https://coloradosun.com/2021/02/19/oil-gas-controllers-colorado-rule-methan…
First-in-the-nation rule to slash methane emissions from Colorado oil and gas operations relied on compromise
From an Article by Mark Jaffe, Colorado Sun, February 19, 2021
A rule clamping down on air pollution from key devices used by the oil and gas industry – which drew support from environmental groups and industry – was unanimously adopted by Colorado air quality regulators Thursday.
The first-in-the-nation rule requires the installation of non-emitting controllers on all new oil and gas operations and the retrofitting of existing controllers – a major source of emissions in the industry.
The environment groups and the industry worked out a compromise proposal that they jointly submitted to the Air Quality Control Commission. A wide range of local governments, including Weld County, the state’s top oil-producing county, also supported or did not oppose the proposal.
”There’s not a whole lot to talk about,” Commissioner Elise Jones said. “This is such an unusual situation with everybody agreeing.”
The state Air Pollution Control Division had initially proposed a rule to the AQCC that would have required non-emitting controllers only at new facilities, but over the past few months negotiations among industry representatives, environmental groups and local governments broadened the rule to encompass existing operations.
The regulation will lead to “a large portion of controllers in the state being non-emitting by May 1, 2023,” according to the Environmental Defense Fund, one of the groups involved in the compromise.
Controllers manage temperatures, pressure and liquid levels at oil and gas facilities and drill pads. Most controllers run on natural gas from the well itself and every time they open and close a valve or other mechanism, they release a little bit of gas.
The methane released is a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to Front Range ozone pollution.
While the amount of gas released is small — an average 2.8 standard cubic feet of methane an hour, according to one study — there were an estimated 100,000 controllers operating in Colorado in 2019.
Nationally, controllers account for 29% of the oil industry air emissions, according to David McCabe, a senior scientist with the Boston-based Clean Air Task Force, a public health and environmental advocacy group.
The new rule requires non-emitting controllers at all wells and production facilities constructed after May 1, 2021, or at existing facilities when new wells are drilled or wells are refracked to boost production.
The regulation also applies to new natural gas compressor stations and existing compressor stations that swap out equipment to increase their horsepower.
Operators are also obliged to systematically replace emitting controllers at existing facilities and they were given the flexibility to develop companywide plans to do it.
The size of the required emissions cuts is also on a sliding scale – between 15% and 40% – with companies already using non-emitting controllers needing to make smaller reductions.
“With the flexibility offered by the companywide plans, each operator would be able to make the retrofits that are most cost-effective,” according to EDF.
The regulation also provides limited exemptions from the requirements for temporary or portable equipment, distant or offsite wells, as well as safety and production issues. The exemption would have to be approved by the state’s APCD.
Older and smaller wells – known as stripper wells – that produce the equivalent of 15 barrels of oil or less per day would also be exempt, although their status is set to be reviewed in future negotiations.
The compromise rule was supported by groups ranging from the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, an industry trade group, to Conservation Colorado. More than 60 local governments also backed the rule.
“The stakeholder discussions surrounding pneumatic controllers have proven intensive and deeply substantive, but the collaborative and good-faith work across parties has led to a clear path forward for further emissions reductions in the state,” Lynn Granger, executive director of the trade group API-Colorado, said in a statement.
The APCD also backed the compromise. “It’s unique rulemaking,” said Jeramy Murray, a division environmental specialist. “Compromise and collaboration are the Colorado way.”
Commissioner Curtis Rueter said, “as a commission it is really nice for something to come forward with no outstanding issues.”
Sent from my iPad
https://roanoke.com/news/local/mountain-valley-pipeline-cited-again-for-ero…
Mountain Valley Pipeline cited again for erosion and sedimentation violations
From an Article by Laurence Hammack, Roanoke Times, February 5, 2021
The Mountain Valley Pipeline has sunk deeper into trouble with muddy water flowing unchecked from construction sites.
A proposed consent order from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection would require the company to pay a $303,706 fine for repeated violations of erosion and sediment control regulations.
West Virginia had previously fined Mountain Valley $266,000 for similar violations along the first 198 miles of the natural gas pipeline. In Southwest Virginia, where the pipeline continues for another 105 miles, regulators have imposed more than $2 million in penalties on three separate occasions.
But pipeline opponents say the fines are too small to deter future environmental damage from the $6 billion project. “Three hundred thousand dollars is a tiny percentage of the project’s overall cost, and does not even begin to adequately cover the damage that’s been done to our streams,” said Autumn Crowe, a staff scientist for the West Virginia Rivers Coalition.
