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Court suspends case over Obama climate rule | TheHill
by Duane via MVCAC 02 May '17

02 May '17

http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/331060-court-suspends-case-ove… Court suspends case over Obama climate rule BY TIMOTHY CAMA, The Hill, 04/28/17 A federal appeals court is pausing its case over former President Barack Obama’s landmark climate change regulation, notching a major victory for the Trump administration. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday halted the case while the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) works through the process of repealing the Clean Power Plan. The decision means that the federal court will not publish its ruling on whether or not the regulation, the main pillar of Obama’s climate change agenda, is legal. The court heard oral arguments in September in the challenge by conservative states, fossil fuel businesses and others who argue that the Clean Air Act and the Constitution prohibit the EPA from writing the regulation. The Trump administration also opposes the rule. President Trump signed an executive order last month to start the process of repealing the Clean Power Plan, and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt led the legal challenge against it in his previous job as Oklahoma’s attorney general. Shortly after Trump signed his order, the Justice Department asked the court to hold off on the case. The EPA and other opponents of the rule applauded the court’s action. “Last year, the Supreme Court granted a stay on the Clean Power Plan, so we always knew there were serious legal problems with this initiative from the Obama administration and we welcome this news from the D.C. Circuit,” said EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox. West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R), the lead litigant in the case, also cheered the order. “The court recognized the landscape has changed and that a decision on the merits is not appropriate at this time,” he said in a statement. The supporters of the Clean Power Plan said the order will not stop them from defending the rule against Trump. “Today’s temporary pause in the litigation does not relieve EPA of its legal obligation to limit carbon pollution from its largest source: fossil-fueled power plants,” said Eric Schneiderman (D), New York’s attorney general. “Nor does it change the reality of the dire harm climate change is causing to communities around New York and across the country.” Most of the court’s 10 judges who heard the case in September seemed to lean toward the Obama administration’s position that the regulation at issue is proper and can be enforced. The rule would have ordered a 32 percent cut in the power sector’s carbon dioxide emissions by 2030, with targets individually assigned to each state. It has been on hold since February 2016 because of a Supreme Court order. The Trump administration is working to repeal the Clean Power Plan. The process requires a proposal and an opportunity for public input, and could take a year or more. At that point, environmentalists, Democratic-led states and others are likely to sue the administration to keep the regulation in place. The D.C. Circuit asked the Trump administration to file updates every 30 days on its process of formally reviewing the rule. The court also put on hold a separate case over a related EPA rule setting limits on emissions from newly built coal and natural gas power plants. Similarly, the Obama administration wrote that rule, and the Trump administration wants to repeal it. See also: www.FrackCheckWV.net

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EPA Should Not Be Allowed to Dodge Clean Power Plan Ruling, Cities and States Tell Court | InsideClimate News
by Duane via MVCAC 09 Apr '17

09 Apr '17

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/06042017/epa-clean-power-plan-donald-tru… EPA Should Not Be Allowed to Dodge Clean Power Plan Ruling, Cities and States Tell Court Coalition of states, cities and green groups urges D.C. Court of Appeals to reject Trump administration request to stall decision on cornerstone climate regulations. By John Cushman, Inside Climate News, April 6, 2017 The Trump Administration is seeking to dismantle the Clean Power Plan, the centerpiece of the Obama Administration's climate policies. A coalition of states, cities and environmental groups filed twin briefs on Wednesday accusing the Environmental Protection Agency of trying to "perpetually dodge" court decisions that could keep alive the Clean Power Plan, which the Trump Administration wants to dismantle. They urged the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to reject the administration's new petition to put the Clean Power Plan, the centerpiece of the Obama Administration's climate policies, into an indefinite state of limbo, while the EPA sends the rule back to the drawing board. The appeals court heard oral arguments in the case months ago and should be ready to rule at any time. A quick ruling could, within a year, put the regulations on the docket of the Supreme Court, which issued a stay in 2016. The tussle over how to proceed now that President Donald Trump has ordered the EPA to review the Clean Power Plan suggests that those who favor the rule are more eager for an appeals court verdict than those who oppose it. A prolonged delay would "concretely harm" people living in their states, the brief said—"many of whom have sought for more than a decade to compel EPA to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants." The brief even made a veiled threat that if the courts ultimately rule that states have no recourse under the Clean Air Act to regulate CO2, they might fall back on a tactic that worked for them in the past: suing polluters under common law for the "nuisance" of intense storms, rising seas and damage to public health. That was a reference to an earlier lawsuit, Connecticut v. American Electric Power, which was tossed out when the Supreme Court ruled that the Clean Air Act pre-empted common law. The brief noted that it's not clear how the EPA could even conduct a thorough review of the Clean Power Plan under Trump's latest budget proposals. Recently leaked draft documents describe deep cuts to staff working on climate change, including the score of lawyers working on the Clean Power Plan for the agency's general counsel. In a companion brief, several environmental groups made similar complaints. The Trump team's motion to put the case in abeyance, they wrote, is an atttempt "to do what it could not do otherwise: effectively and indefinitely suspend a duly promulgated rule without proposing, taking comment on, justifying, or defending in court any legal or factual premises that might support such a result." The briefs cited extensive precedents for rejecting the Trump argument. But one might carry particular weight: a ruling on April 3, when the Supreme Court itself rejected a comparable request for an abeyance on a different rule, under the Clean Water Act. "An order mothballing this case would leave our millions of members with no federal protections in place from this dangerous pollution with long-term impacts," the green groups pleaded. "Moreover, the combination of the judicial stay and abeyance would leave scant incentive for EPA to act." Duane Nichols, Cell- 304-216-5535, www.FrackCheckWV.net

