Spring and Summer, 2013: Fearless Summer  A united movement against extreme energy.

May 19-27: Ninth Annual Mountain Justice Summer Camp, in Damascus, VA. See www.mountainjustice.org/ for a downloadable poster to share. The 2013 Mountain Justice Summer Camp will be at Camp Ahistadi, a summer camp in the mountains with a beautiful mountain stream gushing through the dense rhododendron forest. This camp is a beautiful and magical spot in the woods with heated dorms and hot showers, plus a nice main lodge building with inside meeting spaces. Folks can also tent camp if they wish. Mountain Justice is an all-volunteer group. Send your support to Mountain Justice, PO Box 86, Naoma WV 25140.

May 21: FirstEnergy's Shareholder Meeting in Morgantown. There will be a gathering at the Waterfront place Hotel in Morgantown beginning at 8:00am followed by a press conference inside the Waterfront Place Hotel at 10:30 am. Contact Jim Kotcon at jkotcon@wvu.edu or Stacy Gloss at stacy.eewv@gmail.com to find out about citizen activities.

Many West Virginia residents are outraged with MonPower's proposed purchase of the Harrison Power Station sale from another subsidiary of their parent company, FirstEnergy . Transferring the Harrison Power Station to West Virginia is nothing more than a bailout for First Energy. The West Virginia Public Service Commission has received over 1000 letters of protest against the Harrison transfer! Let's keep up the great work!

Recently, Gary Zuckett, director of WV Citizen Action Group published an Op-Ed in the WV Gazette. Help us continue the fight.

Tell Mon Power that Higher Electric Bills are unacceptable and its proposal to buy Harrison Power Station is a bail out you do not support.  Join us Tuesday, May 21st to have your voice heard.

May 22: The second annual Enhancing Public Understanding of Natural Gas Issues Conference is sponsored by the WVU Extension Natural Gas Education Team. It will be held on May 22nd at the Bridgeport (WV) Conference Center. There is no fee to attend but pre-registration is required by May 3.  More information.

May 22: "What's Wrong With My Electric Bill?" people's hearing in Charles Town, WV  Electric bills hundreds of dollars higher than usual. Four or five months of estimated bills in a row. Threats of having electricity cut off. These are just a few of the problems with their Potomac Edison electric bills that many residents in Jefferson, Berkeley, and Morgan counties have been facing over the past several months. And they are not alone; WV residents being served by Mon Power have experienced the same headaches.

The Jefferson County branch of the NAACP is joining with the West Virginia chapter of the Sierra Club and the Coalition for Reliable Power, a grassroots citizens' alliance, to hold a "Citizens' Public Hearing" to gather information, share customer experiences and provide feedback to the WV Public Service Commission, elected officials, and the company. Members of the Eastern Panhandle's state legislative delegation, the county commissioners for the three counties, state and federal officials, and representatives of Potomac Edison have been invited to attend.

Residents are encouraged to bring a copy of their utility bill. If those who speak during the open-mic period bring a copy of their statements, we will submit their comments to the PSC.

Wright Denny Intermediate School
209 W. Congress St.
Charles Town, WV

7 p.m. Wednesday, May 22nd (doors open at 6:30)

For more information contact: George Rutherford, Jefferson County NAACP, 304-725-9610
Warren Stewart, Jefferson County NAACP, 3stewart@comcast.net
Daniel Chiotos, WV Chapter, Sierra Club, 304-886-3389
Patience Wait, Coalition for Reliable Power, 304-876-1515

May 23: 10 a.m. SH-216 Senate Hart Building and online (webcast at link) FULL COMMITTEE FORUM: Shale Development: Best Practices and Environmental Concerns

May 23: Supreme Court Justice Allen Loughry addresses the Little Old Ladies Who Love Our Land. A few spaces open for the public. Call Becky Park at 304-553-5603 for details and to reserve your space.  Loughry wrote a book on political corruption in West Virginia: “Don't Buy Another Vote; I’m Not Paying for a Landslide.” He ran for election last year utilizing public financing for his campaign.

May 29: Public Hearing at the Public Service Commission in Charleston on the Harrison Plant Transfer
Join us at the Public Service Commission in Charleston for a public hearing on Mon Power's Harrison Plant Transfer taking place on May 29th. This is your chance to be heard directly by the 3 commissioners deciding the case. If you are coming from Morgantown, Clarksburg, or somewhere along I-79 you may be able to secure space in a van or carpool. Contact Jim Kotcon at jkotcon@wvu.edu or Danny Chiotos at 304-886-3389 for more information. The van will leave Morgantown at 6:15am to arrive to the public hearing in Charleston at 9:30am.

If you're near Charleston, meet at 9:15 am at the WV-Public Service commission at 201 Brooks St., Charleston, WV 25301. We will provide talking points. Citizens are encouraged to speak at the event..

The public hearing will be followed by a petition delivery to the Office of the Governor, lunch and a training about organizing strategies around energy efficiency. This training will provide tools for community members who would like to talk to their neighbors, friends, and local leaders about energy efficiency. For more information contact stacy.eewv@gmail.com

June 4: 6 p.m. in the Auditorium of Oak Hill High School (350 Oyler Ave., Oak Hill, W.Va.) The Department of Environmental Protection's Office of Oil and Gas is having a public hearing to take comments on the application for the renewal of an Underground Injection Control Permit by Danny E. Webb Construction, of Lochgelly, W.Va.

The purpose of the hearing is to take comments from the public regarding the permit. Those comments will be considered in the decision-making process regarding the renewal.