The most recent enforcement action was signed Jan. 11 by Robert Cooper, who is heading construction of Mountain Valley. The West Virginia DEP will accept written comments through March 13 before taking final action, according to spokesman Terry Fletcher.
Included in the order are 29 notices of violation from February 2019 to September 2020. Most of the problems were related to maintenance of erosion and sedimentation controls, “all of which have been remediated with no additional corrective actions required,” Mountain Valley spokeswoman Natalie Cox wrote in an email Thursday.
“In cooperation with the WVDEP, we have enhanced the level of environmental controls that were originally approved, and the measures in place today are substantially better than those initially installed,” the email stated.
Since work began in February 2018, construction crews have struggled to prevent storm water from flowing off steep slopes that have been cleared of trees and graded so the 42-inch diameter pipe can be buried in trenches.
According to the consent order, sediment-laden water was allowed to escape the 125-wide construction zones due to failures of silt fences, water bars and other erosion control devices.
In some cases, water bars — earthen barriers built on steep slopes to divert stormwater — were improperly installed, allowing runoff to accumulate downhill in quantities that overwhelmed retention ponds.
Mountain Valley also failed to adequately plant grass on denuded strips of land, which contributed to problems with runoff, the order stated. Inspectors often observed sediment in nearby streams, which can endanger fish and other aquatic life and cause problems with water quality farther downstream.
There have also been slips, or a gradual movement of earth downhill that is akin to a slow-motion avalanche. Last April in Lewis County, West Virginia, slips caused a segment of the pipe that had already been buried to shift in at least three locations, according to an inspection report filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Had pressurized natural gas been flowing through the pipeline, any underground movement could have caused a rupture and explosion, pipeline opponents said.
Cox said at the time that Mountain Valley would conduct an investigation as a precautionary measure, but added that the pipeline was designed to withstand minor ground shifting as it settles in the final stages of construction.
Asked about the matter Thursday, Cox said the pipe was excavated, inspected and replaced, and the hillside was stabilized using a mechanically engineered geotechnical reinforcement method. “As an additional safety precaution, MVP crews surveyed and inspected pipe in other locations along the route to confirm that this was an isolated incident, which was the case,” her email stated.
As for the erosion problems cited in the consent order, Cox noted that of the 29 notices of violation, only four were written in 2020 despite significant rainfall that year — evidence, she said, that Mountain Valley is working to make improvements.
Although there were 29 notices issued, some of them contained multiple violations. A total number was not available Thursday.
Mountain Valley says it is on target to finish the pipeline by the end of the year, despite multiple legal challenges to its permits that have caused delays and cost overruns. The joint venture of five energy companies plans to ship 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day to markets in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions of the country.
Environmental groups, however, say the project will scar the scenic landscape of Southwest Virginia, clog its streams with sediment and jeopardize endangered species of fish and bats.
Last week, Appalachian Voices and six other organizations asked a federal appeals court to stay two recent orders from FERC — one lifting a stop-work order last October and the other giving Mountain Valley two more years to complete the project.
“Seemingly endless environmental violations have further slowed construction while fouling waters and land along the pipeline’s route,” the coalition said in a filing with the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
The court is currently considering two legal challenges to FERC’s actions, and a stay would put pipeline work on hold until a decision is reached. Five more lawsuits are pending against other federal agencies that reissued permits after the original ones were struck down.
Mountain Valley has agreed to stop construction, with the exception of erosion and sedimentation control, until Feb. 22 — the date by which the D.C. Circuit was asked to rule on the request for a stay.
15 comments
NOTE the important briefing at 3:00 PM today ....... Duane
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> ACTION ALERT
> PUBLIC NOTICE: Legislative Response to WVDEP Oil and Gas Budget/Layoffs
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> PUBLIC BRIEFING ON LAYOFFS AT WV DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION SET FOR THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4th AT 3:00 PM VIA ZOOM
> Online via Zoom Conference
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> In summer 2020, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) Office of Oil and Gas cut its staff from 40 to 25 positions due to recurring budget shortfalls. As a result, there is now only one inspector per every 5000 gas wells. Currently, the Office is funded solely through one-time fees on new permit applications. This funding structure is not only inconsistent with other WVDEP Offices, it is also insufficient for sustaining the office's responsibility for monitoring and regulating all actions related to the exploration, drilling, storage and production of oil and natural gas.
