena Owen Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2008 11:06 AM To: COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Subject: Re: NYT editorial on SBZ rule -TAKE ACTION- Thanks for sending the article, Bill. It tells what all is wrong with the Office of Surface Mining's recommendation. Here is what you all can do. Send a note to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson via our already updated Action Alerts website: Don't Repeal the Stream Buffer Zone Rule Take Action <https://secure2.convio.net/sierra/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&id=11 35> Protect streams and waterways -- don't allow the Office of Surface Mining to repeal the Stream Buffer Zone Rule. If you want to do more, please use the action alert talking points to write a letter to the editor asking others to urge Johnson to reject the rule change. EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson USEPA Headquarters Ariel Rios Building 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W. Mail Code: 1101A Washington, DC 20460 Thanks! Verena Owen -----Original Message----- From: Bill Price <bill.price(a)SIERRACLUB.ORG> To: COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Sent: Tue, 21 Oct 2008 8:59 am Subject: NYT editorial on SBZ rule http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/21/opinion/21tue2.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&ore f=sl Bill Price, Sierra Club EJ Program 922 Quarrier Street, Suite 304 Charleston, WV 25311 Phone 304-342-3182 Cell 304-389-8822 Fax 304-342-3183

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Fw: Fwd: [energy activists] New Reports and National Environmental Scorecards
by Jim Sconyers 19 Oct '08

19 Oct '08

FYI - note enviro scorecard Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: Stephen Crowley <scrow(a)SOVER.NET> To: CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Sent: Sunday, October 19, 2008 9:22:27 PM Subject: Fwd: [energy activists] New Reports and National Environmental Scorecards Subject: [energy activists] New Reports and National Environmental Scorecards From: Christina.Yagjian(a)sierraclub.org To: Christina.yagjian(a)sierraclub.org Cc: Allison.forbes(a)sierraclub.org Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2008 20:33:32 -0400 X-Mailer: Lotus Domino Web Server Release 6.5.6FP3 March 27, 2008 X-MIMETrack: Serialize by Notes Server on Jenkins/Sierraclub(Release 6.5.6FP3|March 27, 2008) at 10/19/2008 08:33:32 PM, Serialize complete at 10/19/2008 08:33:32 PM, Itemize by Notes Server on Jenkins/Sierraclub(Release 6.5.6FP3|March 27, 2008) at 10/19/2008 08:33:32 PM, Serialize by Router on Jenkins/Sierraclub(Release 6.5.6FP3|March 27, 2008) at 10/19/2008 08:33:56 PM, Serialize complete at 10/19/2008 08:33:56 PM X-Notes-Item: scrow(a)sover.net; name=AltBlindCopyTo X-Bayes-Prob: 0.0001 (Score 0) X-Spam-Score: 1.10 (*) [Tag at 5.00] HTML_MESSAGE,HTML_MIME_NO_HTML_TAG,MIME_HTML_ONLY,NO_REAL_NAME X-Spam-Milter-Status: No, hits=1.10 required=5.00 l=75 f=1 st=1 tests=HTML_MESSAGE,HTML_MIME_NO_HTML_TAG,MIME_HTML_ONLY,NO_REAL_NAME X-CanItPRO-Stream: sovernet:01_Basic (inherits from sovernet:default) X-Canit-Stats-ID: Bayes signature not available X-Scanned-By: CanIt (www . roaringpenguin . com) on 209.198.112.38 In the past month, a number of new reports have been released on issues related to climate change. Below are links to recent reports on green jobs, national security, and climate change science. Also find the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) 2008 National Environmental Scorecards to see how your members of Congress voted on energy and environmental issues in 2008. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> As a reminder, there will not be another energy activist call until after the November 4th elections. Hope all is well in the field! Warm Regards, Christina Marie Yagjian National Conservation Organizer Sierra Club, Global Warming and Energy 202.675.7911 New Resources 2008 National Environmental Scorecards (LCV) http://www.lcv.org/scorecard/ The Age of Consequences: The Foreign Policy and National Security Implications of Global Climate Change (CSIS) http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/conservation/energy/global-warming/CSIS-age… Global Warming Science Update: September 2008 (NRDC) http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/conservation/energy/global-warming/NRDC%20G… US Metro Economies: Current and Potential Green Jobs in the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><?xml:namespace prefix = u1 />U.S. Economy (USCM & Global Insight) http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/conservation/energy/global-warming/Green%20… - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS list, send any message to: CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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FW: Public gubernatorial forum in Morgantown
by Grubb, Karen 18 Oct '08

18 Oct '08

Let's get a lot of us out to support Jesse at the debate in Morgantown October 21. From: mountainpartyexcom(a)googlegroups.com [mailto:mountainpartyexcom@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Frank Young Sent: Friday, October 17, 2008 11:52 PM To: JesseForWVGovernorGroup(a)yahoogroups.com; Mt. Party executive committee Subject: Fw: Public gubernatorial forum in Morgantown Jesse, This looks important- see below. Frank ----- Original Message ----- From: Randy Vealey <mailto:rvealey@dominionpost.com> To: 'jesse(a)mtparty.org' ; 'info(a)mtparty.org' ; 'Russ(a)russweeks2008.com' Sent: Friday, October 17, 2008 12:04 PM Subject: RE: Public gubernatorial forum in Morgantown Jesse and Russ, I wanted to make sure you all have decent directions on how to get to next Tuesday's debate at South Middle School. Just to be clear it starts at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday (Oct. 21) and should not run over 90 minutes. I have enclosed the debate's format in an attachment. It's standard and you are probably familiar with it. We will be prompt with the time apportioned to each candidate in the interest of fairness. Obviously, anyone can answer questions in less time that is prescribed. As for the directions: Take Interstate 68 East off Interstate 79 North at the 148 mile marker. Next take Exit 1 the University Avenue exit off I-68 East. At the end of the exit ramp take a left on U.S. 119. You will travel no more than a few miles on this road 2-3 at best. You will pass a Go-Mart, then a small community park called Dorsey's Knob and then descend a steep hill toward Morgantown's University Avenue. Take the first right at a traffic light near the bottom of this hill onto Green Bag Road (W.Va. 857). You will travel on this road no more than 2-3 miles, also. You will drive by the entrance to the Mountaineer Mall and a large Giant Eagle supermarket. This road is temporarily a two-lane road and then narrows into a one-lane one. After it becomes one-lane road in less than a mile make a left onto M-TEC Drive or Road (can't remember) (there's also a sign there for an ice rink and White Park, too). Bear right on this road until it dies out and you will be next to the parking area for South Middle School. There's a large vocational school directly before you get to South Middle School, so don't confuse the two. If you would need anything just call me up until about 5 p.m. here at the DP at 291-9470. Otherwise call the front desk of our newspaper at 292-6301 and ask for David Beard or call him at 291-9436 or Pam Queen at 291-9433. And if all that fails just ask for anyone in the newsroom to help you with directions. I would recommend you try to get there by 6 p.m. I know the governor's staff plan to have him there by 5:45 p.m. We don't have a holding room, per se, for you all to relax or put yourself together, but of course there are nearby rest rooms and large open area throughout the school if you need to do some preparation. Hope this helps. Randy Randy B. Vealey Opinion Page editor The Dominion Post 1251 Earl L. Core Road Morgantown, WV 26505 Phone: (304) 291-9470 Email: opinion(a)dominionpost.com ________________________________ From: Geri Ferrara Sent: Tuesday, June 03, 2008 9:28 AM To: Randy Vealey Subject: Forum --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Mountain Party Executive Committee" group. To post to this group, send email to mountainpartyexcom(a)googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to mountainpartyexcom+unsubscribe(a)googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/mountainpartyexcom?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---

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Re: [EC] Fwd: Fw: Where the Transmission Line Case Stands
by Jim Sconyers 17 Oct '08

17 Oct '08

Excellent. Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ________________________________ From: Paul Wilson <pjgrunt(a)gmail.com> To: "William V. DePaulo, Esq." <william.depaulo(a)gmail.com> Cc: Jim Sconyers <jim_scon(a)yahoo.com>; James Kotcon <jkotcon(a)wvu.edu>; WV Chapter Energy Committee <EC(a)osenergy.org>; Abby Chapple <abbychapple(a)aol.com> Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2008 8:32:43 PM Subject: Re: [EC] Fwd: Fw: Where the Transmission Line Case Stands fyi: from the CAP (Citizens Against PATH) here in the EP. cheers, paul We attended the Jefferson Co. Comm. meeting this morning and they voted unanimously to file as an intervenor for PATH. They are also going to re-do the map/numbers to expand the right-of-way to 400 feet, just to see what the effect will be if we end up with the "twin" parallel line. We expect most of the numbers will at least double (number of properties affected, value of properties). Keryn On Thu, Oct 16, 2008 at 2:29 PM, William V. DePaulo, Esq. <william.depaulo(a)gmail.com> wrote: Jim In some, maybe most, cases, I would agree. I am hesitant to involve McGraw right now because I don't think that this Court will accord much, if any, weight to whatever he might say in his brief, and I have no reason to believe he'd file a particularly effective brief. We're either going to win or lose on the merits of the administrative law issues presented or not, and the involvement of a highly political AG would constitute legal parsley at best, in my view. And, worse, the Court might require us to reduce any argument time to accommodate the AG's argument, since he would be aligned with us. I would not want to do that. However, please note that San Francisco has, as of this date, not approved OUR participation in an appeal, or intervention in the PATH case that will be here shortly. I believe our "sales" efforts should focus on SF. Bill On Thu, Oct 16, 2008 at 1:23 PM, Jim Sconyers <jim_scon(a)yahoo.com> wrote: Excellent idea - TrailCo is as much a consumer issue as an environmental one. Shall we draft a letter? Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ________________________________ From: James Kotcon <jkotcon(a)wvu.edu> To: ec(a)osenergy.org Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2008 7:02:52 AM Subject: [EC] Fwd: Fw: Where the Transmission Line Case Stands A good review of the latest news in the TrAIL case from our friends in Virginia. I am interested in the idea of asking the Attorney General to intervene/appeal in this case. The AG has limited authority, but consumer protection is one of the areas he still controls. It would, however, be a potential conflict of interest for him if it means he is appealing a state agency decision that the AG's Office may have to defend. Whaddya Tink? JBK -----Inline Message Follows----- #yiv1969909341 .bodybold {font-weight:bold;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodybold10px {font-weight:bold;font-size:10px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodybold11px {font-weight:bold;font-size:11px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodybold12px {font-weight:bold;font-size:12px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodybold13px {font-weight:bold;font-size:13px;} #yiv1969909341 .bodybold14px {font-weight:bold;font-size:14px;} #yiv1969909341 .bodybold15px {font-weight:bold;font-size:15px;} #yiv1969909341 .body8px {font-size:8px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body9px {font-size:9px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body10px {font-size:10px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body11px {font-size:11px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body14px {font-size:14px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body16px {font-size:16px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body18px {font-size:18px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodyunderline {text-decoration:underline;} #yiv1969909341 .bodyitalic {font-style:italic;} #yiv1969909341 .none {list-style-type:none;} #yiv1969909341 .titleitalic {font-weight:bold;font-style:italic;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold {font-weight:bold;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .titlebold10px {font-weight:bold;font-size:10px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold11px {font-weight:bold;font-size:11px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold12px {font-weight:bold;font-size:12px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold13px {font-weight:bold;font-size:13px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold14px {font-weight:bold;font-size:14px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold15px {font-weight:bold;font-size:15px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold16px {font-weight:bold;font-size:16px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold17px {font-weight:bold;font-size:17px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold18px {font-weight:bold;font-size:18px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold19px {font-weight:bold;font-size:19px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold20px {font-weight:bold;font-size:20px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold21px {font-weight:bold;font-size:21px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold22px {font-weight:bold;font-size:22px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold23px {font-weight:bold;font-size:23px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold24px {font-weight:bold;font-size:24px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold25px {font-weight:bold;font-size:25px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold26px {font-weight:bold;font-size:26px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold27px {font-weight:bold;font-size:27px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold28px {font-weight:bold;font-size:28px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold29px {font-weight:bold;font-size:29px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold30px {font-weight:bold;font-size:30px;} #yiv1969909341 .flashtitle {font-family:Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;font-size:18px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .monospace {font-family:Courier, monospace;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .roll {text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;color:black;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 a.roll:hover {text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;color:D10000;} Where the Transmission Line Case Stands Dear Rebecca, A lot of you are asking me where the transmission line case stands --what does the Virginia decision mean? will there be an appeal? what's going on in Pennsylvania? what's going on with NIETC? and is there anything we can do to help? Here's my attempt at answering some of these questions: VA Decision Puts Environment, Landowners and Ratepayers Last I think the Virginia State Corporation Commission stuck their head in the sand on this one, ignoring alternatives, environmental concerns, and economic realities --placing the desires of a private company above the rights of Virginians. The SCC handed over their regulatory authority to PJM, a group of utilities that, by their own admission, can only propose transmission solutions. In their decision, the Virginia Commissioners state that the current process "clearly tilts the field towards PJM recommending more and more new transmission lines when other options might be a more efficient use of capital and much less intrusive on the landscape." We think that their decision to approve the line does a disservice to Virginia and should be appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court. Ask our Attorney General to Appeal the Decision Urge the VA Attorney General to Appeal Last week both Delegate Bob Marshall of Prince William and Congressman Wolf (R-10) contacted the Virginia Attorney General, Bob McDonnell, asking him to appeal the SCC Decision. We support Delegate Marshall and Congressman Wolf's call to action, and urge you to contact the Attorney General as well. Use the following link to access Congressman Wolf and Delegate Marshall's letter, and to send your own note to the Attorney General today! PA May Turn Down the Line, WV Approval Not Yet Final The Virginia SCC conditioned their approval on approval from both West Virginia and Pennsylvania. West Virginia initially approved the line, but conditioned approval on a number of things (including approval in Pennsylvania). We put in a call to the staff of the West Virginia Public Service Commission on Tuesday, and they described the case as "still open". The final decision in Pennsylvania is in the hands of the Pennsylvania Utility Commissioners, and they are reviewing the case now. TrAILCo has offered Greene County (Pennsylvania) money and returned right-of-ways in exchange for the County's support for a 1.2 mile segment of the line. Greene County accepted the offer. It is still unknown what, if any, effect this backroom deal will have on the PA Commissioners' decision. It doesn't look like Pennsylvania will be making any decision until the end of the month, at the earliest. NIETC is Still Out There If PA turns down the line, the utilities may appeal to the federal government. If Pennsylvania turns their segment of the line down, it is likely that Dominion and Allegheny will try to use the National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC) process to get the line approved. They would do so by applying directly to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Piedmont Environmental Council has two separate federal appeals going on, one in the 4th circuit in Richmond contesting FERC's interpretation of the NIETC statute and another appeal in the 9th Circuit related to DOE's implementation of NIETC. I apologize for the number of acronyms in the previous sentence. At the end of last month we went down to Richmond to hear oral arguments on our 4th Circuit case. The New York Attorney General's office spoke on our behalf. Initial briefs are due on our 9th Circuit case by the end of the year, with a decision expected some time late next year. If you have questions about either of these cases, please contact Rob Marmet at rmarmet(a)pecva.org . Please take a couple of minutes to send the Attorney General a quick email requesting his participation in an appeal. While PEC will be appealing, we could use a friend. Best, Bri West Piedmont Environmental Council bwest(a)pecva.org 1-540-347-2334 ________________________________ Get a Farmland Lost is Farmland Lost Forever Bumper Sticker. Please Support PEC with a Donation. ________________________________ This message was sent to multiflora123(a)yahoo.com. Visit your subscription management page to modify your email communication preferences or update your personal profile To stop ALL email from The Piedmont Environmental Council, click to remove yourself from our lists (or reply via email with "remove or unsubscribe" in the subject line). --- On Wed, 10/15/08, Bri West, PEC <pecnews(a)pecva.org> wrote: From: Bri West, PEC <pecnews(a)pecva.org> Subject: Where the Transmission Line Case Stands To: "Rebecca Foley" <multiflora123(a)yahoo.com> Date: Wednesday, October 15, 2008, 3:56 PM #yiv1969909341 , #yiv1969909341 P, #yiv1969909341 TD, #yiv1969909341 TD P, #yiv1969909341 TD UL, #yiv1969909341 TD BLOCKQUOTE, #yiv1969909341 BLOCKQUOTE { color:black;font-family:Verdana, "Trebuchet MS" , sans-serif;font-size:10pt;} #yiv1969909341 A:link {color:#003366;} #yiv1969909341 A:visited {color:#003366;} #yiv1969909341 A:active {color:#0000FF;} #yiv1969909341 .bodybold {font-weight:bold;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodybold10px {font-weight:bold;font-size:10px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodybold11px {font-weight:bold;font-size:11px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodybold12px {font-weight:bold;font-size:12px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodybold13px {font-weight:bold;font-size:13px;} #yiv1969909341 .bodybold14px {font-weight:bold;font-size:14px;} #yiv1969909341 .bodybold15px {font-weight:bold;font-size:15px;} #yiv1969909341 .body8px {font-size:8px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body9px {font-size:9px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body10px {font-size:10px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body11px {font-size:11px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body14px {font-size:14px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body16px {font-size:16px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body18px {font-size:18px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodyunderline {text-decoration:underline;} #yiv1969909341 .bodyitalic {font-style:italic;} #yiv1969909341 .none {list-style-type:none;} #yiv1969909341 .titleitalic {font-weight:bold;font-style:italic;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold {font-weight:bold;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .titlebold10px {font-weight:bold;font-size:10px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold11px {font-weight:bold;font-size:11px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold12px {font-weight:bold;font-size:12px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold13px {font-weight:bold;font-size:13px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold14px {font-weight:bold;font-size:14px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold15px {font-weight:bold;font-size:15px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold16px {font-weight:bold;font-size:16px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold17px {font-weight:bold;font-size:17px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold18px {font-weight:bold;font-size:18px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold19px {font-weight:bold;font-size:19px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold20px {font-weight:bold;font-size:20px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold21px {font-weight:bold;font-size:21px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold22px {font-weight:bold;font-size:22px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold23px {font-weight:bold;font-size:23px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold24px {font-weight:bold;font-size:24px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold25px {font-weight:bold;font-size:25px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold26px {font-weight:bold;font-size:26px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold27px {font-weight:bold;font-size:27px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold28px {font-weight:bold;font-size:28px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold29px {font-weight:bold;font-size:29px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold30px {font-weight:bold;font-size:30px;} #yiv1969909341 .flashtitle {font-family:Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;font-size:18px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .monospace {font-family:Courier, monospace;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .roll {text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;color:black;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 a.roll:hover {text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;color:D10000;} Where the Transmission Line Case Stands Dear Rebecca, A lot of you are asking me where the transmission line case stands --what does the Virginia decision mean? will there be an appeal? what's going on in Pennsylvania? what's going on with NIETC? and is there anything we can do to help? Here's my attempt at answering some of these questions: VA Decision Puts Environment, Landowners and Ratepayers Last I think the Virginia State Corporation Commission stuck their head in the sand on this one, ignoring alternatives, environmental concerns, and economic realities --placing the desires of a private company above the rights of Virginians. The SCC handed over their regulatory authority to PJM, a group of utilities that, by their own admission, can only propose transmission solutions. In their decision, the Virginia Commissioners state that the current process "clearly tilts the field towards PJM recommending more and more new transmission lines when other options might be a more efficient use of capital and much less intrusive on the landscape." We think that their decision to approve the line does a disservice to Virginia and should be appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court. Ask our Attorney General to Appeal the Decision Urge the VA Attorney General to Appeal Last week both Delegate Bob Marshall of Prince William and Congressman Wolf (R-10) contacted the Virginia Attorney General, Bob McDonnell, asking him to appeal the SCC Decision. We support Delegate Marshall and Congressman Wolf's call to action, and urge you to contact the Attorney General as well. Use the following link to access Congressman Wolf and Delegate Marshall's letter, and to send your own note to the Attorney General today! PA May Turn Down the Line, WV Approval Not Yet Final The Virginia SCC conditioned their approval on approval from both West Virginia and Pennsylvania. West Virginia initially approved the line, but conditioned approval on a number of things (including approval in Pennsylvania). We put in a call to the staff of the West Virginia Public Service Commission on Tuesday, and they described the case as "still open". The final decision in Pennsylvania is in the hands of the Pennsylvania Utility Commissioners, and they are reviewing the case now. TrAILCo has offered Greene County (Pennsylvania) money and returned right-of-ways in exchange for the County's support for a 1.2 mile segment of the line. Greene County accepted the offer. It is still unknown what, if any, effect this backroom deal will have on the PA Commissioners' decision. It doesn't look like Pennsylvania will be making any decision until the end of the month, at the earliest. NIETC is Still Out There If PA turns down the line, the utilities may appeal to the federal government. If Pennsylvania turns their segment of the line down, it is likely that Dominion and Allegheny will try to use the National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC) process to get the line approved. They would do so by applying directly to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Piedmont Environmental Council has two separate federal appeals going on, one in the 4th circuit in Richmond contesting FERC's interpretation of the NIETC statute and another appeal in the 9th Circuit related to DOE's implementation of NIETC. I apologize for the number of acronyms in the previous sentence. At the end of last month we went down to Richmond to hear oral arguments on our 4th Circuit case. The New York Attorney General's office spoke on our behalf. Initial briefs are due on our 9th Circuit case by the end of the year, with a decision expected some time late next year. If you have questions about either of these cases, please contact Rob Marmet at rmarmet(a)pecva.org . Please take a couple of minutes to send the Attorney General a quick email requesting his participation in an appeal. While PEC will be appealing, we could use a friend. Best, Bri West Piedmont Environmental Council bwest(a)pecva.org 1-540-347-2334 Get a Farmland Lost is Farmland Lost Forever Bumper Sticker. Please Support PEC with a Donation. This message was sent to multiflora123(a)yahoo.com. Visit your subscription management page to modify your email communication preferences or update your personal profile. To stop ALL email from The Piedmont Environmental Council, click to remove yourself from our lists (or reply via email with "remove or unsubscribe" in the subject line). --- On Wed, 10/15/08, Bri West, PEC <pecnews(a)pecva.org> wrote: From: Bri West, PEC <pecnews(a)pecva.org> Subject: Where the Transmission Line Case Stands To: "Rebecca Foley" <multiflora123(a)yahoo.com> Date: Wednesday, October 15, 2008, 3:56 PM Where the Transmission Line Case Stands Dear Rebecca, A lot of you are asking me where the transmission line case stands --what does the Virginia decision mean? will there be an appeal? what's going on in Pennsylvania? what's going on with NIETC? and is there anything we can do to help? Here's my attempt at answering some of these questions: VA Decision Puts Environment, Landowners and Ratepayers Last I think the Virginia State Corporation Commission stuck their head in the sand on this one, ignoring alternatives, environmental concerns, and economic realities --placing the desires of a private company above the rights of Virginians. The SCC handed over their regulatory authority to PJM, a group of utilities that, by their own admission, can only propose transmission solutions. In their decision, the Virginia Commissioners state that the current process "clearly tilts the field towards PJM recommending more and more new transmission lines when other options might be a more efficient use of capital and much less intrusive on the landscape." We think that their decision to approve the line does a disservice to Virginia and should be appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court. Ask our Attorney General to Appeal the Decision Urge the VA Attorney General to Appeal Last week both Delegate Bob Marshall of Prince William and Congressman Wolf (R-10) contacted the Virginia Attorney General, Bob McDonnell, asking him to appeal the SCC Decision. We support Delegate Marshall and Congressman Wolf's call to action, and urge you to contact the Attorney General as well. Use the following link to access Congressman Wolf and Delegate Marshall's letter, and to send your own note to the Attorney General today! PA May Turn Down the Line, WV Approval Not Yet Final The Virginia SCC conditioned their approval on approval from both West Virginia and Pennsylvania. West Virginia initially approved the line, but conditioned approval on a number of things (including approval in Pennsylvania). We put in a call to the staff of the West Virginia Public Service Commission on Tuesday, and they described the case as "still open". The final decision in Pennsylvania is in the hands of the Pennsylvania Utility Commissioners, and they are reviewing the case now. TrAILCo has offered Greene County (Pennsylvania) money and returned right-of-ways in exchange for the County's support for a 1.2 mile segment of the line. Greene County accepted the offer. It is still unknown what, if any, effect this backroom deal will have on the PA Commissioners' decision. It doesn't look like Pennsylvania will be making any decision until the end of the month, at the earliest. NIETC is Still Out There If PA turns down the line, the utilities may appeal to the federal government. If Pennsylvania turns their segment of the line down, it is likely that Dominion and Allegheny will try to use the National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC) process to get the line approved. They would do so by applying directly to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Piedmont Environmental Council has two separate federal appeals going on, one in the 4th circuit in Richmond contesting FERC's interpretation of the NIETC statute and another appeal in the 9th Circuit related to DOE's implementation of NIETC. I apologize for the number of acronyms in the previous sentence. At the end of last month we went down to Richmond to hear oral arguments on our 4th Circuit case. The New York Attorney General's office spoke on our behalf. Initial briefs are due on our 9th Circuit case by the end of the year, with a decision expected some time late next year. If you have questions about either of these cases, please contact Rob Marmet at rmarmet(a)pecva.org . Please take a couple of minutes to send the Attorney General a quick email requesting his participation in an appeal. While PEC will be appealing, we could use a friend. Best, Bri West Piedmont Environmental Council bwest(a)pecva.org 1-540-347-2334 ________________________________ Get a Farmland Lost is Farmland Lost Forever Bumper Sticker. Please Support PEC with a Donation. ________________________________ This message was sent to multiflora123(a)yahoo.com. Visit your subscription management page to modify your email communication preferences or update your personal profile. To stop ALL email from The Piedmont Environmental Council, click to remove yourself from our lists (or reply via email with "remove or unsubscribe" in the subject line). -- William V. DePaulo, Esq. 179 Summers Street, Suite 232 Charleston, WV 25301-2163 Tel: 304-342-5588 Fax: 304-342-5505 william.depaulo(a)gmail.com www.passeggiata.com _______________________________________________ EC mailing list EC(a)osenergy.org http://osenergy.org/mailman/listinfo/ec -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-6975 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

