By MiaFrederick
December 11, 2007 - As part of the permitting process for Dominion Power’s proposed coal fired power plant southwest Virgina the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality recently held a public briefing in St Paul, Virginia just down the road from the Virginia City site of the proposed plant.. Representatives from DEQ made a presentation on the current status of Dominion’s draft air emissions permit. Rob Feagins, DEQ’s Air Permit Manager for DEQ’s southwest regional office reminded the audience of about 85 people gathered in the St Paul High School auditorium that this meeting was for questions only and that the public comment period would be the time that the public could submit their comments for the public record. Feagins concluded his presentation by describing the possible outcomes of the permitting process.

Many of the questions from the public were about the impact of the emissions of toxic pollutants from the plant, such as mercury and sulfur dioxide, and the potential impacts on the people, air, water, and wildlife in the region, and downwind from Virginia City. Adding to the concerns is the existence nearby, of Carbo, an old coal fired power plant that is noted for being one of the dirtiest in the nation.

Although the emissions and impacts outlined in the current permit meet or exceed current air quality standards there were several questions about how future regulations on emissions including carbon dioxide might increase the cost of the plant, a figure that has gone from around 800 million up to 1.6 billion since the plant was first proposed, a cost increase that many present felt would be passed on to ratepayers. There were also questions about the role of a government agency called the Department of Environmental Quality in approving a plant that will be emitting substantial pollutants albeit – within the current regulations.

The part of central Appalachia that would feel the greatest impact from the plant is home to one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world, and the Clinch River is widely known as a pristine aquatic habitat. The US Forest service recently notified the Virginia DEQ that the pollution from the proposed Virginia City plant would harm five federally designated Class I wilderness areas in three states – the James River Face in Virginia, Linville Gorge, Shining Rock, and Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock in North Carolina, and Cohutta in Georgia.

The real question of the night may have been whether there was any hope that DEQ would deny the permit. Several states, including Texas have recently dropped plans to build new coal fired power plants due to concerns over pollution and climate change as well as the financial impacts of pending regulations of carbon emissions. In Kansas, in a situation similar to the one in Virginia, that states department of environmental quality actually did deny the permit of a plant similar to the one proposed by Dominion, after public pressure and a statement from Governor Kathleen Sebelius saying it was wrong for that state to move forward with that technology.

The next public hearing regarding approval of the plant will be held January 8, 2008 in Richmond, as the State Corporation Commission reviews the permit and the plants rate structure.

To find out more about Dominion Power and the proposed plant, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and about what concerned citizens are doing to oppose it, follow the links below!

Dominion press release on the project

Dominion Power

Virginia Department of Environmental Quality

Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition

Appalachian Voices

 

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By Mia Frederick, production assistance, Lora Smith
December 5, 2007 - On a cold windy December morning members of the Kentucky House of Representatives Appropriations and Revenue Committee came to eastern Kentucky on
a fact finding tour, in part in response to testimony they heard during the recent special session of the legislature. During that session they passed a bill that included massive tax subsidies for Peabody Coal’s proposed coal gasification plant to be built in western Kentucky. Committee Chair Representative Harry Moberly told those assembled at the Hazard Airport that the testimony by members of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth had moved him to come on the tour. The windy weather prevented the legislators from taking to the skies for an aerial tour of mountain top removal, so instead they were treated to a virtual tour via Google Earth (which has recently added a mountain top removal feature to the popular service). Dr. Alice Jones from Eastern Kentucky University made a presentation that offered scientifically supported data regarding the impact of resource extraction or mining on the headwaters region of eastern Kentucky. After lunch the tour caravaned to Montgomery Creek a few miles south of Hazard and drove up a narrow one-lane road to look at a valley fill. John Roark of Montgomery was there to give them a sense of what its like to live below a huge valley fill like the one they could see below.

John Roark Kodak Church Valley Fill Sam Gilbert

All photographs courtesy of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth

 

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By Mia Frederick
November 26, 2007 - Dobree Adams is one of Kentucky’s most renowned fiber artists and has always taken photographs to demonstrate and document the influences behind her woven work. In the exhibit “Mountain No Mountain” Adams has combined her fiber work with photography and text to address the issue of mountain top removal mining and the impacts on the headwaters regions of eastern Kentucky. The results include a series of limited edition broadsides, along with a compelling array of woven landscapes and photographs. “Mountain No Mountain” is on exhibit through December 7th in the Appalshop Gallery in Whitesburg, Kentucky.

