Notice the surplus 42 inch diameter steel pipe (epoxy coated) at lower left in the Morgantown Industrial Park

From the Sierra Club, West Virginia Chapter, Box 4142​, Morgantown, WV 26504, ​​​​​1/4/22

Re: Draft Permit R13-3533 for Marion Energy Partners, LLC, “Science Center” (‘data center’) for Morgantown Industrial Park

>> Dear Mr. Edward Andrews @ WV-DEP:

Thank you for providing the opportunity for a public meeting on Tuesday, January 11th @ 6:00 PM, regarding the draft air permit for Marion Energy Partners, LLC (MEP). I am hopeful the format for the meeting will allow for an open discussion and information sharing. I am requesting a clarification as to the format, because although this was announced as a “public meeting”, the response to my meeting registration stated that this was to receive comments (“The purpose of the public review process is to accept public comments on air quality issues relevant to this determination.” per the e-mail from Stephanie Hammond).

WV rules at 45-CSR-13-9.1 specifies that “A public meeting(s) to provide information and receive comments on permit applications …”, and we clearly need information about this facility to provide meaningful comments.

Thank you also for extending the comment deadline to Jan. 13, however, we are concerned that this provides a very short turn-around to fully investigate the many questions we have. We hope you will consider a second extension to allow a reasonable time for further review and comments. It is my understanding that there is no immediate urgency for this permit, and a full evaluation of the issues is in the public interest and would not disadvantage the applicant.

As noted in the application and the Engineering Evaluation, this facility may be unique and have unique impacts because it would be independent of the electric grid for its energy supply. Before setting precedents on how such facilities are regulated, a public meeting to explore these issues is essential to inform the public and to allow meaningful community input.

Our review of the very limited information available has resulted in a number of questions, many of which may bear on the WV-DEP’s decision-making regarding this draft permit. In an effort to have the public information meeting be as productive as possible, we hope that the applicant will be willing to attend and that the following questions will be addressed by WV-DEP or the applicant:

1.) Has WV-DEP assessed noise impacts from the proposed MEP facility? In particular, what will be the noise impact on residential areas across the Mon River Valley, or at the nearby schools (Skyview Elementary and Westwood Middle Schools)?
2.) Has there been an estimate of “eWaste” volumes to be generated by this facility?
3.) Will the facility provide bonding or escrow funds to decommission the site at the end of its useful life? We note that legislation in 2021 required wind and solar energy facilities to post bonds sufficient to cover the full cost of site reclamation, do gas-fired electric generating facilities have similar requirements?
4.) Since gas is not “pipeline quality”, what other impurities are present and would be emitted after combustion (radon, VOCs, heavy metals, etc.)? We recommend weekly monitoring of raw gas; annual monitoring is not sufficient.
5.) Is this a Bitcoin Mining Operation or something similar?
6.) Who is buying and using these services, i.e., who are the customers? Who is benefiting/profiting from the facility? Is there an intent to generate block chain data to create cryptocurrency?
7.) What is the relationship of this proposed facility to WVU MSEEEL and the WVU Business School?
8.) If this “Science Center” is to study how electricity is generated from gas, how long is that project to last? Who are the scientists involved and providing analysis?
9.) How many jobs would be created by the proposed MEP facility?
10.) What taxes will they pay? Will gas severance taxes apply to the gas it sells to itself?
11.) Will there be water quality impacts?
12.) Were bids taken for solar energy sources? If not, why not?
13.) Has WV-DEP made any determination on whether emissions from this facility will be aggregated with those from the adjoining gas wells, pipelines and related facilities owned by the parent company? We note that the emissions from the four engines approaches the threshold for a major source for NOx, and that greenhouse gas emissions are subject to regulation if they exceed 75,000 TPY (45-CSR-14.2.80.d). What information is available on air emissions from these wells and related facilities?
14.) Are there unique functions of the Science Center that preclude it from being supplied by electricity from the electric grid? If so, what are these?

We recognize that some of these issues are only indirectly related to the draft air permit but hope that you or the applicant will be prepared to address those. Please let me know if I can provide additional information.

