2014 Legislastive Session Appeal/Celebration Info

West Virginia Environmental Council Action Alert
December 18, 2013

Below:

• 2014 Legislative Session Appeal
• Come Celebrate WVEC’s 25th Anniversary With Us

Dear Friends,

’Tis the Season . . . to be wary. Wary of the West Virginia Legislature, that is.

You see, the 2014 regular legislative session begins on January 8, just three short weeks away. So this is our annual request for your financial contributions to help support the WVEC lobby team. This will be our 25th year lobbying the legislature.

While the holiday season is normally hectic for everyone, here at WVEC we are also busy preparing to hit the marble hallways.  We are assembling the lobby team and developing our campaign strategies.  We are already meeting with Delegates and Senators, legislative staff, and state regulators.  We are already spending the money we are asking you to provide!

It’s a simple request that doesn’t need a lot of explanation.  The West Virginia Environmental Council is your voice at the West Virginia legislature for the air you breathe, the water you drink, and the mountains, rivers and valleys you love so much.  And the money that funds the WVEC lobbying effort comes from you, our friends.

We will face critical issues at the Legislature this session. Will the oil and gas industry be allowed to continue to dump radioactive drilling wastes in our solid waste landfills? Will the DEP allow the coal industry to dump more toxic aluminum in our rivers and streams? Will the legislature step up to the plate and require more protections from air pollution, dust and noise at shale drilling sites? Will the governor and our legislature EVER do anything to support renewable energy in this state?

These are just a few of the reasons you need the WVEC lobby team at the Capitol.

Recently we received the following note from a Delegate who is one of our biggest supporters: “To all of the activists who keep the Environmental Council alive, please accept my deepest thanks for your hard work . . . What you do is so incredibly important . . . I cannot imagine what I would do without your timely help . . . You need to brag more – things would be SO MUCH WORSE without WVEC!!!”.

So please help us continue to be your “credible and effective” voice for environmental issues at the legislature.  Your financial support is more important than ever.  Please send us your contribution today so that we can continue to fight the good fight for another 25 years!

Thanks so much for your support.

Donald S. Garvin, Jr.
WVEC Legislative Coordinator

Representing West Virginia “Special Interests”:
People Who Want to Breathe Clean Air and Drink Clean Water

Come Celebrate WVEC’s 25th Anniversary With Us

►Legislative “Kick Off” Blast Benefit – January 15, 2014
Little India Restaurant ~ Upstairs Bar (1604 Washington Street East, Charleston) ~ 6 PM – 10 PM
Dedicated to Kevin Smith (1979 – 2013) ~ Live music by Mike Pushkin, Chet Lowther and others!
Suggested donation of $10 or whatever you can afford

►E-Day! at the Capitol – February 17, 2014
Upper Rotunda & Senate Hall ~ From 10 AM – 3 PM

►E-Day! Benefit Dinner & Award Ceremony – February 17, 2014
Women’s Club of Charleston – Corner of Elizabeth / Virginia ~ 6 PM – 9 PM
Cost:  Donation of $15 per person or $25 per couple

The West Virginia Environmental Council
An Effective Voice at the Legislature for 25 Years

Just a Few of Our Legislative Accomplishments

Referendum on Class A Landfill Sitings . . . 1990
Groundwater Protection Act . . . 1991
Comprehensive Solid Waste Act . . . 1991
Hazardous Waste Siting Law . . . 1992
Rails-to-Trails Enabling Law . . . 1992
Sewage Sludge Regulation . . . 1993
“Cancer Creek” Dioxin Standards . . . 1993/94
Creation of DEP Environmental Advocate . . . 1994
School Pesticide Act . . . 1995
Permanent Non-Game Wildlife Program Funding . . . 1995
Banning Nuclear Power Plants . . . 1996
Quarrying Regulations . . . 2000
Kanawha State Forest Bill . . . 2000
Farmland Preservation Act . . . 2000
Industrial Hemp Bill . . . 2002
“Turn It Off” School Bus Idling Bill . . . 2003
Water Resources Protection Act (Water Quantity) . . . 2004
Introduced “Public Health Impact Assessments” Bill . . . 2006 – 2013
Introduced Sludge Safety Bill . . . 2006
SCR 15, WVEC Requiring DEP and DHHR Study Coal Slurry Injection . . . 2007
Greenhouse Gas Inventory Bill . . . 2007
Antidegradation Implementation Rule (Water Quality) . . . 2008
Amendments to Water Resources Protection Act (Water Quantity) . . . 2008
Introduced SB 588 to Outlaw “Valley Fills” . . . 2008
Solar Energy Tax Credit . . . 2009
PSC Rules On High Voltage Transmission Lines . . . 2010
DEP Oil and Gas Well Drilling Rule . . . 2010
Horizontal Well Control Act . . . 2011 Special Session
Green Buildings Act . . . 2012
Increasing Special Reclamation Tax on Coal . . . 2012

Some Bad Legislation We Have Helped Stop

Stopped Self-Audit Privilege (“Dirty Secrets”) . . . 1995/96/97
Stopped “Flood Thy Neighbor” Dredging Bill . . . 1996/97/2003
Stopped Coal Industry “Valley Fill” Bill . . . 2004/05/06
Stopped “Anti-Wilderness” Resolutions . . . 2005/06/07
Stopped Repeal of WV Nuclear Power Ban . . . 2009/10
Stopped Bill Limiting Land Development Ordinances . . . 2009/10
Stopped Transmission Line Tax . . . 2009
Stopped AEP Debt Relief Bonds from Applying to Future Debt . . . 2012