2 1

Fwd: DEP hearing on TrAILCo power line
by James Kotcon 16 Oct '08

16 Oct '08

I was unaware that a DEP hearing had been scheduled. I am also unclear as to what permits DEP would offer on this, other than the stormwater/construction permits. Any thoughts? JBK >>> Letty Butcher <multiflora123(a)yahoo.com> 10/16/2008 8:44 AM >>> --- On Fri, 10/10/08, Thomas and Kathy Hildebrand <owner(a)goetc.com> wrote: From: Thomas and Kathy Hildebrand <owner(a)goetc.com> Subject: Re: please vote in the poll about the power line To: "Wojtowicz, Ralph" <wojtowicz(a)metsci.com>, "John Balasko" <mjmb(a)westco.net>, WVBiker98(a)aol.com, "Letty Butcher" <multiflora123(a)yahoo.com>, "Bill Golemon" <billgolemon(a)frontiernet.net>, "Mr H.J. Wratchford" <hjwratchford(a)yahoo.com> Date: Friday, October 10, 2008, 8:44 PM Get this. We heard there was going to be a hearing held in Moorefield last night by the WV DEP to take public comment on granting environmental permits for TrAIL. I watched the kids and Kat drove 2 hours and made a speech and she was the only person. There were 7 people in the audience. Three were DEP employees, one was a court reporter, and 3 were AE employees. DEP told her this was the one hearing for the entire State. Evidently, they thought they (DEP) placed an ad in the newspaper but Jean Flanigan told us they never did. She should know since she's the news editor. What a joke. We need to complain and ask for another hearing. Had any of you heard about this? Thom ----- Original Message ----- From: "Wojtowicz, Ralph" <wojtowicz(a)metsci.com> To: <michael(a)troutdesign.com>; <joe_vac(a)yahoo.com>; <cdewitt(a)erols.com>; <roecalvert(a)hughes.net>; <p.bp(a)Verizon.net>; <abbychappel(a)aol.com> Cc: <mjmb(a)westco.net>; <owner(a)goetc.com> Sent: Friday, October 10, 2008 8:20 PM Subject: FW: please vote in the poll about the power line Please forward. Best wishes, Ralph Wojtowicz Yellow Spring, WV -----Original Message----- From: Cameron Eaton [mailto:cesunlight@earthlink.net] Sent: Fri 10/10/2008 3:59 PM To: The Powerful Ones Subject: Fw: please vote in the poll about the power line Poll is on the lefthand coloum of the page. http://www.tv3winchester.com/ Question: Do you think Virgina should have approved the multistate power line? So far it is 50% yes and 50% no. ----- Original Message ----- From: Evan Clark To: Work Evan TRS Clark Sent: Friday, October 10, 2008 12:09 PM Subject: please vote in the poll about the power line

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Re: [EC] Fwd: Fw: Where the Transmission Line Case Stands
by Jim Sconyers 16 Oct '08

16 Oct '08

Excellent idea - TrailCo is as much a consumer issue as an environmental one. Shall we draft a letter? Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ________________________________ From: James Kotcon <jkotcon(a)wvu.edu> To: ec(a)osenergy.org Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2008 7:02:52 AM Subject: [EC] Fwd: Fw: Where the Transmission Line Case Stands A good review of the latest news in the TrAIL case from our friends in Virginia. I am interested in the idea of asking the Attorney General to intervene/appeal in this case. The AG has limited authority, but consumer protection is one of the areas he still controls. It would, however, be a potential conflict of interest for him if it means he is appealing a state agency decision that the AG's Office may have to defend. Whaddya Tink? JBK -----Inline Message Follows----- #yiv1969909341 .bodybold {font-weight:bold;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodybold10px {font-weight:bold;font-size:10px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodybold11px {font-weight:bold;font-size:11px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodybold12px {font-weight:bold;font-size:12px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodybold13px {font-weight:bold;font-size:13px;} #yiv1969909341 .bodybold14px {font-weight:bold;font-size:14px;} #yiv1969909341 .bodybold15px {font-weight:bold;font-size:15px;} #yiv1969909341 .body8px {font-size:8px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body9px {font-size:9px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body10px {font-size:10px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body11px {font-size:11px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body14px {font-size:14px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body16px {font-size:16px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body18px {font-size:18px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodyunderline {text-decoration:underline;} #yiv1969909341 .bodyitalic {font-style:italic;} #yiv1969909341 .none {list-style-type:none;} #yiv1969909341 .titleitalic {font-weight:bold;font-style:italic;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold {font-weight:bold;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .titlebold10px {font-weight:bold;font-size:10px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold11px {font-weight:bold;font-size:11px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold12px {font-weight:bold;font-size:12px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold13px {font-weight:bold;font-size:13px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold14px {font-weight:bold;font-size:14px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold15px {font-weight:bold;font-size:15px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold16px {font-weight:bold;font-size:16px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold17px {font-weight:bold;font-size:17px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold18px {font-weight:bold;font-size:18px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold19px {font-weight:bold;font-size:19px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold20px {font-weight:bold;font-size:20px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold21px {font-weight:bold;font-size:21px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold22px {font-weight:bold;font-size:22px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold23px {font-weight:bold;font-size:23px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold24px {font-weight:bold;font-size:24px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold25px {font-weight:bold;font-size:25px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold26px {font-weight:bold;font-size:26px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold27px {font-weight:bold;font-size:27px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold28px {font-weight:bold;font-size:28px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold29px {font-weight:bold;font-size:29px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold30px {font-weight:bold;font-size:30px;} #yiv1969909341 .flashtitle {font-family:Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;font-size:18px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .monospace {font-family:Courier, monospace;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .roll {text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;color:black;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 a.roll:hover {text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;color:D10000;} Where the Transmission Line Case Stands Dear Rebecca, A lot of you are asking me where the transmission line case stands --what does the Virginia decision mean? will there be an appeal? what's going on in Pennsylvania? what's going on with NIETC? and is there anything we can do to help? Here's my attempt at answering some of these questions: VA Decision Puts Environment, Landowners and Ratepayers Last I think the Virginia State Corporation Commission stuck their head in the sand on this one, ignoring alternatives, environmental concerns, and economic realities --placing the desires of a private company above the rights of Virginians. The SCC handed over their regulatory authority to PJM, a group of utilities that, by their own admission, can only propose transmission solutions. In their decision, the Virginia Commissioners state that the current process "clearly tilts the field towards PJM recommending more and more new transmission lines when other options might be a more efficient use of capital and much less intrusive on the landscape." We think that their decision to approve the line does a disservice to Virginia and should be appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court. Ask our Attorney General to Appeal the Decision Urge the VA Attorney General to Appeal Last week both Delegate Bob Marshall of Prince William and Congressman Wolf (R-10) contacted the Virginia Attorney General, Bob McDonnell, asking him to appeal the SCC Decision. We support Delegate Marshall and Congressman Wolf's call to action, and urge you to contact the Attorney General as well. Use the following link to access Congressman Wolf and Delegate Marshall's letter, and to send your own note to the Attorney General today! PA May Turn Down the Line, WV Approval Not Yet Final The Virginia SCC conditioned their approval on approval from both West Virginia and Pennsylvania. West Virginia initially approved the line, but conditioned approval on a number of things (including approval in Pennsylvania). We put in a call to the staff of the West Virginia Public Service Commission on Tuesday, and they described the case as "still open". The final decision in Pennsylvania is in the hands of the Pennsylvania Utility Commissioners, and they are reviewing the case now. TrAILCo has offered Greene County (Pennsylvania) money and returned right-of-ways in exchange for the County's support for a 1.2 mile segment of the line. Greene County accepted the offer. It is still unknown what, if any, effect this backroom deal will have on the PA Commissioners' decision. It doesn't look like Pennsylvania will be making any decision until the end of the month, at the earliest. NIETC is Still Out There If PA turns down the line, the utilities may appeal to the federal government. If Pennsylvania turns their segment of the line down, it is likely that Dominion and Allegheny will try to use the National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC) process to get the line approved. They would do so by applying directly to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Piedmont Environmental Council has two separate federal appeals going on, one in the 4th circuit in Richmond contesting FERC's interpretation of the NIETC statute and another appeal in the 9th Circuit related to DOE's implementation of NIETC. I apologize for the number of acronyms in the previous sentence. At the end of last month we went down to Richmond to hear oral arguments on our 4th Circuit case. The New York Attorney General's office spoke on our behalf. Initial briefs are due on our 9th Circuit case by the end of the year, with a decision expected some time late next year. If you have questions about either of these cases, please contact Rob Marmet at rmarmet(a)pecva.org . Please take a couple of minutes to send the Attorney General a quick email requesting his participation in an appeal. While PEC will be appealing, we could use a friend. Best, Bri West Piedmont Environmental Council bwest(a)pecva.org 1-540-347-2334 ________________________________ Get a Farmland Lost is Farmland Lost Forever Bumper Sticker. Please Support PEC with a Donation. ________________________________ This message was sent to multiflora123(a)yahoo.com. Visit your subscription management page to modify your email communication preferences or update your personal profile To stop ALL email from The Piedmont Environmental Council, click to remove yourself from our lists (or reply via email with "remove or unsubscribe" in the subject line). --- On Wed, 10/15/08, Bri West, PEC <pecnews(a)pecva.org> wrote: From: Bri West, PEC <pecnews(a)pecva.org> Subject: Where the Transmission Line Case Stands To: "Rebecca Foley" <multiflora123(a)yahoo.com> Date: Wednesday, October 15, 2008, 3:56 PM #yiv1969909341 , #yiv1969909341 P, #yiv1969909341 TD, #yiv1969909341 TD P, #yiv1969909341 TD UL, #yiv1969909341 TD BLOCKQUOTE, #yiv1969909341 BLOCKQUOTE { color:black;font-family:Verdana, "Trebuchet MS" , sans-serif;font-size:10pt;} #yiv1969909341 A:link {color:#003366;} #yiv1969909341 A:visited {color:#003366;} #yiv1969909341 A:active {color:#0000FF;} #yiv1969909341 .bodybold {font-weight:bold;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodybold10px {font-weight:bold;font-size:10px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodybold11px {font-weight:bold;font-size:11px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodybold12px {font-weight:bold;font-size:12px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodybold13px {font-weight:bold;font-size:13px;} #yiv1969909341 .bodybold14px {font-weight:bold;font-size:14px;} #yiv1969909341 .bodybold15px {font-weight:bold;font-size:15px;} #yiv1969909341 .body8px {font-size:8px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body9px {font-size:9px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body10px {font-size:10px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body11px {font-size:11px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body14px {font-size:14px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body16px {font-size:16px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body18px {font-size:18px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodyunderline {text-decoration:underline;} #yiv1969909341 .bodyitalic {font-style:italic;} #yiv1969909341 .none {list-style-type:none;} #yiv1969909341 .titleitalic {font-weight:bold;font-style:italic;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold {font-weight:bold;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .titlebold10px {font-weight:bold;font-size:10px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold11px {font-weight:bold;font-size:11px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold12px {font-weight:bold;font-size:12px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold13px {font-weight:bold;font-size:13px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold14px {font-weight:bold;font-size:14px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold15px {font-weight:bold;font-size:15px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold16px {font-weight:bold;font-size:16px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold17px {font-weight:bold;font-size:17px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold18px {font-weight:bold;font-size:18px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold19px {font-weight:bold;font-size:19px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold20px {font-weight:bold;font-size:20px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold21px {font-weight:bold;font-size:21px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold22px {font-weight:bold;font-size:22px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold23px {font-weight:bold;font-size:23px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold24px {font-weight:bold;font-size:24px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold25px {font-weight:bold;font-size:25px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold26px {font-weight:bold;font-size:26px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold27px {font-weight:bold;font-size:27px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold28px {font-weight:bold;font-size:28px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold29px {font-weight:bold;font-size:29px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold30px {font-weight:bold;font-size:30px;} #yiv1969909341 .flashtitle {font-family:Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;font-size:18px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .monospace {font-family:Courier, monospace;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .roll {text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;color:black;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 a.roll:hover {text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;color:D10000;} Where the Transmission Line Case Stands Dear Rebecca, A lot of you are asking me where the transmission line case stands --what does the Virginia decision mean? will there be an appeal? what's going on in Pennsylvania? what's going on with NIETC? and is there anything we can do to help? Here's my attempt at answering some of these questions: VA Decision Puts Environment, Landowners and Ratepayers Last I think the Virginia State Corporation Commission stuck their head in the sand on this one, ignoring alternatives, environmental concerns, and economic realities --placing the desires of a private company above the rights of Virginians. The SCC handed over their regulatory authority to PJM, a group of utilities that, by their own admission, can only propose transmission solutions. In their decision, the Virginia Commissioners state that the current process "clearly tilts the field towards PJM recommending more and more new transmission lines when other options might be a more efficient use of capital and much less intrusive on the landscape." We think that their decision to approve the line does a disservice to Virginia and should be appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court. Ask our Attorney General to Appeal the Decision Urge the VA Attorney General to Appeal Last week both Delegate Bob Marshall of Prince William and Congressman Wolf (R-10) contacted the Virginia Attorney General, Bob McDonnell, asking him to appeal the SCC Decision. We support Delegate Marshall and Congressman Wolf's call to action, and urge you to contact the Attorney General as well. Use the following link to access Congressman Wolf and Delegate Marshall's letter, and to send your own note to the Attorney General today! PA May Turn Down the Line, WV Approval Not Yet Final The Virginia SCC conditioned their approval on approval from both West Virginia and Pennsylvania. West Virginia initially approved the line, but conditioned approval on a number of things (including approval in Pennsylvania). We put in a call to the staff of the West Virginia Public Service Commission on Tuesday, and they described the case as "still open". The final decision in Pennsylvania is in the hands of the Pennsylvania Utility Commissioners, and they are reviewing the case now. TrAILCo has offered Greene County (Pennsylvania) money and returned right-of-ways in exchange for the County's support for a 1.2 mile segment of the line. Greene County accepted the offer. It is still unknown what, if any, effect this backroom deal will have on the PA Commissioners' decision. It doesn't look like Pennsylvania will be making any decision until the end of the month, at the earliest. NIETC is Still Out There If PA turns down the line, the utilities may appeal to the federal government. If Pennsylvania turns their segment of the line down, it is likely that Dominion and Allegheny will try to use the National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC) process to get the line approved. They would do so by applying directly to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Piedmont Environmental Council has two separate federal appeals going on, one in the 4th circuit in Richmond contesting FERC's interpretation of the NIETC statute and another appeal in the 9th Circuit related to DOE's implementation of NIETC. I apologize for the number of acronyms in the previous sentence. At the end of last month we went down to Richmond to hear oral arguments on our 4th Circuit case. The New York Attorney General's office spoke on our behalf. Initial briefs are due on our 9th Circuit case by the end of the year, with a decision expected some time late next year. If you have questions about either of these cases, please contact Rob Marmet at rmarmet(a)pecva.org . Please take a couple of minutes to send the Attorney General a quick email requesting his participation in an appeal. While PEC will be appealing, we could use a friend. Best, Bri West Piedmont Environmental Council bwest(a)pecva.org 1-540-347-2334 Get a Farmland Lost is Farmland Lost Forever Bumper Sticker. Please Support PEC with a Donation. This message was sent to multiflora123(a)yahoo.com. Visit your subscription management page to modify your email communication preferences or update your personal profile. To stop ALL email from The Piedmont Environmental Council, click to remove yourself from our lists (or reply via email with "remove or unsubscribe" in the subject line). --- On Wed, 10/15/08, Bri West, PEC <pecnews(a)pecva.org> wrote: From: Bri West, PEC <pecnews(a)pecva.org> Subject: Where the Transmission Line Case Stands To: "Rebecca Foley" <multiflora123(a)yahoo.com> Date: Wednesday, October 15, 2008, 3:56 PM Where the Transmission Line Case Stands Dear Rebecca, A lot of you are asking me where the transmission line case stands --what does the Virginia decision mean? will there be an appeal? what's going on in Pennsylvania? what's going on with NIETC? and is there anything we can do to help? Here's my attempt at answering some of these questions: VA Decision Puts Environment, Landowners and Ratepayers Last I think the Virginia State Corporation Commission stuck their head in the sand on this one, ignoring alternatives, environmental concerns, and economic realities --placing the desires of a private company above the rights of Virginians. The SCC handed over their regulatory authority to PJM, a group of utilities that, by their own admission, can only propose transmission solutions. In their decision, the Virginia Commissioners state that the current process "clearly tilts the field towards PJM recommending more and more new transmission lines when other options might be a more efficient use of capital and much less intrusive on the landscape." We think that their decision to approve the line does a disservice to Virginia and should be appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court. Ask our Attorney General to Appeal the Decision Urge the VA Attorney General to Appeal Last week both Delegate Bob Marshall of Prince William and Congressman Wolf (R-10) contacted the Virginia Attorney General, Bob McDonnell, asking him to appeal the SCC Decision. We support Delegate Marshall and Congressman Wolf's call to action, and urge you to contact the Attorney General as well. Use the following link to access Congressman Wolf and Delegate Marshall's letter, and to send your own note to the Attorney General today! PA May Turn Down the Line, WV Approval Not Yet Final The Virginia SCC conditioned their approval on approval from both West Virginia and Pennsylvania. West Virginia initially approved the line, but conditioned approval on a number of things (including approval in Pennsylvania). We put in a call to the staff of the West Virginia Public Service Commission on Tuesday, and they described the case as "still open". The final decision in Pennsylvania is in the hands of the Pennsylvania Utility Commissioners, and they are reviewing the case now. TrAILCo has offered Greene County (Pennsylvania) money and returned right-of-ways in exchange for the County's support for a 1.2 mile segment of the line. Greene County accepted the offer. It is still unknown what, if any, effect this backroom deal will have on the PA Commissioners' decision. It doesn't look like Pennsylvania will be making any decision until the end of the month, at the earliest. NIETC is Still Out There If PA turns down the line, the utilities may appeal to the federal government. If Pennsylvania turns their segment of the line down, it is likely that Dominion and Allegheny will try to use the National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC) process to get the line approved. They would do so by applying directly to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Piedmont Environmental Council has two separate federal appeals going on, one in the 4th circuit in Richmond contesting FERC's interpretation of the NIETC statute and another appeal in the 9th Circuit related to DOE's implementation of NIETC. I apologize for the number of acronyms in the previous sentence. At the end of last month we went down to Richmond to hear oral arguments on our 4th Circuit case. The New York Attorney General's office spoke on our behalf. Initial briefs are due on our 9th Circuit case by the end of the year, with a decision expected some time late next year. If you have questions about either of these cases, please contact Rob Marmet at rmarmet(a)pecva.org . Please take a couple of minutes to send the Attorney General a quick email requesting his participation in an appeal. While PEC will be appealing, we could use a friend. Best, Bri West Piedmont Environmental Council bwest(a)pecva.org 1-540-347-2334 ________________________________ Get a Farmland Lost is Farmland Lost Forever Bumper Sticker. Please Support PEC with a Donation. ________________________________ This message was sent to multiflora123(a)yahoo.com. Visit your subscription management page to modify your email communication preferences or update your personal profile. To stop ALL email from The Piedmont Environmental Council, click to remove yourself from our lists (or reply via email with "remove or unsubscribe" in the subject line).