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Fwd: Join in the 2017 Run for Clean Air, presented by Toyota Hybrids
by Duane Nichols via MVCAC 15 Mar '17

15 Mar '17

> From: Run for Clean Air > Date: March 15, 2017 at 10:00:46 AM EDT > > Subject: Join in the 2017 Run for Clean Air, presented by Toyota Hybrids > Reply-To: events(a)cleanair.org > > > > > > Toyota Hybrids > > Toyota Hybrids and the Clean Air Council invite you to "Run for Clean Air." > > REGISTER NOW > > Hi MonValley Clean Air Coalition, > > Since 1981, the Clean Air Council has held the Run for Clean Air in Philadelphia, in celebration of Earth Day. > > Toyota’s unwavering commitment to clean air and environmental sustainability makes the brand an ideal sponsor and continued partner. Toyota Hybrids is proud to once again, present the 36th annual Run for Clean Air on April 9, 2017. > > Toyota, a leader in hybrid technology, makes it easier than ever to be a force for environmental good this Earth Day and beyond. Each Toyota hybrid is thoughtfully designed to help you save fuel and reduce emissions, and the Run for Clean Air is a celebration of a cleaner tomorrow. > > Interested runners can register for the Run for Clean Air right now at cleanair.org/runforcleanair. > > And to learn more about Toyota’s expanding collection of hybrid vehicles, visit buyatoyota.com. > > > Connect with Us > > > > Run for Clean Air > Clean Air Council > 135 S. 19th St. Suite 300 > Philadelphia, PA 19103 > run(a)cleanair.org > 215-567-4004 > > CLICK HERE TO UNSUBSCRIBE > >

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Public Forum with WV DEP Secretary Austin Caperton, Morgantown, Feb 27
by Duane via MVCAC 12 Feb '17

12 Feb '17

Duane Nichols, Cell- 304-216-5535. See the main Article in full: http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/20170211/dep-eliminates-protections-for-n… See also: www.FrackCheckWV.net From: Sierra Club - West Virginia Chapter <autumnlong11(a)gmail.com> > Date: February 12, 2017 9:21:38 AM EST > To: Sierra Club - West Virginia Chapter <alert(a)sierraclub.org> > Subject: Public Forum with WV DEP Secretary Austin Caperton, Morgantown, Feb 27 > Reply-To: Sierra Club - West Virginia Chapter <autumnlong11(a)gmail.com> > > Public Forum with WV Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Austin Caperton > Monday, February 27, 7pm > Shenandoah Room at the Mountainlair > WVU Downtown Campus > 1550 University Ave, Morgantown WV 26506 > > A public forum featuring newly appointed WV DEP Secretary Austin Caperton will take place on Monday, February 27th, at 7pm in the Mountainlair's Shenandoah Room on WVU's downtown campus. The event is co-hosted by the WVU Sierra Student Coalition and the Mon Group of the WV Sierra Club. Secretary Caperton will discuss his plans and vision for the WV Department of Environmental Protection under his leadership. The Secretary's remarks will be followed by a Q&A session with the audience. The public is encouraged to attend. > > Questions? Contact Mon Group Chair Autumn Long, 304-841-3539, autumnlong11(a)gmail.com or WVU Sierra Student Coalition, wvussc(a)googlegroups.com > > To adjust your Sierra Club email preferences, please reply to this email with a description of your wishes. Thank you. > > Sierra Club 2101 Webster, Suite 1300, Oakland, CA 94612

