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 CINCINNATI — “The city of Cincinnati said Monday it will partner with Rumpke Recycling and Cascade Engineering to launch the RecycleBank program this fall.
RecycleBank is a rewards program that will offer residents points, similar to a frequent flier program, depending on how much they recycle, according to a news release…
The city and Rumpke, which currently picks up recyclables curbside in Cincinnati, plan to debut the program beginning in fall, with the rollout to all neighborhoods taking about five months. Pickup of recyclables will switch from weekly to bi-weekly as the program is phased in.
The city said in the release that it expects to save about $700,000 in trash collection costs and $364,000 annually in landfill disposal fees. It will use $750,000 in stimulus funding to purchase the new recycling carts.”
— Business Courier of Cincinnati
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 OSU president Gordon Gee NEW YORK, NY — “As much as higher education and corporate America would like to be engaged, college presidents are struggling to reconcile the demands and values of academia with shareholder skepticism about their boardroom commitments…
Opposition from critics, both on campus and off, may drive university officials from corporate boards. E. Gordon Gee, president of Ohio State University, left Massey Energy Co., a coal-mining company based in Richmond, Virginia, in July 2009, after nine years on the board, amid criticism he was abetting a polluter. The following April, an explosion at the company’s Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia killed 29 people.
Before the resignation, a Cleveland-based nonprofit group called Ohio Citizen Action had collected signatures and letters from more than 6,800 Ohio residents, including students, faculty and alumni of Ohio State, urging Gee to leave Massey, said Kate Russell, an organizer of the protest.
The group opposes what Russell said is Massey’s practice of mountaintop-removal mining that adds waste to waterways. Gee’s service at Massey was hypocritical because he was promoting alternatives to fossil fuel while receiving fees from the coal company, Russell said in an interview.”
— Janet Lorin, Bloomberg
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 Kristian Macoskey, Civil and Environmental Consultants, Inc. CLEVELAND — Three months ago, CH2MHill, one of the contractors for the proposed Baard Energy coal refinery sued Baard for non-payment of bills for the project. The Baard Energy project has been delayed repeatedly because of its inability to find financing.
Apparently CH2MHill is not the only contractor that hasn’t been paid for its work on this project. Kristian Macoskey, a principal with Civil and Environmental Consultants, Inc., testified in a sworn deposition* on May 4, 2010, that Baard still owes his company “a significant amount” for work that was completed by the end of 2008. Ohio Citizen Action obtained a copy of the deposition from a public records review at the Environmental Review Appeals Commission.
Here’s the exchange, where Mr. Macoskey is being deposed by Natural Resources Defense Council attorney Shannon Fisk:
Q. And do you know approximately how much CEC has billed for all of its work on the Baard project?
A. I can estimate. You mean from the beginning of the project through?
Q. Yes.
A. It’s probably on the order of half a million dollars, but that wasn’t all for just the air quality, because we did two other permits for them as well.
Q. Which ones?
A. The wetlands and streams, 401/404 permits, and the NPDES permit.
Q. Okay.
A. So that’s pretty much in total billings, I think.
Q. And is Baard up to date on its payments?
A. No.
Q. Do you know how far behind they are?
MR. COVAL: Objection; form.
A. I don’t know exactly how far, but it’s a significant amount. Over half, I believe.
Q. Over half for work that’s already been done.
A. Yeah
Q. And do you know how long that has been unpaid for?
MR. COVAL; Objection
A. It’s been though all of ’09 and I think into late 2008 so, something like that. We finished the project basically end of November, of November 2008, somewhere around that time frame, so that was when the bulk of the work was finished, I believe.
(Mr. Coval, mentioned above, is Paul J. Coval, an attorney with Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease, who was representing Baard Energy at the time of the deposition. Vorys, Sater abruptly withdrew as Baard’s counsel on June 1, 2010, and Baard has been given until July 2 to find a new lawyer.)
— Sandy Buchanan, Executive Director, Ohio Citizen Action
* Please email us for the complete document
 DELAWARE — “Last week Delaware passed a door-to-door peddler law that prohibits for-profit sales people from going into neighborhoods without first getting cleared by police.