3 2

Re: [EC] Fwd: Fw: Where the Transmission Line Case Stands
by Jim Sconyers 16 Oct '08

16 Oct '08

OK Bill - I accept your wisdom on this. Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ________________________________ From: "William V. DePaulo, Esq." <william.depaulo(a)gmail.com> To: Jim Sconyers <jim_scon(a)yahoo.com>; James Kotcon <jkotcon(a)wvu.edu>; WV Chapter Energy Committee <EC(a)osenergy.org> Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2008 2:29:45 PM Subject: Re: [EC] Fwd: Fw: Where the Transmission Line Case Stands Jim In some, maybe most, cases, I would agree. I am hesitant to involve McGraw right now because I don't think that this Court will accord much, if any, weight to whatever he might say in his brief, and I have no reason to believe he'd file a particularly effective brief. We're either going to win or lose on the merits of the administrative law issues presented or not, and the involvement of a highly political AG would constitute legal parsley at best, in my view. And, worse, the Court might require us to reduce any argument time to accommodate the AG's argument, since he would be aligned with us. I would not want to do that. However, please note that San Francisco has, as of this date, not approved OUR participation in an appeal, or intervention in the PATH case that will be here shortly. I believe our "sales" efforts should focus on SF. Bill On Thu, Oct 16, 2008 at 1:23 PM, Jim Sconyers <jim_scon(a)yahoo.com> wrote: Excellent idea - TrailCo is as much a consumer issue as an environmental one. Shall we draft a letter? Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ________________________________ From: James Kotcon <jkotcon(a)wvu.edu> To: ec(a)osenergy.org Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2008 7:02:52 AM Subject: [EC] Fwd: Fw: Where the Transmission Line Case Stands A good review of the latest news in the TrAIL case from our friends in Virginia. I am interested in the idea of asking the Attorney General to intervene/appeal in this case. The AG has limited authority, but consumer protection is one of the areas he still controls. It would, however, be a potential conflict of interest for him if it means he is appealing a state agency decision that the AG's Office may have to defend. Whaddya Tink? JBK -----Inline Message Follows----- #yiv1969909341 .bodybold {font-weight:bold;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodybold10px {font-weight:bold;font-size:10px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodybold11px {font-weight:bold;font-size:11px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodybold12px {font-weight:bold;font-size:12px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodybold13px {font-weight:bold;font-size:13px;} #yiv1969909341 .bodybold14px {font-weight:bold;font-size:14px;} #yiv1969909341 .bodybold15px {font-weight:bold;font-size:15px;} #yiv1969909341 .body8px {font-size:8px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body9px {font-size:9px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body10px {font-size:10px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body11px {font-size:11px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body14px {font-size:14px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body16px {font-size:16px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body18px {font-size:18px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodyunderline {text-decoration:underline;} #yiv1969909341 .bodyitalic {font-style:italic;} #yiv1969909341 .none {list-style-type:none;} #yiv1969909341 .titleitalic {font-weight:bold;font-style:italic;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold {font-weight:bold;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .titlebold10px {font-weight:bold;font-size:10px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold11px {font-weight:bold;font-size:11px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold12px {font-weight:bold;font-size:12px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold13px {font-weight:bold;font-size:13px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold14px {font-weight:bold;font-size:14px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold15px {font-weight:bold;font-size:15px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold16px {font-weight:bold;font-size:16px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold17px {font-weight:bold;font-size:17px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold18px {font-weight:bold;font-size:18px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold19px {font-weight:bold;font-size:19px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold20px {font-weight:bold;font-size:20px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold21px {font-weight:bold;font-size:21px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold22px {font-weight:bold;font-size:22px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold23px {font-weight:bold;font-size:23px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold24px {font-weight:bold;font-size:24px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold25px {font-weight:bold;font-size:25px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold26px {font-weight:bold;font-size:26px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold27px {font-weight:bold;font-size:27px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold28px {font-weight:bold;font-size:28px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold29px {font-weight:bold;font-size:29px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold30px {font-weight:bold;font-size:30px;} #yiv1969909341 .flashtitle {font-family:Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;font-size:18px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .monospace {font-family:Courier, monospace;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .roll {text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;color:black;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 a.roll:hover {text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;color:D10000;} Where the Transmission Line Case Stands Dear Rebecca, A lot of you are asking me where the transmission line case stands --what does the Virginia decision mean? will there be an appeal? what's going on in Pennsylvania? what's going on with NIETC? and is there anything we can do to help? Here's my attempt at answering some of these questions: VA Decision Puts Environment, Landowners and Ratepayers Last I think the Virginia State Corporation Commission stuck their head in the sand on this one, ignoring alternatives, environmental concerns, and economic realities --placing the desires of a private company above the rights of Virginians. The SCC handed over their regulatory authority to PJM, a group of utilities that, by their own admission, can only propose transmission solutions. In their decision, the Virginia Commissioners state that the current process "clearly tilts the field towards PJM recommending more and more new transmission lines when other options might be a more efficient use of capital and much less intrusive on the landscape." We think that their decision to approve the line does a disservice to Virginia and should be appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court. Ask our Attorney General to Appeal the Decision Urge the VA Attorney General to Appeal Last week both Delegate Bob Marshall of Prince William and Congressman Wolf (R-10) contacted the Virginia Attorney General, Bob McDonnell, asking him to appeal the SCC Decision. We support Delegate Marshall and Congressman Wolf's call to action, and urge you to contact the Attorney General as well. Use the following link to access Congressman Wolf and Delegate Marshall's letter, and to send your own note to the Attorney General today! PA May Turn Down the Line, WV Approval Not Yet Final The Virginia SCC conditioned their approval on approval from both West Virginia and Pennsylvania. West Virginia initially approved the line, but conditioned approval on a number of things (including approval in Pennsylvania). We put in a call to the staff of the West Virginia Public Service Commission on Tuesday, and they described the case as "still open". The final decision in Pennsylvania is in the hands of the Pennsylvania Utility Commissioners, and they are reviewing the case now. TrAILCo has offered Greene County (Pennsylvania) money and returned right-of-ways in exchange for the County's support for a 1.2 mile segment of the line. Greene County accepted the offer. It is still unknown what, if any, effect this backroom deal will have on the PA Commissioners' decision. It doesn't look like Pennsylvania will be making any decision until the end of the month, at the earliest. NIETC is Still Out There If PA turns down the line, the utilities may appeal to the federal government. If Pennsylvania turns their segment of the line down, it is likely that Dominion and Allegheny will try to use the National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC) process to get the line approved. They would do so by applying directly to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Piedmont Environmental Council has two separate federal appeals going on, one in the 4th circuit in Richmond contesting FERC's interpretation of the NIETC statute and another appeal in the 9th Circuit related to DOE's implementation of NIETC. I apologize for the number of acronyms in the previous sentence. At the end of last month we went down to Richmond to hear oral arguments on our 4th Circuit case. The New York Attorney General's office spoke on our behalf. Initial briefs are due on our 9th Circuit case by the end of the year, with a decision expected some time late next year. If you have questions about either of these cases, please contact Rob Marmet at rmarmet(a)pecva.org . Please take a couple of minutes to send the Attorney General a quick email requesting his participation in an appeal. While PEC will be appealing, we could use a friend. Best, Bri West Piedmont Environmental Council bwest(a)pecva.org 1-540-347-2334 ________________________________ Get a Farmland Lost is Farmland Lost Forever Bumper Sticker. Please Support PEC with a Donation. ________________________________ This message was sent to multiflora123(a)yahoo.com. Visit your subscription management page to modify your email communication preferences or update your personal profile To stop ALL email from The Piedmont Environmental Council, click to remove yourself from our lists (or reply via email with "remove or unsubscribe" in the subject line). --- On Wed, 10/15/08, Bri West, PEC <pecnews(a)pecva.org> wrote: From: Bri West, PEC <pecnews(a)pecva.org> Subject: Where the Transmission Line Case Stands To: "Rebecca Foley" <multiflora123(a)yahoo.com> Date: Wednesday, October 15, 2008, 3:56 PM #yiv1969909341 , #yiv1969909341 P, #yiv1969909341 TD, #yiv1969909341 TD P, #yiv1969909341 TD UL, #yiv1969909341 TD BLOCKQUOTE, #yiv1969909341 BLOCKQUOTE { color:black;font-family:Verdana, "Trebuchet MS" , sans-serif;font-size:10pt;} #yiv1969909341 A:link {color:#003366;} #yiv1969909341 A:visited {color:#003366;} #yiv1969909341 A:active {color:#0000FF;} #yiv1969909341 .bodybold {font-weight:bold;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodybold10px {font-weight:bold;font-size:10px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodybold11px {font-weight:bold;font-size:11px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodybold12px {font-weight:bold;font-size:12px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodybold13px {font-weight:bold;font-size:13px;} #yiv1969909341 .bodybold14px {font-weight:bold;font-size:14px;} #yiv1969909341 .bodybold15px {font-weight:bold;font-size:15px;} #yiv1969909341 .body8px {font-size:8px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body9px {font-size:9px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body10px {font-size:10px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body11px {font-size:11px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body14px {font-size:14px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body16px {font-size:16px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .body18px {font-size:18px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .bodyunderline {text-decoration:underline;} #yiv1969909341 .bodyitalic {font-style:italic;} #yiv1969909341 .none {list-style-type:none;} #yiv1969909341 .titleitalic {font-weight:bold;font-style:italic;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold {font-weight:bold;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .titlebold10px {font-weight:bold;font-size:10px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold11px {font-weight:bold;font-size:11px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold12px {font-weight:bold;font-size:12px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold13px {font-weight:bold;font-size:13px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold14px {font-weight:bold;font-size:14px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold15px {font-weight:bold;font-size:15px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold16px {font-weight:bold;font-size:16px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold17px {font-weight:bold;font-size:17px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold18px {font-weight:bold;font-size:18px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold19px {font-weight:bold;font-size:19px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold20px {font-weight:bold;font-size:20px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold21px {font-weight:bold;font-size:21px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold22px {font-weight:bold;font-size:22px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold23px {font-weight:bold;font-size:23px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold24px {font-weight:bold;font-size:24px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold25px {font-weight:bold;font-size:25px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold26px {font-weight:bold;font-size:26px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold27px {font-weight:bold;font-size:27px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold28px {font-weight:bold;font-size:28px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold29px {font-weight:bold;font-size:29px;} #yiv1969909341 .titlebold30px {font-weight:bold;font-size:30px;} #yiv1969909341 .flashtitle {font-family:Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;font-size:18px;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .monospace {font-family:Courier, monospace;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 .roll {text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;color:black;}#yiv1969909341 #yiv1969909341 a.roll:hover {text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;color:D10000;} Where the Transmission Line Case Stands Dear Rebecca, A lot of you are asking me where the transmission line case stands --what does the Virginia decision mean? will there be an appeal? what's going on in Pennsylvania? what's going on with NIETC? and is there anything we can do to help? Here's my attempt at answering some of these questions: VA Decision Puts Environment, Landowners and Ratepayers Last I think the Virginia State Corporation Commission stuck their head in the sand on this one, ignoring alternatives, environmental concerns, and economic realities --placing the desires of a private company above the rights of Virginians. The SCC handed over their regulatory authority to PJM, a group of utilities that, by their own admission, can only propose transmission solutions. In their decision, the Virginia Commissioners state that the current process "clearly tilts the field towards PJM recommending more and more new transmission lines when other options might be a more efficient use of capital and much less intrusive on the landscape." We think that their decision to approve the line does a disservice to Virginia and should be appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court. Ask our Attorney General to Appeal the Decision Urge the VA Attorney General to Appeal Last week both Delegate Bob Marshall of Prince William and Congressman Wolf (R-10) contacted the Virginia Attorney General, Bob McDonnell, asking him to appeal the SCC Decision. We support Delegate Marshall and Congressman Wolf's call to action, and urge you to contact the Attorney General as well. Use the following link to access Congressman Wolf and Delegate Marshall's letter, and to send your own note to the Attorney General today! PA May Turn Down the Line, WV Approval Not Yet Final The Virginia SCC conditioned their approval on approval from both West Virginia and Pennsylvania. West Virginia initially approved the line, but conditioned approval on a number of things (including approval in Pennsylvania). We put in a call to the staff of the West Virginia Public Service Commission on Tuesday, and they described the case as "still open". The final decision in Pennsylvania is in the hands of the Pennsylvania Utility Commissioners, and they are reviewing the case now. TrAILCo has offered Greene County (Pennsylvania) money and returned right-of-ways in exchange for the County's support for a 1.2 mile segment of the line. Greene County accepted the offer. It is still unknown what, if any, effect this backroom deal will have on the PA Commissioners' decision. It doesn't look like Pennsylvania will be making any decision until the end of the month, at the earliest. NIETC is Still Out There If PA turns down the line, the utilities may appeal to the federal government. If Pennsylvania turns their segment of the line down, it is likely that Dominion and Allegheny will try to use the National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC) process to get the line approved. They would do so by applying directly to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Piedmont Environmental Council has two separate federal appeals going on, one in the 4th circuit in Richmond contesting FERC's interpretation of the NIETC statute and another appeal in the 9th Circuit related to DOE's implementation of NIETC. I apologize for the number of acronyms in the previous sentence. At the end of last month we went down to Richmond to hear oral arguments on our 4th Circuit case. The New York Attorney General's office spoke on our behalf. Initial briefs are due on our 9th Circuit case by the end of the year, with a decision expected some time late next year. If you have questions about either of these cases, please contact Rob Marmet at rmarmet(a)pecva.org . Please take a couple of minutes to send the Attorney General a quick email requesting his participation in an appeal. While PEC will be appealing, we could use a friend. Best, Bri West Piedmont Environmental Council bwest(a)pecva.org 1-540-347-2334 Get a Farmland Lost is Farmland Lost Forever Bumper Sticker. Please Support PEC with a Donation. This message was sent to multiflora123(a)yahoo.com. Visit your subscription management page to modify your email communication preferences or update your personal profile. To stop ALL email from The Piedmont Environmental Council, click to remove yourself from our lists (or reply via email with "remove or unsubscribe" in the subject line). --- On Wed, 10/15/08, Bri West, PEC <pecnews(a)pecva.org> wrote: From: Bri West, PEC <pecnews(a)pecva.org> Subject: Where the Transmission Line Case Stands To: "Rebecca Foley" <multiflora123(a)yahoo.com> Date: Wednesday, October 15, 2008, 3:56 PM Where the Transmission Line Case Stands Dear Rebecca, A lot of you are asking me where the transmission line case stands --what does the Virginia decision mean? will there be an appeal? what's going on in Pennsylvania? what's going on with NIETC? and is there anything we can do to help? Here's my attempt at answering some of these questions: VA Decision Puts Environment, Landowners and Ratepayers Last I think the Virginia State Corporation Commission stuck their head in the sand on this one, ignoring alternatives, environmental concerns, and economic realities --placing the desires of a private company above the rights of Virginians. The SCC handed over their regulatory authority to PJM, a group of utilities that, by their own admission, can only propose transmission solutions. In their decision, the Virginia Commissioners state that the current process "clearly tilts the field towards PJM recommending more and more new transmission lines when other options might be a more efficient use of capital and much less intrusive on the landscape." We think that their decision to approve the line does a disservice to Virginia and should be appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court. Ask our Attorney General to Appeal the Decision Urge the VA Attorney General to Appeal Last week both Delegate Bob Marshall of Prince William and Congressman Wolf (R-10) contacted the Virginia Attorney General, Bob McDonnell, asking him to appeal the SCC Decision. We support Delegate Marshall and Congressman Wolf's call to action, and urge you to contact the Attorney General as well. Use the following link to access Congressman Wolf and Delegate Marshall's letter, and to send your own note to the Attorney General today! PA May Turn Down the Line, WV Approval Not Yet Final The Virginia SCC conditioned their approval on approval from both West Virginia and Pennsylvania. West Virginia initially approved the line, but conditioned approval on a number of things (including approval in Pennsylvania). We put in a call to the staff of the West Virginia Public Service Commission on Tuesday, and they described the case as "still open". The final decision in Pennsylvania is in the hands of the Pennsylvania Utility Commissioners, and they are reviewing the case now. TrAILCo has offered Greene County (Pennsylvania) money and returned right-of-ways in exchange for the County's support for a 1.2 mile segment of the line. Greene County accepted the offer. It is still unknown what, if any, effect this backroom deal will have on the PA Commissioners' decision. It doesn't look like Pennsylvania will be making any decision until the end of the month, at the earliest. NIETC is Still Out There If PA turns down the line, the utilities may appeal to the federal government. If Pennsylvania turns their segment of the line down, it is likely that Dominion and Allegheny will try to use the National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC) process to get the line approved. They would do so by applying directly to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Piedmont Environmental Council has two separate federal appeals going on, one in the 4th circuit in Richmond contesting FERC's interpretation of the NIETC statute and another appeal in the 9th Circuit related to DOE's implementation of NIETC. I apologize for the number of acronyms in the previous sentence. At the end of last month we went down to Richmond to hear oral arguments on our 4th Circuit case. The New York Attorney General's office spoke on our behalf. Initial briefs are due on our 9th Circuit case by the end of the year, with a decision expected some time late next year. If you have questions about either of these cases, please contact Rob Marmet at rmarmet(a)pecva.org . Please take a couple of minutes to send the Attorney General a quick email requesting his participation in an appeal. While PEC will be appealing, we could use a friend. Best, Bri West Piedmont Environmental Council bwest(a)pecva.org 1-540-347-2334 ________________________________ Get a Farmland Lost is Farmland Lost Forever Bumper Sticker. Please Support PEC with a Donation. ________________________________ This message was sent to multiflora123(a)yahoo.com. Visit your subscription management page to modify your email communication preferences or update your personal profile. To stop ALL email from The Piedmont Environmental Council, click to remove yourself from our lists (or reply via email with "remove or unsubscribe" in the subject line). -- William V. DePaulo, Esq. 179 Summers Street, Suite 232 Charleston, WV 25301-2163 Tel: 304-342-5588 Fax: 304-342-5505 william.depaulo(a)gmail.com www.passeggiata.com

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Fw: Breaking: Florida Releases State Climate Plan: Huge Economic Gains, Redefines National Discussion
by Jim Sconyers 16 Oct '08

16 Oct '08

Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: Ned Ford <Ned.Ford(a)FUSE.NET> To: CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2008 1:29:55 AM Subject: Breaking: Florida Releases State Climate Plan: Huge Economic Gains, Redefines National Discussion Florida Releases State Climate Plan: Huge Economic Gains, Redefines National Discussion Florida today is releasing its plan of action to address climate change, and the news is good and big. Fifty separate policy recommendations pave the way for Florida to realize $28 billion in net economic savings between now and 2025, and to significantly reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The report's executive summary, posted today here, calculates that emissions would be reduced 64% from business-as-usual projections by 2025 if all fifty policy recommendations are implemented. That translates into a 51% reduction of emissions below 2005 levels, and a 33% reduction below 1990 levels. The reductions blow past the targets Governor Crist asked the Action Team to hit. Florida's fuel consumption would also decline dramatically and lessen its dependence on both dirty and foreign sources of fossil energy -- a projected total fuel savings of 53.5 billion gallons of petroleum, 200.2 million short tons of coal, and 6.394 billion cubic feet of natural gas during the period of 2009 through 2025. What is particularly noteworthy is that this plan emerges from the Republican stronghold of Governor Charlie Crist's administration, a man who was on the short list for Vice-Presidential nominee. Secretary of Florida's Department of Environmental Protection Michael Sole headed up Crist's Action Team on Energy and Climate Change which produced the plan. He was deputy secretary of the department under former governor Jeb Bush. Kathleen Shanahan, who was Jeb Bush's chief of staff, also served on the Action Team. She also served as Chief of Staff for Vice President-elect Dick Cheney during the 2000 presidential campaign and transition. Also on the action team was Mark Kaplan, who also served in the capacity of Chief of Staff for Jeb Bush when he was governor. Rick Baker, Republican Mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida also helped produce the plan. All 50 recommendations were adopted unanimously by the 27 members of the action team...... rest of the story here: http://solveclimate.com/blog/20081015/florida-releases-state-climate-plan-h… - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS list, send any message to: CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp

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Fw: Plugged In: The Most Energy Efficient States Revealed
by Jim Sconyers 16 Oct '08

16 Oct '08

2008 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard West Virginia tied for 43rd. http://www.aceee.org/pubs/e086.htm Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: Sierra Club <global.warming(a)sierraclub.org> To: jim_scon(a)yahoo.com Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2008 1:39:50 PM Subject: Plugged In: The Most Energy Efficient States Revealed Sierra Club Having trouble receiving our e-mail? Try adding us (global.warming(a)sierraclub.org) to your Address Book. Find out how. View a web version of this newsletter. In this Edition Federal:State Energy Efficiency Ranked, Higher Heating Costs Expected International: China Drops Liquid Coal In the States: UT Coal Plant Back on the Ballot, NM Promotes Clean Energy News and Resources:Green Job Markets, Coal River Mountain, and Ike’s Environmental Toll FederalState Energy Efficiency Rankings Released Earlier this month the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) revealed its state rankings on energy efficiency. The 2008 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard rates and ranks state-level action on model energy efficiency policies, programs, and practices. Here are the top ten U.S. states "employing energy efficiency to grow their economies while meeting electricity demand, combating global warming, and contributing to U.S. energy security:" 1. California 2. Oregon 3. Connecticut 4. Vermont 5. New York 6. Washington 7. Massachusetts 8. Minnesota 9. Wisconsin 10. New Jersey Download the report and executive summary on the ACEEE website. ________________________________ International China Drops Coal-to-Liquids Last week, China's National Development and Reform Commission announced that, besides two projects, it is effectively halting all coal-to-liquids projects "due to environmental and economic concerns." The agency calls the technology risky both financially and environmentally. This is a major decision and China is making a tremendous statement -- the same one we've been making about the 10 proposed coal-to-liquid plants in the U.S: Liquid coal is not a viable option for our energy needs. Learn more about liquid coal on the coal campaign website. ________________________________ In the States Utah Coal Plant Back on the Ballot Our state activists are thrilled with last week’s Utah Supreme Court decision to allow a coal-fired power plant issue back on the ballot in Sevier County. A coalition of clean energy groups including our state chapter had fought for a referendum allowing the county’s citizens to vote on permits for new coal-fired power plants in the county. The move was in response to a planned 240-megawatt coal-fired power plant. "A 6th District judge last month halted (the) citizen referendum, saying the initiative intended for the Nov. 4 ballot didn't comply with a new law prohibiting initiatives on changes to land-use ordinances." The Utah Supreme Court disagreed, and said the referendum must go back on the ballot. Now county residents get to vote down this latest coal plant. Congrats, Utah! New Mexico Promotes Clean Energy The Sierra Club is a proud supporter of Dooda Desert Rock (DDR), a Navajo grassroots organization dedicated to stopping the proposed Desert Rock coal-fired power plant in New Mexico. From Oct. 3-5, the Sierra Club helped DDR at the local Shiprock Fair both staffing a booth, helping with a parade, and supporting a music festival. Andy Bessler of the Sierra Club's Tribal Partnerships Program said the time at the booth also garnered them many more signatures on a petition opposing the Desert Rock plant. The parade float featured a wind turbine and many clean energy supporters from three states who are working with DDR. "There was a huge crowd," said Bessler. "I would estimate the crowd along the two-mile parade route packed shoulder-to-shoulder for the full two-mile route at 60,000. DDR hosted a 3-day music festival at the fair as well and educated thousands of local residents about the dangers of building another coal plant in the four-corners region." Congrats! ________________________________ News and Resources -- America’s Hottest Green Job Markets (Forbes) -- The Battle Over Coal River (CNN) -- Hurricane Ike Environmental Toll Apparent (AP) ________________________________ Plugged In, your source for the latest happenings with the Sierra Club's Smart Energy Solutions Campaign. Subscribe to Plugged In. Unsubscribe to Plugged In. View previous editions of Plugged In. Become a Sierra Club Member. Want to keep up with the Sierra Club's latest activities and news? Sign up to receive Sierra ClubInsider, the Sierra Club's flagship e-newsletter sent out twice a month. The Insider provides everything from information on new reports and issues to planning great hiking trips to how you can help change environmental policy. View recent editions of the Insider. Sierra Club | 85 Second St., San Francisco, CA 94105 | sierraclub.org/globalwarming | global.warming(a)sierraclub.org Update My Profile | Manage My Email Preferences | Update My Interests

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Jesse Johnson Fundraiser
by Regina Hendrix 12 Oct '08

12 Oct '08

Ladies and gentlemen, I need your help to publicize the fund raiser event for Jesse Johnson. (See attached.) For the first time ever, I believe, (in WV I'm sure and maybe nationally) the Sierra Club is endorsing a third party candidate. There's such a short lead time that I need my friends to help get the word out. (There's a Word document attached and I will paste the body of the text below just in case anyone has trouble opening it.) Would you mind putting it on your E-mail list serve and asking anyone else who might have a large circle of friends to do the same. I am strongly motivated to help Jesse bring in as large a vote total as possible, especially after attending the hearing before Judge Jennifer Bailey Walker last week. She took the PC and easy way out when she denied Jesse's request for an injunction and ruled for the Broadcast Association and the Clay Center. Attorney Barnett from Jackson & Kelly tried to intimate that we really don't have a campaign going and he tried to belittle our efforts. He intimated that Jesse is not serious and "just craves publicity." Well, we do all "crave publicity" for our issues. Jesse is on the ballot in all 55 counties and he has been waging a statewide campaign on a shoestring. He needs help NOW with funds to get his office open and to get literature printed. He has been traveling statewide--we all know how expensive that is. He has some good plans to bring attention to our issues right before the election. Governor Manchin's arrogance in totally blowing away our issues and ordering those head bashing arrests last March should not be tolerated by any of us. I feel we should have gone back to the Capitol right away. We just couldn't get it together quick enough and several people actually have (or had) serious injuries to deal with after that melee. So here we are in October asked to listen to a "debate" between two candidates who've sold their soul to the coal barons. (I plan to boycott the "debate") Two-thirds of the citizens in WV want to ban mountaintop removal and in Jesse we finally have a candidate who supports us. We need to support him. Thanks for your help. Please call me if you have any questions. I also need a couple of volunteers to help me during the fund raiser event. Regina Hendrix (304) 343-5211 *WV CHAPTER SIERRA CLUB AND CITIZENS ACTION FUND * *are jointly sponsoring a **Jesse4WVGov **Fundraiser **for Jesse Johnson, Mountain Party Candidate for Governor,** on:* * * *Date: Friday, 17 October 2008 * * * *Time: 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.* * * *Location: Citizen Action Group Headquarters, * *1500 Dixie Street, Charleston, WV* * * *Refreshments: WVSC PAC will supply finger foods and wine and music. **Please come out to support the candidate and BYOB and a dessert, if you like.* * * * * WV Sierra Club announced their endorsement of Jesse Johnson (Mountain Party) for West Virginia Governor on October 3 and Citizen Action Fund will be announcing their endorsement at this fundraising event. Our candidates support clean air and water, protection of the mountains and forests and social justice connected to environmental issues, so we need to support them. Electing environment-friendly officials takes money. Jesse needs $$’s for printing, stamps, office supplies, newspaper ads and other expenses incidental to the statewide campaign he has been conducting. In these final weeks he needs your help more than ever. Please come and bring your checkbook or, if you cannot attend, please mail contributions to: *Jesse4WVGov, P. O. Box 814, Charleston, WV 25323.* If you have questions or need directions, please call or email Regina Hendrix at 304-343-5211 or regina1936(a)verizon.net. * * * * *Thi*

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[Fwd: [fom] More from BBC: Surface tension]
by Regina Hendrix 11 Oct '08

11 Oct '08

FYI.