A reception for the artist and a benefit for Kentuckians for the Commonwealth will be held on Friday November 30thfrom 4 – 7 the evening will feature readings by Kentucky Authors Bob Sloan, Artie Ann Bates, and others. The Appalshop Gallery is located at 91 Madison Avenue in Whitesburg, Kentucky.

 

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By Mia Frederick

November 6, 2007 - The conversation about climate change has gone from a debate about whether it is fact or fiction to a global dialogue about what can be done to address it. In the coalfields, the conversation is also being incorporated into discussions about economic conversion. Although coal production and coal industry jobs are currently still on the rise, the future of the coal industry in Appalachia is unclear, due to the actual amount of mine-able coal, and future regulations on the use of coal due to climate change. Communities in located in coal producing areas are beginning to examine the prospects for economies not based on extractive industries like coal or natural gas. Recently a regional alliance of citizen groups came together to talk about coalfield community economic conversion. The guest speaker was Dr. Lloyd Jeff Dumas, professor of Economics and Political Economy at The University of Texas at Dallas. One of the things that Dr. Dumas made clear was that whatever we may hear in the region about the long-term sustainability of the coal industry the view in other places is somewhat different. Whatever economic re-development  or economic conversion may look like, Dr Dumas emphasized the need to accept the changes that are coming and begin to plan for a future less entwined with coal.

Dee Davis of the Center for Rural Strategies  expressed concern about the ongoing problem of out-migration from this and many other rural areas, and the impact that has on the social capital of the region. Tourism and exploiting the bio-diversity if the region were put forth as just a few things that might begin moving the region in new economic directions. The strongest message was to be well diversified and flexible not only to attract investment capital but also because where one project doesn’t work, another may be right on target. As fall finally arrives, three weeks or so late it doesn’t seem strange to be thinking about climate change driving economic development and redevelopment in Appalachia, perhaps better late than never?

 

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By Mia Frederick

October 25, 2007 - Public hearings were held Wednesday night in five communities throughout the coalfields of Appalachia, to allow public comment on a proposed change in the “stream buffer zone” rule by the US Office of Surface Mining, or OSM. At the hearing in Hazard, KY about 150 people turned out on a rainy autumn night, and the majority of those who signed up to speak were opposed to the change.

The OSM says the rule change will clarify existing law and that the existing rule has never been applied in such a way as to “absolutely prohibit” mining activity near a stream. Many of the people who came to the hearing to oppose the rule change expressed concerns that existing laws designed to protect streams and waterways from mining are not being enforced effectively now.

Hearings were also held in Charleston, WV, Washington, PA, and Knoxville, TN. Citizens from southwest Virginia requested a hearing in for their region but were denied, however a group of about 40 to 50 people gathered at OSM’s office in Big Stone Gap to offer their comments. According to OSM’s Ian Dye, their comments were recorded and will become a part of the public record. The period for public comment has been extended until November 23.

If you would like to send your comments to the OSM here are some easy ways to do so:

To make public comments to the OSM by Nov. 23rd go to www.regulations.gov with docket number 1029-AC04 in the subject line.

Or visit 700mountains.org

You can also visit Kentuckians For The Commonwealth for more about the stream buffer zone and the rule change, as well as how to send comments to the OSM.

 

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By Ellis Keyes & Mia Frederick
October 17, 2007 - What is a stereotype as it pertains to a people, or a place? The dictionary definition of a stereotype is that it is an idea, expression, etc, lacking in originality or inventiveness: convention, or; a simplified and standardized conception or image of a person, group, or place held in common by members of a group. Appalachian people have long been viewed by those outside the region through the lens of a particular stereotype – that of the hillbilly. And although that particular stereotype and the term ‘hillbilly’ and all it implies is taken as a negative when used by outsiders, it is also a way that people in the mountains talk about themselves, with pride, and a sense of humor.

The role of the mainstream media in perpetuating the hillbilly stereotype is well understood in the mountains, but so is the sense that the tendency for anyone to have a generalized misunderstanding of places they have never been or of they have never met. In the mountains today the issue of stereotypes , and who is stereotyping who and how , can be a good way for people to begin to get to know each other in ways that transcends the generalities of the stereotypes. If you think you might be harboring a stereotype about someone or something – check it out for yourself – you might be surprised who you get to know – and like!

