Check out this interview of Lisa Jackson, the Administrator of the EPA. It will spark rage. Trust me
Listen to the interview here:
http://wamu.org/programs/dr/09/09/03.php
* * *

Diane Rehm Show, National Public Radio
September 3, 2009

Susan Page, Guest Host

U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Guest

Kate Russell, Ohio Citizen Action, caller

KATE RUSSELL (16:06): My question is about mountaintop removal coal mining. Recently Dr. Margaret Palmer from the University of Maryland testified before the Senate on peer-reviewed scientific literature, a consensus, that humans cannot recreate what headwater streams provide for us, the function of the water, the structure of the water. My question is if we know that mountaintop removal and valley fills are so detrimental to our headwater streams, why is it allowed to continue?

SUSAN PAGE: Alright, Kate, thanks for your call. I’ll mention we’ve gotten any number of e-mails also on the issue of mountaintop removal. And I’m not sure that everyone understands exactly what the question is here. Tell us about what the controversy is on this.

Today, there are treesitters at the Edwight Mining Site in the Coal River Valley, WV. Between august 14 and 19, there were a series of non-violent protests around the country at the national and regional headquarters. Protests went on at the main headquarters in Washington DC, the WV Department of Environmental Protection in Charleston, and regional EPA headquarters in Boston, Dallas, Kansas City, Philly, New York, San Francisco and Atlanta.

SEAC and United Mountain Defense promoted these protests. These protests were planned and ran by people of all ages. What sparked the protest in DC was the EPA's reluctance in listening to everyday citizens who want to see the old mountains of West Virginia stay put. We are everyday citizens who do not want to see the bombing of mountains or drink the polluted water.

Two young college students interning for SEAC, Calvin Smith of WVU and myself, Billy Astrove at West Va Wesleyan, were some of the minds in wanting to set up a protest to tell the EPA no new permits. On August 14 at the EPA Headquarters, between 39 and 50 people showed up to join us in saying stop bombing. We just want the EPA to do its job and stop blasting.

The general mood of the protest was open mike. You wanted to say something, you were more than welcome to take the the megaphone. My time during the megaphone was loud and nasty. "Pollution sucks. Yes, you can regulate pollution. But you sure as hell can't regulate an abomination, EPA. DO YOUR JOB!" There was another protest at the EPA in late June,which turned out 23 to 25 people. At times we had double that number.

Hey everybody,

I am writing on behalf of the West Virginia Wesleyan Green Club and the Student Environmental Action Coalition. This summer is a historical one for those concerned about climate change, because there is a bill going through congress that could effectively end mountaintop removal as we know it. If you are not familliar with mountaintop removal, you can go to the website www.ilovemountains.org.

Two bills that are being looked at in the house right now is an ammendment to the Appalachian Restoration Act in section 696 defining Valley Fills. This legislation, it passed would effectively make Mountaintop Romoval Coal Mining illegal. According to the proposed legislation, fill material would be defined as "any pollutant that:
(i) replaces a portion of the waters of the United States with dry land; or
(ii) modifies the bottom elevation of a body of water for any purpose."

The Clean Water Protection Act will also overturn regulations allowing for dumping wastes provided by mountaintop removal.

The passage of bills to end mountaintop removal is critical for the safety of not only Appalachain Residents but also the world as a whole. You can help the passage of these acts in multiple ways. Call your congressman and tell them you support the passage of the Appalachian Restoration Act, and that Mountaintop Removal needs to stop today. You can find out who your congressman is by going here: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/officials/.

In addition, there will be multiple ways you can take action directly in support for the Appalachian Restoration Act.

SAVE THE DATE!

West Virginia Environmental Council
20th Annual Fall Meeting Convention

September 25-27th, 2009

Holly Grey Park, Sutton, WV

*Please save the date for our 20th annual Fall Convention which will feature discussions & workshops on WV Environmental Issues, planning for our 2010 Legislative Priorities, a great keynote speaker as well as great music, great people, and an evening birthday party for the WV Environmental Council. More information will be coming out about this throughout the summer. But we want to make sure that WV Environmental organizations and our grassroots activists get this on your calendars now.

This should have probably been one of the first blogs I wrote when joining SEAC, but let me introduce myself, and tell you why I am with SEAC today

My name is Billy Astrove, and I am going to be a rising senior at West Virginia Wesleyan Callege in Buckhannon, West Virginia. I am affiliated with SEAC through West Virginia Wesleyan's Green Club which joined the newly-formed West Virginia Youth Action League last October, in order to connect with other students in various environmental groups around the state of West Virginia. Throughout the year, we did a fundraiser for our local green club where we brought fraternities and they participated in a coal vs. wind tug of war competition. In addition, we led campaigns to try to bring a trayless cafeteria in order to cut down on waste within the school, and a petition for a wind farm on Coal River Mountain. I started involving myself in the green club, and it continued to grow on me.

Throughout the Summer and hopefully into the fall, I am interning with SEAC to work organize youths who are from the coal fields to lobby Congress to put an end to Mountain Top Removal. At the end of this month, we will be bringing youth from the Coal Fields of Kentucky and West Virginia to speak out in favor of the Appalachian Restoration Act (S.696)to the senate and the Clean Water Protection Act (HR 1310). These bills would ban valley fills, effectively ending Mountaintop Removal. The lobby week will take place this month from July 27-31, and it is affiliated through SEAC and the Alliance for Appalachia.

We encourage coal field residents to come down and speak out to their legislatures about how Mountaintop Removal has effected them. This will be a wonderful time, and there is scholarship money available for those who register before July 17.

