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Winds of Change Winds of Change Celebrating 25 Years of Organized Voices and Empowered Communities March 2012 March E Huntington, WV OVEC www.ohvec.org Victory: Lawsuit Forces Selenium Pollution Cleanup For the past year, In a 2010 legal order every time OVEC resolving a separate organizer Maria Gunnoe action we brought against has driven up her long Patriot, a federal judge driveway, she’s looked ordered the company to to the mountaintop treat selenium at four above her home with a outlets. The company worried heart. Back in has estimated the cost 2008, an OVEC lawsuit of treatment at just those led by Joe Lovett of the four outlets to be nearly Appalachian Mountain $100 million. Advocates resulted in The January the Callisto mountaintop settlement requires removal mine directly Patriot to install above her home shutting treatment technology, on down. But, more recently, This mine, above Maria Gunnoe’s home, won’t be getting any bigger. a set schedule, to bring the company, which is selenium discharges to owned by Patriot Coal, applied to renew its surface- legal levels. In addition, the company will pay penalties mine permit for the Callisto mine. of $7.5 million, with the vast majority of those funds As a part of a selenium lawsuit settlement, Patriot going to the West Virginia Land Trust, to help with its agreed to drop plans to mine the 8.5 million tons of coal mission of preserving land in southern West Virginia. there, and Maria is resting easier these days. Patriot will be subject to significant additional penalties In January, OVEC, West Virginia Highlands for any violations that occur after the compliance date Conservancy and the Sierra Club settled the biggest for each source of pollution. selenium lawsuit we’ve ever filed. Thanks to our Our groups have already successfully used litigation lawyers, Joe Lovett and Derek Teaney with the to force selenium treatment at mountaintop removal Appalachian Mountain Advocates, Patriot Coal will be mines owned by Massey, Arch Coal and Alpha Natural required to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to treat Resources. illegal selenium pollution at three of the company’s In previous cases, we’ve successfully sued the West major mountaintop removal mines in West Virginia: Virginia Department of Environmental Protection to the Hobet 21 complex along the Lincoln-Boone County continued on page 4 border, the Samples mine complex near Cabin Creek (on Larry Gibson’s Kayford Mountain) and the Ruffner mine in Logan County. The deal requires approval by Inside This Winds of Change Celebrating 25 Years ...................................... page 3 the U.S. Federal District Court in Huntington before it Gov. Pulls a Bait and Switch ......................... page 6 takes effect. SSP Calls Out DEP ....................................... page 12 The settlement requires that Patriot and its A Cleaner, Cheaper Energy Future ................ page 17 subsidiaries treat selenium at 43 water-pollution outlets, D.C.’s Calling ............................................... page 19 including some previously thought to be untreatable. 1 West Virginia’s Glass of Water Half Empty In 2012, We Celebrate 25 Years of Organizing Voices An op-ed by WVU-Tech professor John David, originally published in the February 8 edition of The Charleston Gazette In addition to coal and gas, West Virginia possesses and lead combined with a vast volume of water used and Empowering Communities another extremely valuable resource: water. In fact, the in fracking may assist tourism and postpone the day of state owns the water in all streams and rivers within the reckoning, but eventually it aggravates the problem of state as well as several rivers, such as the Ohio, that water contamination caused by various chemicals and border the state. household wastes. We have all been taught that water is essential for In Dimock Township, Pa., The Associated Press life, although less than 1 percent of the Earth's water is reports that the Environmental Protection Agency is available for us to use. delivering water where Cabot Gas “has been accused of The demand for water for other purposes is escalating. tainting homeowners’ wells with methane and possible Most people take water for granted until there’s not hazardous chemicals.” Furthermore, according to the enough. Disasters such as earthquakes and floods draw EPA, nearly half of lakes and reservoirs nationwide attention to destroyed aquifers and polluted water contain fish with potentially harmful levels of the toxic streams. Billions metal mercury. of gallons The Wall Street are needed to Journal notes clean coal and that livestock implement and poultry the hydraulic operations fracturing generate about process to force 500 million tons out natural gas of manure each — a process year, or about that is projected three times to increase the amount of For the past quarter century, our newsletters have significantly as human waste in OVEC Board of Directors & Staff chronicled the