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Re: [EC] Fwd: NEWS ADVISORY: Renewable Electricity Surges by 32%--Provides 11% of U.S. Net Generation
by Jim Sconyers 10 Oct '08

10 Oct '08

And renewables were 11% of the total - awesome! Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ________________________________ From: James Kotcon <jkotcon(a)wvu.edu> To: ec(a)osenergy.org Sent: Friday, October 10, 2008 11:46:51 AM Subject: [EC] Fwd: NEWS ADVISORY: Renewable Electricity Surges by 32%--Provides 11% of U.S. Net Generation If total electricity sales go up 3 %, while nukes drop 1 %, and renewables increase by 32%, that tells me the marketplace is speaking about the future of energy. Those who think nukes are the way of the future need to pay attention. Enjoy. JBK >>> Kenneth Bossong <sustainableenergy_news(a)yahoo.com> 10/10/2008 11:02 AM >>> SUN DAY Campaign 6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite #340; Takoma Park, MD 20912 301-270-6477 x.23 sun-day-campaign(a)hotmail.com Media Advisory U.S. RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY GENERATION SURGES BY 32%; SUSTAINABLE ENERGY ACCOUNTS FOR 11% OF TOTAL ELECTRIC SUPPLY WIND, SOLAR, HYDROPOWER ALL EXPERIENCE DRAMATIC INCREASES AS NUCLEAR POWER’S SHARE DIPS For Immediate Release: October 9, 2008 Contact: Ken Bossong 301-270-6477 x.23 Washington DC -- According to the latest "Monthly Electricity Review" issued by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (October 3, 2008), net U.S. generation of electricity from renewable energy sources surged by 32 percent in June 2008 compared to June 2007. Renewable energy (biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) totaled 41,160,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) in June 2008 up from 31,242,000 MWh in June 2007. Renewables accounted for 11.0% of net U.S. electricity generation in June 2008 compared to 8.6% in June 2007. Compared to June 2007, wind power grew by 81.6% in June 2008 while solar and conventional hydropower experienced increases of 42.6% and 34.7% respectively. Geothermal energy also enjoyed a slight increase (0.8%) while biomass (wood + waste) remained relatively unchanged. Renewable energy sources now account for 37% of the non-fossil net electricity generation in the United States. Net electricity generation from non-hydroelectric renewables (i.e., biomass, geothermal, solar, wind) increased by 24 percent to 10,357,000 MWh and now accounts for just under three percent of total net U.S. electricity generation. By comparison, nuclear power’s share of total net U.S. electricity generation dipped from 19.0% in June 2007 to 18.8% in June 2008. Total U.S. net electricity generation increased by 2.9% to 373,632,000 MWh. “The Bush Administration’s own data clearly illustrate which energy options should be the focus of future investment,” said Ken Bossong, Executive Director of the SUN DAY Campaign “The dizzyingly high growth rates that renewable energy sources continue to enjoy - compared to the stagnant figures for nuclear power - strongly argue for directing limited federal energy dollars into sustainable energy technologies.” A summary table prepared by the SUN DAY Campaign based on the data in the EIA report is attached. The full EIA report “Electric Power Monthly” can be accessed at: http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/epm_sum.html # # # # # # # # The SUN DAY Campaign is a non-profit research and educational organization founded in 1993 to promote sustainable energy technologies as cost-effective alternatives to nuclear power and fossil fuels. ========================

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Fwd: NEWS ADVISORY: Renewable Electricity Surges by 32%--Provides 11% of U.S. Net Generation
by James Kotcon 10 Oct '08

10 Oct '08

If total electricity sales go up 3 %, while nukes drop 1 %, and renewables increase by 32%, that tells me the marketplace is speaking about the future of energy. Those who think nukes are the way of the future need to pay attention. Enjoy. JBK >>> Kenneth Bossong <sustainableenergy_news(a)yahoo.com> 10/10/2008 11:02 AM >>> SUN DAY Campaign 6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite #340; Takoma Park, MD 20912 301-270-6477 x.23 sun-day-campaign(a)hotmail.com Media Advisory U.S. RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY GENERATION SURGES BY 32%; SUSTAINABLE ENERGY ACCOUNTS FOR 11% OF TOTAL ELECTRIC SUPPLY WIND, SOLAR, HYDROPOWER ALL EXPERIENCE DRAMATIC INCREASES AS NUCLEAR POWER’S SHARE DIPS For Immediate Release: October 9, 2008 Contact: Ken Bossong 301-270-6477 x.23 Washington DC -- According to the latest "Monthly Electricity Review" issued by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (October 3, 2008), net U.S. generation of electricity from renewable energy sources surged by 32 percent in June 2008 compared to June 2007. Renewable energy (biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) totaled 41,160,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) in June 2008 up from 31,242,000 MWh in June 2007. Renewables accounted for 11.0% of net U.S. electricity generation in June 2008 compared to 8.6% in June 2007. Compared to June 2007, wind power grew by 81.6% in June 2008 while solar and conventional hydropower experienced increases of 42.6% and 34.7% respectively. Geothermal energy also enjoyed a slight increase (0.8%) while biomass (wood + waste) remained relatively unchanged. Renewable energy sources now account for 37% of the non-fossil net electricity generation in the United States. Net electricity generation from non-hydroelectric renewables (i.e., biomass, geothermal, solar, wind) increased by 24 percent to 10,357,000 MWh and now accounts for just under three percent of total net U.S. electricity generation. By comparison, nuclear power’s share of total net U.S. electricity generation dipped from 19.0% in June 2007 to 18.8% in June 2008. Total U.S. net electricity generation increased by 2.9% to 373,632,000 MWh. “The Bush Administration’s own data clearly illustrate which energy options should be the focus of future investment,” said Ken Bossong, Executive Director of the SUN DAY Campaign “The dizzyingly high growth rates that renewable energy sources continue to enjoy - compared to the stagnant figures for nuclear power - strongly argue for directing limited federal energy dollars into sustainable energy technologies.” A summary table prepared by the SUN DAY Campaign based on the data in the EIA report is attached. The full EIA report “Electric Power Monthly” can be accessed at: http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/epm_sum.html # # # # # # # # The SUN DAY Campaign is a non-profit research and educational organization founded in 1993 to promote sustainable energy technologies as cost-effective alternatives to nuclear power and fossil fuels. ========================

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Jesse4wvgov
by Regina Hendrix 09 Oct '08

09 Oct '08

Pasted in below is the text of a press release just issued by Sierra Club concerning our endorsement of Jesse Johnson for WV Governor. This information was released this morning by Sierra Club National Press Office in Wash. D.C. Oliver Bernstein suggested anyone with press contacts send it around around also. If you have contacts and would like a copy with the logo and header on it, please contact me or Jim Sconyers at the phone numbers listed on the release. I pasted it in because the FOM listing will not accept attachments. (I have already forwarded it to Ken Ward.) Another action that Jesse has asked that we take is to contact Jim Haught at Chas. Gazette (Haught(a)wvgazette.com) and ask him to run the op-eds by Mike Gravel and Charlotte Pritt in the hard copy Gazette. (or contact Haught by phone on 304-348-5199) They have been running the op-eds only in the online version. Also, check out the online versions and make comments, since Gazette keeps track of the hits. Bill Price asks that Sierra Club members contact him on 304-389-8822, if they are able to donate some time to a Sister Chapter Adoption Program sponsored by SC. Bill is serving in Ohio right now to help Barack out in that battleground state and they need more volunteers. Bill has info on the details, such as where do you stay, etc. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 3, 2008 CONTACTS: Regina Hendrix 304-343-5211 or Jim Sconyers 603-969-6712 SIERRA CLUB ENDORSES JESSE JOHNSON FOR WV GOVERNOR Conservation Group Highlights Opposition to Mountaintop Removal, Praises Work to Protect West Virginia’s Environment "We are very pleased to announce today that the Sierra Club WV Chapter endorses Jesse Johnson for West Virginia Governor," said Political Chair Regina Hendrix. "As the only gubernatorial candidate working for a statewide ban on mountaintop removal, we believe his candidacy will give West Virginians a chance to vote for a governor who is dedicated to helping West Virginia’s workers by promoting renewable energy and keeping our state clean.” “Johnson showed how seriously he takes this issue by speaking to tens of thousands of people nationwide during the last year about the harsh realities of mountaintop removal. His plan for the economy proposes tax breaks and incentives for businesses using renewable energy technology and he has urged that citizens be given a dividend from taxes generated from non-renewables such as coal and natural gas. Unfortunately, Governor Manchin’s support of mountaintop removal has kept West Virginia from moving towards a clean energy future that would benefit the economy and the environment.” Mountaintop removal mining is a destructive form of coal mining that has already buried more than 1,200 miles of streams and threatens to destroy 1.4 million acres of land by 2020. The mining poisons drinking water, lays waste to wildlife habitat, increases the risk of flooding and wipes out entire communities. “Johnson shares many of the conservation principles that the WV Sierra Club stands for,” said WV Conservation Chair Jim Sconyers. “He understands the energy crisis, the need to transition from coal to renewable energy, and the looming threat of global - and local - climate change. And he is dead set against taking away West Virginia citizens’ land for the sake of building huge power lines that do not benefit West Virginia in any way.” “The Sierra Club also praises Johnson’s opposition to proposed new electric transmission lines,” said Jim Kotcon, Chair of the WV Sierra Club’s Energy Committee. “These lines would allow private, out-of-state electric companies to take private property from West Virginia citizens primarily so those companies can make exorbitant profits by gouging local electric ratepayers. Unfortunately Governor Manchin supports this bad deal for West Virginia. Is that what Manchin means by "Open For Business"? Instead of supporting environmental destruction and higher taxes, Johnson says he will work to derail these lines. That is what West Virginia needs.” Along with the endorsement, the Sierra Club will lend its volunteer strength to Johnson’s campaign. We look forward to a victory party for the environment on election night and to many years of Jesse Johnson fighting for the environment as Governor of West Virginia." # # # Regina Hendrix

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Re. Gubernatorial debate
by Vernon Haltom 09 Oct '08

09 Oct '08

Here's my revision; please take a look. Michele Crist Executive Director West Virginia Broadcasters Association 140 Seventh Avenue South Charleston, WV 25309-1452 October 9, 2008 Dear Ms. Crist, During the past few weeks your organization has received numerous phone calls, emails, and letters from West Virginia citizens who are concerned about your exclusion of Mountain Party Candidate Jesse Johnson in the upcoming WV Broadcasters-sponsored gubernatorial debate. Your continued refusal to include Mr. Johnson in this debate is a disservice to the public and to the thousands of registered voters that are members of our organizations. It is without doubt a disservice to the many West Virginiatelevision and radio station members that you represent. The Mountain Party is an established and growing political party that has been on the ballot for a number of years now. Three candidates are on the gubernatorial ballot this year. All three should take part in the debate. Excluding Mr. Johnson because of the lower number of Mountain Party members is comparable to excluding Mr. Weeks because of the lower number of Republican Party members. The Mountain Party represents an alternative for West Virginians who feel that the Republican and Democratic parties have no difference on some important issues such as mountaintop removal coal mining. Mountaintop removal has been the subject of hundreds of news stories here in West Virginia and across the nation. In numerous polls, the majority of West Virginians have expressed their desire to see this mining practice end, yet both the Democratic and Republican parties continue to support this form of coal mining. The Mountain Party has taken the position of the majority. Your refusal to include the only party in this state that agrees with the majority on this most important issue is illogical, and some might even say oppressive. At the very least your refusal to include Candidate Johnson discredits your organization and questions your motives. While we do not endorse any candidate or party, we feel an obligation to our members to make sure their concerns are addressed and discussed in the debate. The WV Broadcasters Association may be a privately held organization, but that does not negate your ethical obligation to hold a fair and balanced public gubernatorial debate. We are respectfully asking that you reconsider your position and include Mountain Party Candidate Jesse Johnson in this debate. Yours Truly, On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 11:37 AM, Judy Bonds <judy(a)crmw.net> wrote: > Wait---one could check the last date to put political letters in the > papers in the Eastern panhandle---not sure if they have the same policy on > political letters. > It might be worth a try to get a letter or 2 in. > Judy > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* Vernon Haltom <vernoncrmw(a)gmail.com> > *To:* Judy Bonds <judy(a)crmw.net> > *Cc:* Paul Wilson <pjgrunt(a)gmail.com> ; bo webb <webb.bo(a)gmail.com> ; Tonya > Adkins <4themountains(a)gmail.com> ; Rory McIlmoil <rorygep(a)gmail.com> ; Jesse > Johnson <jesse4wvgov(a)yahoo.com> ; All of FOM list <fom(a)lists.riseup.net> ; > ec(a)osenergy.org > *Sent:* Thursday, October 09, 2008 11:29 AM > *Subject:* Re: [EC] [fom] Jesse4wvgov > > I'm revising the letter, should be done in just a few minutes. > > On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 10:51 AM, Judy Bonds <judy(a)crmw.net> wrote: > >> the debate is Monday---too late for letters to the editor adn papers >> always have a set date that they won't print political letters after during >> an election cycle. >> Judy >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> *From:* Paul Wilson <pjgrunt(a)gmail.com> >> *To:* bo webb <webb.bo(a)gmail.com> >> *Cc:* Tonya Adkins <4themountains(a)gmail.com> ; Rory McIlmoil<rorygep(a)gmail.com>; Jesse >> Johnson <jesse4wvgov(a)yahoo.com> ; All of FOM list <fom(a)lists.riseup.net>; >> ec(a)osenergy.org >> *Sent:* Thursday, October 09, 2008 10:08 AM >> *Subject:* Re: [EC] [fom] Jesse4wvgov >> >> LTEs would be the most useful form of informing the public. Especially >> with PATH coming thru the Eastern Panhandle and Jesse's opposition to MTR >> and coal industry. So does Jesse have any LTE's we can modify and send to >> local papers?? thanks paul w. >> >> On Wed, Oct 8, 2008 at 8:14 AM, bo webb <webb.bo@ <webb.bo(a)gmail.com> >> gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> I suggest we as organizations, (because organizations speak for their >>> members, representing thousands of us) to send individual organization press >>> releases out to all media across the state about our concerns, coupled with >>> personal calls from our respective executive directors to WV Broadcasters >>> Ass. and local TV and radio stations news departments. Not an endorsement >>> of Jesse, but demanding an inclusion of Jesse that guarantees a fair process >>> that will bring our issue of mountain top removal to the discussion. The >>> majority of WV citizens oppose mtr, etc. >>> >>> Bo >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> On Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 3:02 PM, Tonya Adkins <4themountains(a)gmail.com>wrote: >>> >>>> I called the WV broadcaster's association last week to complain, too. I >>>> was given basically the same answer, except the girl I spoke with also said >>>> that they were only including the candidates that would generate the most >>>> viewers...which doesn't even make sense. ...how do they know? I said they >>>> have a responsibility to provide the public with information representing >>>> differing viewpoints...and that Manchin is a republican masquerading as a >>>> democrat, so we now have two republicans debating each other...I also said >>>> it was reprehensible that they are engaging in a form of censorship. >>>> >>>> On Mon, Oct 6, 2008 at 1:27 PM, Regina Hendrix <regina1936(a)verizon.net>wrote: >>>> >>>>> Thank you Rory. I hope a lot more people will call. Jesse is being >>>>> locked out of the process and the voters are given no choice, since Manchin >>>>> and Weeks are almost equally bad. >>>>> I have seen nothing in the Gazette on this endorsement, despite it >>>>> being released statewide. I sent it personally to Ken Ward and Jim Haught. >>>>> I also sent it to WV New Service. They usually do radio pieces and I feel >>>>> sure they will do something but I was hoping for news coverage statewide. >>>>> Any ideas, anyone??? >>>>> >>>>> Regina >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Rory McIlmoil wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Just to let everyone know, I called the WV Broadcasters Assn on >>>>>> Wednesday, expressing my concern about them leaving Jesse out of the debate, >>>>>> and about how that undermines the democratic principles that the state and >>>>>> the country are supposed to be based upon, and their response was to tell me >>>>>> that they were a private corporation, and their board had made the decision >>>>>> and that there had been little public outcry about it (so people need to be >>>>>> making more calls!!). I then mentioned to the woman who answered the phone >>>>>> that the Assn was then essentially privatizing our democratic institution, >>>>>> and she had no reply to that. Sounds more like an oligarchy to me. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> On Fri, Oct 3, 2008 at 1:47 PM, Regina Hendrix < >>>>>> regina1936(a)verizon.net <mailto:regina1936@verizon.net>> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>> Pasted in below is the text of a press release just issued by >>>>>> Sierra Club concerning our endorsement of Jesse Johnson for WV >>>>>> Governor. This information was released this morning by Sierra >>>>>> Club National Press Office in Wash. D.C. Oliver Bernstein >>>>>> suggested anyone with press contacts send it around around also. >>>>>> If you have contacts and would like a copy with the logo and >>>>>> header on it, please contact me or Jim Sconyers at the phone >>>>>> numbers listed on the release. I pasted it in because the FOM >>>>>> listing will not accept attachments. (I have already forwarded it >>>>>> to Ken Ward.) >>>>>> >>>>>> Another action that Jesse has asked that we take is to contact Jim >>>>>> Haught at Chas. Gazette (Haught(a)wvgazette.com >>>>>> <mailto:Haught@wvgazette.com>) and ask him to run the op-eds by >>>>>> Mike Gravel and Charlotte Pritt in the hard copy Gazette. (or >>>>>> contact Haught by phone on 304-348-5199) They have been running >>>>>> the op-eds only in the online version. Also, check out the online >>>>>> versions and make comments, since Gazette keeps track of the hits. >>>>>> >>>>>> Bill Price asks that Sierra Club members contact him on >>>>>> 304-389-8822, if they are able to donate some time to a Sister >>>>>> Chapter Adoption Program sponsored by SC. Bill is serving in Ohio >>>>>> right now to help Barack out in that battleground state and they >>>>>> need more volunteers. Bill has info on the details, such as where >>>>>> do you stay, etc. >>>>>> >>>>>> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 3, 2008 >>>>>> >>>>>> CONTACTS: Regina Hendrix 304-343-5211 or >>>>>> Jim Sconyers 603-969-6712 >>>>>> >>>>>> SIERRA CLUB ENDORSES JESSE JOHNSON >>>>>> >>>>>> FOR WV GOVERNOR >>>>>> >>>>>> Conservation Group Highlights Opposition to Mountaintop Removal, >>>>>> Praises Work to Protect West Virginia's Environment >>>>>> >>>>>> "We are very pleased to announce today that the Sierra Club WV >>>>>> Chapter endorses Jesse Johnson for West Virginia Governor," said >>>>>> Political Chair Regina Hendrix. "As the only gubernatorial >>>>>> candidate working for a statewide ban on mountaintop removal, we >>>>>> believe his candidacy will give West Virginians a chance to vote >>>>>> for a governor who is dedicated to helping West Virginia's workers >>>>>> by promoting renewable energy and keeping our state clean." >>>>>> >>>>>> "Johnson showed how seriously he takes this issue by speaking to >>>>>> tens of thousands of people nationwide during the last year about >>>>>> the harsh realities of mountaintop removal. His plan for the >>>>>> economy proposes tax breaks and incentives for businesses using >>>>>> renewable energy technology and he has urged that citizens be >>>>>> given a dividend from taxes generated from non-renewables such as >>>>>> coal and natural gas. Unfortunately, Governor Manchin's support of >>>>>> mountaintop removal has kept West Virginia from moving towards a >>>>>> clean energy future that would benefit the economy and the >>>>>> environment." >>>>>> >>>>>> Mountaintop removal mining is a destructive form of coal mining >>>>>> that has already buried more than 1,200 miles of streams and >>>>>> threatens to destroy 1.4 million acres of land by 2020. The mining >>>>>> poisons drinking water, lays waste to wildlife habitat, increases >>>>>> the risk of flooding and wipes out entire communities. >>>>>> >>>>>> "Johnson shares many of the conservation principles that the WV >>>>>> Sierra Club stands for," said WV Conservation Chair Jim Sconyers. >>>>>> "He understands the energy crisis, the need to transition from >>>>>> coal to renewable energy, and the looming threat of global - and >>>>>> local - climate change. And he is dead set against taking away >>>>>> West Virginia citizens' land for the sake of building huge power >>>>>> lines that do not benefit West Virginia in any way." >>>>>> >>>>>> "The Sierra Club also praises Johnson's opposition to proposed new >>>>>> electric transmission lines," said Jim Kotcon, Chair of the WV >>>>>> Sierra Club's Energy Committee. "These lines would allow private, >>>>>> out-of-state electric companies to take private property from West >>>>>> Virginia citizens primarily so those companies can make exorbitant >>>>>> profits by gouging local electric ratepayers. Unfortunately >>>>>> Governor Manchin supports this bad deal for West Virginia. Is that >>>>>> what Manchin means by "Open For Business"? Instead of supporting >>>>>> environmental destruction and higher taxes, Johnson says he will >>>>>> work to derail these lines. That is what West Virginia needs." >>>>>> >>>>>> Along with the endorsement, the Sierra Club will lend its >>>>>> volunteer strength to Johnson's campaign. We look forward to a >>>>>> victory party for the environment on election night and to many >>>>>> years of Jesse Johnson fighting for the environment as Governor of >>>>>> West Virginia." >>>>>> >>>>>> # # # >>>>>> >>>>>> Regina Hendrix >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> -- >>>>>> Kind Regards, >>>>>> >>>>>> Rory McIlmoil >>>>>> >>>>>> Coal River Mountain Wind Project >>>>>> (w): (304) 854-2182 >>>>>> (h): (304) 854-1937 >>>>>> www.coalriverwind.org <http://www.coalriverwind.org> >>>>>> www.crmw.net <http://www.crmw.net> >>>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> "No problem can be solved from the same consciousness that created it." >>> Albert Einstein >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> EC mailing list >>> EC(a)osenergy.org >>> http://osenergy.org/mailman/listinfo/ec >>> >>> >> >> >> -- >> Paul Wilson >> Sierra Club >> 504 Jefferson Ave >> Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 >> Phone: 304-725-4360 >> Cell: 304-279-6975 >> >> > > > -- > Vernon Haltom > Co-director > Coal River Mountain Watch > 304-854-2182 > www.crmw.net > www.coalriverwind.org > www.mountainjustice.org > For a Clean, Just, Sustainable Appalachia > > -- Vernon Haltom Co-director Coal River Mountain Watch 304-854-2182 www.crmw.net www.coalriverwind.org www.mountainjustice.org For a Clean, Just, Sustainable Appalachia

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Re: [EC] from Center for the Media: Coal Burners Invest in Environmental Journalism
by Paul Wilson 09 Oct '08

09 Oct '08

fyi, and please distribute widely. thanks paul Coal Burners Invest in Environmental Journalism<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=dmBwk7bXIN8S2ueT1ObY…> Source: Society for Environmental Journalists website, October 2008 The Society for Environmental Journalists (SEJ), which promotes "excellence in environmental journalism," is gearing up for its annual conference in Roanoke, Virginia in mid-October. As the conference is in the "heart of coal country," numerous sessions will address "the status and future of big coal." Richard Pauli, who writes the NoEnergyTomorrow blog, notes that<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=WqXco8CWdwozJJvLcfuj…>two of the conference's "premier sponsors" are the coal-addicted energy corporations American Electric Power<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=UCFVWeo8UvwvAFEtXmHk…>and Dominion Power<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=a0F2mD9mPOCDdjB5vn%2…>. "It's like seeing a Heart Association 10k race sponsored by a tobacco company," he wrote. In response, SEJ Executive Director Beth Parke stated that the corporate funding is for Virgina Tech, which will host the conference, and not directly for SEJ. Pauli noted SEJ's response, suggesting that "an improved analogy might be that of a track meet being held in a stadium that shows tobacco advertising. It may not be connected to the team, but they have to run below the sign." -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-6975

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Fwd: ABC won't air our ad
by Paul Wilson 09 Oct '08