>> Sincerely, James Kotcon, Conservation Chair, West Virginia Chapter of Sierra Club

>>>>>>………………>>>>>>………………>>>>>>

TO LISTEN IN OR PARTICIPATE IN THE PUBLIC MEETING, REPLY TO THE FOLLOWING LINK ~ https://forms.gle/vZvJirkUKayGee1W7

The all electric home is in our future if not already

From an Article by Mary Anne Hitt, Sierra Magazine, January – February, 2021

Second, we got well on our way toward electrifying everything. Here in 2030, one of the best parts of the energy transition is that it has made our lives healthier. After social media icons spread the word about how gas stoves create indoor air pollution linked to asthma in kids, families rushed to their local home-improvement stores to replace gas ranges with electric induction stovetops.

Local governments passed thousands of ordinances calling for all-electric construction in new buildings, which created enough pressure for national standards. New businesses started popping up to help homeowners save money while pulling polluting gas appliances out of their homes. And the Department of Energy created programs to ensure that low-income families could make the switch affordably.

Meanwhile, on the transportation front, states such as California and New Jersey set a 2035 target date for phasing out internal-combustion-engine cars, and national standards followed. States also put in place standards requiring that buses and large trucks go all-electric, which dramatically reduced air pollution in communities of color and big port and shipping centers including California’s Inland Empire, New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

After COVID-19 made Americans realize the importance of walkable cities and accessible public transportation, Congress included funding in infrastructure bills for clean and affordable public transit, biking, and walking options. The number of family-sustaining jobs skyrocketed as Americans were put to work building electric cars, trucks, and buses as well as transit and charging-station infrastructure.

Part C of this Article will appear here tomorrow in FrackCheckWV.net.

The entire Article appeared in the January/February edition of Sierra with the headline “A Love Letter From the Clean Energy Future.”

#####. #####. #####. #####. #####. #####.

See also: FRACKING THE FUTURE — How Unconventional Gas Threatens our Water, Health and Climate, DeSmog Blog, 2011

Unconventional gas drilling and fracking are emerging as very controversial energy & environmental issues in the United States and around the World.

UNITED NATIONS Sustainable Development Goal #7

From an Article by Mary Anne Hitt, Sierra Magazine, January – February, 2021

My friends,

It takes my breath away to write these words, but we did it. Rooted in our deep love for this planet and one another, we stepped back from the cliff of irreversible climate change. Families around the globe, including mine and yours, no longer face the specter of fleeing their homes because of ever-worsening climate-driven disasters. The fossil fuel industry no longer controls the levers of power to corrupt democracy. And we’re building a world where everyone has clean air and clean water and access to nature.

As we rolled up our sleeves to prevent a climate emergency, our solutions prioritized investments in those communities most harmed by fossil fuels and pollution and those long excluded from economic opportunity. We needed to build so mu6ch clean energy infrastructure to avoid a climate apocalypse, and we didn’t just build it; we built it with family-sustaining jobs and with an eye toward restitution and reparations. Thanks to you, our kids will be raising their sons and daughters in vibrant, resilient communities full of opportunity. This is how we arrived here:

>>>> BEHOLD THE CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE …

First, we powered the country with 100 percent clean energy. An electric grid powered by clean energy was the foundation for turning the corner on climate, and the dirty power plants that were the worst contributors to environmental injustice were the first to go.

Building on a decade of grassroots advocacy, President Biden introduced and Congress finally passed a national 100 percent clean energy standard that put us well on our way to phasing out coal and gas by 2035 while ensuring that vulnerable communities experienced the benefits of the transition.

Big states such as California and New York then set even more aggressive goals, making it clear that a clean energy transition of speed and scale was possible. And since decisions about how we produce electricity are largely made by states, we continued our 50-state energy-transformation push for a decade.

To support communities with economic ties to fossil fuels, Congress included a robust economic transition for fossil fuel workers and community-led economic development. Congress also passed innovative measures like a moratorium on utility shutoffs for households and support for energy-saving home improvements for families spending a high percentage of their income on electricity bills (known as a high energy burden).

