By Frank Young 

Governor Talking the Talk

I am pleased to hear Governor Wise, in last month’s State of the State message, say that the state will enforce environmental laws. I hope that he and the various state agencies follow through with that commitment.

That the governor saw the need to make the pledge to enforce the environmental laws he was sworn to uphold speaks volumes.

I hope the governor will put environmental law enforcement above politics -- or better yet, that environmental law enforcement becomes the politics of state government. It’s a tall order. It’s a big promise he’s making.

In following through on assurances that we will have a good environment along with good jobs, I hope the governor will insist state government agencies lobby each the other for the following:

(1) Adequate funding and staffing for his new cabinet level Department of Environmental Protection,

(2) Insist that the legislature implement the anti-degradation provisions of the Clean Water Act other than by industry’s "dirty water" bill,

(3) Advocate for more responsible timbering and logging practices,

(4) Require adequate reclamation bonds for coal mining operations,

(5) Remember that West Virginia’s wind resources are a part of the energy mix, along with the coal, oil and gas reserves he promotes, and

(6) Bring American Electric Power and other air polluters into the clean air technology era the governor says he wants to usher in.

I felt that the governor’s State of the State address to the legislature, delivered on Valentine’s Day, came from the heart. I hope that it was from his "heart of hearts," rather than from a detached, political heart.