09 Oct '08

This is a short fun activity. I would expect this from Fox News but surprised that ABC is taking this position. thanks, paul ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Cathy Zoi, The We Campaign <info(a)wecansolveit.org> Date: Wed, Oct 8, 2008 at 6:45 PM Subject: ABC won't air our ad To: Paul Wilson <pjgrunt(a)gmail.com> [image: We can solve the climate crisis]<http://www.wecansolveit.org/page/m/6faa2f86f8896f6a/vdKr9P/VEsH/> [image: ABC won't air our ad.]<http://www.wecansolveit.org/page/m/6faa2f86f8896f6a/OlTh2g/VEsE/> Tell ABC to air the Repower America ad this Friday on *20/20*. Take Action<http://www.wecansolveit.org/page/m/6faa2f86f8896f6a/OlTh2g/VEsF/>! Dear Paul, Did you notice the ads after last night's presidential debate? ABC had Chevron. CBS had Exxon. CNN had the coal lobby. But you know what happened last week? ABC refused to run our Repower America ad -- the ad that takes on this same oil and coal lobby. I sent a letter asking ABC to reconsider their decision and put our ad on the air, but still we haven't heard back more than a week later. I think they need to hear from all of us. Can you help? Please send a message<http://www.wecansolveit.org/page/m/6faa2f86f8896f6a/OlTh2g/VEsC/>to ABC and tell them to air the Repower America ad this Friday on *20/20*. Just click here: http://www.wecansolveit.org/ABC<http://www.wecansolveit.org/page/m/6faa2f86f8896f6a/OlTh2g/VEsD/> We're working to get 100,000 public comments to ABC before *20/20*'s next airing. Our Repower America ad has a clear and simple message -- that massive spending by oil and coal companies on advertising is a key reason our nation hasn't switched to clean and renewable sources for our energy. Here's the script of the ad: *The solution to our climate crisis seems simple. Repower America with wind and solar. End our dependence on foreign oil. A stronger economy. So why are we still stuck with dirty and expensive energy? Because big oil spends hundreds of millions of dollars to block clean energy. Lobbyists, ads, even scandals. All to increase their profits, while America suffers. Breaking big oil's lock on our government ... Now that's change. We're the American people and we approve this message.* You can view the ad on the ABC petition page, here<http://www.wecansolveit.org/page/m/6faa2f86f8896f6a/OlTh2g/VEsA/> . As our country faces deep economic problems, we need to be able to have an honest debate about the root causes of our problems. As Al Gore has said, "We're borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the future of human civilization. And every bit of that has to change." As oil and coal backed groups outspend even major party committees in this political year, it's outrageous that ABC would deny our ad. Let ABC know what you think. Just click here<http://www.wecansolveit.org/page/m/6faa2f86f8896f6a/OlTh2g/VEsB/> . Thank you, Cathy Zoi CEO www.wecansolveit.org<http://www.wecansolveit.org/page/m/6faa2f86f8896f6a/0nf5jg/VEsO/> WeCanSolveIt.org<http://www.wecansolveit.org/page/m/6faa2f86f8896f6a/vdKr9P/VEsP/> | Privacy Policy<http://www.wecansolveit.org/page/m/6faa2f86f8896f6a/rcAqm1/VEsHBQ==/> | Subscribe<http://www.wecansolveit.org/page/m/6faa2f86f8896f6a/Lhi230/VEsHBA==/> | Unsubscribe<http://www.wecansolveit.org/page/m/6faa2f86f8896f6a/dXCzoX/VEsHBw==/> | Contact Us<http://www.wecansolveit.org/page/m/6faa2f86f8896f6a/RhGqkm/VEsHBg==/> | About <http://www.wecansolveit.org/page/m/6faa2f86f8896f6a/v4bSb4/VEsHAQ==/> -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-6975

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FW: TrAIL gets approval from Virginia
by Grubb, Karen 07 Oct '08

07 Oct '08

From: Frank Young [mailto:fyoung@mountain.net] Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2008 2:33 PM To: WVHCBOARD(a)yahoogroups.com Cc: Bill DePaulo; Jim Kotcon; Grubb, Karen; Duane330(a)aol.com Subject: TrAIL gets approval from Virginia October 7, 2008 Multistate power line gets approval from Virginia By The Associated Press <mailto:> RICHMOND, Va. -- Regulators in Virginia have given the green light to a multistate high-voltage power line proposed for the northern part of the state. In a ruling today, the State Corporation Commission concluded the proposed power line meets standards set by Virginia law and must be approved. As proposed, the line would run from southwestern Pennsylvania across West Virginia to northern Virginia. The 240-mile line is intended to increase electrical supplies to 13 eastern states. In Virginia, the project is proposed by Dominion Virginia Power and Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line company. http://www.wvgazette.com/News/200810070411

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Re: [EC] Walker Machinery AD/PATH
by Grubb, Karen 07 Oct '08

07 Oct '08

They are on my local stations in Fairmont. They show biologists working on streams and with wildlife radio antennas making sure the power lines don't damage the environment. They brag that their towers are darkened steel so they blend in, etc. From: Mary Wimmer [mailto:monwimmer@gmail.com] Sent: Monday, October 06, 2008 7:49 PM To: Grubb, Karen Subject: Re: Walker Machinery AD I have not seen PATH advertisements. On 10/5/08, Grubb, Karen <Karen.Grubb(a)fairmontstate.edu> wrote: So is PATH. From: Mary Wimmer [mailto:monwimmer@gmail.com] Sent: Sunday, October 05, 2008 8:16 PM To: Jim Sconyers Cc: Michael Price; william.depaulo(a)gmail.com; sallywilts(a)yahoo.com; regina1936(a)verizon.net; matt_keller(a)tws.org; Grubb, Karen; freesource(a)cheat.org; jkotcon(a)wvu.edu; mdavis(a)hsc.wvu.edu; daves(a)labyrinth.net; bill.price(a)sierraclub.org; blittle(a)citynet.net Subject: Re: Walker Machinery AD Coal surely is spending a lot on TV advertising these days -- fancy ads that grab you at first until you realize where they are from -- turns my stomach! On 10/5/08, Jim Sconyers <jim_scon(a)yahoo.com> wrote: Bizarre would be an understatement! What are they smoking over there...??? Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ----- Original Message ---- From: Michael Price <greyhawkwv(a)verizon.net> To: william.depaulo(a)gmail.com; sallywilts(a)yahoo.com; regina1936(a)verizon.net; matt_keller(a)tws.org; monwimmer(a)gmail.com; kgrubb(a)fairmontstate.edu; freesource(a)cheat.org; jim_scon(a)yahoo.com; jkotcon(a)wvu.edu; mdavis(a)hsc.wvu.edu; daves(a)labyrinth.net; bill.price(a)sierraclub.org; blittle(a)citynet.net Sent: Friday, October 3, 2008 8:39:52 PM Subject: Walker Machinery AD This is Walker Machinery's response to their Yes, Coal Clean, Carbon Neutral Coal ! mike YES, COAL. Clean, carbon neutral coal. Science and technology are reengineering coal to be clean and carbon neutral for the 21st Century. This goal and commitment can put thousands of West Virginians to WORK - meaningful and purposeful WORK that respects the environment and strives to diminish and eliminate all types of emissions that may be harmful. This reengineering is well on the path to providing clean, carbon neutral coal that provides meaningful WORK for researchers, scientists, utility technicians, natural resource workers, computer engineers, and yes, coal production ... all high-tech, high-wage WORK opportunities. This rising tide of clean coal will unquestionably lift the quality of life and multiply meaningful, purposeful WORK opportunities for ALL WEST VIRGINIANS irrespective of industry, professional, or consumer economic sectors. The evidence of this WORK commitment can be seen in the vast and urgent research by colleges, universities, private research, think tanks, and governmental entities. All are eager to make coal use clean and carbon neutral. Institutions like Marshall University, West Virginia University, as well as our neighbors at Virginia Tech, Penn State, and the University of Kentucky are expanding opportunities in clean energy and environmental sciences to provide purposeful WORK for their faculties and our students. Additionally, the National Energy Technology Laboratory in Morgantown, W.Va., works tirelessly and successfully to improve coal's continued viability. The overwhelming need for clean, carbon neutral coal in the 21st century will stimulate the migration of our sons and daughters back to West Virginia. That influx of human treasure re-ignites WORK opportunities, reunites families, and revives our state's economy causing a new revolution of infrastructure development and social awareness. While coal opponents selfishly ask West Virginians to "sit out" the nation's greatest energy boom and WORK opportunity of our lifetime, we find this unacceptable and unfair to working families. Furthermore, it is contrary to our mountaineer spirit that seeks to share our resources and work for the greater good of all our country. Coal, which represents 52% of America's electricity production, cannot simply be ignored. Going forward, it is imperative that West Virginians understand that clean, carbon neutral coal is paramount to energy, economic, and national security while providing a healthy and safe environment. Even the most rapid pace of alternative energy development, which we must all support, cannot save us from the present need for expanded and uninterrupted supply of our nation's energy. Clean coal technologies, utilizing integrated gasification and carbon capture and storage, provides honest WORK, a safe, healthy environment, and must be enthusiastically supported by informed and caring West Virginians. Building coal to liquid plants offer WORK of the highest purpose. By expanding WORK into transportation solutions, like coal-to-liquids, West Virginians can lead the nation to lower gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel prices. That puts money in the family budget. This can lessen our dependence on foreign oil through greater fuel diversity and competition ... hallmarks of a free market society. It will strengthen national security. It is important that West Virginians loudly sound the alarm to their leaders at local, state, and national levels to aggressively and generously fund Clean, Carbon Neutral Coal technologies that will KEEP WEST VIRGINIA WORKING. We must say it loud, proud, and often. Especially now, as our economy grows more fragile, West Virginia can ill-afford coal's opponents to deny us our honest day's WORK. It is troubling that coal's opponents, using our courts, have placed benthic macro-invertebrates (bugs) at a higher moral standing than the citizens of West Virginia who need lucrative, dependable WORK. In a desperate attempt to stop coal mining, coal's opponents have artfully and guilefully turned to the judiciary via utilizing the complexities and ambiguities of the Clean Water Act to present a very technical representation of our ecosystem. They present an argument that is extremely debatable among experts yet really defies common sense. It defies science and common sense, in that we are expected to believe, that as rock and dirt are moved to the dry ditches near the tops of mountains, that the benthic macro-invertebrates (bugs) will be destroyed, thus impacting the entire ecosystem and all life as we know it. The mining community, more than any other, is keenly aware of the ecological science involved in the benthic communities' importance in determining the health, structure, and function of streams including headwater. By law and regulation, they protect these relationships through mining design and mitigation. The rains fall and the rainwater flows over and throughout the mining areas perpetually and naturally as always. It is important to note that these creatures have lived and adapted here for millions and millions of years before man. They inhabit almost every square foot of the watersheds across this great globe, within and outside mined areas. This is hardly criteria for extinction or endangered species. Although metamorphosis times vary, (a lifecycle of an egg, nymph, and adult most often lasts less than a year, perhaps more, depending on the insect order), they quickly breed and die naturally sometimes within a day or two. They do not have house payments, car payments or student loans. In truth they quickly re-inhabit the reclaimed and often mined lands to repeat their biological destiny and breed in large quantities we can't imagine. If this logic of coal's opponents would carry forward by the courts, human beings could not build roads, homes, hospitals, schools, cities, or communities for fear of such an ecological Armageddon. As if it mattered, more bugs are killed overwhelmingly by car windshields or "bug spray" than mine sites. Are we on such a destructive path that a human being's right to WORK and moral standing is subordinate to a bug or anything we wish to relate as nature? Is man not part of nature and higher moral standing? Is this judicial perseverance by coal's opponents and subsequent manipulation what it has come to? As any truly informed person knows, an industry that is accused of covering streams that are not streams, with waste that is not waste, in valleys that are not valleys, with bugs having the moral equivalency of human beings in our court system, is distressing and disappointing. It appears that coal's opponents don't really want the public to know they have placed "bug" welfare above that of working West Virginians in Judge Chambers' court, just to stop mining and perpetuate an anti-corporate agenda. Amazingly, the judge agreed with coal's opponents. Sometimes it must be difficult to separate the twists and turns of flawed logic or judicial eloquence from just good common sense. It further makes no sense whatsoever to repeat this judicial "Groundhog Day" movie on mining over and over and over. That's why the Walker Machinery "bug" ads are causing such stir among the anti-coal crowd. It's so ridiculous that it required a "bug character" to do so. Hopefully, a curious public will search beyond the bug character to find out the truth, which has not been fully vetted in the media or by our silent government. The grim consequences and full gravity of this situation has yet to play out. If this case is not overturned on appeal, this state hasn't really seen hard times yet. It's a cruel blow to good people just wishing to WORK ... feeding their families, providing electricity, and national security for our country. Attacking the workers or their employers as enemies of the planet makes no sense at all. Anti-coal forces don't really care. Do you think coal's opponents will support clean carbon neutral coal? No, the anti-coal, anti-growth, anti-business, anti-work crowd won't do that either. They simply ask us to forfeit our paychecks. The coal industry seemingly gets no credit at all for the beautiful reclamation and the truly small footprint of mining across West Virginia's 15 million acres. Reclaiming the land with bushes, grasses, and now hardwood seedlings that will gobble up more carbon dioxide is actually a step toward becoming carbon neutral. Again, no credit. To learn more watch the History Channel's, "Life After People" or search www.history.com <http://www.history.com/> to get a sense of how nature rapidly reclaims her own. Though not meant to trivialize the industry's need for stewardship in any way, this media shows that man's activities are but a blip on a dynamic and ever-changing planet. Our mining activities and all other may become indistinguishable one day. But for now ... coal ... YES, COAL ...clean carbon neutral coal will WORK for West Virginia. Please support this meaningful and purposeful WORK as if our state depended on it ... because it does. Comments may be sent to: comments(a)walker-cat.com

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Fwd: Longview updates
by James Kotcon 06 Oct '08

06 Oct '08

To the Sierra Club Energy committee: Any thoughts on what the articles below might mean? I am not sure what "mezzanine" financing is, or what this means for the future of Longview, but I would agree with Paula's comments "not a good time to be asking for financing". The article implies that "First reserve" now owns 90 % of Longview, does that mean Longview unloaded just in the nick of time? Who would we be dealing with if the plant actually goes on line in 2011? If so, in 2010, the non-profit funding from our air permit settlement comes in? JBK >>> Paula Hunt <pjhunt(a)xemaps.com> 10/5/2008 9:19 AM >>> Hi All, Two things: ********************** I found some photos of Longview... great shots http://good-times.webshots.com/album/565599401uSyMvK They are posted by a GenPower mechanical engineer (so his profile says). He must have a helicopter at his disposal... He posted them late August and last updated them late September. The caption below says, " Aerial Photos of Longview Power Plant and Force Drilling Work Site" What are they drilling Jarrett? Is it to stabilize the surface from undermining? They seem to have a lot of ponds onsite. ******************** The mezzanine financing for Longview is due soon (not a good time to ask for credit!): > Commitments Due In Longview Financing >- 10/03/2008 > >Commitments are coming due in Merrill Lynch's $250 million mezzanine >financing for Longview Power, owner of a 695 MW supercritical >pulverized coal plant under construction in Maidsville, W. Va. > >Ticket sizes were not specified for the debt, which will mature in >February 2015, according to deal trackers, who say the lead has >approached potential investors individually to judge the appetite of >each. Pricing is reportedly 10% fixed plus 4% payment-in-kind. One >deal tracker notes the lead also offered variable rate pricing that >would roughly amount to 10%, but most investors have wanted fixed. >Potential investors reportedly include ArcLight Capital Partners, >Fortress Investment Group, Harbert Power, LS Power, Trust Company of >the West and Union Bank of California. Officials at the firms either >declined comment or did not return calls. Calls to Merrill officials >were not returned. A spokeswoman for First Reserve Corp., which owns >90% of Longview, declined to comment or make an official available, >and calls to GenPower Holdings (10%) were not returned. > >The owners opted for the mezzanine financing after terminating an >auction for 49% of the company (PFR, 8/22). That auction came after >a $450 million mezzanine financing was put on hold last year to test >the waters of an auction. The project is set to come online in the >spring of 2011. It has a five-year PPA for 300 MW with PPL Energy >Plus and the remaining power will be sold into the western PJM market. - paula

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FW: 2009 National Electric Transmission Congestion Study
by Grubb, Karen 02 Oct '08

02 Oct '08

-----Original Message----- From: nietcwebmaster(a)anl.gov [mailto:nietcwebmaster@anl.gov] Sent: Thursday, October 02, 2008 4:45 PM To: Grubb, Karen Subject: 2009 National Electric Transmission Congestion Study ************************************************************ 2009 National Electric Transmission Congestion Study ************************************************************ IMPORTANT NOTE: REGISTRATION REQUIRED FOR 2009 STUDY! ***************************************************** You are receiving this e-mail because you subscribed to the National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor e-mail notification list. To receive further e-mail announcements regarding the 2009 Congestion Study, you must visit the 2009 Congestion Study Web site at http://congestion09.anl.gov/index.cfm and subscribe anew for further e-mail notices by entering your e-mail address in the "Subscribe" box on any page on the Web site. The 2009 National Electric Transmission Congestion Study ******************************************************** The Federal Power Act, as modified by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to complete a study of electric transmission congestion every three years. DOE issued the first "National Electric Transmission Congestion Study" (Congestion Study) in August 2006. The Department has now initiated preparations for the 2009 Congestion Study, and seeks comments on what publicly-available data and information should be considered, and what type of analysis should be performed, to identify and understand the significance and character of transmission congestion. See the 2009 Congestion Study Federal Register notice on the 2009 National Electric Transmission Congestion Study Web Site for more information. http://congestion09.anl.gov/documents/docs/FR_Notice_4_June_08.pdf Submitting Comments on the 2009 Congestion Study ************************************************ Persons interested in providing comments concerning the process and congestion metrics for the 2009 Congestion Study may submit written comments by mail, or submit them to DOE electronically using the online comment form on the 2009 Congestion Study Web site. Public comments on the 2009 National Electric Transmission Congestion Study submitted to date by mail, electronically, or at the 2009 Congestion Study workshops, are now available for downloading or browsing on the 2009 National Electric Transmission Congestion Study Web Site: http://congestion09.anl.gov/involve/searchcomment/index.cfm For More Information ******************** For more information about the 2009 Congestion Study, and related public involvement activities, visit the 2009 National Electric Transmission Congestion Study Web Site: http://congestion09.anl.gov/, or contact us by e-mail to: congestion09(a)anl.gov Forward This Message ******************** Please forward this message to any party you feel may be interested in the 2009 National Electric Transmission Congestion Study _________________CONTACTS/SUBSCRIPTIONS_____________________ FEEDBACK -------- To submit feedback, contact the Congestion Study webmaster at congestion09(a)anl.gov PRIVACY POLICY -------------- Our online privacy policy is at: http://www.energy.gov/privacy.htm. SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE --------------------- To subscribe or unsubscribe to the Congestion Study e-mail service, go to the following URL: http://congestion09.anl.gov/email/index.cfm. If the above URL is not enabled as a link, please copy it into your browser window to access our E-Mail Services Page. ------------------------------------------------------------

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INCLUDE JESSE
by Regina Hendrix 02 Oct '08

02 Oct '08

In case some of you didn't get this.... Please take a moment and E-Mail these people urging them to include Jesse in this debate which is taking place on the public airways. Regina

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Re: [EC] Fwd: DeWeese Comments
by Jim Sconyers 26 Sep '08

26 Sep '08

Let's talk to them ... can't hurt, can it? Especially with the PA decision(s) in hand. Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ----- Original Message ---- From: James Kotcon <jkotcon(a)wvu.edu> To: ec(a)osenergy.org Sent: Friday, September 26, 2008 11:17:11 AM Subject: [EC] Fwd: DeWeese Comments Here is what the Majority Leader of the WV House of Representatives said about TrAILCo. Can we get WV legislators to do something similar? JBK >>> Letty Butcher <multiflora123(a)yahoo.com> 9/25/2008 10:51 PM >>> http://stopaptrail.org/images/DeWeese_Reply_to_Exceptions.pdf _______________________________________________ EC mailing list EC(a)osenergy.org http://osenergy.org/mailman/listinfo/ec

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Re: [EC] Fw: TrailCo NMF revised
by William V. DePaulo, Esq. 26 Sep '08