Renewable energy kept getting cheaper, and that allowed the Department of Energy to accelerate local clean energy solutions like microgrids—which are reliable during climate-driven extreme-weather events—in vulnerable and underserved places like the Navajo Nation and Puerto Rico.

We finally harnessed the power of offshore wind along the Atlantic coast and solar across the Southeast and Southwest, while scaling up new energy-storage technologies to make clean energy available when it’s needed most. Altogether, we made a quantum leap in the scale and scope of the energy transition, produced millions of jobs, and sparked the creation of thousands of new businesses.

>>>>> Part B is scheduled for tomorrow on FrackCheckWV.net.

This Article appeared in the January/February edition of SIERRA with the headline “A Love Letter From the Clean Energy Future.”

ASF promotes stream & wildlife recovery and preservation

Editorial Opinion by Morgantown Dominion Post, March 19, 2020

We’d like to interrupt the continuous coverage of coronavirus to take Monongalia County Commissioner Tom Bloom up on his offer to write an editorial about his comments regarding the Appalachian Stewardship Foundation.

Thank you, sir, for offering yourself up as a distraction. The public appreciates you.

Let us preface this editorial by saying that we like Bloom. But it is our job as a trusted news source to follow up on accusations made on the public record against an entity. Particularly if the support for such an accusation is unclear.

We reported a claim (DP 01-16-20) Bloom made that the Appalachian Stewardship Foundation had only spent $355,400 of the $4 million it received as part of an agreement with Longview on “stream and forest remediation.” The other half of the claim was that ASF had spent $1,244,609 on “lawyers and other fees.” Bloom’s source for this information was a letter from Longview president Jeffrey Keffer.

Five days later, ASF representatives posted a response online stating they have not paid legal fees to any lawyer.

We published a follow-up article (DP 02-12-20) after doing our own accounting and reported $1.6 million had been set aside in an endowment fund but $2.2 million had been awarded in the form of 99 grants to environmental organizations in the region. This accounts for $3.8 million.

At the time that article was printed, Bloom had not responded to multiple requests for comment.

Another month later, Bloom has finally gotten back to us. On Monday, he said he will not apologize for questioning the ASF’s spending habits. Rather, he reiterated his claim that less than $355,000 has been spent on “carbon dioxide sequestration and stream mitigation.” Specifically, Bloom points to five grants totaling $207,500 to Appalachian Mountain Advocates — a public interest law and policy organization — dating back to fall 2012 as particularly questionable.

According to Bloom, “The ASF chose grant applications that appear to fund programs that were to stop fossil fuel programs, shut down pipelines and stop fracking. To me, that doesn’t meet the agreement. So if the paper wants to write an editorial about how things appear and accuse me of getting this all wrong, well, I’ve gone through the numbers.”

We’re so glad Bloom finally articulated a specific complaint. We, as well as our readers, were dangling on that cliff hanger for two months, wondering what, precisely, ASF had done wrong. We’re still not entirely sure where Bloom gets his numbers (we calculated six grants totaling $190,000 awarded to AMA starting in spring 2014), but it’s helpful to know that Bloom’s discomfort is grant money funding legal efforts rather than literal tree planting.

We see nothing wrong with ASF’s choice of grant recipients. In the case of AMA, their efforts are focused on preventing environmental problems rather than just cleaning up after them. If ASF chooses to fund programs that treat the source instead of the symptoms, we take no issue with that. But Bloom is allowed to disagree.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

See also: Appalachian Stewardship Foundation Replies to Longview Issues, Larry Harris, FrackCheckWV, January 28, 2020

The geographical range of the foundations’ activities includes West Virginia, parts of Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Since its first granting round in 2012, ASF has received $4 million from Longview Power and approved grants totaling over $2.2 million to groups across West Virginia and Virginia through our twice annual grant distribution process.

A description of that grant process and a complete list of those grants awarded to date is available on the ASF website at: www.appalachianstewards.org

A statement (contained in an internal email from Longview’s president and CEO) that ASF has paid $1.2 million to lawyers, individually or collectively, is false. ASF has not paid legal fees to any lawyer.

