MVCAC April 2022

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Air pollution warning in effect for Mon Valley - CBS Pittsburgh
by Duane Nichols 24 Apr '22

24 Apr '22

https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/air-pollution-warning-in-effect-for… Air pollution warning in effect for Mon Valley Updated on: April 24, 2022 / 11:59 AM By Amanda Andrews MON VALLEY (KDKA) -- The Allegheny County Health Department has issued an air pollution warning for the Mon Valley area. The warning started late this morning and continues through tomorrow. Health officials warn that individuals with health conditions such as asthma, bronchitis and emphysema should be careful during this time. The department also stated that "companies most significantly contributing to particulate pollution ... are required to temporarily reduce particulate emissions." First published on April 24, 2022 / 12:01 PM Allegheny County Health Department @HealthAllegheny An Air Pollution Warning has been issued for the Mon Valley for the remainder of today and into tomorrow. The 24-hour PM2.5 standard for the Mon Valley has been exceeded at an official monitoring station in the Mon Valley and is likely to continue. Sent from my iPad

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No Surprise: U.S. Steel Appeals Allegheny County Health Department $1.8M Enforcement Order Over H2S Exceedances | Group Against Smog and Pollution
by Duane Nichols 22 Apr '22

22 Apr '22

https://gasp-pgh.org/2022/04/18/no-surprise-u-s-steel-appeals-allegheny-cou… No Surprise: U.S. Steel Appeals Allegheny County Health Department $1.8M Enforcement Order Over H2S Exceedances As expected, the infamously-litigious U.S. Steel Corp. has appealed a March 7 Allegheny County Health Department enforcement order for illegal hydrogen sulfide emissions from its Clairton Coke Works. In the 23-page appeal filed April 5 and posted to the ACHD website this weekend, the company asks an Allegheny County hearing officer to vacate the order and the $1.8 million fine that came along with it. U.S. Steel used the usual appeal argument: That ACHD “abused its discretion and acted unreasonably, arbitrarily, capriciously, contrary in fact and law, and in a manner not supported by evidence.” You can read the entire brief here, but be sure to get some popcorn first because things got dramatic quick, with U.S. Steel invoking the Russia-Ukraine conflict and homeland security. “It’s disappointing but not at all surprising that U.S. Steel has doubled down and taken zero responsibility for the all-too-often sky-high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide in the Mon Valley even though the company’s own data shows the Clairton Coke Works is the greatest H2S emitter in the county,” GASP Executive Director Patrick Campbell said. “U.S. Steel has repeatedly said how much it cares about its Pittsburgh area ‘family’ but then invests in green tech elsewhere while dragging regulators through the courts when they try to make it clean up its act and it’s cringeworthy.” GASP staff is reviewing the documents, remains deeply concerned about our area’s hydrogen sulfide issue, and will continue to keep you posted.

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New book looks at the big decisions small communities had to make when fracking came to town - The Allegheny Front
by Duane Nichols 21 Apr '22

21 Apr '22

New book looks at the big decisions small communities had to make when fracking came to town - The Allegheny Front https://www.alleghenyfront.org/new-book-looks-at-the-big-decisions-small-co… NEW BOOK LOOKS AT THE BIG DECISIONS SMALL COMMUNITIES HAD TO MAKE WHEN FRACKING CAME TO TOWN KARA HOLSOPPLEAPRIL 18, 2022 ECONOMYENERGYPOLITICS Since the industry came to Pennsylvania almost 15 years ago, fracking has been looked at from a lot of angles — economic, environmental, and even geopolitical. But Sabina Deitrick, an associate professor at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, and her colleague, Ilia Murtazashvili, noticed a hole. Sabina Deitrick “We were finding there wasn’t a lot for planners in our municipalities, for supervisors,” Deitrick said. “Volunteers were making decisions on things that had to do with fracking – not pro-fracking or anti-fracking – but what was happening in their town or their township or their borough. We were finding that there wasn’t a lot of advice and a lot of information from the state.” So they put out a call to colleagues for a workshop on the impacts of fracking from the perspective of local government. It became the basis for the book: When Fracking Comes to Town: Governance, Planning, and Economic Impacts of the US Shale Boom. The Allegheny Front’s Kara Holsopple spoke with Deitrick about some of the themes in the book.