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Brain pollution: Evidence builds that dirty air causes Alzheimer’s, dementia | Science | AAAS
by Duane via MVCAC 29 Jan '17

29 Jan '17

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/01/brain-pollution-evidence-builds-dirt… THE POLLUTED BRAIN By Emily Underwood, Science Magazine, January 26, 2017 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA—In a barbed wire–enclosed parking lot 100 meters downwind of the Route 110 freeway, an aluminum hose sticks out of a white trailer, its nozzle aimed at an overpass. Every minute, the hose sucks up hundreds of liters of air mixed with exhaust from the roughly 300,000 cars and diesel-burning freight trucks that rumble by each day. Crouched inside the trailer, a young chemical engineer named Arian Saffari lifts the lid off a sooty cylinder attached to the hose, part of a sophisticated filtration system that captures and sorts pollutants by size. Inside is a scientific payload: particles of sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, black carbon, and heavy metal at least 200 times smaller than the width of a human hair. The particles are too fine for many air pollution sensors to accurately measure, says Saffari, who works in a lab led by Constantinos Sioutas at the University of Southern California (USC) here. Typically smaller than 0.2 µm in diameter, these “ultrafine” particles fall within a broader class of air pollutants commonly referred to as PM2.5 because of their size, 2.5 µm or less. When it comes to toxicity, size matters: The smaller the particles that cells are exposed to, Saffari says, the higher their levels of oxidative stress, marked by the production of chemically reactive molecules such as peroxides, which can damage DNA and other cellular structures. Some of the health risks of inhaling fine and ultrafine particles are well-established, such as asthma, lung cancer, and, most recently, heart disease. But a growing body of evidence suggests that exposure can also harm the brain, accelerating cognitive aging, and may even increase risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. The link between air pollution and dementia remains controversial—even its proponents warn that more research is needed to confirm a causal connection and work out just how the particles might enter the brain and make mischief there. But a growing number of epidemiological studies from around the world, new findings from animal models and human brain imaging studies, and increasingly sophisticated techniques for modeling PM2.5 exposures have raised alarms. Indeed, in an 11-year epidemiological study to be published next week in Translational Psychiatry, USC researchers will report that living in places with PM2.5 exposures higher than the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) standard of 12 µg/m3 nearly doubled dementia risk in older women. If the finding holds up in the general population, air pollution could account for roughly 21% of dementia cases worldwide, says the study’s senior author, epidemiologist Jiu-Chiuan Chen of the Keck School of Medicine at USC. Deepening the concerns, this month researchers at the University of Toronto in Canada reported in The Lancet that among 6.6 million people in the province of Ontario, those living within 50 meters of a major road—where levels of fine pollutants are often 10 times higher than just 150 meters away—were 12% more likely to develop dementia than people living more than 200 meters away. The field is “very, very young,” cautions Michelle Block, a neuroscientist at Indiana University in Indianapolis. Nonetheless, it’s a “hugely exciting time” to study the connections between pollution and the brain, she says. And if real, the air pollution connection would give public health experts a tool for sharply lowering Alzheimer’s risks—a welcome prospect for a disease that is so devastating and that, for now, remains untreatable. Demented dogs in Mexico City in the early 2000s offered the first hints that inhaling polluted air can cause neurodegeneration. Neuroscientist Lilian Calderón-Garcidueñas, now at the University of Montana in Missoula, noticed that aging dogs who lived in particularly polluted areas of the city often became addled, growing disoriented and even losing the ability to recognize their owners. When the dogs died, Calderón-Garcidueñas found that their brains had more extensive extracellular deposits of the protein amyloid b—the same “plaques” associated with Alzheimer’s disease—than dogs in less polluted cities. She went on to find similarly elevated plaque levels in the brains of children and young adults from Mexico City who had died in accidents, as well as signs of inflammation such as hyperactive glia, the brain’s immune cells. Calderón-Garcidueñas’s studies didn’t have rigorous controls, or account for the fact that amyloid b