GREEN, Volume 34 Issue 8

Welcome to our last newsletter of the 2024 Legislative Session. Stay tuned for any final action alerts next week, and please see the several actions below you can take now!

As the session concludes at midnight on March 9, we reflect on the challenges in advocating for environmental issues such as community solar, net metering, and the Orphaned Well Prevention Act. Despite the clear desires of West Virginians – for example, nearly 70 percent of us support community solar – solar bills did not get traction this session. We encourage you to continue to amplify YOUR viewpoints to your representatives and push for legislation to take us into the 21st century, like economic and energy policies that benefit our working people AND our environment. 

Thanks for all your efforts this session – making calls, sending emails, attending E-Day, and financially supporting our lobby team.

Donations from you and our member groups made this year’s lobby team possible! As the session wraps up, we transition into monitoring interims and developing our 2025 legislative priorities. Please join us in that process this Fall at our Annual Meeting, September 13-15 at Tygart Lake State Park. Your donation and continuing support will help fund this work and keep us going through the “off” season.

Stay tuned for our end-of-session recap in a couple of weeks – thank you again!

Click an article title or thumbnail image to read the full article (text below is only an excerpt).

WVEC Weekly Round-Up
WVEC
As the session enters its final week, read on to learn which bills we’re working to defeat, why they’re bad, and how you can help. Lots can happen during these final days, so please keep a lookout for action alerts and other updates! Sadly, the only bills left are ones we oppose. Here’s what’s still alive.
Tagged: Legislation, Logging, Pollution, Public lands

Act Now: Tell your Delegate to Protect Landowners’ Rights! 
WVEC
Some West Virginia lawmakers are trying to pass legislation severely restricting West Virginians’ ability to manage their timber through forest carbon offsets. Senate Bill 618 would introduce restrictive measures that could discourage private investments in our state and undermine the rights of landowners. 
Tagged: Landowner rights, Legislation

Save our State Parks – Ask the House Committee on Government Organization to Reject SB 688
WV Rivers Coalition
Unfortunately, the Senate passed SB 688, but the House of Delegates can still preserve our WV public lands, provide transparency, and prevent no-bid contracts. 
Tagged: Legislation, Public lands

Tell WVDEP No More Toxic Discharges Into the Ohio River!
WV Rivers Coalition
We need your help to tell the WV Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) to protect public health: No more toxic discharges into the Ohio River! The WVDEP is currently accepting comments on a permit for Chemours Washington Works facility.
Tagged: DEP, Health, Pollution, Water

Party with Purpose at the 2024 Cheat River Festival, Supporting Friends of the Cheat!
Friends of the Cheat
The annual Cheat River Festival, May 3 and May 4, celebrates the rebirth of the Cheat River watershed. Cheat Fest is Friends of the Cheat‘s annual fundraiser, which helps them advance their watershed projects and supports the organization’s administrative costs. Rain or shine, Cheat Fest is always a good time!
Tagged: Event