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> We urge the West Virginia Legislature to immediately act on this issue.
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> FULL INFORMATION HERE
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> GREENBRIER.ORG
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> IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR DRINKING WATER
> AVAILABILITY OF MONITORING DATA FOR UNREGULATED CONTAMINANTS FOR LEWISBURG, WV
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> Our water system has sampled for a series of unregulated contaminants. Unregulated contaminants are those that do not yet have a drinking water standard set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The purpose of monitoring for these contaminants is to help EPA decide whether the contaminants should have a standard. As our customers, you have a right to know that this data is available.
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> If you are interested in examining the results,
> please contact Randy Johnson or Charlie Cooper at
> (304)647-5585
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> You may also mail your request to:
> LEWISBURG WATER PLANT
> 2539 Stonehouse Rd
> LEWISBURG, WV 24901
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> or email your request to: WaterPlant(a)Lewisburg-wv.com.
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> Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received the notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses).
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> This Notice is being sent to you by LEWISBURG Water Plant
> State Water System ID# WV3301307 January 21, 2020
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> Governor Justice Names New WV DEP Secretary
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> Justice has appointed Harold Ward to take over leadership of the DEP effective January 18, 2021. Ward has served as the DEP's deputy secretary of operations and director of the Division of Mining and Reclamation, where he oversaw all operational components of the department in addition to the agency's mining regulatory program. "Harold Ward has been a superstar in the WVDEP for a long time and the work he's done during my administration, leading our Division of Mining and Reclamation, has been truly incredible," Justice said "I have all the confidence in the world that he will do a fantastic job."
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> Reintroduction of the Roadless Area Conservation Act
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> (West Virginians for Public Lands. February 2, 2021) Efforts are underway to codify a Forest Service rule that prohibits road construction for logging and mining in designated backcountry areas.
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> Known as the "Roadless Rule," The Roadless Area Conservation Rule was first implemented by the Forest Service in 2001. Here in West Virginia, the Roadless Rule is important to the integrity of about 182,000 roadless acres throughout our three National Forests (Monongahela, Jefferson, and Washington).
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> Codification of the Roadless Rule is a priority for public lands advocates due to its vulnerability. Last year, the Trump administration exempted the Tongass National Forest in Alaska from the Roadless Rule, which opened 9 million acres to extractive industries and logging, including 168,000 old growth acres.
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> Learn more about the Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2021 which would make the Roadless Rule law.
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> * Earth Day ~ April 22 ~ Save the Date *
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> President Biden signs Executive Order
> on January 27, 2021. The order reaffirms that the President will host a Leaders' Climate Summit on Earth Day, April 22, 2021
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> President Biden Takes Executive Actions to Tackle the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, Create Jobs, and Restore Scientific Integrity Across Federal Government
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> The order sets a goal of protecting 30% of the nation's lands and waters by 2030. These conservation measures are identified as critical to slowing the effects of climate change.
> Land conservation helps to mitigate climate change by storing and removing carbon through a process known as "carbon sequestration." The more carbon that is stored and removed through natural processes, the less carbon dioxide will reach the atmosphere. This is considered a "natural solution" to climate change. Academic literature suggests natural solutions can provide over one-third of cost-effective climate change mitigation needed by 2030. The concept of protecting 30% of land and water by 2030 isn't a new idea, President Biden's executive order is based on the 30x30 Campaign for Nature, which is championed by the President's Department of the Interior Secretary nominee,
> Congresswoman Deb Haaland (D-NM)
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> FERC weighs tightening rules on pipeline eminent domain
> February 1, 2021
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> The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is eyeing stricter rules to empower property owners affected by natural gas pipelines or export projects. The five-member panel, now led by President Biden's pick of Democratic Chairman Richard Glick, issued anorderlast week seeking input on potential changes to its eminent domain proceedings, among other topics."Glick is reopening the door for landowner rights," said Paul Patterson, a utility analyst with Glenrock Associates LLC. "You don't have to be a tremendous student to know he is not happy with the way FERC has been approaching gas pipelines."Republican Commissioner James Danly, who served as chair under former President Trump, issued a sharply worded dissent challenging the move on procedural grounds.
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> FULL STORY HERE
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> If you appreciate the work we are doing, please consider a donation today.
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> Contract Position Open
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> The Greenbrier River Watershed Association is going to contract with a new coordinator. If you are interested in working about ten hours a week on projects with a goal of educating the public about our issues, please let us know and we will forward you the job description.