Of the people, by the people, for the people have disappeared from this county

Letter to the Editor, Morgantown Dominion Post, March 5, 2020

I have watched with dismay over the last three months as CEO Jeff Keffer of Longview has made dishonest claims that the expansion of Longview will offer clean carbon energy, and the Monongalia County Commissioners have closed ranks around Commissioner Tom Bloom, who made false allegations against the Sierra Club to deflect its criticisms of the power plant’s expansion.

The commission is negotiating millions in tax breaks for Longview behind closed doors. Given that Bloom received his fabricated allegations from CEO Keffer, establishing collusion between commissioner and CEO, the negotiations should absolutely occur under a critical public eye. Commissioners are accountable to the public, not Longview.

Commissioner Hawkins pushed back against the Sierra Club’s concern over air pollution emissions from the new gas-fired plant, including over three million tons of greenhouse gases. He claimed, “the best and easiest way to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is to plant trees” (DP 1-23).

Of course, the easiest way to reduce CO2 is not to emit it in the first place. A typical mature hardwood absorbs only 48 pounds of CO2 annually, requiring 125 million trees to mitigate three million tons of CO2. Trees moreover do not store methane, a virulent greenhouse gas emitted in the production and transportation of natural gas, and chronically underreported by the natural gas industry.

Why should we, the public, subsidize Longview and its polluting infrastructure, when the only long-lasting result will be more toxins in our air and water?

Katherine B. Aaslestad, Morgantown, WV

############################

See also: The Challenge of Justifying PILOT Tax Avoidance for Longview Power, FrackCheckWV, January 7, 2020

FERC halts MVP in WV & VA

Press Release from Doug Jackson (Sierra Club), Cat McCue (Appalachian Voices), and Jared Margolis (Center for Biological Diversity), 10/16/2019

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Late yesterday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) ordered Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC to halt construction activities along the entire 303-mile route of the fracked-gas project. FERC’s order is in response to the project losing key permits under the Endangered Species Act, and allows MVP to do only the work necessary to stabilize the right-of-way in previously disturbed areas. This represents a significant challenge to a project that is already facing numerous hurdles and self-inflicted wounds, including the announcements last week that MVP must pay a multi-million dollar fine and had two of their necessary permits revoked.

However, FERC’s action falls short of its enforcement responsibilities in two crucial areas: FERC leaves it up to MVP to define what they consider “stabilization,” and FERC appears to allow MVP to self-regulate on whether such activities would harass, harm, or kill endangered species. MVP has already shown they will try to get around a construction suspension by defining some pipeline construction activities as necessary for stabilization, and this order appears to allow MVP to determine for themselves the extent to which these activities continue to harm endangered species.

The project has been controversial since it was first announced, and a petition against it and the nearby Atlantic Coast Pipeline launched just two months ago has already garnered more than 75,000 signatures.

Elly Benson, Senior Attorney with the Sierra Club:

“MVP has repeatedly violated environmental safeguards, clean water protections, and plain common sense in their construction of this fracked gas pipeline. We have known all along that their plans for this pipeline are disastrous for the endangered species, streams, and communities in its path, and we’re glad to see FERC finally order them to stop construction along the entire route. However, FERC must not allow MVP to continue installing pipeline under the guise of stabilization, as MVP has been doing under the limited suspension put in place in August.

“We know we can’t trust the polluting corporations behind this dirty, dangerous pipeline to do what’s best for wildlife, the climate, or our communities, so FERC must not allow MVP to determine the extent to which their work continues to harm endangered species. Letting MVP self-police on defining ‘stabilization’ and harming endangered species is like asking the fox to guard the henhouse – it’s an abdication of FERC’s responsibilities.”

David Sligh, Conservation Director for Wild Virginia:

“The command that Mountain Valley cease all construction immediately is appropriate and necessary to meet the law. However, FERC has previously allowed work that is clearly construction to be done under the guise that it is ‘stabilization.’ The Commission must now act responsibly and clearly prohibit all activities that are not absolutely necessary to protect the environment. FERC must no longer play deceptive games that allow further destruction from a project that cannot protect our resources and may never be completed.”