26 Sep '08

Holly There has been no decision by the PSC on our Petition for Reconsideration, and the thirty days for an appeal has not yet begun to run. I have attached seven documents relating to the FOIA requests. The first three documents relate to the request to the PSC and consist of: (1) Sierra's April 17 2008 FOIA request, (2) the PSC Commissioners' May 1, 2008 Vaughn index of records withheld by the Commissioners themselves, and (3) the PSC General Counsel's May 2, 2008 transmission of the PSC documents (1128 from staff) and the Vaughn Index from the Commissioners. The last four documents all relate to the FOIA request to Gov Manchin: (4) is the FOIA request itself, (5) is the Governor's initial response, (6) is our letter explaining is some detail the basis for our request for a Vaughn index, and (7) is the Gov's acknowledgement of the request for a Vaughn statement. I believe we should file the suit in both instances. The case against the Governor is straight forward -- a Vaughn statement is necessary to sustain his burden of proof. The PSC case over the documents withheld pursuant to the Vaughn index is obviously harder. The question is not whether they have concealed documents which are not listed on the index. The question is whether the assertion of the claims of exemption in the index are valid, and even if so, whether there are nonetheless reasonably segregable materials that can be released. There is never any certainty in a challenge to an assertion of exemptions, but the failure to seek in camera review by a Court basically licenses the respondent to take aggressive and unwarranted license with limited exemptions. Especially when tied to the duty to segregate exempt from non-exempt, the challenge is warranted. Please call if there are any further questions. Bil On Fri, Sep 26, 2008 at 12:51 PM, <Holly.Bressett(a)sierraclub.org> wrote: > > Hi Bill, > > Just making sure I didn't miss your message about TrailCo. I haven't > worked on getting authorization for the PUC appeal or the two FOIA cases > because I am waiting for your responses to my questions regarding the FOIA > issues. I want to be sure that the 30-day timer hasn't started on our > appeal of the PUC decision. Did they rule on our motion for reconsideration > yet? > > Holly > > Holly Bressett > Environmental Law Fellow > Sierra Club Environmental Law Program > 85 Second St., 2nd Floor > San Francisco, CA 94105 > (415) 977-5646 (phone) > (415) 977-5793 (fax) > > > *"William V. DePaulo, Esq." <william.depaulo(a)gmail.com>* > > 09/10/2008 12:12 PM > To > Holly.Bressett(a)sierraclub.org > cc > Subject > Re: Fw: TrailCo NMF revised > > > > > Holly > > I am out of town until next Wed and will try to get back to you then with > more detail on the FOIA requests. > > Bill > > On Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 9:21 AM, <*Holly.Bressett(a)sierraclub.org*<Holly.Bressett(a)sierraclub.org>> > wrote: > > Hi Bill, > > I've been holding off on TrailCo in anticipation of your answers to my > questions below. Jim told me you were at the DNC so this may have gotten > buried in your inbox. Please get back to me when you can. Thanks, > > Holly > > Holly Bressett > Environmental Law Fellow > Sierra Club Environmental Law Program > 85 Second St., 2nd Floor > San Francisco, CA 94105 > (415) 977-5646 (phone) > (415) 977-5793 (fax) > ----- Forwarded by Holly Bressett/Sierraclub on 09/10/2008 09:21 AM ----- > > *Holly Bressett/Sierraclub* > > 08/27/2008 11:00 AM > > To > "William V. DePaulo, Esq." <*william.depaulo(a)gmail.com*<william.depaulo(a)gmail.com> > > cc > "Jim Sconyers" <*jim_scon(a)yahoo.com* <jim_scon(a)yahoo.com>> Subject > Re: Fw: TrailCo NMF revised*Link*<Notes:///882573400081B039/836E2FFC0D1E63358825749F007855E9/B9F0E5BA5FCFAF44882574AC007FA33D> > > > > > > Hi Bill, > > I understand the claim that the Governor's office should have provided a > Vauhgn index but the claim against the commission seems like a stretch. Did > the index identify and describe the documents? Of course, FOIA is not > foolproof but in my experience, it seems like there is nothing else to get > unless we know of specific documents that were witheld and not put on the > index. If you could elaborate on your thinking that would help me > understand what the claim is. If you have statutory cites or case law that > might be best. > > Is your plan to file the FOIA cases right away and then wait for the > decision on reconsideration before filing in state court? When is the > soonest you would want to file the FOIA requests. Sorry, I'm totally > swamped right now and just trying to prioritize things. Let me know if this > should go to the top of my list! > > Holly > > Holly Bressett > Environmental Law Fellow > Sierra Club Environmental Law Program > 85 Second St., 2nd Floor > San Francisco, CA 94105 > (415) 977-5646 (phone) > (415) 977-5793 (fax) > > *"William V. DePaulo, Esq." <**william.depaulo(a)gmail.com*<william.depaulo(a)gmail.com> > *>* > > 08/21/2008 04:13 PM > > To > *Holly.Bressett(a)sierraclub.org* <Holly.Bressett(a)sierraclub.org>, "Jim > Sconyers" <*jim_scon(a)yahoo.com* <jim_scon(a)yahoo.com>>, "Jim Kotcon" <* > jkotcon(a)wvu.edu* <jkotcon(a)wvu.edu>>, "Barbara Fallon" <* > brbr_fallon(a)yahoo.com* <brbr_fallon(a)yahoo.com>>, "WV Chapter Energy > Committee" <*EC(a)osenergy.org* <EC(a)osenergy.org>> cc > Subject > Re: Fw: TrailCo NMF revised > > > > > > > Holly > > Both FOIA requests were filed under the state FOIA which is almost a > verbatim reproduction of the federal statute. In short, we do not have an > option to sue anywhere except in state court. > > PSC - requested all documents pertaining to the April 15, 2008 Joint > Stipulation -- the document in which PSC Staff withdrew its opposition in > exchange for a laundry list of financial and other incentives. > > PSC Staff produced all documents (1100+) responsive to request, as did CAD > (700+). > > The Commissioners produced a relatively small number of documents and > issued a Vaughn index for the balance. Without seeing the docs it is > impossible to assess whether the exemptions asserted -- deliberative > privilege for internal communications -- is validly asserted. > > GOVERNOR - requested ALL documents pertaining to TrAILCo proposal, not > merely those relating to April 15 Joint Stip. Governor produced 1100+ > documents, most relating to tax he wants to impose on the transmission line > if and when built. Importantly, the Gov office refused to produce a Vaughn > index. Without such an index they cannot sustain their burden of proof, as > all documents are presumed non-exempt unless and until an exemption is > asserted and substantiated by an index. > > PSC Appeal -- far and away the biggest matter the PSC did not address was > CO2 emissions. The PSC took the position that the proposed transmission > line was "electron neutral," i.e., that the line didn't "know" where the > moving electron originated. That, of course, is technically true. In West > Virginia it is also totally specious because 97% of the state's electric > energy is generated from coal. And the PSC's August 1 order itself relied > on the economic justification associated with 4 billion dollars of > construction costs for four (4) new IGCC coal plants now on the drawing > boards. > > The PSC also totally ignored the fact that all of the purported economic > benefits associated with the increased use of coal will be converted to > economic leg weights when the impact of a now certain cap and trade system > (or carbon tax of some sort) is adopted next year. > > I want to emphasize that we don't have any slack time on the appeal or > preparation for PATH. TrAILCo's transcript is 3,000 pages long. I lived > thru it live but I still need to serve up the case to the Supreme Court, > because the PSC has intentionally buried all of the evidence in a 183-page > behemoth of a decision issued on August 1. We need to go now. > > Please let me know if you need any additional information. > > Bill > > On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 1:40 PM, <*Holly.Bressett(a)sierraclub.org*<Holly.Bressett(a)sierraclub.org>> > wrote: > > Thanks, Bill. I will need some more information regarding the FOIA > appeals. For example, what did you request and what did you receive and > what was witheld (or can you even tell what was witheld)? Did the agencies > assert any privileges or exemptions? If so, were they lawfully invoked or > do you believe the exemptions are being abused. Are we actually bringing > suit under FOIA, or the state's public records law. If it is FOIA, wouldn't > you want to file in federal court? As for the appeal of the PSC's decision, > you make note that the environmental impacts were not properly considered. > Could you elaborate? What was considered, what was not, and what law are > you relying on? > > Jim, at this point, I am still investigating the legal claims (as you can > see above). I didn't get the sense that we needed immediate approval since > the PSC's decision is not even final yet, and when it becomes final, we have > 30 days. If there is a reason to file sooner, please let me know. It is my > understanding that you are going to be talking with Aaron Isherwood about > how the National Coal Campaign may be able to help with this and the PATH > transmission line. I'll follow up with him if it impacts the Supreme Court > appeal and/or the FOIA appeals. Thanks to you both, > > Holly > > Holly Bressett > Environmental Law Fellow > Sierra Club Environmental Law Program > 85 Second St., 2nd Floor > San Francisco, CA 94105 > (415) 977-5646 (phone) > (415) 977-5793 (fax) > > *"William V. DePaulo, Esq." <**william.depaulo(a)gmail.com*<william.depaulo(a)gmail.com> > *>* > > 08/21/2008 10:01 AM > > To > *Holly.Bressett(a)sierraclub.org* <Holly.Bressett(a)sierraclub.org> cc > "Jim Sconyers" <*jim_scon(a)yahoo.com* <jim_scon(a)yahoo.com>> Subject > Re: Fw: TrailCo NMF revised > > > > > > > > > Holly > > Here is a revised NMF which I hope is responsive to your requests. Please > let me know if you have any additional questions or topics you'd like > fleshed out in more detail. > > All the best, > > Bill > > > > > On Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 3:43 PM, <*Holly.Bressett(a)sierraclub.org*<Holly.Bressett(a)sierraclub.org>> > wrote: > > Hi Bill, > > Jim has attached the new matter form and I'm hoping you can supplement it > with our legal strategy. I'm confused about the FOIA appeals and the > Supreme Court appeal so I was hoping you could separate everything and give > me a clear description of the legal claims. If you are anticipating actual > FOIA lawsuits in conjunction with all of this let me know, it may make sense > to do one authorization for all the legal challenges. Thanks, > > Holly > > Holly Bressett > Environmental Law Fellow > Sierra Club Environmental Law Program > 85 Second St., 2nd Floor > San Francisco, CA 94105 > (415) 977-5646 (phone) > (415) 977-5793 (fax) > ----- Forwarded by Holly Bressett/Sierraclub on 08/20/2008 11:51 AM ----- > > *Jim Sconyers <**jim_scon(a)yahoo.com* <jim_scon(a)yahoo.com>*>* > > 08/14/2008 07:41 AM > > To > Holly Bressett <*holly.bressett(a)sierraclub.org*<holly.bressett(a)sierraclub.org> > > cc > aaron isherwood <*aaron.isherwood(a)sierraclub.org*<aaron.isherwood(a)sierraclub.org> > > Subject > TrailCo NMF revised > > > > > > > > > > > Here is a revised version of our TrailCo powerline NMF. It still needs to > go to our ExCom for certain approval. > > Jim Sconyers* > **jim_scon(a)yahoo.com* <jim_scon(a)yahoo.com> > 603.969.6712 > > Remember: Mother Nature bats last. > > > > > -- > William V. DePaulo, Esq. > 179 Summers Street, Suite 232 > Charleston, WV 25301-2163 > Tel: 304-342-5588 > Fax: 304-342-5505* > **william.depaulo(a)gmail.com* <william.depaulo(a)gmail.com>* > **www.passeggiata.com* <http://www.passeggiata.com/> > > > > -- > William V. DePaulo, Esq. > 179 Summers Street, Suite 232 > Charleston, WV 25301-2163 > Tel: 304-342-5588 > Fax: 304-342-5505* > **william.depaulo(a)gmail.com* <william.depaulo(a)gmail.com>* > **www.passeggiata.com* <http://www.passeggiata.com/> > > > > -- > William V. DePaulo, Esq. > 179 Summers Street, Suite 232 > Charleston, WV 25301-2163 > Tel: 304-342-5588 > Fax: 304-342-5505* > **william.depaulo(a)gmail.com* <william.depaulo(a)gmail.com>* > **www.passeggiata.com* <http://www.passeggiata.com/> > > -- William V. DePaulo, Esq. 179 Summers Street, Suite 232 Charleston, WV 25301-2163 Tel: 304-342-5588 Fax: 304-342-5505 william.depaulo(a)gmail.com www.passeggiata.com

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Fwd: DeWeese Comments
by James Kotcon 26 Sep '08

26 Sep '08

Here is what the Majority Leader of the WV House of Representatives said about TrAILCo. Can we get WV legislators to do something similar? JBK >>> Letty Butcher <multiflora123(a)yahoo.com> 9/25/2008 10:51 PM >>> http://stopaptrail.org/images/DeWeese_Reply_to_Exceptions.pdf

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Re: [EC] Fwd: [MVCAC] Trail Is Dead
by Jim Sconyers 25 Sep '08

25 Sep '08

below Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ----- Original Message ---- From: James Kotcon <jkotcon(a)wvu.edu> To: ec(a)osenergy.org Cc: Frank Young <fyoung(a)wvhighlands.org> Sent: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 4:16:00 PM Subject: [EC] Fwd: [MVCAC] Trail Is Dead I certainly don't think the title is accurate. Perhaps a better title would be: "Yet another backroom deal to sell out West Virginia". I have not seen the deal, but it seems to me that Allegheny has presented yet another "offer" of using our own money to buy us off, while they still make a profit at our expense. ...and still build it through West Virginia. JBK >>> "Julieann F. Wozniak" <jwozniak(a)windstream.net> 9/23/2008 10:04 AM >>> >Power line plan killed >Allegheny Energy won't put it through Greene, Washington >Tuesday, September 23, 2008 >By Janice Crompton, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette > >Allegheny Energy is abandoning plans for a high-voltage line through Washington and Greene counties, according to the terms of a settlement agreement reached yesterday. > >The agreement between the Greensburg-based utility and Greene County officials halts plans for a controversial 37-mile, 500-kilovolt power line from North Strabane in Washington County, to Dunkard, Greene County. > >In exchange, Greene County commissioners have agreed to support a companion project which includes a new electric substation and a 1.2-mile transmission line from Greene County to West Virginia, where the line would continue 240 miles into Virginia. > >West Virginia has approved the $1 billion project, and Virginia is expected to do so as well. > >Terms of the agreement, hammered out last week, include a payment of $750,000 to Greene County and other provisions from the company, which sought a compromise after two state Public Utility Commission judges recommended against every phase of the proposal due to lack of need and other considerations. > >The agreement may end more than 18 months of bitter feuding that pitted property owners and officials against Allegheny Energy. The terms of the deal are contingent on final project approval by the PUC before Feb. 16, 2009. > >Along with the financial settlement to Greene County, the company has agreed to return easements to the dozens of property owners in both counties who would have been affected by the line, many of whom sued the company in recent months, claiming that the easements, obtained decades ago, were no longer valid. > >The agreement leaves out Washington County officials, who say they were presented with the pact on Friday, then asked to approve it by yesterday. > >Washington County commissioners Larry Maggi and J. Bracken Burns said they were left out of what they call the "backroom deal" and won't support the agreement, although they, too, were offered $750,000 for Washington County. > >They wonder why their counterparts in Greene County have so readily approved the agreement while the PUC judges harshly criticized the plan, calling the 1.2-mile segment in Greene County a profit-driven attempt to ship "cheaper coal-fired generation" along an "energy superhighway" to the east. The judges said they also saw no need for the 36-mile Pennsylvania segment of the line. With language like that, it's unclear whether the PUC will honor the settlement agreement. > >The commission will review the agreement to determine if it's in the public interest, said spokeswoman Jennifer Kocher. > >"It didn't smell right -- the whole deal," said Mr. Maggi, who said signing the agreement would have nullified the argument that the power line isn't needed either regionally or locally. > >"The agreement in essence says that the argument we've advanced for the past two years is wrong," Mr. Burns said. > >Allegheny Energy has said the Pennsylvania portion of the project is needed to avoid local power interruptions in the next few years, but a grass-roots citizens' group and other property owners were able to convince the PUC judges that it wasn't so. > >Other terms of the agreement require Greene County and other local officials to help form a study group to identify potential new alternatives to the high-voltage line, such as demand-side management, energy efficiency programs and physical upgrades to existing lines, including new substations, transmission infrastructure, and possibly up to 10 miles of new 500-kilovolt lines in Washington County. There would be no new lines in Greene County. > >The company also has agreed not to seek federal intervention for the project if the PUC denies its application. According to the Energy Act of 2005, the federal government has backstop authority to approve transmission projects even if they are denied by states. > >Members of the grass-roots Energy Conservation Council of Pennsylvania said they are still reviewing the agreement, of which they also were not a part. > >They have questioned the wisdom of entering into such a pact after the PUC judges gave them good reason to hope that the company's application would be denied. The five-member PUC panel may or may not adopt the recommendations of the judges. > >Mr. Burns said he saw nothing in the agreement that would preclude the company from proposing different high-voltage lines in Washington County. Under such circumstances, it's unfair to taxpayers to enter into such an agreement, he said. > >"My values aren't negotiable and my principles don't have a price tag," he said. >Janice Crompton can be reached at jcrompton(a)post-gazette.com or 724-223-0156. >First published on September 23, 2008 at 12:00 am _______________________________________________ MVCAC mailing list MVCAC(a)cheat.org http://cheat.org/mailman/listinfo/mvcac _______________________________________________ EC mailing list EC(a)osenergy.org http://osenergy.org/mailman/listinfo/ec

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Re: [EC] Fwd: [MVCAC] Trail Is Dead
by Jim Sconyers 25 Sep '08

25 Sep '08

Ditto me! Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ----- Original Message ---- From: Beth Little <blittle(a)citynet.net> To: Jonathan Rosenbaum <freesource(a)cheat.org>; Energy Committee <ec(a)osenergy.org> Sent: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 2:25:22 PM Subject: Re: [EC] Fwd: [MVCAC] Trail Is Dead Doesn't sound dead to me; just detoured a little. -----Original Message----- From: ec-bounces(a)osenergy.org [mailto:ec-bounces@osenergy.org]On Behalf Of Jonathan Rosenbaum Sent: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 2:03 PM To: Energy Committee Subject: [EC] Fwd: [MVCAC] Trail Is Dead http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08267/914268-58.stm _______________________________________________ EC mailing list EC(a)osenergy.org http://osenergy.org/mailman/listinfo/ec

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Fwd: [MVCAC] Trail Is Dead
by James Kotcon 23 Sep '08

23 Sep '08

I certainly don't think the title is accurate. Perhaps a better title would be: "Yet another backroom deal to sell out West Virginia". I have not seen the deal, but it seems to me that Allegheny has presented yet another "offer" of using our own money to buy us off, while they still make a profit at our expense. JBK >>> "Julieann F. Wozniak" <jwozniak(a)windstream.net> 9/23/2008 10:04 AM >>> >Power line plan killed >Allegheny Energy won't put it through Greene, Washington >Tuesday, September 23, 2008 >By Janice Crompton, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette > >Allegheny Energy is abandoning plans for a high-voltage line through Washington and Greene counties, according to the terms of a settlement agreement reached yesterday. > >The agreement between the Greensburg-based utility and Greene County officials halts plans for a controversial 37-mile, 500-kilovolt power line from North Strabane in Washington County, to Dunkard, Greene County. > >In exchange, Greene County commissioners have agreed to support a companion project which includes a new electric substation and a 1.2-mile transmission line from Greene County to West Virginia, where the line would continue 240 miles into Virginia. > >West Virginia has approved the $1 billion project, and Virginia is expected to do so as well. > >Terms of the agreement, hammered out last week, include a payment of $750,000 to Greene County and other provisions from the company, which sought a compromise after two state Public Utility Commission judges recommended against every phase of the proposal due to lack of need and other considerations. > >The agreement may end more than 18 months of bitter feuding that pitted property owners and officials against Allegheny Energy. The terms of the deal are contingent on final project approval by the PUC before Feb. 16, 2009. > >Along with the financial settlement to Greene County, the company has agreed to return easements to the dozens of property owners in both counties who would have been affected by the line, many of whom sued the company in recent months, claiming that the easements, obtained decades ago, were no longer valid. > >The agreement leaves out Washington County officials, who say they were presented with the pact on Friday, then asked to approve it by yesterday. > >Washington County commissioners Larry Maggi and J. Bracken Burns said they were left out of what they call the "backroom deal" and won't support the agreement, although they, too, were offered $750,000 for Washington County. > >They wonder why their counterparts in Greene County have so readily approved the agreement while the PUC judges harshly criticized the plan, calling the 1.2-mile segment in Greene County a profit-driven attempt to ship "cheaper coal-fired generation" along an "energy superhighway" to the east. The judges said they also saw no need for the 36-mile Pennsylvania segment of the line. With language like that, it's unclear whether the PUC will honor the settlement agreement. > >The commission will review the agreement to determine if it's in the public interest, said spokeswoman Jennifer Kocher. > >"It didn't smell right -- the whole deal," said Mr. Maggi, who said signing the agreement would have nullified the argument that the power line isn't needed either regionally or locally. > >"The agreement in essence says that the argument we've advanced for the past two years is wrong," Mr. Burns said. > >Allegheny Energy has said the Pennsylvania portion of the project is needed to avoid local power interruptions in the next few years, but a grass-roots citizens' group and other property owners were able to convince the PUC judges that it wasn't so. > >Other terms of the agreement require Greene County and other local officials to help form a study group to identify potential new alternatives to the high-voltage line, such as demand-side management, energy efficiency programs and physical upgrades to existing lines, including new substations, transmission infrastructure, and possibly up to 10 miles of new 500-kilovolt lines in Washington County. There would be no new lines in Greene County. > >The company also has agreed not to seek federal intervention for the project if the PUC denies its application. According to the Energy Act of 2005, the federal government has backstop authority to approve transmission projects even if they are denied by states. > >Members of the grass-roots Energy Conservation Council of Pennsylvania said they are still reviewing the agreement, of which they also were not a part. > >They have questioned the wisdom of entering into such a pact after the PUC judges gave them good reason to hope that the company's application would be denied. The five-member PUC panel may or may not adopt the recommendations of the judges. > >Mr. Burns said he saw nothing in the agreement that would preclude the company from proposing different high-voltage lines in Washington County. Under such circumstances, it's unfair to taxpayers to enter into such an agreement, he said. > >"My values aren't negotiable and my principles don't have a price tag," he said. >Janice Crompton can be reached at jcrompton(a)post-gazette.com or 724-223-0156. >First published on September 23, 2008 at 12:00 am _______________________________________________ MVCAC mailing list MVCAC(a)cheat.org http://cheat.org/mailman/listinfo/mvcac

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Fwd: [MVCAC] Trail Is Dead
by Jonathan Rosenbaum 23 Sep '08

23 Sep '08

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08267/914268-58.stm

2 2

SCE to Patent Advanced Metering
by Duane330＠aol.com 18 Sep '08

18 Sep '08

GRIDWISE NEWS. Philip Bane, September 11, 2008. Utility Attempts to Patent Advanced Metering _http://www.smartgridnews.com/artman/publish/industry/Utility_Attempts_to_P… nt_Advanced_Metering.html_ (http://www.smartgridnews.com/artman/publish/industry/Utility_Attempts_to_Pa…) In a move that could have worldwide repercussions, one of North America’s largest utilities has filed to obtain U.S. patent rights to broad uses of an advanced metering infrastructure. As you will read, Southern California Edison (SCE) has the best of intentions. Even so, we believe the move may cause some confusion and consternation. We are publishing this early warning to alert you to key points: * What does the patent cover? * What is SCE’s intent? * What are the patent issues? * What are the business issues for utilities and vendors? Note: SCE will hold an industry Web conference September 19th to discuss the pending AMI Use Case patent and proposed non-exclusive worldwide royalty free license that has been shared with the industry for comment. Watch for an SCE press release announcing the Webinar. SCE’s AMI Use Case Patent Filing The United States Patent & Trademark Office defines a patent as a property right granted by the government “to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention throughout the United States or importing the invention into the United States” for a limited time in exchange for public disclosure of the invention when the patent is granted. The SCE application specifies “a method for communicating between a utility and individual customer location ...via the Internet or via an advanced utility meter.” SCE is attempting a business methods patent covering the way the technology is used (not the underlying technology itself). It broadly covers the business use of any and every AMI technology - regardless of the communications platform – and extends to grid operations. We recommend a thorough reading of SCE’s claims. (See link below.) SCE’s Motive and Intent SCE Vice President Paul De Martini is the head of SCE’s Advanced Technologies Group and one of the inventors named in the patent filing. (He and the other inventors have assigned all rights to SCE.) In an exclusive SGN interview, he explained SCE’s intent. The primary goal, says De Martini, is to ensure SCE and the utility industry can freely use AMI systems to empower customers to manage their energy and to improve operational efficiency. SCE decided to file a business methods patent as a defensive measure. SCE and other utilities have previously been subjected to costly claims for patent infringement on non-AMI technology. SCE decided to file the AMI patent to proactively preclude others from claiming that SCE was violating their technology. If it gains a patent, SCE intends extend that protection to the rest of the industry by offering a worldwide nonexclusive royalty-free license to anyone interested. SCE is working with EPRI, UtilityAMI and others associations to vet the license terms. De Martini recently used an EPRI meeting to brief a group of utilities on his patent and licensing plans. According to him and other attendees, those utilities were generally receptive to SCE’s draft terms. EPRI is leading an effort to develop a Smart Grid Open Source Repository as a way to share additional use cases with the industry (over and above those covered by the patent application). Patent Issues We certainly understand SCE’s concerns. The high-tech industry has many skilled, professional and ethical patent professionals. It also has a dark side of ugly patent infringement lawsuits. Firms have been formed solely to buy up obscure patents, then to extort payments from big companies under threat of lawsuit. Even if a company chooses to pay a license fee to avoid the cost of litigation, it opens itself (and the rest of the industry) to future specious claims of technology infringement. As many know, SCE has been a leader in applying technology to utility infrastructure. But applying is very different from inventing or discovering. With this filing, SCE is taking the position that it invented certain uses for an AMI system, such as the ability to use a home area network interface in a meter to send energy information to customers. The patent examiners will now have to determine if that is a valid claim. SGN is not taking a position for or against SCE’s decision to seek a patent, but we are warning that the development of intellectual property in the emerging Smart Grid industry will be controversial and contentious, given that it addresses the heart of a market worth many billions over the next decade. Business Issues If SCE is successful, the entire industry will secure the right to use AMI in the manner claimed, since SCE is willing to grant irrevocable royalty free licenses. But utilities and vendors will have to assess whether a license from SCE will provide sufficient safety. First, they must assess if they can live with SCE’s license terms. If the license terms are satisfactory, they must next determine if there are other areas still unprotected. SCE’s patent application only addresses certain uses for AMI. The situation will be especially problematic for vendors, who must determine what SCE’s patent will mean to their own intellectual property claims. With Wealth Comes Pirates SGN has broadcast the unrivaled economic opportunity for utilities and Smart Grid vendors. (See the link below to How Electronomics Will Make Utility Pros Rich). However, with any economic opportunity comes risk. Although SCE has apparently acted with the best of intentions, its filing highlights the pitfalls facing many utilities and Smart Grid vendors. As SGN highlighted recently in the article The Dangers of Meter Data, North American utilities are dangerously naïve about the upcoming upheaval from data overload, data privacy and lack of security. And about the dangers from unscrupulous patent pirates. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Are you for or against SCE’s patent claims? _Current SCE Draft License_ (http://www.sce.com/PowerandEnvironment/smartconnect/open-innovation/use-cas…) _USPTO Web site for searching patent applications_ (http://appft1.uspto.gov/netahtml/PTO/search-bool.html) (Input Patent Application Number 20080177678) _How Electronomics Will Make Utility Pros Rich_ (http://www.smartgridnews.com/artman/publish/industry/How_Electronomics_Will…) _The Dangers of Meter Data_ (http://www.smartgridnews.com/artman/pu blish/industry/The_Dangers_of_Meter_Data_Part_1.html) **************Looking for simple solutions to your real-life financial challenges? Check out WalletPop for the latest news and information, tips and calculators. (http://www.walletpop.com/?NCID=emlcntuswall00000001)

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Historic announcement, historic alliance
by Duane330＠aol.com 18 Sep '08