‘We don’t want to infringe on free enterprises, but we do want to know who is coming into our city,’ said Capt. Bruce Pijanowski.
Under the new law, paid employees of political organizations asking for donations to further their cause need a license, Landers reported.
Law professor Dan Kobil said the law could be unfair.
‘It sounds like they could favor one political group over another,’ Kobil said. ‘It raises some danger signals under the Fist Amendment.’
Ohio Citizen Action sued the village of Canal Winchester in 2009, and won, after the village enacted a similar ordinance, Landers reported.
The group claimed it did not need to be licensed and said the law violated free speech.”
— 10TV News
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 COLUMBUS — Baard Energy CEO John Baardson gave sworn testimony on April 29 which made it clear that his company does not meet the criteria which would allow it to be officially classified as “woman-owned.”
Ohio Citizen Action had recently examined the claim that, “. . . Baard Energy is a woman owned business enterprise (WBE),” made by a Columbiana County Port Authority official.
Ohio Citizen Action obtained Baardson’s deposition from a review of public records at the Environmental Review Appeals Commission. He was questioned by Shannon Fisk, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Q: Are you the owner of the company?
A: She’s [Kathie Baardson] 51 percent owner, and I’m 49 percent owner.
Ownership of 51% or more of the company by a woman is necessary but not sufficient to be called “woman-owned.” The woman must also “actually control the day-to-day operations of the business” (State of Washington), or “have control over the day-to-day operations of the business” (State of Ohio). The State of Delaware says the firm must be “controlled and actively managed” by the woman. John Baardson’s testimony shows that he controls the company and Kathie Baardson reports to him.
Q: You are with Baard Energy; is that correct?
A: Baard Energy.
Q: Okay. And what is your position there?
A. I’m the president and CEO. . .
Q: And how many employees does Baard have?
A: We have six.
Q: And who are those employees?
A: It’s myself and my wife, her name is Kathie.
Q: Okay.
A: And Steve Dopuch.
Q: Okay.
A: Craig Conner.
Q: Okay.
A: Elizabeth Turbyfill and Ben Norwood.
Q: And do all those employees report to you?
A: They all do.
— Paul Ryder, Organizing Director, Ohio Citizen Action
 COLUMBUS – Earlier this year, Baard Energy told State officials that the Chinese energy giant Sinopec was a “partner” in its coal refinery project in Wellsville. Baard’s securities placement agent said that “Sinopec/China Development Bank” would guarantee principal and interest on $1.8 billion of debt for the project. Now, the company has changed its story, saying that Sinopec does not have “any involvement” in the project.
Sinopec is the China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation. It is the largest company in China and the ninth largest in the world, as measured by revenue. In a February 11, 2010, application for a State subsidy, Baard said Sinopec Engineering was a “partner” in the project. Sinopec Engineering is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sinopec.
John Steinmetz is President of European American Securities, Baard Energy’s securities placement agent. On February 18, Steinmetz wrote to Mark Shanahan, Executive Director of the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority, and said that “Sinopec/China Development Bank” would guarantee principal and interest on $1.8 billion of debt for the project.
Only two months later, however, on April 29, 2010, Stephan Dopuch, Vice President, Baard Energy, testified in a sworn deposition that Sinopec does not have “any involvement” in the coal refinery project. Ohio Citizen Action obtained the deposition from a review of public records at the Environmental Review Appeals Commission. Dopuch was questioned by Shannon Fisk, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council:
Q: How about SINOPEC Engineering?
A: SINOPEC Engineering.
Q: What’s their –
A: They’re a potential engineer.
Q: And what does that mean? A potential engineer for?
A: Oh, for design engineering, things of that nature. SINOPEC has a lot of experience in this area.
Q: But they’re not currently an engineer on the project?
A: No, huh-uh. They are not formally engaged. . .
Q: Did you testify earlier that . . . you don’t have any formal agreement with SINOPEC?
A: Uh-huh.
Q: Does SINOPEC have any involvement in the project currently?
A: Not currently.
Q: Did it at the time of this presentation [February 11, 2010]?
A: Please define formal involvement.
Q: Well, any involvement.
A: They’re well aware of the project. They know the project quite well now, and then.
