The Future of Carbon Capture
Carbon capture is a term used to describe a group of technologies that either remove carbon directly from the air or scrub it from waste gas as fossil fuels are burned. In either case, the carbon “captured” is buried or used in the manufacture…
PSC Chair Committed To Keeping Coal-Fired Plants Running For A Decade
At the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce's Annual Meeting, leaders of the state's largest energy and utility companies participated in a roundtable discussion with Public Service Commission Chair Charlotte Lane. The meeting was held Labor…
What is Karst, and Why Should We Care?
When I was a first-year student at the University of Virginia I was required to take a science course. The choices were physics, chemistry, biology or geology. “Rocks” is what the students called geology and it was reputed to be the least…
Study Shows Using Fertilizer Made from Sludge Can Bring Forever Chemicals Into the Home
A report issued May 25 by the Michigan Ecology Center and the Sierra Club should make gardeners who use "natural" fertilizers made from sewage sludge think twice. The report details how sludge can contain PFAs -- forever chemicals that persist…
West Virginia Legislature Ignores the Environment (Almost)
Every year at this time, those of us interested in environmental preservation and conservation take stock of what the West Virginia Legislature has done for, or to, the environment. Sadly this process usually results in the same conclusion. …
Consent Decree Requires Verso to Clean Up Potomac River Pollution from Luke MD Paper Mill
In 2019 a fisherman noticed black seepage from Verso’s paper mill at Luke Maryland into the North Branch of the Potomac River. The seepage turned out to be “black liquor” from the papermaking process coming from several sources along…
House Committee Advances Bill Deregulating Storage Tanks to House
The House Health and Human Services Committee on Friday, March 4 sent a bill exempting above-ground storage tanks from regulation even though located on the banks of rivers and streams close to public water intakes. The vote by 13 Republicans…
Higher Registration Fees For Hybrid Vehicles – What’s Up With That?
Awhile back, a good friend of mine spent half an hour complaining to me about having to pay an additional $100 when he registered his Prius hybrid vehicle. That caused me to wonder why West Virginia would want to discourage the ownership of…
Industry To West Virginia: We Can’t Be Bothered
They’re at it again. Under the cover of the Covid pandemic, when citizens can’t rally in numbers, the West Virginia legislature is poised to gut one of the key protections of the Aboveground Storage Tank Act enacted after the 2014 water…
Purchase Power Agreement Bills Introduced in Legislature
Bipartisan support seems to be gathering around the idea of authorizing purchase power agreements (PPAs) in West Virginia. A PPA would allow a solar installation, or other alternative generation project, to be built on a customer’s property…
