Conserve & Restore West Virginia Rivers & Streams & Wetlands

Description ~ Join WV Rivers for a Live Legislative Update. We’ll have an in depth discussion on our water policy priorities and what we can expect for the remainder of the 2022 session. A Q&A will follow the presentation.

Time ~ Feb 24, 2022 07:00 PM in Eastern Time

Join WV Rivers for a Live Legislative Update on Thursday, February 24 at 7:00pm on Zoom. We’ll have an in depth discussion on our water policy priorities and what we can expect for the remainder of the 2022 session. A Q&A will follow the presentation.

Register for the Legislative Update Here ASAP

Make a Donation in Support of Conserving & Restoring WV’s Exceptional Rivers & Streams

>>> WEST VIRGINIA RIVERS COALITION
3501 MacCorkle Ave SE #129, Charleston, WV 25304
304-637-7201 | wvrivers@wvrivers.org

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SEE ALSO: Week 6 of the WV Legislative Session: Fair Courts, Justice, Water, and more!

Capital Eye V.15 N.6 ~ West Virginia Citizen’s Action Group

In this February 21st edition of the Capital Eye weekly newsletter update:

– Mushroom Session; – Judicial Power Grab Would Weaken West Virginians’ Say-So on the Courts; – Smart Justice Advocacy Day is Almost Here; – Meet Carey Jo; – WVNOW Legislative Action Alert 2.21.22; – Jo’s Fight for Coverage During COVID; – Keeping your Activist Heart Happy: A Series – part 3.

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SEE ALSO: Legislative Updates WVEC February 18, 2022

GREEN, Volume 32 Issue 6 ~ West Virginia Environmental Council

We just completed week six of the Legislature! Tuesday was the last day to introduce bills in the House and this Monday, February 21, will be the last day to do so in the Senate. We have compiled a list of bills we are watching, both good and bad, and will continue to update this list as we go. We also hosted our virtual E-Day event on Wednesday, and you can find the link to our livestream in the article below. Check out the other articles to see what’s happening!

Environmental monitoring, regulation, justice, etc.

From Sandra Fallon, West Virginia Environmental Council, March 5, 2021

I’m writing about West Virginia Environmental Council’s upcoming virtual E-Day to see if you would help spread the word. I’m now on the WVEC Board and helping to organize this year’s event.

I’m remembering the E-Day in Charleston last year — what a year it’s been since then. Hope you and yours are doing OK.

The E-Day event is Wednesday, March 10 from 6pm-7:30pm via Zoom.

There are two images attached, an E-Day Graphic and a Charlie Hamilton print we’re auctioning. Registration has been pretty light so far so we want to make a big push in the days leading up to March 10.

So then, join us virtually for the year’s E-Day! Support our lobby team and learn more about what is going on at the WV Capitol! We will have experts on hand to bring you up to date as the session reaches its halfway point. No GREEN Jam this year (boo!) but you can join us in your jammies!

When: Wednesday, March 10 from 6:00 – 7:30 PM

What: WVEC’s annual E-Day will include a legislative update, live West Virginia music, a live auction of this Charlie Hamilton print

Where: It’s Virtual and free – but registration is required. (Suggested donation of $10.00 to support the WVEC lobby team).

Register here! More at our Facebook event! See you On Line!

Charlie Hamilton print

Thank you! Sandra Fallon, Citizens Climate Lobby, Morgantown, WV

GREEN NEWSLETTER, Volume 3, Issue 1

Happy New Year Everyone! ………………… January 21, 2021

With the start of a new year comes the legislative session. It’s hard to believe we are less than a month away with the session starting February 10. We expect things to be much different this year. Access to the Capitol building will be limited and the process for posting agendas and confirming public hearings is unclear.

The WVEC is in preparation mode reaching out to legislators and working with our coalition partners. Starting February 12 we will send out GREEN to you each Friday so you can stay informed. We also expect to send along more frequent action alerts as calling and emailing your legislators will be the best (only?) way to reach them this session.

All events in the rotunda are cancelled this year so our annual E-Day will be a virtual event on Wednesday evening, March 10. Please mark your calendar and look for more info in our next issue. If you are part of an organization that would like to be involved, please email me. Last year we had over 20 groups travel to Charleston and we hope you can join us virtually this year!

We have a lot to tackle this year. Topping the list of our member group and member survey taken last fall and presented at our annual meeting were water quality, climate change, and clean elections (changing the political rules that favor special interests and giving regular West Virginians an equal voice in our government).

Specifically we will focus on the following priorities with our legislative allies:

>> Water quality standards rule and the Safe Drinking Water bill
>> Power Purchase Agreements legislation
>> Expansion of recycling including styrofoam
>> Protection of funding for DEP inspectors in the state budget
>> Resolution to study energy use in state buildings
>> Just Transition bill
>> Disclosure of dark money political expenditures

We also expect to use a good deal of our resources to educate the large number of newly elected legislators, especially in the House of Delegates, and to provide fact sheets and grassroots outreach on any potentially harmful legislation as well as proactive bills.

We can’t do it without your support! Please consider a donation to support our lobby team. Please donate online or mail a check to; WVEC, PO Box 1007, Charleston, WV 25324.

Thank you! Linda Frame, WVEC President

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Mountaineer Community Meeting!