Q: Okay. And outside of their knowledge that the project exists, what involvement do they have in the project?
A: I think they’re a leading candidate to do our engineering.
Q: But they haven’t been selected.
A: We have not contracted with them.
Q: Have they done anything on the [Ohio River Clean Fuels coal refinery] project?
A: They have reviewed the project.
Q: Beyond that have they done anything else?
A: No.
— Paul Ryder, Organizing Director, Ohio Citizen Action
MARIETTA— “The preliminary results of the first comprehensive environmental study of manganese-exposed adults in the U.S. were discussed during a public meeting Thursday evening at Marietta College.
The results showed those who live within 2.5 miles of Eramet on Ohio 7 are exposed to higher levels of manganese and they also scored worse on neuropsychological tests
Still, the overall results do not indicate there are negative health effects from airborne and blood manganese in Marietta residents.
About 50 people attended the meeting, including Marietta residents Beth and Toby Eddy. The couple said they were a little uneasy going into the meeting because they didn’t know what to expect, but they felt relieved at the end.”
— Ashley Hill, Parkersburg News and Sentinel
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WELLSVILLE — “Baard Energy has more time to use $4.5 million in state funds to further its plan to build a coal-to-liquid fuel plant near Wellsville.
Bethany Close, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Development, said this week that Baard’s deadline has been extended to Sept. 30.
The state had granted a loan extension Nov. 5, 2009, that lasted until June 30 of this year.
The state’s controlling board in May 2009 approved funding for the project as a forgivable loan to help buy and prepare land at the 525-acre site near Wellsville.
But the development of the project was slowed by the poor economy and court challenges. The extension also will give the project more time to line up private investors for the facility that is expected to cost $6 billion.
State Rep. Linda Bolon of Columbiana, D-1st, and Tracy Drake, chief executive officer of the Columbiana County Port Authority, had been asking state officials for the extension.”
— D. A. Wilkinson, Youngstown Vindicator
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Loan extension could bring 200 jobs to Columbiana County, WFMJ.
The loan would be to the Columbiana County Port Authority, not Baard Energy, and the 200 jobs would not be created unless the Port Authority accepted the loan money. Port Authority CEO Tracy Drake has said he would not ask for the State loan money unless Baard Energy finds investors for the project. Otherwise, the Port would be on the hook for paying back the loan.
 COLUMBUS — The State commission considering pollution permits for the proposed Baard Energy coal refinery has rejected the company’s request for more time to find a new lawyer. On June 1, the Vorys Sater Seymour & Pease law firm abruptly dropped Baard Energy as a client. Neither the company nor the law firm have explained why Vorys withdrew from the case, nor why it did so without Baard having new counsel ready to replace them. The Ohio Environmental Review Appeals Commission rejected Baard’s new request in a two sentence ruling:
On June 9, 2010, the Commission received a request without explanation that the Commission modify its June 2, 2010 Order to allow Appellee [Baard Energy] Ohio River Clean Fuels an additional two (2) months to obtain counsel. Appellee Ohio River Clean Fuels’ request is hereby DENIED.
Documents
• Order to cancel all proceedings and orders, Ohio Environmental Review Appeals Commission, June 2, 2010
• Request for extension for counsel assignment, John Baardson, President, Baard Energy, June 8, 2010
• Appellants’ response, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, June 9, 2010
• Appellee director’s response, Chris Korleski, Director, Ohio EPA, June 10, 2010
• Acknowledgement and denial of request, Ohio Environmental Review Appeals Commission, June 10, 2010
— Paul Ryder, Organizing Director, Ohio Citizen Action
 TOLEDO — “Oregon-based Envirosafe Services of Ohio Inc. has agreed to pay a $180,000 fine to the state of Ohio to resolve violations filed against the company between 2007 and 2009.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency yesterday outlined multiple ways in which its inspectors believed waste was managed improperly and records were incomplete at the company’s landfill along Otter Creek Road.
Envirosafe has agreed to bring the facility back into compliance, do a better job of monitoring and operating the site’s leachate-collection systems, and improve record-keeping and inspections of its containment building and trenches.”
