On December 27, 2020, seemingly at the last minute, President Trump signed the omnibus spending bill negotiated in Congress. Much of the news has been about the pandemic relief provided in the law. But the law also funds many new energy and environmental initiatives. The Act’s environmental features are mostly found in a component called […]
Austin Caperton, the former coal executive who has served as Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection during the Justice Administration, will step down on Januray 18, 2021. A new Secretary has not been named. Caperton was controversial both for his rulings favorable to the Mountain Valley Pipeline and his approval of the Rockwool air […]
On December 9, a Joint Committee of the West Virginia Legislature voted 7-4 to approve a proposed water quality rule submitted by the Department of Environmental Protection. The proposed rule weakens 13 current standards. All seven Republicans on the Committee, including Patricia Rucker of Jefferson County, voted in favor. The rule must go to the […]
The Mountain Valley Pipeline, which seeks to transmit fracked natural gas from Northern West Virginia to markets in Virginia and North Carolina, has been on hold since 2018. At that time the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals vacated authorizations issued by the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service for the pipeline to […]
President-Elect Biden has named former Secretary of State John Kerry to be Special Climate Envoy. Kerry will sit on the National Security Council as an internationally-focused climate czar. Biden will also appoint a domestically-focused counterpart to Kerry. At his introduction, Kerry stated that rejoining the Paris Accords will not be enough and that the world […]
In a paper released on November 24, 2020, researchers from Cornell University concluded that the Clean Air Act not only has saved human lives, it has spared 1.5 billion avian lives. The reason is the reduction of ground level ozone concentrations resulting from tightening restrictions under the Act. Ozone harms birds’ respiratory systems. Small migratory […]
The American Wind Energy Association, the leading wind energy trade association, has issued a proposed 100-day plan for the Biden Administration to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. The plan advances four themes: establishing clean energy targets, expanding interstate transmission capacity, expediting federal permitting processes for renewable energy and removing cost barriers for renewables. The […]
Workers digging to install a new pipeline next to an older one on private property near Martinsburg struct the older line causing an explosion on September 21. Pressurized gas shot 80 to 100 feet in the air causing the evacuation of the homeowners. There was no fire. Rockwool opponents Jefferson County Foundation say this is […]
Local opponents of Rockwool have scored a big legal victory. NCP Denmark, a Danish government organization, will formally investigate Rockwool’s compliance with international business guidelines. The announcement follows an informal investigation that concluded enough evidence existed that dismissal of the complaint by the West Virginia opponents would be inappropriate. The formal investigation will conclude in […]
We regularly hear dire predictions of what the future will hold because of our warming climate. But the fact that most of the catastrophic effects of climate change will be felt decades from now makes it hard for people to take this problem seriously. Politically complex and expensive policy changes are more difficult to make […]