18 Sep '08

GE, Google Boost Efforts For Improved Power Grid By _JEFFREY BALL_ (http://online.wsj.com/search/search_center.html?KEYWORDS=JEFFREY+BALL&ARTIC…) , _PAUL GLADER_ (http://online.wsj.com/search/search_center.html?KEYWORDS=PAUL+GLADER&ARTICL… SER=bylineAND) and _JESSICA E. VASCELLARO_ (http://online.wsj.com/search/search_center.html?KEYWORDS=JESSICA+E.+VASCELL… AND) Wall Street Journal, September 18, 2008. _General Electric_ (http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?symbol=GE) Co. and _Google_ (http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?symbol=goog) Inc. said they will jointly ramp up their efforts to prod the U.S. government to upgrade the nation's electrical-transmission lines so that the grid can better accommodate more renewable energy. Both companies sell technology that would benefit from an improved grid. GE has built one of the world's biggest wind-turbine businesses over the past few years, and Google makes computer software it says could help facilitate the introduction of more renewable energy to the U.S. grid. The announcement comes as Congress is considering separate legislation that would open new areas in the U.S. to oil drilling and renew federal tax credits for wind and solar energy that are due to expire at the end of the year. GE Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt and Google CEO Eric Schmidt called on Congress to continue the renewable-energy tax credits. Wind energy was the second-biggest source of new electrical capacity in the U.S. last year, behind only natural gas, according to the American Wind Energy Association, a trade group. Still, wind power provides only about 1% of total U.S. electricity. Taking into account the benefit of the tax credit, the per-kilowatt-hour cost of wind energy has dropped over the past five years from about 15 cents to about eight cents, Mr. Immelt said, adding: "That makes wind very competitive with coal." But the tax credits have been short term, requiring Congress to renew them frequently. That has led to a boom-and-bust cycle in the wind industry that advocates say has hampered greater growth. Mr. Immelt has largely staked his legacy on GE's clean-energy efforts, a push the company calls "Ecomagination." The company has said revenue from that effort will grow to $25 billion in 2010, up from $6 billion in 2004, with products ranging from hybrid locomotives to wind turbines. Google hopes renewable energy can help it lower the costs of running its data centers, one of its greatest expenses. To that end, the Internet search giant has invested tens of millions of dollars in wind and other renewable-energy technologies. Last year, the company said it would invest hundreds of millions of dollars from its corporate and nonprofit arms in businesses working toward generating cheaper electricity. Beyond the tax credits, Messrs. Immelt and Schmidt said their companies will work together to lobby for government policies to expand the electrical grid to accommodate more renewable energy. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Google, GE to work together on green energy _By Elise Ackerman, San Jose Mercury News_ (mailto:eackerman@mercurynews.com?subject=San Jose Mercury News: Google, GE to work together on green energy) Article Launched: 09/18/2008 08:02:46 AM PDT Google and General Electric announced Wednesday that they would work together to push the development of renewable energy. The companies said they would team up to lobby the federal government to modernize the electrical grid and collaborate in the development of technologies for plug-in vehicles and geothermal energy. "We are trying to make renewable energy cheaper than coal energy," Google co-founder Larry Page said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. The partnership was unveiled at Google's annual Zeitgeist conference, a two-day think-fest where Google's business partners are invited to Mountain View to discuss global issues with leaders such as former vice president Al Gore and Mexican businessman Carlos Slim, as well as celebrities including Leonardo DiCaprio and Forest Whitaker. Against a backdrop of continued financial turmoil, Google's leaders said their business was in good shape and unlikely to experience a direct impact from the current crisis. "The company has a large amount of cash in very boring investments," Chief Executive Eric Schmidt told reporters. As of June 30, Google had $16 billion in cash and securities and other current assets. Schmidt said Google plans to move ahead with a previously announced deal to provide search-advertising services to Yahoo, despite scrutiny by regulators in the United States and Europe. Schmidt said that his company had anticipated there would be objections to the deal, and that it is carefully structured to comply with antitrust regulations. "We have probably not explained it well enough," he said. Advertisers have expressed concern that the pact would lead to an increase in the cost of advertising brokered by Google. Page pointed out that the price of advertising is not set by Yahoo or Google but in an auction where advertisers decide what an ad is worth to them. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< **************Looking for simple solutions to your real-life financial challenges? Check out WalletPop for the latest news and information, tips and calculators. (http://www.walletpop.com/?NCID=emlcntuswall00000001)

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Re: [EC] Fw: Allegheny Energy Files Proposal on Pennsylvania Transmission Project
by Jim Sconyers 12 Sep '08

12 Sep '08

Yes - why not both? Good letter now, more legalistic response soon. Becoming obvious that getting TrailCo to the WV line is critical to the whole proposal. Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ----- Original Message ---- From: James Kotcon <jkotcon(a)wvu.edu> To: ec(a)osenergy.org Sent: Friday, September 12, 2008 12:28:43 PM Subject: [EC] Fw: Allegheny Energy Files Proposal on Pennsylvania Transmission Project Bill, et al. I think we should file a response in PA to let them know that we oppose TrAILCo and their proposed approval of the 1.2-mile segment between the 502 Junction and the WV State Line. We have filed appeals of the WV certificate approval, and a premature approval of the PA segment would bias consideration of our appeals. Further, it would be useful to fully document TrAILCo's behind-the-scenes negotiations and tactics, and their efforts to cut some opponents out of the process, while buying off others with legalized bribes (using ratepayers money to do it), as happened here. I can draft a letter to that effect, if you think it is useful. Alternatively, a formal legal response might be more appropriate. Whaddya Tink? JBK >>> Letty Butcher <multiflora123(a)yahoo.com> 9/11/2008 9:20 AM >>> --- On Wed, 9/10/08, Wojtowicz, Ralph <wojtowicz(a)metsci.com> wrote: From: Wojtowicz, Ralph <wojtowicz(a)metsci.com> Subject: Allegheny Energy Files Proposal on Pennsylvania Transmission Project To: "Wojtowicz, Ralph" <wojtowicz(a)metsci.com>, cesunlight(a)earthlink.net, multiflora123(a)yahoo.com, roecalvert(a)hughes.net, michael(a)troutdesign.com, billgolemon(a)frontiernet.net, bgkessinger(a)comcast.net, kward(a)wvgazette.com, news(a)hampshirereview.com, news(a)moorefieldexaminer.com, news(a)grantcountypress.com, WVBiker98(a)aol.com Cc: mpisciotta(a)citynet.net, bwest(a)pecva.org, thomas(a)theshepherdstownobserver.com, cesunlight(a)earthlink.net, news(a)morganmessenger.com, news(a)dominionpost.com, newsroom(a)therepublicannes.com Date: Wednesday, September 10, 2008, 7:45 PM Please forward. Allegheny Energy Files Proposal on Pennsylvania Transmission Project GREENSBURG, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 10, 2008--Allegheny Energy, Inc. (NYSE:AYE) announced today that its Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line Company (TrAILCo) subsidiary filed a motion with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to defer any decision on a portion of its proposed transmission line project, the Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line. The request will allow the company to pursue a more collaborative process to explore whether there are new and creative alternatives to the proposed 36-mile portion of the 500 kilovolt line in Greene and Washington counties and related facilities. The company's motion also requests that the Commission timely approve a 1.2 mile section of 500 kilovolt line extending from the West Virginia border to a new substation in Greene County, Pennsylvania known as 502 Junction. This portion of the project addresses critical reliability concerns that could adversely impact the mid-Atlantic region, including Pennsylvania electric customers, as early as 2011. The motion is intended to be considered in conjunction with exceptions filed today by TrAILCo in response to two Administrative Law Judges' recent recommendation that the company's application be denied in Pennsylvania. In its exceptions, TrAILCo also explicitly asks the Commission to reverse the recommended decision of the Judges and approve the 1.2 mile segment between the West Virginia state line and 502 Junction. _______________________________________________ EC mailing list EC(a)osenergy.org http://osenergy.org/mailman/listinfo/ec

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Governor's race
by Grubb, Karen 12 Sep '08

12 Sep '08

http://www.wvgazette.com/News/200809100852 "We've gotten our state in the best shape we've ever had in the history of our state," Manchin told Gazette editors Wednesday. Meanwhile, Mountain Party candidate Jesse Johnson said the state has lost direction and failed to fulfill its social contract with the people. "I'm concerned about the direction which our state and our nation has taken," said Johnson, an actor/director who was also the small party's gubernatorial candidate in 2004. "Business as usual is very dangerous." He said state government needs to be accountable. "We're not seeing the kind of leadership we significantly need," he said. Manchin stressed new coal technologies, including a planned $800 million coal-to-liquids facility in the Northern Panhandle, as an important step toward energy independence. Johnson dismissed the project as an expensive "experiment" and chastised Manchin for approving up to $200 million in tax credits for the project. "Why would we continue investments in areas that are not popular with the people, that are not conducive with fighting global warming, and will continue to bury our headwaters?" Johnson asked. "Johnson said he believes West Virginia can be a key energy state, but said the focus should be on developing the "tremendous potential" for wind, solar and other alternative energy sources." http://www.wvgazette.com/News/200809100852

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Fw: Allegheny Energy Files Proposal on Pennsylvania Transmission Project
by James Kotcon 12 Sep '08

12 Sep '08

Bill, et al. I think we should file a response in PA to let them know that we oppose TrAILCo and their proposed approval of the 1.2-mile segment between the 502 Junction and the WV State Line. We have filed appeals of the WV certificate approval, and a premature approval of the PA segment would bias consideration of our appeals. Further, it would be useful to fully document TrAILCo's behind-the-scenes negotiations and tactics, and their efforts to cut some opponents out of the process, while buying off others with legalized bribes (using ratepayers money to do it), as happened here. I can draft a letter to that effect, if you think it is useful. Alternatively, a formal legal response might be more appropriate. Whaddya Tink? JBK >>> Letty Butcher <multiflora123(a)yahoo.com> 9/11/2008 9:20 AM >>> --- On Wed, 9/10/08, Wojtowicz, Ralph <wojtowicz(a)metsci.com> wrote: From: Wojtowicz, Ralph <wojtowicz(a)metsci.com> Subject: Allegheny Energy Files Proposal on Pennsylvania Transmission Project To: "Wojtowicz, Ralph" <wojtowicz(a)metsci.com>, cesunlight(a)earthlink.net, multiflora123(a)yahoo.com, roecalvert(a)hughes.net, michael(a)troutdesign.com, billgolemon(a)frontiernet.net, bgkessinger(a)comcast.net, kward(a)wvgazette.com, news(a)hampshirereview.com, news(a)moorefieldexaminer.com, news(a)grantcountypress.com, WVBiker98(a)aol.com Cc: mpisciotta(a)citynet.net, bwest(a)pecva.org, thomas(a)theshepherdstownobserver.com, cesunlight(a)earthlink.net, news(a)morganmessenger.com, news(a)dominionpost.com, newsroom(a)therepublicannes.com Date: Wednesday, September 10, 2008, 7:45 PM Please forward. Allegheny Energy Files Proposal on Pennsylvania Transmission Project GREENSBURG, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 10, 2008--Allegheny Energy, Inc. (NYSE:AYE) announced today that its Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line Company (TrAILCo) subsidiary filed a motion with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to defer any decision on a portion of its proposed transmission line project, the Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line. The request will allow the company to pursue a more collaborative process to explore whether there are new and creative alternatives to the proposed 36-mile portion of the 500 kilovolt line in Greene and Washington counties and related facilities. The company's motion also requests that the Commission timely approve a 1.2 mile section of 500 kilovolt line extending from the West Virginia border to a new substation in Greene County, Pennsylvania known as 502 Junction. This portion of the project addresses critical reliability concerns that could adversely impact the mid-Atlantic region, including Pennsylvania electric customers, as early as 2011. The motion is intended to be considered in conjunction with exceptions filed today by TrAILCo in response to two Administrative Law Judges' recent recommendation that the company's application be denied in Pennsylvania. In its exceptions, TrAILCo also explicitly asks the Commission to reverse the recommended decision of the Judges and approve the 1.2 mile segment between the West Virginia state line and 502 Junction.

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Fwd: Public News Service-WVNS story for September 10, 2008 Help Wanted Report: 12, 000
by Paul Wilson 10 Sep '08

10 Sep '08

fyi, paul ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Public News Service <wvns(a)publicnewsservice.org> Date: Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 10:58 AM Subject: Public News Service-WVNS story for September 10, 2008 Help Wanted Report: 12,000 To: pjgrunt(a)gmail.com Public News Service-WV September 10, 2008 Help Wanted Report: 12,000 New Jobs for West Virginia Charleston, WV – The lure is thousands of new jobs, combined with a "cure" for climate change, pollution, and a broken economy. A new report from the University of Massachusetts documents how investing in a "green" economy would create more than 12,000 good-paying jobs in West Virginia, and bring benefits to taxpayers as well as to the environment. The study sets up a $100 billion investment scenario, with most of the money coming from climate change pollution cap-and-trade investments. Cathy Duvall with the Sierra Club says the time is right for investing in an eco-friendly economic stimulus. "This report really demonstrates that the solutions to the problems of climate change and a struggling economy are both intertwined and within our grasp." Duvall argues that doing the same old things on energy and economic policies isn't going to reverse the current situation, and a whole new approach would benefit working families. "By addressing our country's energy crisis and the high cost of oil, we can create manufacturing and other jobs to replace some of the more than 600,000 jobs lost in this last year alone." The study shows jobs created would include steelworkers, machinists, roofers and accountants. Critics of the report say the numbers are "overly optimistic" and wouldn't meet growing energy demand. The report was written by the Political Economy Research Institute and commissioned by the Center for American Progress. The full report is available online at www.peri.umass.edu. Click here to view this story on the Public News Service RSS site and access an audio version of this and other stories: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/6420-1 The broadcaster version of the story can be viewed by clicking here: http://www.newsservice.org/pdfStory.php?StoryGroup=6420&stories=1 --- To be removed from this list please send an e-mail to remove(a)publicnewsservice.org and put the word "remove" in the subject line. -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-6975

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Fwd: Join Teleforum with T. Boone Pickens and Carl Pope
by Jonathan Rosenbaum 09 Sep '08

09 Sep '08

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Fw: PATH aerial maps available online
by Grubb, Karen 08 Sep '08

08 Sep '08

From: wvec-board(a)yahoogroups.com [mailto:wvec-board@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of cindyrank Sent: Monday, September 08, 2008 8:07 PM To: WVHCBOARD(a)yahoogroups.com Cc: Margo; Kathleen; Ron Picker; wvec-board(a)yahoogroups.com Subject: [wvec-board] Fw: PATH aerial maps available online ----- Original Message ----- From: PATH News <mailto:askpath@pathtransmission.com> To: clrank(a)hughes.net Sent: Monday, September 08, 2008 1:31 PM Subject: PATH aerial maps available online Error! Filename not specified. Dear PATH Subscriber, More than 750 maps - featuring detailed aerial views with alternative routes under consideration for the PATH line - now are available on the project website. These are printable versions of the same property maps that were on display at the public open house meetings in Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. Click on the link below to access the site's "maps" page. http://www.pathtransmission.com/maps/default.asp <http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=14315697&msgid=208031&act=C2D P&c=204053&admin=0&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pathtransmission.com%2Fm aps%2Fdefault.asp> The maps are designed to help property owners and other interested parties learn more about the alternatives under consideration for the line segments. Just follow the directions on the website to locate and view a specific map. To submit online comments about the project, go to the "Contact Us" section of the PATH website or click on the link below. http://www.pathtransmission.com/contact/default.asp <http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=14315697&msgid=208031&act=C2D P&c=204053&admin=0&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pathtransmission.com%2Fc ontact%2Fdefault.asp> This message was sent from PATH News to clrank(a)hughes.net. It was sent from: PATH, 800 Cabin Hill Drive , Greensburg, PA 15601 . You can modify/update your subscription via the link below. <http://www.icontact.com/a.pl/144186>

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Fwd: September story calendar gathering
by Paul Wilson 06 Sep '08

06 Sep '08

fyi, paul time to get in some stories ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Public NewsService Web Site <wvns(a)publicnewsservice.org> Date: Fri, Sep 5, 2008 at 12:31 PM Subject: September story calendar gathering To: pjgrunt(a)gmail.com Hi there! We're putting together the story calendar for September....please let me know if you have events/reports/reax to national news or local news/campaigns/initiatives that are in the public interest. We have openings on the story calendar as soon as MONDAY. I also have some thoughts to share to help in brainstorming - I received a tip sheet from a mental health group about dealing with the mental health aspects of the foreclosure crisis - something that has not been addressed in the news, but is important since a home is more than a building. The loss is a big mental health issue for some people, and children. Congress is back to work - and there are a lot of things on the plate you might be following, it's a good time for a story. Farmers are "flying in" to Congress next week - to talk about the Farm Bill, and trying to make sure it doesn't get dismantled with "rule making." I like to call it the Food and Farm Bill - since there are topics in the bill that touch every one of us. Conventions are over, the campaign trail is hot - are Americans hearing what they need to hear on their personal crises: health care, economy. Kids are back in school - surprises for parents, teachers, administrators? Step Up for Kids is September 16 The public is using libraries more as the economy weakens, basically "free" entertainment. It's National Suicide Prevention Week - a topic still tainted by stigma and lack of mental health resources. Statistics show young people, especially those in college, entertain thoughts of suicide at a high rate. The suicide rate is also very high for Iraq war vets. September is...National Healthy Aging Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month, National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, Hunger Action Month, National Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month, National Preparedness Month, ADHD Awareness Month, Baby Safety Month, Backpack Safety America Month, Library Card Sign-Up Month, Patriot Day is September 11th, Citizenship/Constitution Day is September 17th, America's Day for Kids is September 20th - I have a LONG list of these notes, which can be used as "pegs" for stories on related topics that you might be following. Deborah Courson Smith/ Regional Editor West Virginia News Service 888-692-8362 www.publicnewsservice.org --- To be removed from this list please send an e-mail to remove(a)publicnewsservice.org and put the word "remove" in the subject line. -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-6975

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Fw: Hooray! Western Greenbrier CoGen plant is dead
by Jim Sconyers 04 Sep '08

04 Sep '08

Victory over dirty coal-fired power plant. Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: Bill Price <bill.price(a)sierraclub.org> To: aaron.isherwood(a)sierraclub.org; David Muhly <vafw(a)naxs.net>; Jim Sconyers <jim_scon(a)yahoo.com>; Regina Hendrix <regina1936(a)verizon.net>; Oliver <oliver.bernstein(a)sierraclub.org>; COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG; Lauren.Trevisan(a)sierraclub.org; leslie.fields(a)sierraclub.org Sent: Tuesday, September 2, 2008 10:07:50 PM Subject: Fw: Hooray! Western Greenbrier CoGen plant is dead FYI A nice victory in WV. Bill Price, Sierra Club EJ Program 922 Quarrier Street, Suite 304 Charleston , WV 25311 Phone 304-342-3182 Cell 304-389-8822 Fax 304-342-3183 ________________________________ ----- Original Message ----- From:Elizabeth Little To:WVHCBOARD@yahoogrou ps.com Sent:Tuesday, September 02, 2008 8:12 PM Subject:[WVHCBOARD] Hooray! Western Greenbrier CoGen plant is dead I received word from Jim Zoia's office that the DOE has declared that the project "is not moving forward." That's the third coal fired power plant we have defeated in the Greenbrier Valley. __._,_.___ Messages in this topic (1) Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic Messages | Files | Photos | Links | Database | Polls | Members | Calendar Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe Visit Your Group Yahoo! News Kevin Sites Get coverage of world crises. Yahoo! Groups Real Food Group Share recipes and favorite meals. Dog Zone on Yahoo! Groups Join a Group all about dogs. . __,_._,___

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FW: [wvec-board] TrAIL trials in PA --- Allegheny Energy remains on course with plan for power line in Washington, Greene counties
by Grubb, Karen 03 Sep '08

03 Sep '08

From: wvec-board(a)yahoogroups.com [mailto:wvec-board@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Carol Warren Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2008 11:47 AM To: wvec-board(a)yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [wvec-board] TrAIL trials in PA --- Allegheny Energy remains on course with plan for power line in Washington, Greene counties Well, thank goodness somebody has the guts to stand up to them. I can't believe WV caved in after such a good start! On Wed, Sep 3, 2008 at 11:36 AM, cindyrank <clrank(a)hughes.net> wrote: How gross that WV gets to be the leader in this debacle ! Allegheny Power spokesman: It's even more of a let-down, Mr. Colafella said, because the proposed rejection contrasts so much from the decision to approve the project in West Virginia and a recommendation to do so in Virginia. "They agreed it's needed -- that's why we're so terribly disappointed in the Pennsylvania decision," he said, referring to opinions from other states ------------------------------------------ http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08244/907748-58.stm Allegheny Energy remains on course with plan for power line in Washington, Greene counties Sunday, August 31, 2008 By Janice Crompton, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Allegheny Power is standing by its plans to construct a high-voltage power line through Washington and Greene counties despite a resolute recommendation against the project. State Public Utility Commission administrative law judges Mark A. Hoyer and Michael A. Nemec gave a scolding rebuke to the utility over its plans for the 37-mile, 500-kilovolt power line, saying it wasn't needed. They added that a companion project for a power line from Greene County to Virginia was an effort to ship "cheaper coal-fired generation" along an "energy superhighway" to the east. The judges, whose recommendation will be considered by the five-member PUC commission next month, also took issue with the power company over its wisdom to situate the massive power lines near so many residences, its lack of research on environmental impacts, and its disregard for the affects of electromagnetic fields. The $1.1 billion project could be scuttled if the PUC denies the Greensburg-based company's application to build the power lines in Pennsylvania, because even though West Virginia approved the project earlier this month -- and Virginia is on track to do so, too -- both states have said the project won't get the final go-ahead until it's been approved by all three states. The 364-page recommendation released Aug. 21 was "very disappointing," said company spokesman Doug Colafella. It's even more of a let-down, Mr. Colafella said, because the proposed rejection contrasts so much from the decision to approve the project in West Virginia and a recommendation to do so in Virginia. "They agreed it's needed -- that's why we're so terribly disappointed in the Pennsylvania decision," he said, referring to opinions from other states. The judges even warned against approving the Allegheny Energy subsidiary, Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line Co., or TrAILCo as it is known, as a public utility, saying it was an out-of-state corporation with no full-time employees or discernible assets. Allegheny Energy is the parent company of Allegheny Power, and the TrAILCo subsidiary was created to oversee and implement transmission line projects. Although West Virginia Public Service Commission officials at first advised against the project with a long list of concerns, the state worked out an agreement with the company which called for changes in a portion of the selected route, up to 150 new jobs for the state, and certain other perks, like a seven-year reprieve from higher electric bills. West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin also has said he would like to find a way to tax the profits on the power line. Locally, the proposed project would involve the construction of an electric substation in North Strabane called Prexy, which would connect transmission lines on massive towers to another new substation called the 502 Junction -- 36 miles away in Dunkard, Greene County. The Prexy station also would include three smaller 138-kilovolt power lines to service local customers. The second portion of the line would start at the 502 Junction, travel 1.2 miles to the West Virginia border, and continue about 240 miles through West Virginia and into Northern Virginia. The Virginia part of the line would be built by Dominion Virginia Power. The target completion date is 2011. In its approval of the multistate project, the West Virginia PSC cites the regional nature of the venture -- something not mentioned in the report by Mr. Hoyer and Mr. Nemec. Mr. Colafella said the provincial attitude of the Pennsylvania judges shouldn't stand in the way of the project. "[West Virginia] agreed that you can't look at a regional project in a vacuum," he said. Mr. Colafella may have a point, because if the PUC board denies the application -- a decision is expected in late September or October -- the company could lobby the federal government to approve the project anyway. It's part of the Energy Act of 2005, which includes a provision allowing the federal government to override state decisions regarding the location of transmission lines. Spawned by the 2003 blackout in the Northeast, the Act also allows the federal government to seize private property by eminent domain. The U.S. Department of Energy designated a National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor over a large swath of the Northeast, including 52 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties. It is within that corridor that the federal government is permitted to take action. Lawmakers, including U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, have been trying to overturn that part of the Act for months, including during a recent hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, when Mr. Casey, D-Pa., targeted Allegheny Power for its tactics to sway homeowners to sell rights-of-way for the project. Agents acting on the company's behalf were accused of pressuring and misinforming homeowners about the project. Without admitting guilt, the company fired one of its land contractors after the charges came to light. The PUC also has filed suit to reduce the size and scope of the corridors. In their recommended denial of the project, Mr. Nemec and Mr. Hoyer called the proposed Prexy line "a grandiose answer to a minor or even non-existent problem," saying the company's claims that rolling brownouts and blackouts could occur within the next several years are exaggerated. The four scenarios cited by the company which they said could lead to power failures are based on at least two things going wrong simultaneously, which is not a standard measure for reliability and could be addressed by far less drastic measures, the judges said. "Based on our review of the entire record, we have concluded that little or no need for reinforcement ...exists and/or non-intrusive options are available, and probably should have been put in place before now," said the opinion. As for the larger multistate project, the judges said a failure by Virginia to address a lack of power generation isn't Pennsylvania's problem. "Granting approval of the 502 Junction [to Virginia] segment at this juncture rewards a lack of foresight and proper maintenance, and has policy implications for the location of future generation..." they said. "Non-transmission alternatives were not considered." Members of the grass roots Energy Conservation Council of Pennsylvania were happy with the recommendation. "We are understandably pleased with the conclusion of the judges, who confirmed that these lines are not needed for reliability -- and are not in the best interest of Pennsylvania," the group said in a statement. "The future of Pennsylvania's energy independence is dependent on forward-thinking, clear-eyed decisions such as this." The judges also were critical of the company's selected route for the power line from Prexy to the 502 Junction, saying that among the four options considered, the route chosen contains the highest number of residences with 500 feet of the power line and would require the clearing of 448 acres of forest. The company failed to consider using the Interstates 70 and 79 corridors and has not sought approval from other state agencies, such as the state Department of Environmental Protection. In response to the numerous health concerns expressed by property owners, the judges discredited a TrAILCo expert who said that electromagnetic field evidence is insufficient to conclude that high-voltage power lines have any long-term health effects by pointing out that he was not an epidemiologist and therefore was unqualified to make such a determination. They cited findings by the International Agency for Research and Cancer and the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences, which have said electromagnetic fields are considered to be possible carcinogens with respect to childhood leukemia. The judges expressed concern about herbicides that would be used to control vegetation beneath the power lines, and questioned the company's request to be exempt from local zoning regulations, saying that no detailed plans of the substations or transmission towers were submitted. They also urged the PUC board not to allow the company the authority to seize private property for the project, as it had requested. The company and other interested parties have the opportunity to file exceptions to the decision and then replies to those exceptions. Exceptions are due Sept. 10 and replies are due Sept. 22. Mr. Colafella said the company is "intensely focused" on crafting its response, which will reiterate the need for the project. "We stand by both projects because we feel they are needed," he said. "We need new lines. That's what it really comes down to, whether you want them in your backyard or not." 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Fwd: [wvec-board] Fw: Hooray! Western Greenbrier CoGen plant is dead
by James Kotcon 03 Sep '08

03 Sep '08

Is this true? Where does that leave our appeal of the air permit? Will DEP drop it or do we still need to fight this out? I would feel much better if the air permit were actually revoked, but I will take em any way we can get em. JBK >>> "Frank Young" <fyoung(a)mountain.net> 9/2/2008 9:07 PM >>> Just now received this from Beth Little ............... ----- Original Message ----- From: Elizabeth Little To: WVHCBOARD(a)yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2008 8:12 PM Subject: [WVHCBOARD] Hooray! Western Greenbrier CoGen plant is dead I received word from Jim Zoia's office that the DOE has declared that the project "is not moving forward." That's the third coal fired power plant we have defeated in the Greenbrier Valley.