Anne Havemann, General Counsel, Chesapeake Climate Action Network:

“As we’ve said all along, MVP must stop all construction on this project before even more damage is done. We’re glad to see FERC implement the court’s decision and order an immediate stop to construction. We further urge the Commission to make it absolutely clear that construction under the guise of stabilization will not be allowed.”

Peter Anderson, Virginia Program Manager, Appalachian Voices:

“FERC’s order to cease Mountain Valley Pipeline construction is a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t undo the harm that has been wrought over the past year and a half, as water resources, forests, farms and habitat have been destroyed by illegal construction practices. FERC should not trust MVP to interpret what is appropriate ‘stabilization’ for this unnecessary project; it is in the developer’s interest to keep plowing ahead. Rather, FERC must comply with the Endangered Species Act and ensure MVP does not harm any listed species.”

Jason Rylander, Senior Endangered Species Counsel, Defenders of Wildlife:

“FERC’s stop work order is welcome news, but the fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline should never have been approved without rigorous review of the impacts of this environmentally damaging project on local people, wildlife, and the climate. Fast tracking projects like this is always a mistake and now the chickens are coming home to roost.”

Roberta Bondurant, member of Preserve Bent Mountain:

“The public deserves FERC’s exacting and credible review of MVP’s status report and any continuing activity on the right of way. Monitors will continue to vigilantly report MVP activity — whether or not in the guise of ‘stabilization’ — that degrades habitat of threatened and endangered species or is otherwise outside FERC and Fourth Circuit directives.”

Jared Margolis, Senior Attorney, Center for Biological Diversity:

“We’re relieved pipeline construction is stopped for now, but this climate and wildlife killing project should be permanently scrapped. A polluting fossil fuel pipeline has no place in today’s world.”

##############################

UPDATE from Progress Not Pipelines

Last week, the Virginia attorney general secured a $2.15 million settlement against the MVP pipeline company for more than 300 violations of state water quality requirements.

But, we must keep the pressure on. FERC must stop this pipeline once and for all, and also stop the fracked-gas Atlantic Coast Pipeline that would run some 600 miles through West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina over the beloved Blue Ridge Mountains, through farms, wildlife habitat and water supplies. Both projects would worsen the impacts of climate change.

Please keep sharing our petition with your friends, neighbors and community — which currently has over 75,000 signatures.

And THANK YOU!

ACP protest of Union Hill Compressor Station

From an Article of The Recorder, May 16, 2019

RICHMOND – The U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals on May 9 heard environmentalists again ask the three-judge panel to stop a proposed shale gas pipeline’s construction through the Alleghenies due to the presence of an endangered bumblebee and another threatened species.

Defenders of Wildlife, Sierra Club, and the Virginia Wilderness Committee filed a second appeal.

The appeal followed word from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about a second biological opinion and incidental take analysis approving construction of the $7.5 billion, 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which would bring shale gas to the Southeast for power generation and to the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay for export.

Dominion Energy manages the project.

The first biological opinion was challenged at the same court.

Late last year, the three-judge panel threw out the permit after finding it ignored regulations for endangered species. Dominion stopped construction in 2018 while awaiting a second permit.

The same environmental groups on May 9 re-challenged the permit’s impact on species including the rusty patched bumblebee.

Southern Environmental Law Center attorney Austin Donald Gerken Jr. argued for the environmental groups that the Fish and Wildlife Service expedited the permit and again failed to address issues raised the first time. He argued that a 2018 Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation survey found a few rusty patched bumblebees seen in the area marked “one of only five reported sightings outside the Midwest in the last decade.”

Fish and Wildlife ignored the new bee data and presented other errors in the second permit, Gerken said.

Justice Department attorney Kevin McArdle argued for Fish and Wildlife and was asked about the rusty patched bumblebees. He said Fish and Wildlife said a bee expert’s estimation was a best guess, and her expertise along with new data met legal requirements. U.S. Circuit Judge Stephanie Thacker suggested that was not very scientific.