— Toledo Blade
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 WASHINGTON, DC — On June 21, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) became the 12th sponsor of the Appalachian Restoration Act, S. 696. The bill would effectively ban the practice of mountaintop removal coal mining. Originally a social worker, Mikulski has spent the last 39 years in elective politics, including Baltimore City Council (1971-76), U.S. House of Representatives (1977-87), and U.S. Senate (1987-present). Her fellow U.S. Senator from Maryland, Benjamin Cardin, is the chief sponsor of the bill.
— Paul Ryder, Organizing Director, Ohio Citizen Action
EAST LIVERPOOL — “The Columbiana County Port Authority is expected to receive permission to hold onto $4.5 million in state funding it received to purchase property for the Baard Energy project.
Port Authority CEO Tracy Drake reported at Monday’s board meeting he has formally requested yet another loan extension to give Baard Energy more time to line up private financing for its $6 billion Ohio River Clean Fuels project.
In January 2009, the Ohio Department of Development loaned the money to the port authority for the specific purpose of acquiring 522 acres outside of Wellsville for Baard Energy’s proposed plant to convert coal and biomass into synthetic jet and diesel fuel. The loan closing date had been extended twice because of Baard Energy’s inability to secure financing for the project, and the current deadline is June 30.”
— Tom Giambroni, Lisbon Morning Journal
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— Jeremy Lydic, Youngstown Business Journal
 Caroline Beidler of Neighbors for Clean Air, left, with Dr. Erin Haynes of the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Haynes is testing the affects of air pollution on youth development. Ohio Citizen Action is pleased to announce that Caroline Beidler will receive the organization’s highest honor, the Howard M. Metzenbaum Award, at Ohio Citizen Action’s 35th Anniversary celebration in Cincinnati on December 4.
Fifteen years ago, Caroline discovered that the “dream home” that she had moved into in Marietta was under daily assault from a terrible chemical odor, which she tracked to the nearby Eramet manganese refinery. Caroline then began to do everything she could to tackle this problem, including founding a local citizens group, the Neighbors for Clean Air; recruitiing technical and scientific experts from around the country; supporting the plant’s workers when they were locked out; organizing many local events, and working on a “good neighbor campaign” with Ohio Citizen Action.
The campaign to clean up Eramet culminated in 2008 with a commitment by the company to invest $150 million in pollution prevention, and sparked the University of Cincinnati to launch a nationally significant investigation of the health hazards caused by manganese exposure.
Susan Hyatt, Senator Metzenbaum’s daughter, commented, “Dad would be very proud to have his name associated with the work that Caroline Beidler is doing. She exemplifies the citizen action that dad so valued and she is proof that one person can make a significant difference.”
— Sandy Buchanan, Executive Director, Ohio Citizen Action
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Letters supporting the Fracking Emergency Medical Right to Know Act 7,672 neighbors have sent handwritten letters and made personal phone calls urging state legislators to support the Fracking Emergency Medical Right to Know Act as of May 14, 2013.
Ohio coal-fired power plants
Resources on proposed Cleveland incinerator
AEP’s Muskingum River Power Plant
Letters to American Electric Power 989 neighbors have sent handwritten letters urging AEP to retire its Muskingum River coal plant as of July 15, 2011.
Letters to Duke Energy 2,307 neighbors have sent handwritten letters and telewires urging Duke Energy to retire Miami Fort Unit 6 and Beckjord coal plants as of July 15, 2011.
Letters to Kokosing Asphalt 8,709 neighbors have sent handwritten letters and petitions urging Kokosing Asphalt to be a good neighbor as of February 25, 2011.
Letters to Rumpke 9,205 neighbors have sent handwritten letters and petitions urging Rumpke to be a good neighbor as of April 15, 2011.
Letters to FirstEnergy 3,914 neighbors have sent handwritten letters and petitions urging FirstEnergy to retire their four Lake Erie coal plants as of July 15, 2011.
Mountaintop removal coal mining
Letters to Senator Sherrod Brown and Senator Rob Portman 6,615 members have sent handwritten letters and petitions to Senator Brown urging him to support US EPA rules that will protect our health from polluting coal plants as of January 24, 2012.
3,751 members have petitioned Senator Portman urging him to support US EPA rules that will protect our health from polluting coal plants as of January 24, 2012.
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