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Sparks fly in Morgantown ....
by Duane Nichols 19 Apr '22

19 Apr '22

Katie Fallon April 15 at 10:53 AM · Morgantown, WV · Here’s how the Three Sisters Architecture & Engineering Firm got started. Katie Fallon at SPARK Imagination and Science Center, Mountaineer Mall & Professional Plaza, 5000 Green Bag Road G-12, Morgantown, WV 26501 Hours: Closes soon ⋅ 1PM ⋅ Opens 10AM Thu Phone: (304) 292-4646

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FYI ~ Greetings and WELCOME to a National Discussion About Cryptocurrency Mining
by Duane Nichols 18 Apr '22

18 Apr '22

From: Yvonne Taylor <gasfreesenecagirl(a)gmail.com> > Date: April 18, 2022 at 3:22:43 PM EDT > To: National Stop Crypto Group <national-stop-crypto-group(a)googlegroups.com> > Subject: Greetings and WELCOME to a National Discussion About Cryptocurrency Mining > > Dear All, Please allow me to take this opportunity to say hello and welcome you all to a group we've created to discuss our experiences with cryptocurrency mining, its impacts on our communities, and ways that we can connect/ support one another. > > Joseph Campbell and I spent some time last week visiting our friends in Spartanburg, South Carolina and Morgantown West Virginia, and we realized that we are now connected to folks across the country and think it would be useful to schedule a meeting once per month to check in with one another. > > We're also interested in working on a broader national media campaign to include your voices. > > If for any reason you wish to be removed from this list, please let me know. Otherwise, please complete the enclosed Doodle Poll to indicate when a once-monthly meeting day/ time (Eastern Standard) would work best for you. https://doodle.com/meeting/participate/id/e73nVO8e > > Together we can work on solutions and make gains, and we look forward to interacting with you all more consistently as we face this industry. > > Warmly, Yvonne Taylor, Vice President, Seneca Lake Guardian > > https://doodle.com/meeting/participate/id/e73nVO8e >

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How Joe Manchin Aided Coal, and Earned Millions - The New York Times
by Duane Nichols 15 Apr '22

15 Apr '22

How Joe Manchin Aided Coal, and Earned Millions New York Times, March 27, 2022 At every step of his political career, Joe Manchin helped a West Virginia power plant that is the sole customer of his private coal business. Along the way, he blocked ambitious climate action. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/27/climate/manchin-coal-climate-conflicts.h…

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Protesters ask West Virginia Sen. Manchin to vote for clean energy policy, help for those in poverty | Local News | timeswv.com
by Duane Nichols 10 Apr '22