General Information:

On Saturday, July 4th and Sunday, July 5th, the annual Mountain Keepers
Music Festival will be held at Kayford Mountain's Stanley Heirs Park . This
concert is the premier music festival that celebrates environmental justice
in southern West Virginia. The two day event will feature local and regional
musicians playing a variety of bluegrass, gospel, country, rock, jam and old
time music, as well as a pot-luck meal. This is a free concert that will
celebrate Appalachian life and attendees are encouraged to bring a covered
dish.

The festival will feature many emerging artists who celebrate their homes
and heritage.

Stanley Heirs Park is located near Dawes, WV, which is about 35
minutes south of Charleston off of Interstate 64. For more
information about the concert and directions: www.myspace.com/mtkeepersfest

There is a potluck Saturday afternoon so please bring a dish to share.
There is also free camping available on both Friday and Saturday nights, but
music doesn't start until Saturday afternoon. Bring camping supplies, water,
and snacks if you plan on staying.

This is a drug and alcohol free event. This is a free concert,
but donations are welcome and appreciated, please bring your checkbook.
This Festival is sponsored by the Keepers of the Mountains Foundation, Ohio
Valley Environmental Coalition, and Student Environmental Action Coalition.

For more information on the effects of mountaintop removal, please visit
www.crmw.net, www.ohvec.org, or www.seac.org.

==========================================

Musicians

Sat, July 5th starts at about noon

Chelsea McBee: http://www.chelseamcbee.com/home.html
Benji Taylor: http://www.myspace.com/benjitaylor
The Lone Tones: http://www.thelonetones.com/home.html
Corporate Orange: http://www.myspace.com/corporateorange
Benji Burrell and Tricia Feeney: n/a
Kipp McGhee & Friends: http://www.myspace.com/pavlovsdogswv
Trish Ansley: n/a

In the recent Days, Marfork Coal Company has been awarded with the Prestigious Green Miner Award from Massey Energy Co, which was presented at Massey Energy's Yearly Award Banquet on Wednesday June 17. Every year, Massey Energy gives this "prestigious" award to the company that they view has made the most attempts towards going green. Marfork is an underground mine that prides itself on staying about the environmental standards.

In the recent wake of this award, comes the realization that Marfork Coal Company is 6.8 miles away from Marshfork Elementary School, all of a 13 minute commute according to Google Maps. Now what is Marsh Fork Elelmentary School? This school, also in Raleigh County, is located in front of two gigantic coal silos. There is a 2.8 billion gallon coal sludge impoundment just uphill from the school. Kids report breathing difficulties, and frequently go home sick. One teacher at this school did a project with her students where she taped a white Kleenex tissue to the window on a monday. By friday, the tissue was black. Parents are concerned about their childrens' health and the rising rates of Asthma in the immediate area. Yet a coal company just less than 7 miles away receives the highest green honor by Massey Energy.

Marfork Coal Company is not the company directly responsible for the sludge dam. A 1,849 acre surface/strip mine, Goals Coal, operates just above the silo and the school. Thomas Cook who is the Massey Energy VP of Environmental Affairs says, "We like to keep our areas clean, we like to keep them pristine and usable for the future,and we believe our members lead the way in making that happen." Marsh Fork Elementary School barely has conditions in which students are able to live let alone learn.

Massey Energy chose Marfork Coal Company as a result of the following factors that go above and beyond the company's standards:

In the recent wake of last week's initiative to push more scrutiny on Mountaintop Removal Mountain, Obama left out a key piece: Saying No More. Throughout the first 140 days in office, Obama has shown a great amount of indecisiveness when putting an end to mountaintop removal by relegating decisions to the EPA. Maybe I am dreaming of the day when people can go to jail for 3 years and pay $5 million fines for destroying the tops of mountains, but until that day comes this is the time when we as a group of citizens need to stand up and tell our Head of State: No More.

Obama, however has done much more than Bush has ever done by requiring the review of permits. However, I do not know if he has a desire to end MTR practices. From what the Washington Post article:
Mountaintop Mining to Get More Scrutiny (written Thursday June 11), the Obama Administration is not ending MTR, but wasnt to have the EPA end some of its worst effects like the destruction of trees and buried streams. But isnt this a typical feature of MTR? Wouldnt it be easier to "Just Say NO"!

When reviewing Obama's stance on Mountaintop Removal, we can look back to March: “This is one of those things where I want science to help lead us. I will tell you that there’s some pretty country up there that’s been torn up pretty good. I will also tell you that the environmental consequences of the runoff from some of these mountains can just be horrendous. … Not taking that into account because of short-term economic concerns, I think, is a mistake. I think we have to balance economic growth with good stewardship of the land God gave us.”

– President Barack Obama on mountaintop removal, March 23, 2009.

From this quote, Obama is very hesitant to say no more removing mountains, even though that is definetely a priority that should be in the best interest in the country.

PATH - a giant 765 kV transmission line is planned for West Virginia. Find out about PATH, its many costs, proposed routes, and successful citizen actions that have been taken. Attend the "PATH" informational public meeting on May 8, 2009 at Kresge Hall in the basement of the Martin Religious Center at WV Wesleyan. Enter on either side of the chapel from the rear of the chapel and go downstairs. Speakers, displays and maps will inform you and enable you to inform others. Desserts, coffee, and conversation will begin at 6:30 PM and the program will start at 7:00 PM. Please join us. For more information call Karen Grubb (304-367-4878 or 304-657-0812).

Sponsored by the WV Sierra Club, WV Highlands Conservancy, and concerned citizens of Upshur County.