Judge Rejects Red State Challenge to Biden’s New Social Cost of Carbon
In January 2021, the Biden Administration announced that it would establish a new, interim cost figure for the damage caused by a ton of greenhouse gas emissions. The executive order said “An accurate social cost is essential for agencies…
Congressional Dems Urge Elimination of Oil and Gas Tax Breaks
Fifty-four Congressional Democrats signed an August 30, 2021 letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging that the Build Back Better infrastructure legislation soon to b taken up include a repeal of $121 billion in subsidies for the fossil fuel…
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…
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…
Outgoing Trump Interior Department Defunds Urban Parks
On January 19, 2021 the US Department of Interior issued an order diverting funds away from the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership, which funds urban green spaces in areas that lack access to conventional parks -- primarily in non-white…
Austin Caperton Resigns as West Virginia DEP Head
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…
West Virginia Legislative Rules Committee Votes to Weaken Some Water Quality Standards
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…
Mountaineer Gas Pipeline Explodes in Martinsburg
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.…
Michigan Bald Eagle Attacks Drone, Rips Off Propeller
A bald eagle in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula attacked a shoreline mapping drone on July 21, ripping off its propeller and sending it down in 4 feet of water. In its last 3.5 seconds of operation, the drone sent out 27 frantic distress messages.…
North Carolina Denies Water Permit to Mountain Valley Pipeline
On August 11, 2020 the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality rejected a water permit for a 75-mile branch of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Overall, the MVP is a 300-mile project designed to transmit gas from nothwestern West Virginia…
