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Letters-to-the editor tips
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 BOCA RATON, FL — While asserting that “investors in the coal and energy markets have committed $2.5 billion” to his coal refinery project, Baard Energy CEO John Baardson has only named one of them, Planck Trading LLC of Boca Raton, Florida. According to Tracy Drake, CEO of the Columbiana County Port Authority, “Planck is a company formed in 2009 by ‘a group of heavy hitters in the investment community to look at opportunities in the energy industry’ . . . Planck told the port authority it has acquired metallurgical coal reserves in excess of 100 million short tons and owns a high wall mining company in Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia.”
To learn more, last Friday Ohio Citizen Action’s Alison Auciello and Mike Koscielak, visited Planck’s office address, 595 S. Federal Highway, Suite 600, in Boca Raton. They learned that Planck’s corporate headquarters is a “virtual office,” provided by Cloud Virtual Office. For $79 a month and up, they get a “professional mailing address,” a telephone line, a shared receptionist, and use of a meeting room. According to the Cloud Virtual Office brochure, the meeting room means you can “meet outside of your home . . . Trying to close a deal while the barista at Starbucks is yelling out drink orders is only one step above asking the decision maker for a big account to ‘please excuse the mess’ in your living room.”
Many other outfits share the same mailing address and suite number; some of these are Dollars4Gold, Amerivest Gold, Inc., Brilliant Jewelry, Inc., Metal Plastic Molding, Inc., Cambridge Investment Research, Scolaro, Shulman, Cohen, Fetter & Burstein law firm, interCLICK, Inc., Danieli Realty, Inc., Daniel Law Offices, J. Beck and Associates, Michael Elon Zaidel, attorney, Dynamics Edge, Inc., and Intellect Neurosciences, Inc.
 The directory listing for “Corporate Office Center” is actually a Cloud Virtual Office. Photos by Alison Auciello. — Paul Ryder, Organizing Director, Ohio Citizen Action
 Judge Michael H. Watson CINCINNATI — “The Court grants Plaintiff’s motion for default judgment. In accordance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55(b)(2), the Court orders the Clerk to enter default judgment in favor of Plaintiff CH2MHill, Inc., and against Defendants Ohio River Clean Fuels, LLC, and Baard Energy, Inc., jointly and severally, in the amount of $222,764.45. It is so ordered,” ruling dated January 20, 2011.
— Michael H. Watson, Judge, United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division
Read the court order
Nationally-known author Jeff Biggers and award-winning film maker Mari-Lynn Evans visit Greater Cincinnati for weekend of events to stop mountaintop removal coal mining, February 11 & 12
CINCINNATI — Greater Cincinnati will soon host two highly celebrated artists and outspoken critics of mountaintop removal coal mining during a weekend of educational and entertaining events, February 11 and 12, 2011.
Documentary film producer and 2010 West Virginia Film Maker of the Year Mari-Lynn Evans will attend a screening of her films Coal Country and Low Coal at 7pm, February 11 at Main Street Cinema, University of
Cincinnati. These two films portray the faces, facts and faults of the most pernicious mining method known, which has destroyed over 500 Appalachian mountains and buried 2,000 miles of streams under toxic rubble. Local folk/Americana bands, Magnolia Mountain, Shiny and the Spoon and the Tillers will provide a musical interlude. The event is sponsored by the University of Cincinnati Office of Sustainability, Ohio Citizen Action and Kentuckians for the Commonwealth.
Author, journalist, playwright and critic Jeff Biggers will be on-hand Saturday February 12 to speak at “Music for the Mountains”, a benefit concert held at the Southgate House in Newport, KY. In his most recent book Reckoning at Eagle Creek and in articles written for Huffington Post, Salon and the Washington Post, Mr. Biggers has criticized the coal industry and mine regulators for overstating the alleged benefits of mining and for sacrificing the environment, economy and health of Appalachians for so-called cheap energy.
“Music for the Mountains” is a compilation album and live concert created to call attention to (and raise funds to fight against) mountaintop removal. The project is spearheaded by Mark Utley of the Cincinnati-based Americana band Magnolia Mountain and features previously unreleased music from 21 regional folk, bluegrass, country and rock bands including local favorites Kim Taylor, the Tillers and Chuck Cleaver and Lisa Walker of the band Wussy. All songs were donated by the artists for the project and album production costs were raised from fans and friends through a Kickstarter.com online fundraiser. All proceeds from both the album and the concert will be split 50/50 between Ohio Citizen Action and Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, local organizations fighting against mountaintop removal coal mining. The event is sponsored by Ohio Citizen Action and Kentuckians for the Commonwealth.
Mountaintop removal coal mining is the most destructive form of strip mining where explosives are used to literally blow the tops off mountains to access underground coal seams. “Overburden” consisting of trees, rocks and soil are dumped from the mining sites into nearby streams, polluting them with heavy metals like lead, cadmium and selenium. This practice is prevalent in eastern Kentucky, western Virginia and throughout West Virginia. Many of the polluted streams are the headwaters of the Ohio River, which provides drinking water to 5 million people, including Greater Cincinnati residents.