Your support is crucial to our efforts to put an end to the proposed Mountaineer NGL Storage Facility and the threats it poses to our community’s health, safety, and natural resources.

Please view the Fact Sheet document for more information about the facility’s harms and a draft for submitting public comment. Again, unique comments carry more weight in ODNR’s permit consideration process. We encourage you to add a few words about any specific concerns you may have regarding the facility’s construction and operation.

To view a recording of last night’s meeting, click the link below:

bit.ly/mountaineermeeting

Again, thank you if you joined us last night, and please feel free to reach out with any questions.

Ben Hunkler & Concerned Ohio River Residents

Wild & Wonderful West Virginia is an asset worthy of protection

From GREEN, Volume 30 Issue 17, WVEC, December 13, 2020

Thank you for being a GREEN reader and for joining us on this wild journey that was 2020.

As we gear up for 2021, and the legislative session that is right around the corner, we hope that you will consider a year-end gift to help fund our lobbying efforts next year. Please go here to donate safely and securely online. Or please mail your contribution to: WVEC, PO Box 1007, Charleston, WV 25324.

We just received word that E-Day, along with similar events at the Capitol, has been cancelled for 2021. While this is disappointing news, we will find a virtual alternative so we can make our voices heard and hopefully have some fun. Stay tuned!

On behalf of the WVEC board of directors, I want to express our gratitude for your support over the past year. While it has been a challenge in many ways, knowing that we have each other is truly a blessing and a comfort.

Best wishes to you for a safe and happy holiday season!

Linda Frame, WVEC President

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2021 West Virginia legislative session – Ballotpedia

In 2021, the West Virginia State Legislature is scheduled to convene on February 10 and adjourn on April 10.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2020 elections. Republicans won a 23-11 majority in the Senate and a 76-24 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Republican state government trifecta. At the start of the 2021 session, West Virginia is one of 22 state legislatures where one party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

The West Virginia State Legislature is responsible for redistricting following each census. Legislators are expected to address redistricting as part of the 2021 legislative session. As of the 2020 Census, West Virginia was one of 37 states where legislators were responsible for redistricting.

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See also: In the middle of a pandemic, WV legislative staffers are preparing for the 2021 session | Lacie Pierson, WV News, December 13, 2020

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia legislative staff is trying to figure out how to keep 134 lawmakers a safe distance apart at the state Capitol when they come together for the 2021 regular session in February.

Senate and House of Delegates leaders and staff have taken meetings with public health and security officials to determine if and how they can pull off a legislative session during the coronavirus pandemic while upholding the constitutional and procedural obligations each lawmaker must follow.

So far, there aren’t any plans to delay the session, but the option hasn’t been ruled out, said House Clerk Steve Harrison and Senate Clerk Lee Cassis, both of whom are in charge of coordinating whatever technical, physical or other changes need to happen to accommodate lawmakers.

Even with rough plans in place, members of the Senate and House will have to determine how they want the session to work and, potentially, vote on changing some rules to accommodate public health guidelines before some things can be implemented.

If they do vote on such changes, Cassis and Harrison said, they most likely would take place on Jan. 13, when the Legislature convenes for an organization day. Since this 2020 is a gubernatorial election year, the 2021 legislative session won’t begin until Feb. 10.

SPRING FUNDRAISER LETTER and GREEN LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Dear friends, I am writing to ask for your help.

For the past four years, I was one of hundreds of West Virginia citizens who fought to protect our homes and land from a proposed transmission line across the state. The PATH project wasn’t intended to benefit anyone in the Mountain State – it was the first step in a plan to deliver “coal-by-wire” to New Jersey and other Northeastern states. It would have cost billions of dollars, and every West Virginian would have seen their electricity bill increase to help pay for it.

In that fight I learned first-hand that the West Virginia Environmental Council is the most valuable tool we have to reach the state legislature. We discovered we do have allies in Charleston. We learned the ins-and-outs of committee hearings, and how to rally support from citizens all across the state. And the E-Council was with us every step of the way.

Well, the 2013 session of the West Virginia legislature is upon us, and the E-Council again needs our support.  Here are just a few of the issues that the E-Council is working on this session:

>> Opposing attempts by First Energy and AEP to shove the cost of Ohio generation plants onto West Virginia ratepayers;
>> Creating rules that better regulate Marcellus Shale drilling for natural gas in the state;
>> Asking the state to require utilities to implement least-cost planning to protect ratepayers, and to require those utilities to meet Energy Efficiency Resource Standards;
>> Supporting better management of Coopers Rock State Forest;
>> And update the Energy Code provisions within the State Building Code.

And we know that every year some bad piece of legislation will be introduced that citizens all across the state will have to scramble to address!

We need funds to pay for our lobbying team; we need money to pay for community outreach, to educate our fellow West Virginians about how we can all work together to get legislators to listen to us, not to out-of-state corporate interests.

I learned from the PATH fight that we can stand up to corporate interests, we can make our legislators listen to us, and we do make a difference.

Please contribute to the West Virginia Environmental Council, so we can continue to help make a difference.

Signed: Patience Wait
Executive Committee member, StopPATH WV
Vice President, WV Environmental Council

P.S. ## Read the Green Legislative Update here.

P.S. ## The E-Council Interactive Update for March 8th.

West Virginia Environmental Council Presentation

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