10 Apr '22

https://www.timeswv.com/news/local_news/protesters-ask-west-virginia-sen-ma… Protesters ask West Virginia Sen. Manchin to vote for clean energy policy, help for those in poverty From an Article by Eric Cravey, Times West Virginian, April 9, 2022 GRANT TOWN, W.Va. — At least 16 activists were arrested Saturday on trespassing charges during a protest outside the front gate of the coal-fired Grant Town Power Plant. About 200 protesters from different states carried signs with slogans such as "WV Rising for Good Jobs," "In my father's house, there is no room for this Manchin" and "Solidarity With All Coal Miners Just Transition." The protest, which was organized by the Morgantown-based group WV Rising, was meant to get the attention of U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., in hopes he would abandon his support for fossil fuels and instead support green energy legislation. Protesters also want Manchin to vote for legislation such as the failed Build Back Better to lift up families living in poverty. Manchin's family business, Enersystems, sells waste coal to the power plant – which, in turn, sells the power to First Energy Corp. "I am here because I know the effects that coal has and it's not positive anymore, it's just not," said Rylee Haught, of Morgantown. "It's a dying industry. It's hurting West Virginia, it's hurting all of America and the rest of the world at this point with global warming increasing rapidly, so I would just try to level with him." Haught, who acted as an unofficial media spokeswoman for the group Saturday, said she became involved in social justice when she was a student at Fairmont State University when she took Dr. Paul Edwards' global warming class. That led her to take part in the March For Our Lives in Washington, D.C. The Parkersburg, W.Va., native said she just wants to see her state thrive and not continue to wither. Currently studying psychology and addiction at West Virginia University, Haught said, she would like Manchin to work to improve the state's addiction and mental health system to improve the quality of life for West Virginians. "I just want (Manchin) to really hear out the young people who are considering leaving because we don't have new industries and we don't have new opportunities that we deserve," she said as protesters sang songs reminiscent of the suffrage and civil rights movements. Haught said the main message protesters wanted to convey was that Enersystems is profiting from the coal industry, while Manchin serves as chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. "That is a huge conflict of interest and it absolutely should not be allowed to happen," Haught said. Kathy Ferguson drove from her home in Institute, W.Va., to take part in the protest. She said she wants Manchin to use his influence in the Senate to lift up West Virginia families who face poverty and drug addiction. "West Virginia is a state that suffers with poor education, poor health outcomes – there's a lot of opioid use here," Ferguson said. "There's just so many issues that we're struggling with and Build Back Better has so many components and pieces that will elevate the quality of lives and the economy." Ferguson said the senator needs to serve the people of his state better. "I believe he's like many politicians who actually have the ability to make personal gains from legislation that does not ... help a lot of folks," Ferguson said. Environmental attorney Lisa Johnson, of Pittsburgh, was one of at least two attorneys on site. Donning a cap bearing the words National Lawyers Guild, Johnson said she was there out of personal interest. "I'm Switzerland," she said. "I am very interested in making sure that when people protest, they are able to under the confines of the (U.S.) Constitution, of course, so to be able to just observe and document what is happening without being actively engaged in order to make sure the process remains intact." Johnson stood across Highway 17 from the chainlink fence of the power plant and snapped photos and documented some of the arrests by dictating voice memos to her smartphone.

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West Virginians Gear Up for "Coal Baron Blockade" at Joe Manchin's Coal Plant
by Duane Nichols 08 Apr '22

08 Apr '22

West Virginians Gear Up for "Coal Baron Blockade" at Joe Manchin's Coal Plant Since Sen. Joe Manchin has blockaded Democrats’ landmark Build Back Better climate and jobs legislation, at least 400 West Virginians and allied activists say they are planning to return the gesture in kind by blockading Senator Manchin’s family business at the Grant Town Power Plant on Saturday, April 9. Dozens of activists, working in coalition under the banner West Virginia Rising and with support from organizations like Rising Tide North America, are planning to risk arrest by blocking traffic to the 80-megawatt, coal-fired plant in Grant Town, West Virginia. Senator Manchin makes nearly $500,000 per year from his family business Enersystems, Inc., which sells coal gob to the Grant Town Power Plant. Senator Manchin’s son, Joseph Manchin IV, runs the company. Manchin founded Enersystems, a Fairmont, West Virginia-based coal brokerage firm, in 1988. He reported making $5.6 million off company stock from 2010 to 2020 — all while working to protect the coal industry and gut critical environmental laws to increase his own revenues as part of the powerful Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which he has chaired since February 3, 2021. https://truthout.org/articles/west-virginians-gear-up-for-coal-baron-blocka…

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EDITORIAL ~ M.I.P. Mystery Continues. Appeal Period Ends April 6th
by Duane Nichols 04 Apr '22