— Melissa English, Ohio Citizen Action
EVENT DETAILS:
Mari-Lynn Evans speaks at screenings of Coal Country and Low Coal
Friday, February 11, 2011
Main Street Cinema, University of Cincinnati Campus
Doors open 6:30pm, event begins 7pm
Free and open to the public
Parking available on street or for $6 in a campus garage
Music for the Mountains benefit concert
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Southgate House, 24 East 4th Street, Newport, Kentucky
Doors open at 7pm, event begins at 8pm
$15 admission, album available for $10
More information available at http://www.facebook.com/musicforthemountains
Meeting on Thursday will address proposed synthetic-gas facility
 Southeast Environmental Task Force Executive Director Peggy Salazar, left, with environmental educator Jessica Cañas. CHICAGO — “Southeast Side community leaders, angry that they were not asked to weigh in on a proposed plant that would turn coal into synthetic gas, have called a meeting Thursday to discuss the project’s environmental and economic impacts.
‘Since there was never a public meeting on this proposed coal gasification plant, we have organized a town hall meeting,’ said Judith Lihota, president of the Calumet Ecological Park Association.
Legislation awaiting the governor’s signature would help clear the way for the plant by forcing the state’s utilities to buy synthetic gas from the Southeast Side plant and another plant proposed for downstate.”
— Julie Wernau, Chicago Tribune
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 Larry Gibson MARIETTA — “The presentation is funded by the Hartel mini-grant, secured by associate English professor Tim Catalano. He discusses mountaintop removal as a part of his Writing 306 course on the rhetoric of science. Students examine how science is incorporated in environmental arguments and read Erik Reece’s book ‘Lost Mountain,’ which is about mountaintop removal.
Catalano has also incorporated a field trip to Gibson’s hometown, Kayford Mountain, into the class so students can gain insight as to how the people of the region are impacted by mountaintop removal.
‘Until you see and hear all of this firsthand, mountaintop removal is simply another vague issue, like global warming or drilling in ANWR or ‘save the whales,” Catalano said. ‘I wanted it to be a real issue for the students.’”
— Branden Chambers, Marietta College Marcolian
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 WASHINGTON, D.C —”The new report, “Benefits of Beyond Business as Usual,” explains that the existing coal-fired electric power fleet is responsible for:
• Between 8,000 and 34,000 premature deaths from inhaling fine particulate matter from coal combustion, at a cost to society of $64 to $272 billion — up to four times as expensive as the cost of electricity from coal.
• Generators along the Ohio River withdraw so much water that for every gallon which spills into the Mississippi River at Cairo, IL, one cup has passed through a generator on the banks of the Ohio River, and one tablespoon has evaporated to the atmosphere …According to data collected by the United States Geographic Survey (USGS), water withdrawals from thermoelectric power sources account for 49 percent of total withdrawals in the United States in 2005. This is equivalent to more than 201 billion gallons of water per day that is used for power plant cooling alone.”
— Civil Society Institute
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BOSTON, MA — “Power plants in four states—Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia—cause more than 35% of all mercury pollution from U.S. power plants, an environmental group reports Wednesday.
The nation’s 451 power plants dumped 134,365 pounds of mercury into the air and water in 2009, and 28% of the total came from just 25 plants, according to Environment America, a federation of state-based advocacy groups that’s urging stricter mercury limits.
The report, “Dirty Energy’s Assault on our Health: Mercury,” uses data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is slated to propose a standard to limit mercury and other toxic air pollution from power plants in March and to finalize the standard by November.”
— Wendy Koch, USA Today
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Coal mine would have destroyed rivers, habitat, communities
CHARLOTTE, NC — “Judging by the gnashing and wailing of coal miners and coal mine owners, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to revoke a permit it had issued for mountaintop destruction to extract coal is an irresponsible deed. In their version, it heralds a wave of permit denials that will weaken American businesses and wreck the economy.
It is nothing of the sort.
It was, in fact, not only reasonable, it was the right thing to do. The EPA in this case recognized that the permit it earlier had granted to Arch Coal’s Spruce Mine No. 1 near Blair, W. Va., was a mistake. Allowing the further removal of that particular mountain area would have caused devastating consequences to streams and rivers, to wildlife and its habitat and to mountain communities.”
— editorial, Charlotte Observer
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CLEVELAND — Since April 2010, 7,840 Ohioans have sent letters, messages, and children’s drawings to decision makers at Kokosing Asphalt urging the company to take the necessary steps to reduce its pollution as close to zero as possible. Some letters have come from parents who understand what it’s like to live with breathing problems because they have children with asthma and wonder how Kokosing’s pollution is harming children who live near the plant.
Area business owners have urged Kokosing to live up to its own goals, to “operate with honesty and integrity” and to “be a good member of the community.” Numerous pictures from children throughout northeast Ohio simplify the problem to its root cause, urging Kokosing not to pollute because “pollution is bad for you” and to reduce odors because “pollution is stinky.”