progress we’ve achieved and the pitfalls the use of natural the nation, with Board Members we’ve encountered as we work together for a better Chuck Nelson, Chair Marty Amerikaner, Vice Chair gas for electricity Blackwater Falls, Tucker County, West Virginia much of that Regina Hendrix, Secretary Judith Whitley, Treasurer future. Your participation has been central to all we rises to half of waste untreated Reverend Jeff Allen Danny Cook Crystal Good have achieved. the nation’s generating capacity. In Texas, according and deposited into public waterways. The runoff, which Ronda Harper Brandon Nida Karen Scalf Whether you are new to OVEC, or were once active to The Wall Street Journal, each well using hydraulic can contain E. coli and other bacteria, can threaten Dan Taylor on some of our earlier campaigns, we hope you will fracturing weekly requires enormous quantities of water human health. Full- and Part-Time Staff join us in 2012 to celebrate our 25 years of sparking Dianne Bady Janet Keating Vivian Stockman and companies are scrambling to lock up water supplies. There is also another possible issue with hydraulic Maryanne Graham Tonya Adkins Maria Gunnoe transformation in our area. Production for nearly everything consumed requires fracturing that relates to diversion of the water supply Carol Warren Robin Blakeman Andrew Munn Call the office at 304-522-0246 to join the 25th major water use as well. National Geographic even from existing aquifers. As noted by The Associated Community Wind Project Chris Shepherd anniversary planning team for our October 27 birthday notes that it takes 2,900 gallons of water to produce one Press, Ohio became the latest state to take action on the OVEC Webmaster Don Alexander bash — please save that date. pair of jeans. Meanwhile, as noted by Maureen McAvay link between seismic activity and wells used to dispose Winds of Change Editor Vivian Stockman Our first special event of the year is our annual Volunteer Editorial Assistant Deborah Griffith of the Urban Land Institute, the United States’ water of wastewater from oil and gas production after a All photos here by V. Stockman, unless otherwise noted. meeting, open only to members and guests of members footprint is huge — 656,000 gallons per person per year series of 4.0 magnitude earthquakes hit northern Ohio Graphics from assorted sources. who share our visions and values: compared to 186,000 gallons in China. The nation’s over the holidays. According to the report, “Arkansas Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition It’s a Victory Celebration and Dance! daily indoor per capita water use is 69.3 gallons. regulators last year declared a moratorium in injection P.O. Box 6753, Huntington, WV 25773 While wasteful use of water is a problem, a second wells in the vicinity of a series of earthquakes and in phone: 304-522-0246 fax: 304-522-4079 6 p.m. Saturday, April 21, 2011 issue is the contamination of our water supply. 2010 researchers at Southern Methodist University also www.ohvec.org Our water comes from surface runoff, abandoned found a link between injection wells in the Dallas-Fort To unsubscribe from WOC mailings or to receive WOC online only, at the Charleston Woman’s Club contact [email protected] with “WOC subscription” in the subject line. coal mines, and underground water that can be affected Worth area and nearby quakes.” A related concern has OVEC is a member of the WV Environmental Council, the Alliance for by conditions hundreds of miles away. Burying trash, been raised by earthquakes that recently have occurred Appalachia and The CLEAN, and is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization Check your mailbox for an invitation, or contact registered with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and the West Virginia Robin Blakeman at [email protected] or 304-522- slurries, CO2, and drilling fluids including human in Braxton County. Secretary of State. 0246 for more details. We encourage you to bring carcinogens such as methanol, benzene, sulfuric acid, continued on page 5 When you’re finished with this newsletter - PASS IT ON! friends and family who would appreciate our work. 2 3 Another Selenium Lawsuit: Alpha Pays $54 Million West Virginia’s Water Areas that provide public water, industrial discharge OVEC, WV Highlands Conservancy and Sierra rocks, the massive obliteration at mountaintop removal continued from page 2 A third issue is noted in a study by the U.S. Geological Club sued Massey Energy in federal court over repeated sites unleashes large quantities of the metal from the is permitted to enter waterways and streams, and stream selenium violations at three mountaintop removal rock where it would otherwise be sequestered. Survey. The alarming study identified pharmaceutical use permits are granted for a token fee to divert and mines. Alpha Natural Resources acquired the lawsuit Repeatedly, runoff from mountaintop removal drugs, including antibiotics, hormones, contraceptives, contaminate water.
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