The permit is for the subsurface disposal of approved fluids and the well is located on the waters of Wolf Creek of the New River in the Plateau District of Fayette County. The approximate location using NAD83 coordinates is Latitude 38.014927 and Longitude -81.152343.

The application and draft permit WV 25866-0267 are on file and may be inspected, by appointment, or copies obtained, at the Office of Oil and Gas, 601 57th Street SE, Charleston, WV 25034, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. To make an appointment to see the application or to get copies of it, call 304-926-0450.

June 10, 6 p.m. SALS Community Center, Beards Fork. “Surface Mining and Coal’s Lifecycle,” with special guests from Buffalo, N.Y. This meeting is part of the Coalfield Environmental Health Project.

For more on what the Coalfield Environmental Health Project is read the Jan. 14 Beckley Register Herald article, “Coalfield environmental health project focuses on communities” and / or contact Project Coordinator Andrew Munn at 304-924-1506 or anromu @gmail.com.

All Coalfield Environmental Health Project events are free and open to the public.  The project is sponsored by the Southern Appalachian Labor School and the Plateau Action Network.

June 29-30: Wellness and Water II: What is the future of our drinking water? West Virginia Wesleyan College, Buckhannon, WV. Get more information and help spread the word. Click here to download a flier. Please print and post. Registration each day starts at 8:00 a.m.; events start by 9:00 a.m.  Register online here.

Sat./Sun. - continental breakfast provided; Sat. - lunch & dinner; Sun. - lunch available on site.
$40 for entire event, above meals included; lodging not included.

Plenary speakers, panelists and workshops addressing drinking water impacts and health problems associated with mountaintop removal coal mining and unconventional gas well drilling, as well as waste disposal problems from both of these industries. Roundtable discussions focusing on potential solutions.  

Contact Bill Price at bill.price@sierraclub.org or 304-389-8822 for information on scholarships.
Julie Archer at julie@wvsoro.org or 304-346-5891 for general information.

Sponsored by Sierra Club WV, WV Surface Owners’ Rights Organization, Doddridge County
Watershed Association, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy

For event directions visit: www.wvwc.edu/about/directions.php.

For overnight lodging information: www.wvwc.edu/about/lodging.php.

Scholarship donations for Wellness and Water II can be made at:
https://donation.towercare.com/ovec-donation; please note the name of the event.

June 7-8: National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, W.Va. The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection hosts the Mid- Atlantic Region Volunteer Monitoring Conference. The conference will include a wide variety of sessions on policy, stream monitoring issues, communication and ways to expand and sustain local monitoring programs. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is providing financial support to the conference.

For more information, contact the DEP’s Tim Craddock at 304-926-0499 (ext.  1040), Timothy.D.Craddock@wv.gov; Glenn Nelson at 304-926-0499 (ext. 1710), Ronald.G.Nelson@wv.gov; or click here.

July 11-14: Near Berea KY, the third annual Whippoorwill Festival - Skills for Earth-Friendly Living. This is a four day outdoor festival (Thursday - Sunday), that offers over 75 earth-friendly workshops, plus music and dancing in the evenings.

The goal of the Whippoorwill Festival is to encourage and teach simpler ways of living that consume less fossil fuels and promote a healthier mind and body. Using Appalachian traditions, we teach old time skills and encourage participants to envision a new way of living, where communities come ahead of multinational corporations, and where coal no longer dominates the political landscape in Appalachia. Learn more and register.

July 26: Picnic with OVEC. OVEC members and their guests are invited to our picnic in a Charleston-area park on Friday, July 26. Food is served from 5-8 p.m. Come earlier if you like — for swimming, paddle boating, relaxing — as we have reserved a picnic shelter for the whole day.  E-mail info@ohvec.org or call Robin Blakeman at 304-522-0246 for details.

Aug. 19: 6 p.m. Kincaid, Location TBD, “Surface Mining and Community.” This meeting is part of the Coalfield Environmental Health Project.

For more on what the Coalfield Environmental Health Project is read the Jan. 14 Beckley Register Herald article, “Coalfield environmental health project focuses on communities” and / or contact Project Coordinator Andrew Munn at 304-924-1506 or anromu @gmail.com.

All Coalfield Environmental Health Project events are free and open to the public.  The project is sponsored by the Southern Appalachian Labor School and the Plateau Action Network.

Sept. 9, 6 p.m.: SALS Community Center, Beards Fork. Meeting of the Coalfield Environmental Health Project with topics to be determined by attendees.

For more on what the Coalfield Environmental Health Project is read the Jan. 14 Beckley Register Herald article, “Coalfield environmental health project focuses on communities” and / or contact Project Coordinator Andrew Munn at 304-924-1506 or anromu @gmail.com.

All Coalfield Environmental Health Project events are free and open to the public.  The project, is sponsored by the Southern Appalachian Labor School and the Plateau Action Network.

October 7: 6 p.m. Location TBD. “Surface Mining and Water Quality,” featuring Dr. Benjamin Stout. This meeting is part of the Coalfield Environmental Health Project.

For more on what the Coalfield Environmental Health Project is read the Jan. 14 Beckley Register Herald article, “Coalfield environmental health project focuses on communities” and / or contact Project Coordinator Andrew Munn at 304-924-1506 or anromu @gmail.com.

All Coalfield Environmental Health Project events are free and open to the public.  The project, is sponsored by the Southern Appalachian Labor School and the Plateau Action Network.