plaques don’t necessarily signal dementia. But later work lent weight to her observations. Those tubes of fine particles from the 110 freeway have played a key role. In a basement lab at USC, Sioutas and his team aerosolize the pollutants with a hospital nebulizer, then pipe the dirty air into the cages housing lab mice that have been engineered to contain a gene for human amyloid b. Control animals housed in the same room breathe clean, filtered air. After a designated period—220 hours over several weeks, in a recent experiment—the team hands the rodents over to colleagues at USC, who kill the animals and check their brains for signs of neurodegeneration. Caleb Finch and Todd Morgan, USC neuroscientists who combine studies of aging and the brain, are in charge of the analysis. In mice that breathed the dirty air, they have found, the brain’s microglia release a flood of inflammatory molecules, including tumor necrosis factor a, which is elevated in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease and has been linked to memory loss. The pollution-exposed mice also showed other signs of brain damage, the group has reported in several recent papers: more amyloid b than in the control mice and shrunken and atrophied neurites, the cellular processes that extend from neurons toward other cells. Just how the fine airborne particles might travel from a rodent’s nasal cavity to its brain is a mystery. But a research team led by Günter Oberdörster at the University of Rochester in New York has used traceable, radioactive specks of elemental carbon to demonstrate that inhaled particles smaller than 200 nanometers can get through the delicate tissues lining a rodent’s nasal cavities, travel along neurons, and spread as far as the cerebellum, at the back of the brain, triggering an inflammatory reaction. To understand what the animal studies might mean for people, however, scientists need to correlate air pollution exposure with human brain scans and with results from rigorous cognitive testing. Photo: A cloudy suspension of smog particles, collected near a Los Angeles, California, freeway, will be turned into an aerosol and piped into tanks holding laboratory mice. Photo: Scientists let one group of mice breath polluted air for several weeks, while exposing another to clean air. After several weeks, they examine the brains of both groups. That’s not easy to do, as long-term, historical data on pollution exposures are scarce in the United States and many other countries, says Kimberly Gray, a program administrator at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in Durham, North Carolina. But in a September 2016 review of 18 epidemiological studies from Taiwan, Sweden, Germany, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States, all but one showed an association between high exposure to at least one component of air pollution and a sign of dementia. The review, published in Neurotoxicology, included a 2012 analysis of 19,000 retired U.S. nurses, which found that the more fine particulates the nurses were exposed to, based on monitoring data near their homes, the faster they declined on cognitive tests. For every additional 10 micrograms per cubic meter of air they breathed, their performance on tests of memory and attention declined as if they had aged by 2 years, says Jennifer Weuve, an epidemiologist at Boston University, who led the analysis. Imaging studies also suggest that pollution attacks the human brain. In a 2015 analysis of brain MRI scans of people enrolled in the Framingham Heart Study, a long-term cardiovascular study in New England, researchers at Harvard Medical School in Boston found that the closer people had lived to a major roadway—and thus the more PM2.5 they had likely been exposed to—the smaller their cerebral brain volume. The association held up even after adjusting for factors such as education, smoking, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Shortly after that study was published, USC’s Chen reported another example of brain shrinkage: In 1403 elderly women, the total volume of white matter—the insulated nerve fibers that connect different brain regions—decreased by about 6 cubic centimeters for every 3.5-µg/m3 increase in estimated PM2.5 exposure, based on air monitoring data from participants’ residences for 6 to 7 years before the brain scans were taken. Chen’s white matter findings are consistent with studies of cultured neurons, which show that exposure to PM2.5 can cause myelin—the fatty insulation that wraps around neuronal axons—to “peel up at the ends, like a Band-Aid,” Block says. Modes of attack Pollutant particles might make their way to the brain and damage it directly, or they might attack it from a distance, by triggering the release of inflammatory molecules. Where the risk is greatest is far from clear. Burning just about anything produces PM2.5: oil and