Impact on the Madison Cave isopod, a threatened native subterranean freshwater crustacean, was another topic of argument.

McArdle told the panel the project would impact subsurface rock in one area, but not others. The pipeline would be buried eight feet, and the water table for most of the area was about 20 feet deep, McArdle said.

Gerken argued the agency’s documentation showed at least six sinkholes in the pipeline’s path. Blasting and heavy equipment movement would impact the isopod.

Forester Sam Crockett pointed out thousands of workers lost employment before Christmas when the Forth Circuit threw out the first permit December 8th.

All Democratic appointees, Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Roger Gregory and U.S. Circuit Judge James Wynn joined Thacker on the panel. There was no time frame for issuing a decision.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

See Also: That’s part of our responsibility’: Faith leaders lead march in protest of Atlantic Coast Pipeline, WRIC, Richmond. VA, May 17, 2019

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Allegheny – Blue Ridge Alliance, ABRA Update #230 – May 16, 2019

Some 52 Groups Oppose Congress Acting on Appalachian Trail & BLue Ridge Parkway Crossings

Fifty-Two organizations, representing thousands of individual members in Virginia, wrote to the Virginia congressional delegation on May 16 urging them to oppose “possible federal legislation that would allow the highly controversial Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) to be built across the Appalachian Trail and Blue Ridge Parkway.” The groups’ letter noted that “Dominion Energy is pressuring some members of Congress to consider legislation that could make it easier to build the ACP along the developers’ preferred route. Such legislation would be inappropriate given the ongoing review of the project by agencies and the courts.” Separate letters were sent to Senators Warner and Kaine and to the eleven Virginia members of the U.S. House of Representatives. ABRA and many of its member organizations were among the signatories to the letter.

Upcoming Belmont Co. cracker plant/petrochemical hub informational meeting

LOCATION: Moundsville Public Library, Tuesday, February 26th @ 6 PM

From: Bev Reed, FaCTOV OhioValley — (reed.b1@yahoo.com)

Hello to Friends & Concerned Citizens:

Please join local Ohio Valley residents, the Sierra Club, FreshWater Accountability Project, and the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition for an informational meeting pertaining to the potential Belmont County cracker plant/petrochemical hub on Tuesday, February 26th at 6pm at the Moundsville public library.

A few nonprofits are appealing [1] the PTTG air permit that was approved by the Ohio EPA. The permit was extremely deficient and is not adequately protective of human health and the environment.

There will be an attorney present who is involved with the appeal to answer questions and talk about some of the deficiencies. The purpose is to inform the public about the planned projects and potential hazards, talk about what can be done about it, and also to show solidarity as we continue to resist these projects.

Please share this announcement with others. Above is the flyer for the event, as well as the deficiencies of the permit. There are a plethora of reasons why this plant and the potential build-out from it will negatively impact the entire region, and also the planet as a whole. These will be discussed at the meeting.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

>> Thank you, Bev Reed — Faith Communities Together (FaCT-OV) — A voice in the Ohio Valley promoting responsible stewardship of the land, air and water. ( fact.ov.group@gmail.com )

[1] Environmental Groups Challenge Key Permit for Ohio Petrochemical Plant | Sierra Club, https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2019/01/environmental-groups-challenge-key-permit-for-ohio-petrochemical-plant

Environmental Groups Appeal PTT Global Chemical Permit for Proposed Cracker in Belmont County

From an Article by Jennifer Compston-Strough, Wheeling Intelligencer, January 21, 2019

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A national environmental group and three partner organizations are challenging the state’s decision to issue an air permit-to-install for a proposed petrochemical complex in Belmont County.

The Sierra Club and its partners filed an appeal Friday with the Environmental Review Appeals Commission seeking to have the permit issued on Dec. 21 vacated. If it is not overturned, the permit will allow Thailand-based PTT Global Chemical and its partner, Daelim Industrial Co. LLC of South Korea, to build an ethane cracker plant that is projected to process 1.5 million tons of ethane from the local natural gas stream annually.

