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Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition Action Alert
Supporting Organized Voices and Empowered Communities Since 1987

Jan 15, 2019	View / Comment Online

Call to Action for Water
The 2019 West Virginia Legislative Session is off and running. Please be certain you are subscribed to receive updates from the West Virginia Environmental Council, which represents groups like OVEC under the Golden Dome. Here are our 2019 lobbying priorities.

Support E-Council tonight, January 15, for the Legislative Kick Off Blast at the Empty Glass. The E-Council lobby team will be fighting hard for you at the State Capitol for the next two months, so come on out to wish them well! There’s food, fun and music with Andy Park, Karen Allen, That High Country Revival, and Mike Pushkin. RSVP here.

E-Council and water drinkers everywhere also need your support this coming Thursday:

Where: DEP Headquarters, Coopers Rock Conference Room, 601 57th St SE, Charleston WV, 25304

DEP’s water quality standards rule is undergoing a regular triennial review. The standards should include the latest EPA-recommended guidelines relating to human health. But earlier this year, in a shocking turn of events, the rulemaking review committee made a last-minute change to the draft rule, at the behest of industrial polluters. Learn more here, and here, and show up Thursday if you can.

If you can’t make it Thursday, you can listen in via a conference phone line:
Telephone #: 877-278-2734
Participant Code: 840590

West Virginia Rivers Coalition is collecting signatures on a petition on this matter. You may sign the petition at the meeting this Thursday. You may also download, print and collect signatures yourself. Be sure to get the signed petitions back to Rivers in time for them to be presented to the Legislature on E-Day!, which is February 7 (more on that below).

Send completed petitions to:
WV Rivers Coalition
3501 MacCorkle Ave SE #129
Charleston, WV 25304

Easy e-action: ASK MEMBERS OF WV SENATE TO ADOPT CURRENT HUMAN HEALTH PROTECTIONS

See more from WV Rivers Coalition here.

Democracy Looks Like You
Along with WV Citizen Action Group, OVEC is a leader of WV Citizens for Clean Elections. We’ve produced a new, short video that we hope you will watch and share with the hashtag #WVProDemocracy. Then we hope you will get active with the campaign to advance the Pro-Democracy Anti-Corruption Platform. Contact info@wvoter-owned.org to get involved.

You can watch and share the video from Twitter, Facebook or YouTube.

Why should you help promote this? Well the short answer is “everything we work for depends on a strong democracy.” For a longer answer, read this shareable blog: This is What Democracy Looks Like, and You Are In It.

Expand Solar Access
Urge your legislators to support solar PPAs

Upcoming Events
Today, January 15 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Kids and Families Day 2109 at the WV State Capitol

Today come meet the Our Children, Our Future Campaign partners. See the exhibits, take part in advocacy events with local legislators and educational opportunities for everyone. Be sure to look for OVEC organizer Alex Cole and WV Citizens for Clean Elections coordinator Julie Archer. Come out for this fun and exciting day!

Tonight, January 15: WV Environmental Council Legislative Kick Off Blast at the Empty Glass

January 17: Show Up to Defend Our Water: Talk to DEP on Water Quality Standards

January 18: Indigenous Peoples March in DC

January 19: Women’s March in DC

January 28: Deadline to Comment on Interior’s Plans to Eviscerate Freedom of Information Act Requests

February 7: E-Day! at the State Capitol. Please save the date and plan to show up at the State Capitol with a bunch of friends to let the legislators know clean air and clean water are important to you. Watch the E-Council calendar and Facebook page, as well as the OVEC calendar and Facebook page for updates.

Is your group a member of E-Council? Come table! Contact info@wvecouncil.org right away to save your space.