gas, firewood, vegetation. Federal- and state-funded networks of air quality monitors in the United States get turned off and on according to political whim, and are frustratingly uneven. According to the American Lung Association less than a third of U.S. counties have ozone or particle pollution monitors, and coverage is especially sparse in rural areas. Those that exist have only measured PM2.5 since 1997—before that, EPA did not monitor particles smaller than PM10. Over the past several years, however, new computational models have made it possible to fill in some of the gaps in monitoring data, Gray says. In September 2016, NIEHS and the National Institute on Aging launched several new epidemiological studies that will use such modeling to look at the link between air pollution and brain health. One, based in Seattle, Washington, will estimate participants’ lifetime exposure to PM2.5 pollution and correlate it with the incidence of dementia, says Lianne Sheppard, a biostatistician at the University of Washington in Seattle. For their study of the Seattle region, Sheppard and her colleagues will take advantage of a model they developed for an earlier study of air pollution and atherosclerosis. Creating it, she says, took “a huge amount of behind-the-scenes work.” First, they compiled more than a decade of air monitoring data on PM2.5 and other pollutants from 600,000 locations across the United States. For each location, they calculated 800 different geographic variables, such as the distance to ports, factories, refineries, residual oil, and roads. Then they fitted their models to the monitoring data using a 25-by-25-meter grid and estimated PM2.5 concentrations in each grid cell. Building on the model, Sheppard and colleagues will create an even more detailed estimate of past air pollution levels in and around Seattle. To survey dementia in the region, the team will tap the Adult Changes in Thought study, which has monitored 5000 elderly people in the Seattle area for more than 20 years. Although all the participants were cognitively normal when they joined, at age 65 or so, roughly 1000 have since developed dementia, including 859 Alzheimer’s cases. When the participants die and donate their brains to science, as more than 600 already have, pathologists examine their brain tissue for abnormal protein deposits, cerebrovascular damage, and other signs of cellular stress. Combined with genetic studies, Sheppard says, such analyses will allow her group to probe “not just the epidemiology of the relationship between air pollution and cognition, but start drilling down to mechanisms” that explain how airborne pollutants affect the human brain. I think [air pollution] will turn out to be just the same as tobacco—there’s no safe threshold. Caleb Finch, University of Southern California Some people may be more susceptible than others. In the Translational Psychiatry study, Chen’s team found that women carrying the Alzheimer’s risk gene APOE4 faced a disproportionately higher risk from pollution. And recently, Finch has started to examine the overlap—and potential synergy—between PM2.5 and cigarette smoke. The smoke is itself rich in ultrafine particles and can trigger the production of amyloid plaques and neuroinflammation in mouse models. Although smoking was once considered protective against Alzheimer’s, prospective studies have since established tobacco smoke as a major risk factor, he says. In 2014, for example, a report published by the World Health Organization attributed as much as 14% of Alzheimer’s disease worldwide to smoking. Pollution may take a greater cognitive toll on the poor, in part because they are more likely to live in places with higher PM2.5 exposures, such as near major roadways or ports. Jennifer Ailshire, a USC sociologist, says stresses linked to poverty also could amplify the effects of the toxic particles. In one of her most recent studies, elderly people who rated their neighborhoods as stressful—citing signs of decay and disorder, such as litter and crime—did worse on cognitive tests than people who were exposed to similar pollution levels, but lived in less stressful neighborhoods, she says. “Living in L.A. [Los Angeles], we are all exposed to a lot of pollution, but some of us are fine,” she says. When seeking to reduce the negative health impacts from air pollution, cities “might want to try to focus specifically on reducing pollution in communities particularly vulnerable to these exposures,” she says. But no one studying the suspected effects of pollutant particles on the brain is eager to do triage. If PM2.5 is guilty as charged, they say, the goal for policymakers worldwide should be to push down levels as far as possible. When all the research is in, Finch says, “I think [air pollution] will turn out to be just the same as tobacco—there’s no safe threshold.” See also: www.FrackCheckWV.net