Cracker plants use ethane to create ethylene, a component of plastics and chemicals such as antifreeze, solvents and cleaners, as well as many consumer products including textiles, adhesives and paints. Ethane is an abundant part of the natural gas stream found in the Utica and Marcellus shales that underlie much of Eastern Ohio and parts of West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Proponents of the facility say it would bring thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of permanent positions to the Ohio Valley and would attract additional related industry to the region.

PTT and Daelim have invested millions of dollars in design work and planning, and to buy property at the proposed site at Dilles Bottom. However, they still have not committed to building the project, which could cost as much as $10 billion.

Opponents — such as the Sierra Club and its appeal partners the Center for Biological Diversity, Earthworks and the Freshwater Accountability Project along with some local residents – believe the plant would cause air and water pollution that would endanger the surrounding environment, public health and the overall climate. They say it would emit harmful amounts of particulate matter and dangerous chemicals, including benzene, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

In the appeal, the groups cite several “assignments of error” as reasons for the commission to vacate the permit. They state that Ohio EPA Director Craig Butler based issuance of the permit on a “fatally flawed” air dispersion model that does not reliably establish whether the facility will violate state and national air quality standards for multiple pollutants. The appeal also states the Ohio EPA failed to utilize certain data properly, ignored short-term peak emissions, failed to properly account for VOCs that would be emitted by flares and thermal oxidizers at the facility, and approved monitoring requirements that are insufficient to assure reasonable compliance with permit limits.

They believe the permit as issued requires inadequate frequency of stack testing and other monitoring procedures. They also say the permit’s limitations and standards lack the specificity necessary to be enforceable.

The Sierra Club and its partners said the Ohio EPA ignored testimony from dozens of concerned citizens at a public hearing on the permit that was conducted at Shadyside High School on Nov. 27. Representatives of the Sierra Club and other similar organizations were on hand for that hearing, along with about 100 other area residents and representatives of local government and organized labor. Some of those present did testify about environmental concerns linked to the project, but others supported the plan to build the plant.

“Communities shouldn’t be forced to breathe toxic, polluted air just to prop up fracked gas and petrochemical companies,” Sierra Club Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign Director Kelly Martin said in a news release Friday. “This plant, and the broader effort to build out a petrochemical hub in this area, would be a danger to clean air, public health, and our climate. The health and safety of Ohioans and those who live downstream on the Ohio River are worth more than fossil fuel industry profits.”

Lea Harper, managing director of Freshwater Accountability Project, agreed. “The Ohio EPA’s rubber stamp of the cracker plant air permit shows a total disregard for expert input and concerns of the local residents,” she said. “We are dismayed that there is not more regulatory oversight of such a toxic polluter in the Ohio River Valley.”

Lauren Packard, staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, echoed their thoughts. “These plants will contaminate Ohio River Valley communities just to create more plastic pollution,” she said. “We need to keep fossil fuels in the ground instead finding wasteful new uses for them. Industry’s plans to increase plastic production will worsen climate change and the ocean plastic crisis at the expense of Ohioans.”

According to Ohio EPA, the plant would use six ethane cracking furnaces and manufacture ethylene, high-density polyethylene and linear low-density polyethylene, which are used in plastics and chemical manufacturing. As a result of this process, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, volatile organic compounds, particulate matter and greenhouse gases are expected to be emitted from the plant, but Ohio EPA said it determined those pollutants would not exceed acceptable levels as defined by state and federal laws.

Ohio EPA also said its agents considered all comments received before making a final decision on the permit. The final permit and the Response to Comments document are available online at epa.ohio.gov/dapc/newpermits/issued.

Dan Williamson, spokesman for PTTGC America, declined to comment on the appeal, saying it is a legal matter. He previously lauded the issuance of the permit, saying it was an important step in the companies’ decision-making process.

The Environmental Review Appeals Commission has statewide jurisdiction to hear and resolve appeals of decisions by the directors of the Ohio EPA, the Ohio Department of Agriculture, the State Fire Marshal, the State Emergency Response Commission and county and local boards of health. Decisions of the commission can be appealed to the Franklin County Court of Appeals or to the court of appeals for the district in which a violation is alleged to have occurred. The commission meets every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for consideration and review of documents filed. Preliminary prehearing conferences are generally scheduled within 30-40 days after an appeal is filed.