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[Fwd: Have you seen this ad?]
by Regina Hendrix 01 Sep '08

01 Sep '08

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Re: [EC] [Fwd: Re: [fom] Explosion reported at Institute plant]
by Jim Sconyers 31 Aug '08

31 Aug '08

"....the land of the expendable" - hits the nail right on the head - our new state motto? Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ----- Original Message ---- From: Regina Hendrix <regina1936(a)verizon.net> To: ec(a)osenergy.org Sent: Sunday, August 31, 2008 1:02:03 PM Subject: [EC] [Fwd: Re: [fom] Explosion reported at Institute plant] Take a look at the link to the photos. Coal/Energy is not our only worry in the land of the expendable. Regina

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[Fwd: Re: [fom] Explosion reported at Institute plant]
by Regina Hendrix 31 Aug '08

31 Aug '08

Take a look at the link to the photos. Coal/Energy is not our only worry in the land of the expendable. Regina

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Re: [EC] [fom] Explosion reported at Institute plant
by Regina Hendrix 31 Aug '08

31 Aug '08

Kathryn, we just didn't know how dangerous. There are 253,600 pounds of methyl isocyanate (MIC) stored underground at the Bayer's Institute plant. That is the chemical that killed all those people in Bhopal, India. It is estimated that the MIC stored at Institute could kill people as far as 10 miles away from the plant. We are expendable, you see.......gotta have those jobs. The article in the Gazette says: "At it's own plants in Germany and Belgium Bayer never stored large quantities of MIC. Instead, Bayer made and used the chemical as it was needed." I don't know what the past tense implies here. Does it mean they don't use MIC in their overseas plants anymore? Have they decided it won't take the risk in Germany and Belgium, whereas, it's okay in WV because those people will do anything for jobs? Regina XKatwalkx(a)aol.com wrote: > R: My neighbor said she felt a jolt when the explosion occurred. I > did not. kas p.s. I guess I did not realize that this was still a > dangerous area, chemically speaking. > > > ************** > It's only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find your travel deal here. > (http://information.travel.aol.com/deals?ncid=aoltrv00050000000047)

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Coal Film Festival help
by Jim Sconyers 30 Aug '08

30 Aug '08

Hi folks - We are going to need help at the Coal Film Festival next Saturday 4:00-11:00. Mostly we need folks to give out programs, monitor donations, and circulate and collect interest cards. The schedule runs from 4 to 11. Can you commit to helping some part of that? Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last.

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Wind Energy Bumps Into Power Grid's Limits
by Regina Hendrix 28 Aug '08

28 Aug '08

Maybe the power lines could be built where they'd promote clean energy instead of coal.

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Fwd: Fw: Kilowatt Ours PBS broadcasts
by Paul Wilson 28 Aug '08

28 Aug '08

fyi, paul ps. probably won't happen in WV but it would be nice to rattle a few doors in Charleston. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Lyndsay Moseley <Lyndsay.Moseley(a)sierraclub.org> Date: Thu, Aug 28, 2008 at 10:54 AM Subject: Fw: Kilowatt Ours PBS broadcasts To: COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS(a)lists.sierraclub.org For those of you who have seen the energy documentary Kilowatt Ours (which I hope includes everyone!), I would encourage you to contact your local PBS station in the next month to ask them to broadcast it in your area. If you haven't seen it, Kilowatt Ours is a great tool for raising awareness about the problems with coal and other dirty energy sources and provides information on practical positive solutions like conservation, efficiency and renewables. Contact me if you haven't seen Kilowatt Ours but would like to... I have several copies in my office and would be happy to share. Best, Lyndsay Lyndsay Moseley Washington Representative National Coal Campaign Sierra Club 408 C St. NE Washington, DC 20002 tel: 202-548-4581 fax: 202-547-6009 ----- Forwarded by Lyndsay Moseley/Sierraclub on 08/28/2008 10:20 AM ----- Kilowatt Ours <screening(a)kilowattours.org> 08/28/2008 09:10 AM To Kilowatt Ours <screening(a)kilowattours.org> cc Subject Kilowatt Ours PBS broadcasts Dear friend of Kilowatt Ours, As you may have seen from our recent letter, Kilowatt Ours will be available for broadcast on public television stations nationwide this fall! This is an exciting time for us as we have a wonderful chance to share this message with an even larger audience. Our goal is to inspire millions of Americans to conserve energy and choose renewable power, and we need your help. Would you or your organization please take a few minutes to consider helping in the following ways? o Reach out to your local public television station. Stations will make initial decisions about scheduling Kilowatt Ours locally in the next month. Please consider contacting the viewer services department at your local public television station to find out if they will be airing the film in your community. If the film is not currently scheduled, you can mention how a screening of the film has inspired you and others in your community to be more energy efficient and how it could inspire many more. o Support our outreach efforts with a donation. This is a crucial time in our effort to educate the nation on energy efficiency. The public television broadcast will bring increased requests for community screenings, educational materials and energy savings advice. Our new website, launching October 1, will be an exciting new resource for community interaction and energy savings information. Your donations will support us in making this project a success. Please consider making a donation on our website at http://www.KilowattOurs.org or mail a check in the enclosed envelope to Kilowatt Ours. To show our gratitude for your donation, we will list your organization on our website as a Kilowatt Ours contributor. Thank you for your continued support of Kilowatt Ours! It is because of your efforts that we are able to bring this message to a wider audience through this public television launch. We will continue to be in touch with you as this important energy saving campaign unfolds, and we welcome you to contact us at screening(a)KilowattOurs.org. Yours, Jeff Barrie Founder, Producer, and Director of Kilowatt Ours - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS list, send any message to: COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-6975

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BULLETION - PENNSYLVANIA SAYS "NO" TO TRAILCO
by William V. DePaulo, Esq. 27 Aug '08

27 Aug '08

THIS JUST IN -- AND IT AINT A JOKE !!! The Pennsylvania judges say that "TrAILCo has failed to carry its burden of proof" and that "*the true impetus **for the 502-Lodoun segment is** to transport cheaper coal-fired generation from westerm PJM to eastern PJM *and to encourage the siting of new generation in western PJM where it may be more palatable." They go on to question the modeling that was done to support the alleged need. Text of decision to follow... -- William V. DePaulo, Esq. 179 Summers Street, Suite 232 Charleston, WV 25301-2163 Tel: 304-342-5588 Fax: 304-342-5505 william.depaulo(a)gmail.com www.passeggiata.com

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Morgan County Commission Opposes PATH
by James Kotcon 27 Aug '08

27 Aug '08

FYI. JBK >>> "Kenneth Redfern" <redfernkd(a)msn.com> 8/26/2008 8:51 PM >>> Thanks Jim for getting back to me so quickly. Thank you for the fact sheet, it is very informative. Recently, August 25th, the Morgan County Commission members have officially gone on record opposing local construction of the proposed PATH in their county. Hopefully the Berkeley County Commissioners will follow. I am working on getting my information together to be more informed and make my neighbors aware of these proposed lines. Thanks Again, Debbie Redfern ----- Original Message ----- From: James Kotcon<mailto:jkotcon@wvu.edu> To: Kenneth Redfern<mailto:redfernkd@msn.com> ; Regina Hendrix<mailto:regina1936@verizon.net> Cc: ec(a)osenergy.org<mailto:ec@osenergy.org> Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 11:19 AM Subject: Re: [EC] PATH Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline Debbie (Kenneth, et al.): I recommend three actions that you should take immediately, as well as a series of activities that will be needed to fight this PATH over the long term. First, if your property is in one of the proposed routes, contact an attorney and be sure you fully understand your legal rights and responsibilities. I realize that this is unfair and that you did not ask for this expense and aggravation, but the law is what it is, and you can not fight it if you do not know what it is. But don't stop there. Legal battles are unlikely to win a favorable result for you as the law is stacked in favor of the utility. A political solution is also needed. Therefore, I also recommend: Second, talk to your County Commissioners. Ask them to adopt a resolution opposing PATH, just as the affected counties did for the TrAIL line. If your commissioners are hesitant, ask them to at least talk to the Commissioners in Hardy, Hampshire, Preston, Monongalia, and Tucker Counties, all of whom adopted such resolutions. Third, talk to your state Delegates and Senators. Ask them to support legislation to reform the Public Service Commission, and to restore some balance to the rules governing the taking of private property in West Virginia. Senator John Hunter had a couple of good bills last session, but they did not pass, so ask your delegates to sign on to these. I am attaching a fact sheet we developed for this effort. We will be doing more work on it as the application proceeds, but you should not wait to get started. Contact me if I can be of other help. Jim Kotcon WV Sierra Club Energy Committee. 304-293-8822 (office) 304-594-3322 (home) >>> Regina Hendrix <regina1936(a)verizon.net<mailto:regina1936@verizon.net>> 8/18/2008 11:32 PM >>> Debbie, I'm cc-ing the Sierra Club's Energy Committee about your concerns and will have someone get it touch with you. Sierra Club has been actively opposing Trail and we are gearing up to fight PATH. Such a dirty deal for all West Virginians!! I live in Charleston and in my part of the state we are plagued with mountaintop removal and pollution from coal-fired generating plants. We are already exporting 70% of the electricity generated in WV. If these lines are allowed to be built, demand for coal will increase and more power plants will be needed to generate more electricity for the East Coast....... Regina Hendrix 304-343-5211 P.S. Will someone on the Energy Committee get in touch with Debbie. Kenneth Redfern wrote: > Hello, > > This is the first time I have ever written to an organization about > matters like this. > > I need your group's help or guidance in what steps I can take as a > concerned resident of Berkeley County WV. > > An open house for the Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline (PATH) > was held on August 6th in Martinsburg, WV. > > This was not a public forum but a meet and greet "the proposed high > power transmission line that may be in your backyard" meeting. > > I have been watching the PATH website for maps of the proposed routes > for these lines and they never had them on their website until recently. > > I have been worried about this high power transmission line from when > I first heard about this project about 1 to 2 years ago. > > The area I live in is in the bulls eye of a couple of proposed > routes. I do not live in an unpopulated area so these routes would > affect many residents in this area of Berkeley County. > > But actually most of these routes in Berkeley County are in populated > areas. > > We live in a beautiful area of Berkeley County that has beautiful > views of the mountains, that would be marred by this transmission > line. Also looking at these proposed routes these lines will > literally be in people's backyards. > > Even though the transmission line will not be in my backyard it will > still be in the area I live. > > I would like to compose a handout to make my neighbors more aware of > the possibility of this happening in our area. > > I received the Mountain State Sierran that had an article about PATH > but I cannot find it. > > Could you please offer some guidance in who to get in touch with about > my concerns and if you have any information that could help me in this > endeavor. > > I hope to hear from you soon, we don't have much time to voice our > concerns. > > I copied the paragraph below from the PATH website: > > These maps are designed to help property owners and other interested > parties learn more about the alternatives under consideration for the > line segments. The specific line route has not been selected. The > companies expect to determine the exact proposed route of the line by > late fall of 2008. > Thank you, > > Debbie Redfern > 304 Duchess Way > Martinsburg, WV 25403 > > > > _______________________________________________ EC mailing list EC(a)osenergy.org<mailto:EC@osenergy.org> http://osenergy.org/mailman/listinfo/ec<http://osenergy.org/mailman/listinfo/ec>

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Fwd: New liquid coal materials
by Paul Wilson 27 Aug '08

27 Aug '08

fyi, paul ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Virginia Cramer <virginia.cramer(a)sierraclub.org> Date: Tue, Aug 26, 2008 at 3:09 PM Subject: New liquid coal materials To: COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS(a)lists.sierraclub.org Hi everyone, As promised, here are some new liquid coal messaging materials. A big thanks to everyone who helped pull these together. Follow this link for updated talking points, sample letters to the editor, a sample op/ed and links to our other liquid coal resources. http://www.clubhouse.sierraclub.org/conservation/energy/coal/coal-messaging. aspx As always, let me (or Nithin) know if you have any questions or want to kick around ideas for using these materials. Thanks, ginny --------------------- Virginia Cramer Associate Press Secretary Sierra Club tel: 804-225-9113 x 102 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS list, send any message to: COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-6975

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Fwd: Sierra Club on federal approvals for coal plant financing
by Paul Wilson 27 Aug '08

27 Aug '08

fyi, paul ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Verena Owen <baumling(a)aol.com> Date: Tue, Aug 26, 2008 at 12:20 PM Subject: Fwd: Sierra Club on federal approvals for coal plant financing To: COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS(a)lists.sierraclub.org -----Original Message----- From: Mark Kresowik <mkresowiksc(a)earthlink.net> To: CONS-EQST-AIR-MW-COAL-COMM(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Sent: Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:07 am Subject: Sierra Club on federal approvals for coal plant financing Today the Sierra Club sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture expressing concern about the USDA's approvals for electric cooperatives to pursue private financing for coal plants without any environmental analysis. Billions of dollars of outstanding loans - taxpayers money - and our energy bills are in the balance. This could affect the financing arrangements for at least ten coal plants around the country. I've attached the letter that was sent to the USDA today and the press release, including Rep. Henry Waxman, is below. Our first lawsuit on this matter, on the Holcomb plant in Kansas, will go to trial next summer. Mark Poor Government Financial Decisions Could Raise Energy Bills Press Room: For Immediate Release Explore, Enjoy and Protect the Planet August 26, 2008 Contact: Virginia Cramer, 804-225-9113 ext.102 Consumers Could See Significant Rate Increases Federal Government Jeopardizes Billions in Loan Repayment by Authorizing Risky Energy Projects Washington, DC: The Sierra Club today voiced its concern that consumers could be faced with higher electric bills if the federal government continues to approve unsound investments in new coal-fired power plants across the nation. Already burdened with $36 billion in unpaid loans, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is now allowing rural utilities to take on billions of dollars in additional debt to build new coal-fired power plants, at enormous financial risk to taxpayers. "In the past weeks families across the country have already seen their energy rates increase dramatically, in some cases almost double," said Bruce Nilles, director of the Sierra Club's National Coal Campaign. "Approving these plants will push rates even higher as both the cost of energy and the additional debt are pushed off on ratepayers." The federal government, through the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service, is approving rural utilities' ownership in at least ten new coal-fired power plants across the country. In every instance, the government has failed to fully vet the plants' potential impacts before authorizing their construction, ignoring key concerns like the financial risk associated with the coal plants' contribution to global warming, adverse impacts on the environment and the availability of cleaner, cheaper alternatives. The government's failure to fully evaluate the environmental risks of and alternatives to these new coal-fired power plants violates the National Environmental Policy Act. "The Rural Utilities Service is rubber stamping new coal-fired power plants," continued Nilles. "And in the process is unfairly saddling the American public with huge amounts of debt. We need to be making smarter decisions with our money, especially in today's economic climate." Environmental impacts play an integral role in a utility's ability to repay its loans, a fact recognized by the nation's largest banks, which already consider the cost of carbon dioxide pollution before granting loans. Other parts of the federal government, including the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have also recognized the financial risks associated with failing to account for the cost of global warming pollution from new coal plants. The Committee has warned the Rural Utilities Service that future carbon regulations will make coal increasingly costly and that failing to consider those costs will place taxpayer dollars and ratepayers at risk. "It is irresponsible to approve investments in new coal-fired power plants without considering the environmental and financial risks. The Rural Utilities Service is placing hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars in serious jeopardy," said Rep. Henry A. Waxman, Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. In the past rural utility cooperatives have gone bankrupt rather than pass on cost increases to customers. If that were to happen in this situation, the American taxpayers will be left with billions of dollars in debt which is unable to be repaid. "Coal is a fuel of the past. Instead of looking for ways to use more of it, like fueling our cars, we should be working to move beyond it to a cleaner energy future. There are real, affordable energy solutions, like efficiency and renewable energy that are ready today to meet our energy needs, without the financial, health and environmental risks associated with coal," said Nilles. Mark Kresowik Corporate Accountability Representative Sierra Club's National Coal Campaignmark.kresowik(a)sierraclub.org 319-621-7393 (cell) 608-257-4994, x112 (work) 608-257-3513 (fax) 122 W. Washington Ave. Suite 830 Madison, WI 53703 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the CONS-EQST-AIR-MW-COAL-COMM list, send any message to:CONS-EQST-AIR-MW-COAL-COMM-signoff-request@LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information:http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp ------------------------------ Get the MapQuest Toolbar<http://mapquest.com/toolbar?ncid=mpqmap00050000000010>. Directions, Traffic, Gas Prices & More! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS list, send any message to: COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-6975

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WVSC Coal Film Festival info
by Jim Sconyers 26 Aug '08

26 Aug '08

Attached is information about the Coal Film Festival dates and places. Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last.

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WVSC committee chairs
by Jim Sconyers 26 Aug '08

26 Aug '08

Here are some new or renewed WV Sierra Club chairfolks: Chapter Chair - Jim Sconyers Political Committee Chair - Regina Hendrix Nominating Committee Chair - Jonathan Rosenbaum Election Committee - Mary Davis, Jim Kotcon Energy Committee Chair - Jim Kotcon Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 603.969.6712 Remember: Mother Nature bats last.

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Fw: GOOD NEWS on PA Transmission line case
by aaron.isherwood＠sierraclub.org 25 Aug '08

25 Aug '08

Fyi... Aaron Isherwood Senior Staff Attorney Sierra Club Environmental Law Program 85 Second Street, 2d Floor San Francisco, CA 94105-3441 Phone: (415) 977-5680 Fax: (415) 977-5793 CONFIDENTIAL LEGAL COMMUNICATION/WORK PRODUCT This e-mail may contain privileged and confidential attorney-client communications and/or attorney work product. If you receive this e-mail inadvertently, please reply to the sender and delete all versions on your system. Thank you. ----- Forwarded by Aaron Isherwood/Sierraclub on 08/25/2008 11:02 AM ----- Jeff Schmidt <jeff.schmidt(a)sierraclub.org> 08/25/2008 09:27 AM Please respond to Jeff Schmidt <jeff.schmidt(a)sierraclub.org> To Glen Besa <glen.besa(a)sierraclub.org>, Aaron Isherwood <aaron.isherwood(a)sierraclub.org> cc jeff tittel <jeff.tittel(a)sierraclub.org> Subject GOOD NEWS on PA Transmission line case This might be useful to share with whomever at national Sierra Club is working on NIETC / transmission line issues Jeff Schmidt ----- Original Message ----- From: Ginny Kreitler To: listserve Sent: Saturday, August 23, 2008 10:54 PM Subject: [Pa-transmission] GOOD NEWS for conservation in the PA recommendation on TrAILCO For those of you who have not read through the 364 pages (!) of the recommendation against TrAILCo in Pennsylvania last week, there is much to cheer. The Administrative Law Judges stand reinforced exactly several of the points the conservation community has been articulating. Namely: 1) "Economics, not reliability, is the impetus for both the original request for transmission proposals from PJM and the TrAIL proposal itself" [p112] 2) "The origianl TrAIL project was proposed before any reliability criteria infractions were identified" [p113] 3) "Project Mountaineer's goal was to transmist 5000 megawatts of new coal-fired generation from western to eastern PJM" and "According to Mr. Pfirrmann [PJM management in testimony to FERC], at least two extra high-voltage transmission lines were required to support the delivery of this much electricity." [p 113] 4) "The RTEP modeling process used by PJM is an overly conservative, belt and suspenders approach to transmission planning" [ok we never asserted that], and 5) "We conclude that the RTEP process is designed to yield transmission solutions." [p.115] In short, the conceptual foundation of the Mid-Atlantic corridor as well as the case for this project are flawed and the pro-transmission arguments were developed to expand coal-fired power markets. These conclusions deserve widespread attention and should be disseminated to constituents, media, and legislators. Also very noteworthy is the seriousness of the Pennsylvania review process. Of particular note is the weight given to the importance of environmental impacts analysis in the application and review process. The Administrative Law Judges made plain their perspectives on what constitutes (or, more precisely, what does not) a reasonable effort to affirmatively and completely address environmental impacts. This position not only proves that the Judges are taking seriously their responsibility in the area of assessing the environmental impacts of proposed projects, it also provides some guidance for future cases for those concerned with environmental impacts of other proposed projects. The decision considerations should be equally relevant in those cases. In this ruling the ALJs faulted the incompleteness of the information developed on environmental impacts, in particular suggesting that better information is expected in: 1) documenting the resources affected 2) presenting a soil and sedimentation plan 3) identifying locations of access roads 4) detailing steps to be taken to protect ground and surface waters 5) detailing a plan to minimize air and water pollution from construction, and, with special emphasis on 6) providing a credible account of how alternative routes were seriously considered that had less environmental impacts than the 'preordained' route [their words] The full recommendation can be found at: http://www.puc.state.pa.us/PCDOCS/1019983.pdf. Again, please note that PALTA's site lists the environmental considerations to be detailed in transmission project filings. See: http://conserveland.org/pp/Transmission/opposepowerline Pennsylvania's state process is superior. Interested stakeholders should familiarize themselves with it. All parties concerned with responsible land use decisions and infrastructure siting should be concerned over the possibility of this state jurisdiction being usurped for an ill-defined and untested new federal process. This is a highly important precedent being set for our Commonwealth and for others.

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[Fwd: Fwd: Sunday 8.24.2008 WV_1+2]
by Regina Hendrix 24 Aug '08

24 Aug '08

More info on the Marcellus Shale drilling controversy in Pendleton County. Watch out, dirty Mike Ross is involved. Regina

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[Fwd: possible ammo for power line fight]
by Regina Hendrix 24 Aug '08

24 Aug '08

Wanted to be sure you got this. Regina

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