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Rex Tillerson and the 'Exxon Knew' controversy, explained - Business Insider
by Duane via MVCAC 12 Jan '17

12 Jan '17

http://www.businessinsider.com/rex-tillerson-exxon-knew-2017-1 The 'Exxon Knew' controversy is plaguing Rex Tillerson — here's what it means From an Article by Dana Varinsky, Business Insider, January 11, 2017 Outside the hearing on former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson’s nomination as secretary of state, 15 people dressed as T-Rex dinosaurs joined hundreds of protesters. In addition to calling Tillerson a climate dinosaur — a reference to Exxon's history of climate change denial — the demonstrators’ rhetoric centered around one phrase: #ExxonKnew. The allegation refers to two damning investigations conducted by the LA Times and InsideClimate News in 2015, both of which found that Exxon leaders knew humans were causing climate change as early as 1977, yet intentionally misled the public about global warming while lobbying the government to block emissions regulations. The reports sparked outrage, spreading online with the hashtag #ExxonKnew. InsideClimate News’ series, which was published after an eight-month investigation, suggests that Exxon was briefed by scientists and even conducted its own robust climate modeling programs for years, all of which suggested that fossil fuels were to blame for spiking global temperatures. (The LA Times’ report confirms the same.) But despite this information, Exxon continued to push for the appointment of officials who broke with the mainstream opinion on climate change, and set up the Global Climate Coalition, a lobbying partnership devoted to opposing controls on carbon pollution. A 2007 report from the Union of Concerned Scientists also suggested that Exxon used the same tactics as the cigarette industry to promote uncertainty about the facts of climate change. Tillerson actually does acknowledge that climate change is a problem (unlike EPA nominee Scott Pruitt and President-elect Donald Trump). However, environmental advocates believe Exxon’s record speaks louder than Tillerson’s words. According to an analysis by NextGen Climate published by the Huffington Post this week, Exxon gave more than $6.5 million to groups that deny fossil fuels contribute to global warming between 2008 and 2015. The company vowed nine years ago to stop funding groups that promoted misinformation about climate change. Senator Tim Kaine questioned Tillerson about that history during the hearing today, asking him whether Exxon Mobil knew about climate change long ago, despite what the company has publicly stated. Tillerson declined to comment, suggesting that he can’t speak for the company now that he no longer works there. “Do you lack the knowledge to answer my question, or are you refusing to answer my question?” Mr. Kaine asked. “A little of both,” Mr. Tillerson replied. Both Kaine and various environmental groups took this response as confirmation of the “Exxon Knew” controversy. It's shameful Tillerson refused to answer my questions on his company's role in funding phony climate science. Bottom line: #ExxonKnew — Senator Tim Kaine (@timkaine) January 11, 2017 May Boeve, executive director of grassroots environmental organization 350.org, immediately issued a statement highlighting Tillerson’s refusal to answer Kaine’s question. “Tillerson is still lying about what Exxon knew about climate change,” Boeve said “Tillerson deserves a federal investigation into Exxon’s lies, not a cabinet appointment.” Stephen Kretzmann, Executive Director of Oil Change International, an organization that works to expose the dangers of fossil fuels and promote a clean energy transition, echoed these sentiments. ”Unsurprisingly, Tillerson essentially pled the fifth when asked about Exxon’s long history of denying climate science, explicitly refusing to answer the question, or accept any responsibility for the actions of the company of which he was CEO for the last decade,” he said. “The record is clear: Exxon Knew.” Various states, including Massachusetts and California, are currently investigating whether Exxon Mobil indeed lied to the public and its shareholders, since that could mean the company engaged in fraud and violated various environmental laws. In November 2016, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman subpoenaed over a million of Exxon’s internal documents. Whether or not Tillerson becomes our next Secretary of State, Exxon’s past will undoubtedly continue to plague him. Duane Nichols, Cell- 304-216-5535. www.FrackCheckWV.net

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Shell Cracker Plant in Beaver County, Penna.
by Duane Nichols via MVCAC 13 Dec '16

13 Dec '16

Pennsylvania sets Dec. 15 meetings on modified cracker permits Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection has scheduled a public meeting and hearing on Dec. 15 on modifications to air and water permits for Shell Appalachia’s proposed ethane cracker plant in Beaver County. That will be followed by a public hearing from 7 to 9 p.m. regarding the agency’s intent to issue a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) water permit amendment and its intent to authorize a modification to the already approved air plan for the plant. Both hearings will be held at Central Valley High School, 160 Baker Road Extension, Monaca. Those who wish to testify are asked to contact environmental justice coordinator Nora Alwine at 412-442-4137. Individuals will have up to three minutes to testify. The agency will accept comment on the changes until Dec. 26. Written statements on the water amendment should be sent to Clean Water Program, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, 400 Waterfront Dr., Pittsburgh, Pa. 15222. Written statements on the air amendment should be sent to Air Quality Program at the same address. Information on the proposed permit changes is available at: www.dep.pa.gov/About/Regional/SouthwestRegion/Community%20Information/Pages…

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This Abandoned Pennsylvania Town Has Been On Fire For 53 Years | The Huffington Post
by Duane via MVCAC 05 Dec '16

