’Tis The (Legislative) Season

by Donald S. Garvin, Jr.
WVEC Legislative Coordinator

Egad!! The 2002 session of the West Virginia Legislature is already upon us!

Seems like just yesterday that visions of sugarplums were dancing in our heads. But now we are being jolted back to reality by more unearthly images -- such as overweight coal trucks, mountains with no tops, valleys with no streams (unless there’s a flood), mud running off of timber roads, air so thick you can see it, and politicians lined up at the campaign contribution troughs.

For members of the West Virginia Environmental Council lobby team, the ghosts of legislatures past bring other ghastly images – such as countless committee meetings, back room deals, the last week of the session when everything gets done, the last night of the session when the real dirty work gets done, late nights, and tired feet.

This year there is no single all-consuming environmental issue on the legislature’s agenda. However, WVEC’s legislative priorities that were set at the E-Council Annual Meeting included: reform of the Logging and Sediment Control Act; Green Energy issues – electric utility deregulation, air emissions from coal-burning power plants (not to mention mercury), incentives for the use and development of renewable energy sources; other coal issues, such as slurry impoundments, bonding, overweight trucks (don’t forget mercury); water issues, such as the Tier 2.5 list in the antidegradation plan, and the status of Category A public drinking waters; and campaign finance reform.

Last Wednesday (January 9) the Governor gave his "State of the State" address. He mentioned the environment just twice: once regarding the state’s purchase of additional acreage along the Blackwater Canyon (certainly a laudable effort); and again in praise of the stream antidegradation bill passed last year (hardly a laudable effort).

While things do tend to crank up slowly with our legislature, we are already keeping our eyes on the annual DEP "rules" package that contains changes to environmental regulations; Coal River Mountain Watch and a group of legislators has introduced a bill to restrict overweight coal trucks; and Senator Frank Deem has introduced legislation that would allow yard waste just to be landfilled (go figure).

The WVEC lobby team no doubt will be working on all of those issues, and playing our usual defensive role as well. We will be working closely with the lobby team from WV Citizen Action Group, with Conni Lewis from CORL on the timber issue, with Nathan Fetty from WV Rivers Coalition on water issues, and with our individual member groups that have legislative priorities, including OVEC, WV Highlands Conservancy, Sierra Club and Trout Unlimited.

A lot will be new for the WVEC lobby team this year. WV Citizen Action has moved into their spacious new building, and the WV Environmental Council is in the process of moving downstairs into CAG’s old office space at 1324 Virginia Street. There will also be some fresh new faces among the paid members of the team this year, and some talented new folks volunteering their services as well; and it will be my first year as legislative coordinator.

I should mention here two indispensable members of the team. Denise Poole has assumed the duties of editor of the newsletter and the updates, as well as managing the E-Day activities. And Chris Hogbin will continue to manage our email alerts and listserve.

That’s a wrap for now. Got to find my hip boots, cause I’m off to Charleston!