Banking with Aspiration makes good dollars and sense!

From an Article by Sami Grover, Treehugger Blog, December 19, 2018

It’s been amazing to watch how the fossil fuels divestment movement has grown in a few short years. When Harvard students voted to divest back in 2012, for example, the conversation was mostly about undermining Big Energy’s social license to operate. A year later, when Bill McKibben made the case for divestment he focused mostly on the idea of churches, universities and other symbolic institutions making these companies ‘pariahs’.

Now, in honor of the 1,000th institution signing up to divest (bringing the total value to nearly $8 trillion), Bill McKibben has an excellent update on the state of the movement over at The Guardian. While the symbolism of all this still matters, says the maestro, it’s also becoming clear that divestment has become a very real financial force in and of itself:

Peabody, the world’s biggest coal company, announced plans for bankruptcy in 2016; on the list of reasons for its problems, it counted the divestment movement, which was making it hard to raise capital. Indeed, just a few weeks ago analysts at that radical collective Goldman Sachs said the “divestment movement has been a key driver of the coal sector’s 60% de-rating over the past five years”. [...] Now the contagion seems to be spreading to the oil and gas sector, where Shell announced earlier this year that divestment should be considered a “material risk” to its business.

Indeed, no sooner does McKibben write this piece than Cleantechnica reports that Westmoreland, the 6th largest coal company in the US, is filing for bankruptcy too.

True, divestment is hardly the only reason certain fossil fuel companies are in trouble. 42% of coal plants are losing money already, and that figure is only going to get worse as renewables get cheaper and polluting gets more expensive. Similarly, Big Oil may not be sweating the Tesla Model 3 just yet, but there’s a growing list of diverse threats that could soon converge to put a dent in demand.

And that’s the thing: Incumbents seem invincible until one day they are not. And anyone who knows anything about climate change is beginning to realize that there is no sane, sustainable or morally justifiable version of the future in which we continue to burn fossil fuels any longer than we have to. As Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, has said: Most fossil fuels are unburnable. And that makes them basically worthless.

Investors would do well to take note.

#########################

Greeting in the New Year, from Aspiration, January 4, 2019

It’s Day 4 of sticking to your New Year’s resolutions. How are things going so far?

We can’t help you cut back on sugary drinks or screen time, but if “do more good” and “save more money” made your 2019 list, that’s something we can help with.

Resolution #1: Send a message to Big Banks and Washington.

Big Banks use your money to lobby Washington for dangerous deregulation and fund dirty oil projects like the Dakota pipeline. The White House has proven to be a willing partner.

Greedy people have reason to smile these days, but you can fight back: You can move your money to fossil-fuel free banking products with Aspiration. Imagine hundreds of thousands of Americans leaving the Big Banks behind. It’ll wipe the smiles off their faces faster than the president can tweet something ridiculous.

Do Well. Do Good. SIGN UP NOW

Resolution #2: Spend less money and save more money

We can definitely help here, with the Aspiration Account.

Aspiration puts an extra $300 a year in the average person’s pocket compared to their current Big Bank. It’s FDIC-insured, has zero ATM fees worldwide, no overdraft fees, and offers a whopping 1.00% APY interest (that’s up to 100x Big Bank rates). That means your 2019 earnings will end up in your pockets, not your bank’s profits.

Save More Money! SIGN UP WITH ASPIRATION

Resolution #3: Make the world a better place for everyone

The Aspiration Impact Measurement app helps you spend to match your values at companies that treat their people and the planet well. We also have fossil-fuel free investment options and commit to donating 10% of their earnings back to charity.

A Better Banking Experience! OPEN AN ACCOUNT WITH ASPIRATION

Helping people do well and do good—that’s Aspiration’s resolution this year, and every year. Let us help you with yours. Join the hundreds of thousands of people who are making the switch to Aspiration.

Thank you, Andrei Cherny, Founder & CEO, Aspiration

############################

NOTE: Amalgamated Bank embraces socially responsible causes