05 Dec '16

This Abandoned Pennsylvania Town (Centralia) Has Been On Fire For 53 Year And it could burn for another 250 years. From an Article by James Cave, The Huffington Post, August 28, 2015 Signs warn visitors to the dangers of death by asphyxiation or being swallowed by the ground, but the old mining town of Centralia, Pennsylvania, was once home to more than 1,000 people. Now it’s nothing more than a smoldering ghost town that’s been burning for half a century. It started with a fire intentionally set to burn out a landfill before Labor Day in 1962 — the problem was that the landfill was also an old strip-mine pit connected to a maze of abandoned underground mining tunnels full of coal. Though the town was able to extinguish the fire above ground, a much bigger inferno burned underneath, and it eventually spread its way under Centralia’s town center. “Through a monumental series of blunders and inadequate attention over the years, it got to the size underground where it basically destroyed the town of Centralia and everybody had to move,” Davod Dekok, a Pennsylvania historian, told the Associated Press in the video below on the occasion of the fire’s 50th anniversary in 2012. The fire was so widespread, destructive and unending — it’s said that there’s enough coal underground to fuel the fire for another 250 years — that in 1980, a $42 million relocation plan incentivized most of the townspeople to relocate (most of the homes were demolished), leaving only about a dozen holdouts behind. The Smithsonian describes it bleakly: Today Centralia exists only as an eerie grid of streets, its driveways disappearing into vacant lots. Remains of a picket fence here, a chair spindle there — plus [John] Lokitis and 11 others who refused to leave, the occupants of a dozen scattered structures. Over the decades, the ground has opened up with sulfurous gases sometimes billowing out — the road along Highway 61 swells and cracks open, rife with graffiti and hot to the touch. In the winter, snow melts in patches where the ground is warm. Explore the eerie town through the photos in this article. Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/this-abandoned-pennsylvania-town-has-be… See also: www.FrackCheckWV.net

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Newburg mine fire continues to burn, Rice: 'It is a scary situation. I don’t think anyone would want a mine fire that close to their home' | News | theet.com
by Duane via MVCAC 05 Dec '16

05 Dec '16

http://www.theet.com/content/tncms/live/ Newburg mine fire continues to burn, Rice: 'It is a scary situation. I don’t think anyone would want a mine fire that close to their home' From an Article by Theresa Marthey, Preston County News & Journal,Dec 4, 2016 NEWBURG — Newburg residents are becoming more and more concerned with the Newburg Brocom Run No. 1 Mine fire that continues to burn. Newburg resident Ruth Taylor who lives near the fire said the fire is getting closer to their homes on Scotch Hill. “There are days where the smoke just lays over our homes making it impossible to go outside and enjoy the day,” Taylor said. “And the smell is horrific.” The fire has been burning inside the abandoned mine for at least three years. The mine is in the Pittsburgh coal seam, but the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) does not have any specific data on the mine. Rob Rice, Chief of the DEP Abandoned Mine Lands and Reclamation Division, said the DEP has been working on finding a solution to the extinguishing the fire. Newburg Fire Chief Bill Larew said their department receives calls about the fire at least once a week if not more. “This is a project that we know has to be done,” Larew said. “It is a scary situation. I don’t think anyone would want a mine fire that close to their home.” “We just had a call yesterday about the smoke,” Larew said on Thurs., Dec. 1. “It seems like when it rains like it did the water seeps into the coal seam causing steam and making it worse.” Larew said his department checks out the fire occasionally, but he doesn’t like to risk his men going into the area. “The area is undermined and under post,” Larew said. “We don’t like walking on top because you don’t know where you are. One wrong spot and you can fall in.” Larew said temperatures in the area are probably pushing 600 degrees underground. “You will be finished,” Larew said. “Fire gear isn’t going to help anyone in that.” Rice said his department’s funding for abandoned mines has decreased steadily over the years, and this year’s projections looks like they will only be receiving $24 million for next year’s projects. “Unfortunately with the size of the fire it is cost prohibitive to handle the fire with a typical funding source,” Rice said. “There is approximately five acres on fire, and it will cost approximately $10 million to put the fire out.” “We use to get between $50 and $70 million a year for projects,” Rice said. “But because of the economy and coal severances decreasing, so has our funding.” In the meantime while researching ways to fund the project, Rice said the DEP is still scrambling to find a way to remove the coal in the seam. “First thing we did was talk to coal companies and see if they would be interested in a ‘no-cost’ retrieval of the coal,” Rice said. “That means the company would come in and extract the coal that is in the seam and reclaim the land.” Rice said since the DEP does not have any records of the mine, the companies did not want to take the risk. “The problem is we cannot find any mine maps,” Rice said. “We don’t know the perimeters of the mine. We could not tell the companies if there was any other coal in the seam except the pillars.” Rice said they are not exploring a temporary solution to make an immediate impact on the residents of the area by filling the portals and fissures. “It would alleviate some of the problems,” Rice said. “It should help to reduce the smoke in the area, but won’t completely solve it until the fire is permanently put out.” The process to put out the fire would be a mountaintop removal type project. “You cannot just put water on the fire as it is now because the water could cause a steam geyser making the situation worse,” Rice said. “To properly put the fire out, you need to take the soil off, remove the coal by the bucket full.” “Once you remove the coal, it is taken to an adjacent area where it is spread thin,” Rice continued. “At that point, you can put water on it to put it out.” After all the material is removed and out, then the material would be transported back to the mine site and reclaimed. “One thing we do know is this seam is approximately 100 feet underground,” Rice said. “So this is not a small undertaking.” DEP officials told the Preston County News & Journal on Friday, Dec. 2 they will meet on Tuesday, Dec. 6 with their federal counterparts to inspect the site, and hand out carbon monoxide detectors to people who live nearby, as a precaution. “This project is a priority,” Rice said. “It was always on our list of projects to reclaim, but when the fire began it was moved up.” See also: www.FrackCheckWV.net