The voices heard in this story were recorded in Letcher County, Kentucky, at the Hemphill Community Center and at the Mountain Heritage Festival.

 

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By Mia Frederick

September 19, 2007 - The prospect of increased mountain top removal coal mining was the subject of a recent survey conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation for the non-partisan think tank, the Civil Society Institute. The survey found that 88% of Americans, Republicans as well as Democrats, are opposed to expanded mountain top removal coal mining, until existing mines and mining operations are safer, and the environment and the communities they impact are better protected. Mountain top removal mining involves the blasting away of the dirt, rocks, and trees that cover the coal seam after that material (called the overburden), is then pushed into the valleys and streams below. The Civil Society Institute held a telephone press conference last week to announce the surveys findings, and Graham Hueber of the Opinion Research Corporation was on hand to discuss the survey and its findings.

The survey comes on the heels of a proposed rule change by the Bush administration’s Office of Surface Mining (OSM) that would significantly change the language in a rule regarding the ‘stream buffer zone’, which was designed to keep all mining activity at least 100 feet from streams and waterways. The survey also found that the already low level of support for mountain top removal mining drops even lower when those who support it are told that the proposed rule change could result in further environmental destruction.

According to the Office of Surface Mining’s own figures the 100 foot rule has already failed to keep at least 1,200 miles of waterways from being covered by debris from mining activity, and the new rule would effectively eliminate any regulatory barrier to the practice of burying streams, especially on mountain top removal mine sites. There is a sixty day period, ending October 23rd, during which people can send comments about the new language, to the OSM, and Maria Gunnoe an outreach organizer with the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition says that is one way for the 88% of Americans opposed to the rule change to voice their objection.

Some of the concerns about the rule change are due to the fact that under the changed language, mine operators will no longer have to prove that they are not negatively impacting streams, fish, and wildlife, but will only have to “prevent, to the extent possible, using the best technology available, damage to the environment.” OVEC’s Maria Gunnoe says that is unlikely to protect streams and water ways. According to environmental law expert, Ruth Greenspan Bell , although the OSM is required to seriously consider all comments made, any challenge to the rule change will likely be in the judicial arena. Since the announcement of the rule change in late August, there have been many editorials published opposing any further deregulation of an industry that has seen 71 deaths over the last 20 months, most recently the six miners who were killed in the now infamous Crandall Canyon mine disaster in Utah. Coalfield residents like Maria Gunnoe, who would be most affected by the rule change, hope that increased awareness about the change among the general public, will lead them to oppose the proposed rule change by contacting their representatives in Washington, and the Interior Departments Office of Surface Mining before the comment period ends on October 23rd.

Send a comment about the rule change to the OSM by visiting their websiteOffice of Surface Mining

Read the Cilvil Society Institute survey and find out more about the rule change and its impacts on the environment700 Mountains

Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition

 

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By Tim Surer

September 18, 2007 - Dr Roy Varghese is senior physician at Anne Wasson Clinic at the Mary Breckinridge Hospital in Hyden KY. He specializes in the treatment of diabetes, and has conducted a study of type II diabetes and how the disease may be hereditary. The study examined 500 patients who have type II diabetes. Dr Varghese, having dealt with patients for over 25 years has seen an earlier onset of type II in each new generation. He decided to conduct the study after being moved by a patients story about how a family history of diabetes is affecting her life.

With type II diabetes it is possible to have the disease for a number years and not have any symptoms, it is important for people with a family history of the disease to focus on preventative measures such as diet and exercise. A recent study on how lifestyle modifications and medication effects early onset in people who are predisposed to diabetes found that even the study group with the most intervention – diet, exercise, and medication were only delaying the onset by three to four years.

Dr. Varghese believes that even though there is not yet a cure for type to diabetes that the disease could be eradicated if people with a family history of type II diabetes avoided having children with partners who share that distinction, something easier said than done.

So until there is a cure, or until people eradicate diabetes through dedicated family planning, for people with a high risk of becoming diabetic or who have already developed diabetes, Dr Varghese recommends that they follow some basic rules; maintain a healthy diet, exercise regularly, and work to eliminate sugar from your menus.

 

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