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> Email leslee(a)mtnwaters.com
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> WV Flood Tool
> http://www.mapwv.gov/flood/
> LINK TO STATEWIDE STREAM GAUGES
> https://www.facebook.com/100005485393020/posts/962748470584657/
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> Greenbrier River Watershed Association, PO Box 1419, Lewisburg, WV 24901
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https://www.theintelligencer.com/news/article/Living-with-natural-gas-pipel…
Living with natural gas pipelines: Appalachian landowners describe fear, anxiety and loss
Erin Brock Carlson, West Virginia University and Martina Angela Caretta, Lund University, Edwardsville Intelligencer, February 3, 2021
More than 2 million miles of natural gas pipelines run throughout the United States. In Appalachia, they spread like spaghetti across the region.
Many of these lines were built in just the past five years to carry natural gas from the Marcellus Shale region of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, where hydraulic fracturing has boomed. West Virginia alone has seen a fourfold increase in natural gas production in the past decade.
Such fast growth has also brought hundreds of safety and environmental violations, particularly under the Trump administration’s reduced oversight and streamlined approvals for pipeline projects. While energy companies promise economic benefits for depressed regions, pipeline projects are upending the lives of people in their paths.
As a technical and professional communication scholar focused on how rural communities deal with complex problems and a geography scholar specializing in human-environment interactions, we teamed up to study the effects of pipeline development in rural Appalachia. In 2020, we surveyed and talked with dozens of people living close to pipelines in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
What we found illuminates the stress and uncertainty that communities experience when natural gas pipelines change their landscape. Residents live with the fear of disasters, the noise of construction and the anxiety of having no control over their own land.
‘None of this is fair’
Appalachians are no strangers to environmental risk. The region has a long and complicated history with extractive industries, including coal and hydraulic fracturing. However, it’s rare to hear firsthand accounts of the long-term effects of industrial infrastructure development in rural communities, especially when it comes to pipelines, since they are the result of more recent energy-sector growth.
For all of the people we talked to, the process of pipeline development was drawn out and often confusing.
Some reported never hearing about a planned pipeline until a “land man” – a gas company representative – knocked on their door offering to buy a slice of their property; others said that they found out through newspaper articles or posts on social media. Every person we spoke with agreed that the burden ultimately fell on them to find out what was happening in their communities.
One woman in West Virginia said that after finding out about plans for a pipeline feeding a petrochemical complex several miles from her home, she started doing her own research. “I thought to myself, how did this happen? We didn’t know anything about it,” she said. “It’s not fair. None of this is fair. … We are stuck with a polluting company.”
‘Lawyers ate us up’
If residents do not want pipelines on their land, they can pursue legal action against the energy company rather than taking a settlement. However, this can result in the use of eminent domain.
Eminent domain is a right given by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to companies to access privately held property if the project is considered important for public need. Compensation is decided by the courts, based on assessed land value, not taking into consideration the intangibles tied to the loss of the land surrounding one’s home, such as loss of future income.
Through this process, residents can be forced to accept a sum that doesn’t take into consideration all effects of pipeline construction on their land, such as the damage heavy equipment will do to surrounding land and access roads.
One man we spoke with has lived on his family’s land for decades. In 2018, a company representative approached him for permission to install a new pipeline parallel to one that had been in place since 1962, far away from his house. However, crews ran into problems with the steep terrain and wanted to install it much closer to his home. Unhappy with the new placement, and seeing erosion from pipeline construction on the ridge behind his house causing washouts, he hired a lawyer. After several months of back and forth with the company, he said, “They gave me a choice: Either sign the contract or do the eminent domain. And my lawyer advised me that I didn’t want to do eminent domain.”
There was a unanimous sense among the 31 people we interviewed that companies have seemingly endless financial and legal resources, making court battles virtually unwinnable. Nondisclosure agreements can effectively silence landowners. Furthermore, lawyers licensed to work in West Virginia who aren’t already working for gas companies can be difficult to find, and legal fees can become too much for residents to pay.
One woman, the primary caretaker of land her family has farmed for 80 years, found herself facing significant legal fees after a dispute with a gas company. “We were the first and last ones to fight them, and then people saw what was going to happen to them, and they just didn’t have – it cost us money to get lawyers. Lawyers ate us up,” she said.
The pipeline now runs through what were once hayfields. “We haven’t had any income off that hay since they took it out in 2016,” she said. “It’s nothing but a weed patch.”
‘I mean, who do you call?’