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Fwd: CPP Intervenors - Murray Energy litigation in Northern District of West Virginia
by Duane Nichols via MVCAC 30 Nov '16

30 Nov '16

To: MVCAC, I propose that we continue our participation in support of the Clean Power Plan, aka CPP. Duane > From: "William V. DePaulo, Esq." <william.depaulo(a)gmail.com> > Date: November 30, 2016 at 9:07:54 AM EST > To: Chad Cordell <protectourwaterwv(a)gmail.com>, John McFerrin <johnmcferrin(a)aol.com>, Nichols Duane <Duane330(a)aol.com>, Paul Corbit Brown <paulcorbitbrown(a)gmail.com>, Stockman Vivian <vivian(a)ohvec.org>, VERNON HALTOM <vernoncrmw(a)gmail.com>, Young Frank <fyoung(a)mountain.net>, Gary Zuckett <garyz(a)wvcag.org>, Natalie Thompson <natalie(a)ohvec.org> > Subject: CPP Intervenors - Murray Energy litigation in Northern District of West Virginia > > Murray Energy has filed -- and prevailed to date -- in an action based on Clean Air Act section 321 which requires EPA to evaluate the employment impact of its rules. The employment provision says: > > (a)Continuous evaluation of potential loss or shifts of employment > The Administrator shall conduct continuing evaluations of potential loss or shifts of employment which may result from the administration or enforcement of the provision of this chapter and applicable implementation plans, including where appropriate, investigating threatened plant closures or reductions in employment allegedly resulting from such administration or enforcement. > > Murray Energy (and its co-plaintiff coal companies) prevailed on the merits in NDWV district court and is now trying to persuade the court to enter an order preventing EPA from enforcing any rule that affects the coal industry. > > However, Section 321 explicitly states that the employment requirement cannot undermine existing rules under other Clean Air Act provisions: > > (d)Limitations on construction of section > Nothing in this section shall be construed to require or authorize the Administrator, the States, or political subdivisions thereof, to modify or withdraw any requirement imposed or proposed to be imposed under this chapter. > > > > Trump's incoming administration will not defend EPA; if the Murray litigation is to be blunted it will have to be as a result of intervenors. Sierra Club, with whom we intervened in the CPP litigation, has asked that I examine which of you would be willing to intervene in the NDWV litigation at this time. Keeper of the Mountains will intervene. > > I attach copies of relevant documents. Please call me if you have any questions. This is, obviously, on a fairly quick turn around, so don't hesitate to contact me by cell rather than email. > > All the best, > > Bill cell 304-541-1984 > > William V. DePaulo, Esq. > 122 N Court Street, Suite 300 > Lewisburg, WV 24901 > Tel 304-342-5588 > Fax 866-850-1501 > william.depaulo(a)gmail.com > > > > <amended complaint_Murray CAA321 suit NDWV 5-23-2014.pdf> > <docket sheet as of 11-17-2016 in Murray Energy CAA 321 suit NDWV.docx> > <EPA memo supporting mot to dismiss Murray CAA321 suit NDWV 6-30-14.pdf> > <EPA mot to dismiss Murray CAA321 suit NDWV 6-30-14.pdf> > <EPA reply supporting mot to dismiss Murray CAA321 suit NDWV 8-11-14.pdf> > <Murray Energy resp to EPA section 321 proposal.pdf> > <Murray opp to mot to dismiss Murray CAA321 suit NDWV 7-25-14.pdf> > <Order denying motion to dismiss in Murray CAA 321 suit NDWV 3-27-2015.pdf> > <order denying motion to dismiss or to strike request for relief Murray CAA321 NDWV 9-16-2014.pdf> > <US memo in support of SJ motion_Murray CAA321 suit NDWV 5-2-2016.pdf> > <US SJ motion_Murray CAA321 suit NDWV 5-2-2016.pdf>

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