You do not need to accept the one-on-one format!

PA DEP. WV DEP. OSM, many agencies have tried to get away with this because the feeling that builds in a room as people give heartfelt and varied reasons for opposition, the networking that follows, are the only reason to even bother with public hearings–it’s not like these agencies ever deny a permit.

But I saw at one hearing long ago in Charleston, where OSM tried to do this, and Bill Price grabbed the mike and asked for “a show of hands–who wants the usual, public format?” Nearly every hand went up.

“Who wants the new format?” The table with the coal industry guys all raised their hands. A clear majority for the public format, and it would have looked so anti-democratic to insist on the private approach that they gave it up.

Mary Wildfire, Spencer, WV