Twenty-six of the 45 survey respondents reported that they felt that their property value had decreased as a result of pipeline construction, citing the risks of water contamination, explosion and unusable land.
Many of the 31 people we interviewed were worried about the same sort of long-term concerns, as well as gas leaks and air pollution. Hydraulic fracturing and other natural gas processes can affect drinking water resources, especially if there are spills or improper storage procedures. Additionally, methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and volatile organic compounds, which can pose health risks, are byproducts of the natural gas supply chain.
“Forty years removed from this, are they going to be able to keep track and keep up with infrastructure? I mean, I can smell gas as I sit here now,” one man told us. His family had watched the natural gas industry move into their part of West Virginia in the mid-2010s. In addition to a 36-inch pipe on his property, there are several smaller wells and lines. “This year the company servicing the smaller lines has had nine leaks … that’s what really concerns me,” he said.
The top concern mentioned by survey respondents was explosions.
According to data from 2010 to 2018, a pipeline explosion occurred, on average, every 11 days in the U.S. While major pipeline explosions are relatively rare, when they do occur, they can be devastating. In 2012, a 20-inch transmission line exploded in Sissonville, West Virginia, damaging five homes and leaving four lanes of Interstate 77 looking “like a tar pit.”
Amplifying these fears is the lack of consistent communication from corporations to residents living along pipelines. Approximately half the people we interviewed reported that they did not have a company contact to call directly in case of a pipeline emergency, such as a spill, leak or explosion. “I mean, who do you call?” one woman asked.
‘We just keep doing the same thing’
Several people interviewed described a fatalistic attitude toward energy development in their communities.
Energy analysts expect gas production to increase this year after a slowdown in 2020. Pipeline companies expect to keep building. And while the Biden administration is likely to restore some regulations, the president has said he would notban fracking.
“It’s just kind of sad because they think, once again, this will be West Virginia’s salvation,” one landowner said. “Harvesting the timber was, then digging the coal was our salvation. … And then here’s the third one. We just keep doing the same thing.”
Note. This Article was originally in The Conversation. Edwardsville is in Illinois and Lund University is in Sweden.
https://theconversation.com/living-with-natural-gas-pipelines-appalachian-l…
REPLY — Most serious utility plans for the future involve electricity via (a) conservation (demand reduction), (b) improved efficiency of operation including distributed generation (widely spaced sources), (c) wind turbines (mountain ridges and coastal off-shore locations) and (d) solar panels (small locals) & solar farms.
Dominion Energy and others have already cancelled some proposed natural gas fired power stations in Virginia and continuing to phase out coal-fired plants. (The proposed Longview gas-fired plant is still active here, seeking financial backing. And, Pennsylvania and Ohio have a number of new gas-fired plants. These are more efficient and cleaner than coal plants, but will still be under pressure to limit GHG.)
If the MVP can be stopped, it’s not likely that this will result in a slowdown in the rate of reduction of GHG in the eastern US, but the opposite.
Duane Nichols, MVCAC
> On Feb 3, 2021, at 4:37 PM, timothy nelms <timothynelms(a)hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> I ask the question....
> maybe the answer is not known .....Will DivestMVP Campaign lead to a higher reliance on energy produced by higher carbon contributing oil and coal sources ? As far as I know natural gas scores better than those in our high priority goal to reduce emission of carbon. Thanks.
>
> From wild wonderful WV,with a smile.....
>
>
> Tim
>
> On 3 Feb 2021, at 16:12, Barbara Howe <bhowe(a)wvu.edu> wrote:
>
>> It is fine with me to join.
>>
>> Barb
>>
>> From: paula_lists(a)paulahunt.com <paula_lists(a)paulahunt.com>
>> Sent: Wednesday, February 3, 2021 4:05 PM
>> To: 'Duane Nichols' <duane330(a)aol.com>; MVCAC(a)osenergy.org <MVCAC(a)osenergy.org>
>> Cc: 'James Kotcon' <jkotcon(a)gmail.com>; troutguy13(a)gmail.com <troutguy13(a)gmail.com>; cobando(a)gmail.com <cobando(a)gmail.com>; jr(a)lwvwv.org <jr(a)lwvwv.org>; janregernash(a)gmail.com <janregernash(a)gmail.com>; Michael Mccawley <mamccawley(a)hsc.wvu.edu>; Barbara Howe <bhowe(a)wvu.edu>; 'Sue Miles' <milesnichols(a)aol.com>; bjaegerart(a)gmail.com <bjaegerart(a)gmail.com>; timothynelms(a)hotmail.com <timothynelms(a)hotmail.com>; stombond(a)lhfwv.com <stombond(a)lhfwv.com>; djgooding00(a)gmail.com <djgooding00(a)gmail.com>; 'John Cobb' <jcobbjr369(a)gmail.com>
>> Subject: RE: QUESTION — Shall we join this protest? DivestMVP Campaign
>>
>> Hi MVCAC ers,
>>
>> I am in favor of the Mon Valley Clean Air Coalition (MVCAC) joining the Divest MVP Coalition.
