Jimmy Weekley, 70, has been fighting the Spruce 1 coal project for a dozen years. The proposed mine would blast off the tops of peaks and fill in several stream beds above his home in Pigeonroost Hollow. (Todd Heisler/New York Times)
BLAIR, WV — “Federal officials are considering whether to veto mountaintop mining above a little Appalachian valley called Pigeonroost Hollow, a step that could be a turning point for one of the country’s most contentious environmental disputes.
The Army Corps of Engineers approved a permit in 2007 to blast 400 feet off the hilltops here to expose the rich coal seams, disposing of the debris in the upper reaches of six valleys, including Pigeonroost Hollow.
But the Environmental Protection Agency under the Obama administration, in a break with President George W. Bush’s more coal-friendly approach, has threatened to halt or sharply scale back the project known as Spruce 1. The agency asserts that the project would irrevocably damage streams and wildlife and violate the Clean Water Act.”
MARTINSVILLE, VA — “Martinsville Mayor Kim Adkins wants city officials and electric customers alike to have the same information about the city’s participation in American Municipal Power (AMP) generation projects…
She said she understands that city residents have a lot of concerns about the city’s participation in the AMP projects. ‘The council shares those concerns, just like the citizens,’ she said. ‘I share the concerns’ as well. She said she wants officials ‘to give the city a complete picture of how the city acquires electricity.’ ‘We need to get AMP to explain every dollar’ that so far has been spent on the projects, said Councilman Danny Turner.
EAST LIVERPOOL — “The Columbiana County Port Authority has again extended a series of property purchase/option agreements for the Baard Energy project, but this will likely be the last time…
This is the third time the port authority has extended the agreements since it was awarded a $4.5 million state loan in January 2009 to purchase 522 acres outside of Wellsville on behalf of Baard Energy, which intends to build a $6 billion plant that converts coal and biomass into synthetic jet and diesel fuel. The port authority has been forced to extend the option agreements because of Baard’s inability to secure financing for the project.”
COLERAIN TOWNSHIP — In 2005, Colerain Township drafted a comprehensive plan laying out a vision for future development that specifically excluded expansion of the Rumpke Sanitary Landfill. The plan, drafted by Colerain Township trustees and administrative staff, with input from residents, broke down Ohio’s most populous township into eleven separate “character areas,” each with its own profile, vision, development policies and land use guidelines. According to the community plan, one of the unsuitable land use guidelines for the character area that includes the landfill was expansion of the landfill.
It was during the drafting of the plan that Colerain Township learned that Rumpke intended to further expand the landfill, prompting the following analysis:
“The major problem is that while the landfill has been in the Township for more than 50 years, development in the last two decades has brought high-density residential development within close proximity to the site. In addition, up until recent years, it was the understanding of Township officials and residents that the land around the landfill was acquired for the purpose of buffering landfill operations. Now it is known that the acquisition was part of an effort to further expand the landfill to Buell Rd. and to double the size of the current landfill.”
COLUMBUS — “Fire crews battled a blaze at an oil refinery on Saturday night after a passing motorist noticed smoke coming from one of the tanks. Crews were called to Heartland Petroleum, located at 4001 East 5th Avenue, on the city’s east side, around 10:30 p.m., 10TV News reported. An oil tank at the business was on fire. Employees were evacuated and no injuries were reported.
Firefighters said crews were transporting warm oil when some of it spilled near a hydrogen tank, blowing out a gasket, and causing a pipe to catch fire. ‘I think it’s just a natural hazard that can occur when you’re moving hot oil around and you’re moving this around,’ said Battalion Chief Michael Fowler. ‘There’s safeties and everything to shut everything down. There are release valves for everything, but accidents are going to occur.’”
CINCINNATI — “A Pleasant Ridge Community Council (PRCC) committee charged with advocating for a full cleanup of the Hilton Davis brownfield site is planning a trip to Columbus to put pressure on state legislators, and is encouraging local residents to do their part.
On July 22, PRCC’s Hilton Davis Committee will travel with Cincinnati Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls, Cincinnati City Councilmember Laure Quinlivan, and other local officials to meet with representatives of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) and the governor’s office to request more comprehensive remediation of the 80-acre site at 2235 Langdon Farm Road.
The committee is also asking residents to call or e-mail their state elected officials.”
OREGON — “Last week, Sandy Bihn, a founder of the Western Lake Erie Waterkeeper Association, sat down with The Erie Wire to discuss the goals of her organization as well as some of the most pressing issues facing Lake Erie today. Listen to this week’s podcast and watch as she goes into detail about what the future holds for our Great Lake if appropriate action is not taken to protect this valuable resource.”
MARIETTA — “A study of 22 locations on the Ohio River revealed the DuPont chemical C8 was present in every sample collected along the 981-mile stretch from Pennsylvania to Kentucky.
C8 or PFOA, also known as perfluorooctanoic acid, was found in measurable levels ranging from 35.2 to 2.04 parts per trillion. No sampling was performed near DuPont Washington Works where the chemical has been used for more than 50 years in the manufacture of Teflon.
The highest concentration of the manmade chemical was found in the river near Ravenswood, West Virginia where sampling detected levels of 35.2 parts per trillion. A level of 31.2 parts per trillion was identified near Paducah, Kentucky and a concentration of 19.1 parts per trillion was found near Huntington, West Virginia.”
WARREN — “Baard Energy and the Columbiana County Port Authority need more time to create one of the largest economic development projects in the world. President Barack Obama appears to be working against them.”
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