August 4 |
OVEC Action
Alert Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition |
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Take Action: We
Need an Ethical Director for Federal Office of Surface Mining (RE)
If people broke into your home, you
would expect the law to be enforced against them, right?
Unfortunately, across the US, homes and communities are being
devastated by outlaw mining companies - and
the agencies in charge of policing them have been asleep on the job.
It's the job of the Office of Surface Mining (Reclamation, and
Enforcement) to enforce the laws governing mountaintop removal and
other destructive forms of mining (not that the agency has been
doing its job).
On August 6, the US Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee will hold hearings to consider Joseph Pizarchik for the position of director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE).
Our friends at Citizens Coal Council and the Environmental Integrity Project have compiled this list of reasons why Joseph Pizarchik should not be nominated to head OSMRE.
To prevent further damage in the coalfields and to ensure proper reclamation, we need an OSMRE director who is not from an agency with a history of lack of enforcement, someone who has not called for a weakening of mining standards.
Please use the letter-writing tools here to tell Senate committee members that you are concerned about mountaintop removal and you demand an ethical new OSMRE director who will enforce the law.
Take Action:
ACES: Fix It or Ditch It
While the Senate is on on recess from Aug. 7 thru Labor Day, please
take time to learn more about ACES, the "American Clean Energy and
Security Act." OVEC and
The CLEAN
can help. Learn more, and take action
here.
To those of you reading this who are OVEC members, please watch your snail-mail in the coming weeks for a mailer on ACES and things you can do to help make a difference.
OVEC Members
in International News
OVEC board member Larry Gibson on The Guardian
OVEC board member Chuck Nelson on Al Jazeera
Please check in on our news pages often for an easy way to keep up with much of the latest energy-related news. The pages are here and here.
Upcoming
Events
Aug. 14: 12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Protest EPA's support of mountaintop
removal. EPA Headquarters, 302 12th St. NW, Washington, DC.
E-mail
the_annoyance2002@yahoo.com for details. Flyer
for the event here.
August 23: Come out for the CD release party for Still Moving Mountains: The Journey Home. Join us in Charleston at the WV Capitol Building Stage. Talent for the event includes Everett Lilly & the Lilly Mountaineers and The LoneTones and more. For more information and to volunteer to help with the event, contact Danielle Henry of Aurora Lights at Danif1000@aol.com or 716-432-9455.
Why
Joseph Pizarchik Should Not Be
Nominated to Head OSMRE
Dear Coalfield Citizens,
We are deeply disappointed and concerned that President Obama has nominated Joseph Pizarchik to head the federal Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE). This is a direct blow to the heart of all citizens living in the coalfields throughout the United States - and a victory for coal operators.
Mr. Pizarchik has promoted:
-Valley fills burying streams under piles of coal refuse;
-Destructive longwall mining;
-Decreased citizen participation - and formats for public hearings and forums that are restrictive to citizens;
-Decreased transparency and accountability for the decisions of mining officials;
-The dumping of toxic coal combustion wastes into coal mines, often directly into drinking water supplies, without safeguards; and
-A bonding program that fails to guarantee reclamation of the land or prevent water pollution from coal mining operations.
We need your immediate help in opposing this poor choice to head this important federal agency. The confirmation hearing for Mr. Pizarchik is scheduled for Thursday, August 6, 10:00 am.
Please join us in emailing the US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee asking them NOT to confirm Mr. Pizarchik as Director of the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE).
Thanks for joining with us opposing this poor choice to head OSMRE.
(The above was excerpted from an e-mail by Lisa Graves Marcucci of the Environmental Integrity Project and Aimee Erickson of Citizens Coal Council.)
Remember the easy-action link here.
www.ohvec.org 304-522-0246 vivian@ohvec.org |
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