>>
>> Paula Hunt
>>
>> From: Duane Nichols <duane330(a)aol.com>
>> Sent: Wednesday, February 3, 2021 1:55 PM
>> To: MVCAC(a)osenergy.org
>> Cc: James Kotcon <jkotcon(a)gmail.com>; troutguy13(a)gmail.com; cobando(a)gmail.com; jr(a)lwvwv.org; Paula Hunt <pjhunt(a)paulahunt.com>; janregernash(a)gmail.com; Michael McCawley <mamccawley(a)hsc.wvu.edu>; Barbara Howe <bhowe(a)wvu.edu>; Sue Miles <milesnichols(a)aol.com>; bjaegerart(a)gmail.com; timothynelms(a)hotmail.com; stombond(a)lhfwv.com; djgooding00(a)gmail.com; John Cobb <jcobbjr369(a)gmail.com>
>> Subject: QUESTION — Shall we join this protest? DivestMVP Campaign
>>
>> To the Friends of our Mon Valley Clean Air Coalition (MVCAC) ....
>>
>> It is herewith proposed that we join DivestMVP so as to limit Greenhouse Gases
>> and the impacts of Climate Change. Let me know if you have any reservations, questions or comments. Such can be held confidentially, if appropriate.
>>
>> Duane Nichols, MVCAC
>>
>> From: James Kotcon <jkotcon(a)gmail.com>
>> Date: February 3, 2021 at 11:30:22 AM EST
>> Subject: DivestMVP Campaign
>>
>> Hello,
>> I hope you are well. I’m reaching out to ask if your organization can join the DivestMVP Coalition that’s calling on the 10 major banks funding the fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline to stop funding the MVP.
>>
>>
>> If you have been following the story, the Mountain Valley Pipeline is facing numerous hurdles, but still claims to be in service next year. We want to convince their major funders that MVP is a bad investment idea.
>>
>> So far, the DivestMVP coalition has made significant progress in educating the banking and investing community about the threat MVP poses to our communities, waters, lands and climate as well as the losing economics of this project that’s $3 Billion over budget and 3 years behind schedule. We currently have the support of nearly 100 investors representing $233 Billion of assets under management who are joining us in demanding banks stop funding the MVP. Already, hundreds of activists have sent letters to banks telling them to DivestMVP.
>>
>> Now we’re reaching out to our friends and allies like you to ask for your support by becoming a member of the DivestMVP Coalition via this google form, if possible by February 18. In particular, please indicate the number of members and supporters for your organization.
>>
>>
>> Coalition members:
>> - Will be listed as a member of the DivestMVP coalition on public facing materials such as, but not limited to, press releases, websites, and letters to banks and investors.
>> -Will receive a community toolkit with guidance and materials for social and traditional media, a personal divestment guide and much more!
>> -Commit to share with your members/supporters opportunities to speak out to banks such as action alerts, event invites.
>> -Will be added to a list-serve to receive and share campaign updates, resources and successes!
>>
>> If you’re not quite ready to join the coalition, that’s OK! Register for free to join us on February 25 for a Virtual Rally to learn more about the coalition’s efforts and ways to get involved or reach out to Joan.Walker(a)sierraclub.org to get your questions answered.
>>
>> Thank you! Jim Kotcon, Conservation Chair, WV Chapter of Sierra Club
>>
>> >>>>>.....>>>>>.....>>>>>.....>>>>>.....>>>>>
>>
>> See also: Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) Fails to Gain Latest FERC Approval —
>>
>>
>> http://www.frackcheckwv.net/2021/01/22/mountain-valley-pipeline-mvp-fails-t…
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
It is fine with me to join.