04 Apr '22

EDITORIAL: Secretive 'Science Facility' Seems Like An Unwelcome Polluter The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va. January 13, 2022 Usually, when a new business or industry makes its home around Morgantown, local politicians and business advocates are positively abuzz, talking to anyone who will listen and promoting the area's newest addition. But that's not the case with the mysterious "science facility /data processing center " coming to the Morgantown Industrial Park. So far, the only thing we know is that Marion Energy Partners applied to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection for a permit for its 10, 000-square-foot facility. The center's four natural gas-fired engines—operating 24 /7 /365—would pull natural gas from a nearby Northeast Natural Energy well pad. (Northeast Natural Energy appears to be Marion Energy Partners' parent company.) Nothing else is really known, though it's suspected the new facility will be a cryptocurrency mining operation. As we reported Wednesday, cryptocurrency mining uses banks of specialized computers to validate blockchain transactions for a specific cryptocurrency (such as Bitcoin) in order to receive percentages of said currency in return. The process is extremely energy intensive and has come under fire for its massive carbon footprint. Essentially, what Monongalia County is looking at is a carbon-and air pollution-spewing factory that creates few, if any, jobs or economic opportunity. It's immensely concerning that a major polluter could be setting up shop in our backyard and no one knows anything about it. Neither company will respond to requests for comment, and even the Monongalia County Commission is being tight-lipped about the project. Mon County residents are well within their rights to demand more information. Air pollution is never confined to the area where it is emitted, and we'd want to a see a plan from Northeast Natural Energy and /or Marion Energy Partners that details how they would protect the community from any toxins or chemicals the facility ejects. We'd also like to see the companies' proposals for offsetting the center's carbon emissions. In a consumer-driven economy, some trade-offs are to be expected. For example: Accepting some pollution in exchange for well-paying jobs and a measurable boost to the local economy. That's why coal mines are still welcomed in most of West Virginia. However, there isn't enough information about the center publicly available to make a list of pros and cons. At the moment, the proposed facility seems to offer no jobs, no tangible product and little-to-no benefit to taxpayers. Because of concerns about the secretive center, contact the WV DEP Environmental Advocate and ask that his Office appeal the Air Pollution Permit or ask that the permit be re-examined after the final report on the MSEEL project is issued. Include "Marion Energy Partners LLC" in the subject line. This request can be emailed to depadvocate(a)wv.gov You can write to Mike John, the CEO of Northeast Natural Energy, here in Morgantown. His company owns the Marcellus wells in the MIP as well as the responsibility for the so-called Science Facility project. His address is MIke John, CEO, Northeast Natural Energy, Marina Tower, STE 601, 48 Donley Street, Morgantown, WV 26501

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Empire Diversified Energy expansion plans concern some Follansbee residents | WTOV
by Duane Nichols 03 Apr '22

03 Apr '22

https://wtov9.com/news/local/empire-diversified-energy-expansion-plans-conc… Empire Diversified Energy expansion plans concern some Follansbee residents From an Article by Tyler Madden, WTOV News 9, April 1, 2022 FOLLANSBEE, W.Va. — Empire Diversified Energy is continuing its work at the Port of West Virginia, including the development of a medical waste energy system. The company acquired the former Coppers [actually Koppers] Chemical plant and is continuing its expansion in that area. "We've cleaned up that site and on the theme of renewable energy we started with this recycling program for medical waste,” Empire Diversified Energy President Scott Ewusiak said. "That feedstock is sent through a chipper/shredder to get it into smaller pieces like you chewing food,” Bernard Brown, chief technology officer for the company, explained. “You're breaking it down, then it goes into the system." RELATED: Port of West Virginia shows legislators what it has to offer The system is operated at 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit. Brown said it's not incineration because oxygen is absent from the process. The West Virginia legislature recently passed House Bill 4084 that approves this kind of process within the state. "This system has been approved by the state of California also that has some of the toughest air emissions,” Brown said. Developers said it's a closed system. Gases are fed back into it and there are no emissions. The group said this expansion will create 30 jobs. [Quite an invention if gases are produced and then disappear inside? Perhaps the gases are fed to the combustion chamber to be burned with natural gas? DGN] Follansbee Mayor David Velogol said he’s heard concerned from some residents about the emissions. “I have heard those concerns and I can see where people are rightly concerned,” Velegol said. “I'm the mayor and I'm also a chemical engineer and I work with oil refineries and chemical plants, and I know the strictness of the EPA when they go through and examine these." The Port of West Virginia hosted a day-long tour of their development earlier this week. "We're trying to make a clean logistics terminal,” Ewusiak said. “There's nothing like that in our area where we could bring in different agricultural things, fertilizer to shipping containers like you see on the sea." "I live in this community,” Velegol said. “I don't live in Cincinnati or Pittsburgh and same with Scottie. We live in this community, and we have to breathe this same air and it's really important to us that we have clear technology and clean air in this area." The company currently is in the permitting process to build this processor. xxx

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MVCAC April 2022