— Stephen Gabor, Cleveland Area Campaign Director, Ohio Citizen Action
 CINCINNATI — “Clermont and Hamilton County citizens can take advantage of a free electronic waste or ‘e-waste’ disposal event in Blue Ash through the end of January. 2TRG is accepting all electronics, such as computers, televisions, monitors, keyboards, fax machines, mainframes, televisions, printers, and telephones at their facility, located at 11093 Kenwood Road, Building 7, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), some materials in electronic items, such as lead, nickel, cadmium, and mercury could pose risks to human health or the environment if not properly disposed of and responsibly recycled.
The EPA reports that although modern landfills have an extensive liner system to prevent materials from leaching out, these substances could pose a public health threat if they did leach out of a landfill. Additionally, the copper, steel, and plastic found in e-waste are valuable commodities which can be recycled into new products, thereby decreasing the consumption of natural resources.
For more information about the free e-waste disposal event, contact 2TRG’s Dave Smith at 761-5333.”
— Kathy Lehr, Clermont County Communications Director
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 Centennial Plaza, meeting place of the Environmental Advisory Council to the City of Cincinnati CINCINNATI — Yesterday, I presented findings from a recently released report on the Rumpke Sanitary Landfill to Cincinnati City Council’s environmental advisory body. The Environmental Advisory Council engaged me with many lively questions and initiated a discussion that ranged from possible zero-waste goals for the city to implications for Cincinnati if Rumpke should be awarded public utility status by the Ohio Supreme Court. There was so much interest in this topic that my allotted 30 minutes easily ran to over an hour. I agreed to keep the group informed of future developments in the Rumpke good neighbor campaign.
— Melissa English, Southern Ohio Campaign Director Ohio Citizen Action
 Carl Gaglione, Nora Lardner, Carla Roth, and Nina Byard outside the back entrance to Kokosing Asphalt MAPLE HEIGHTS — On their way to canvassing Garfield Heights for the first time in five years, the Ohio Citizen Action field staff made a quick stop into neighboring Maple Heights to talk to Kokosing Asphalt neighbor Carl Gaglione. The canvassers got a firsthand perspective of the facility that has been causing pollution problems for Gaglione and his neighbors for years.
In March 2010 Citizen Action joined Gaglione and other neighbors in a good neighbor campaign to get Kokosing to reduce pollution at its asphalt facility north of Granger and south of I-480 on the Maple Heights/Garfield Heights border. Kokosing admits to polluting the neighborhood with toxic chemicals such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, organic compounds, and soot. Sulfur dioxide can make it harder to breathe, aggravate asthma, and contribute to acid rain. Soot can cause heart and lung damage and aggravate asthma.
Until 2007, the Kokosing plant was owned by locally-based Schloss Materials, Inc. Then Kokosing, headquartered in Fredericktown, Ohio, bought the plant. According to Gaglione, life in the neighborhood hasn’t been the same since. ”The plant has gotten a lot worse since Kokosing took over. It wasn’t perfect or anything like that when Schloss owned it, but it was a lot better. They seemed to care a lot more about their neighbors.”
— Stephen Gabor, Cleveland Area Campaign Director, Ohio Citizen Action
 United Steelworkers President Mark Glyptis WEIRTON, WV — “United Steelworkers Local 2911 won’t collaborate with Weirton Energy on a $2 billion coal-to-liquid fuel plant now that it’s aware of legal problems for a former principal.
President Mark Glyptis says the union’s contract with ArcelorMittal gives it the right to approve or reject the sale of 1,700 acres in the Northern Panhandle. That would have been required for the project.
Glyptis told local media he believes in the technology but cannot move forward with either Weirton Energy or engineer Albion Norman Jr.
Authorities arrested Norman last week after discovering he was a fugitive from Texas.”
— Victoria Advocate
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 CLEVELAND — Ohio Citizen Action and Maple Heights resident Carl Gaglione settled their First Amendment yard sign lawsuit with the City of Maple Heights on January 7. The suit was assigned to federal Judge Dan Pollster. Under the settlement, the city will not interfere with future lawfully-placed yard signs. The financial terms of the settlement were confidential, and the city did not admit to wrongdoing.
Citizen Action and Gaglione filed the lawsuit on October 8, 2010 for violation of their First Amendment rights. As part of their campaign to get Kokosing Asphalt to reduce pollution at its plant north of Granger and south of I-480 on the Maple Heights/Garfield Heights border, Maple Heights neighbors and Citizen Action put up 200 orange and black “Kokosing Asphalt: Clean It Up” yard signs in neighborhoods around the facility. According to the lawsuit, Maple Heights Mayor Jeff Lansky had ordered Maple Heights Assistant Service Director Ken Selva to remove one of the signs displayed in front of a Maple Heights business on Broadway Avenue in August after Gaglione had gotten permission to put the sign up on two different occasions. The suit also sought back-payments for sick leave which Gaglione, a leader of the neighbors working to clean up pollution from the plant, said he had been denied as a city employee.
— Stephen Gabor, Cleveland Area Campaign 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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