Barb
________________________________
From: paula_lists(a)paulahunt.com <paula_lists(a)paulahunt.com>
Sent: Wednesday, February 3, 2021 4:05 PM
To: 'Duane Nichols' <duane330(a)aol.com>; MVCAC(a)osenergy.org <MVCAC(a)osenergy.org>
Cc: 'James Kotcon' <jkotcon(a)gmail.com>; troutguy13(a)gmail.com <troutguy13(a)gmail.com>; cobando(a)gmail.com <cobando(a)gmail.com>; jr(a)lwvwv.org <jr(a)lwvwv.org>; janregernash(a)gmail.com <janregernash(a)gmail.com>; Michael Mccawley <mamccawley(a)hsc.wvu.edu>; Barbara Howe <bhowe(a)wvu.edu>; 'Sue Miles' <milesnichols(a)aol.com>; bjaegerart(a)gmail.com <bjaegerart(a)gmail.com>; timothynelms(a)hotmail.com <timothynelms(a)hotmail.com>; stombond(a)lhfwv.com <stombond(a)lhfwv.com>; djgooding00(a)gmail.com <djgooding00(a)gmail.com>; 'John Cobb' <jcobbjr369(a)gmail.com>
Subject: RE: QUESTION — Shall we join this protest? DivestMVP Campaign
Hi MVCAC ers,
I am in favor of the Mon Valley Clean Air Coalition (MVCAC) joining the Divest MVP Coalition.
* Paula Hunt
From: Duane Nichols <duane330(a)aol.com>
Sent: Wednesday, February 3, 2021 1:55 PM
To: MVCAC(a)osenergy.org
Cc: James Kotcon <jkotcon(a)gmail.com>; troutguy13(a)gmail.com; cobando(a)gmail.com; jr(a)lwvwv.org; Paula Hunt <pjhunt(a)paulahunt.com>; janregernash(a)gmail.com; Michael McCawley <mamccawley(a)hsc.wvu.edu>; Barbara Howe <bhowe(a)wvu.edu>; Sue Miles <milesnichols(a)aol.com>; bjaegerart(a)gmail.com; timothynelms(a)hotmail.com; stombond(a)lhfwv.com; djgooding00(a)gmail.com; John Cobb <jcobbjr369(a)gmail.com>
Subject: QUESTION — Shall we join this protest? DivestMVP Campaign
To the Friends of our Mon Valley Clean Air Coalition (MVCAC) ....
It is herewith proposed that we join DivestMVP so as to limit Greenhouse Gases
and the impacts of Climate Change. Let me know if you have any reservations, questions or comments. Such can be held confidentially, if appropriate.
Duane Nichols, MVCAC
From: James Kotcon <jkotcon(a)gmail.com<mailto:jkotcon@gmail.com>>
Date: February 3, 2021 at 11:30:22 AM EST
Subject: DivestMVP Campaign
Hello,
I hope you are well. I’m reaching out to ask if your organization can join the DivestMVP Coalition that’s calling on the 10 major banks funding the fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline to stop funding the MVP.
If you have been following the story, the Mountain Valley Pipeline is facing numerous hurdles, but still claims to be in service next year. We want to convince their major funders that MVP is a bad investment idea.
So far, the DivestMVP coalition has made significant progress in educating the banking and investing community about the threat MVP poses to our communities, waters, lands and climate as well as the losing economics of this project that’s $3 Billion over budget and 3 years behind schedule. We currently have the support of nearly 100 investors representing $233 Billion of assets under management who are joining us in demanding banks stop funding the MVP. Already, hundreds of activists have sent letters to banks telling them to DivestMVP.
Now we’re reaching out to our friends and allies like you to ask for your support by becoming a member of the DivestMVP Coalition via this google form<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeFsNWYfc_seOEsYwRBmVtBgaL-MCiy1z9…>, if possible by February 18. In particular, please indicate the number of members and supporters for your organization.
Coalition members:
- Will be listed as a member of the DivestMVP coalition on public facing materials such as, but not limited to, press releases, websites, and letters to banks and investors.
-Will receive a community toolkit with guidance and materials for social and traditional media, a personal divestment guide and much more!
-Commit to share with your members/supporters opportunities to speak out to banks such as action alerts, event invites.
-Will be added to a list-serve to receive and share campaign updates, resources and successes!
If you’re not quite ready to join the coalition, that’s OK! Register for free<http://rb.gy/jq8vmv> to join us on February 25 for a Virtual Rally to learn more about the coalition’s efforts and ways to get involved or reach out to Joan.Walker(a)sierraclub.org<mailto:Joan.Walker@sierraclub.org> to get your questions answered.
Thank you! Jim Kotcon, Conservation Chair, WV Chapter of Sierra Club
>>>>>.....>>>>>.....>>>>>.....>>>>>.....>>>>>
See also: Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) Fails to Gain Latest FERC Approval —
http://www.frackcheckwv.net/2021/01/22/mountain-valley-pipeline-mvp-fails-t…
To the Friends of our Mon Valley Clean Air Coalition (MVCAC) ....
It is herewith proposed that we join DivestMVP so as to limit Greenhouse Gases
and the impacts of Climate Change. Let me know if you have any reservations, questions or comments. Such can be held confidentially, if appropriate.
Duane Nichols, MVCAC
> From: James Kotcon <jkotcon(a)gmail.com>
> Date: February 3, 2021 at 11:30:22 AM EST
> Subject: DivestMVP Campaign
>
> Hello,
> I hope you are well. I’m reaching out to ask if your organization can join the DivestMVP Coalition that’s calling on the 10 major banks funding the fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline to stop funding the MVP.
>
> If you have been following the story, the Mountain Valley Pipeline is facing numerous hurdles, but still claims to be in service next year. We want to convince their major funders that MVP is a bad investment idea.
>
> So far, the DivestMVP coalition has made significant progress in educating the banking and investing community about the threat MVP poses to our communities, waters, lands and climate as well as the losing economics of this project that’s $3 Billion over budget and 3 years behind schedule. We currently have the support of nearly 100 investors representing $233 Billion of assets under management who are joining us in demanding banks stop funding the MVP. Already, hundreds of activists have sent letters to banks telling them to DivestMVP.
>
> Now we’re reaching out to our friends and allies like you to ask for your support by becoming a member of the DivestMVP Coalition via this google form, if possible by February 18. In particular, please indicate the number of members and supporters for your organization.
>
> Coalition members:
> - Will be listed as a member of the DivestMVP coalition on public facing materials such as, but not limited to, press releases, websites, and letters to banks and investors.
> -Will receive a community toolkit with guidance and materials for social and traditional media, a personal divestment guide and much more!
> -Commit to share with your members/supporters opportunities to speak out to banks such as action alerts, event invites.
> -Will be added to a list-serve to receive and share campaign updates, resources and successes!
>
> If you’re not quite ready to join the coalition, that’s OK! Register for free to join us on February 25 for a Virtual Rally to learn more about the coalition’s efforts and ways to get involved or reach out to Joan.Walker(a)sierraclub.org to get your questions answered.
>
> Thank you! Jim Kotcon, Conservation Chair, WV Chapter of Sierra Club
>>>>>.....>>>>>.....>>>>>.....>>>>>.....>>>>>
See also: Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) Fails to Gain Latest FERC Approval —
http://www.frackcheckwv.net/2021/01/22/mountain-valley-pipeline-mvp-fails-t…
>
>
>
>
>
http://www.frackcheckwv.net/2021/02/01/online-program-on-feb-2nd-for-climat…
ONLINE PROGRAM ON FEB. 2nd FOR CLIMATE JOBS & CLIMATE JUSTICE
Transform, Heal, and Renew by Investing in a Vibrant Economy (THRIVE)
100 Days for Climate, Jobs, and Justice: Winning the THRIVE Agenda
TO: Friends & Interested Citizens, FROM: Center for Coalfield Justice, February 1, 2021
Amidst a confluence of devastating crises — the pandemic, racial injustice, economic devastation, and of course climate change — we have a historic opportunity to set our country on a different course in the next few months. But it will take all of us working together to make our voices heard and demand change.
This Tuesday, February 2, at 7 p.m. Eastern / 4 p.m. Pacific, the Green New Deal Network will host a grassroots livestream: “100 Days for Climate, Jobs, and Justice: Winning the THRIVE Agenda.” We hope you can join.
You can …. RSVP HERE!
The THRIVE Agenda includes building a groundswell of support to Transform, Heal, and Renew by Investing in a Vibrant Economy (THRIVE) Agenda— a bold economic recovery plan to address the intersecting crises facing our nation.
Sincerely, Kristen Locy, CCJ Outreach Coordinator
SOME LEADING GROUPS — The Green New Deal Network is a 50-state campaign with a national table of 15 organizations: Center for Popular Democracy, Climate Justice Alliance, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, Greenpeace, Indigenous Environmental Network, Indivisible, Movement for Black Lives, MoveOn, People’s Action, Right To The City Alliance, Service Employees International Union, Sierra Club, Sunrise Movement, US Climate Action Network, and the Working Families Party.
Tagged as: climate change, fossil fuels, Green New Deal, THRIVE, urgent action