It does not seem that the below post should void the mines from responsibility. In fact, the Clean Water Act water quality criteria require the states to and enforce the water quality standards. therefore, if one state agency loses this responsibility, then another must take over the responsibility! I don't recall the repercussions, but the water quality standards are tied to federal monies of some kind. Maybe the state found a loophole I'm not aware of! :)
Regardless, the motion sounds typical! On Mon, Dec 8, 2008 at 6:11 PM, Lisa Regula Meyer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > This was from Center for North American Herpetology, but might be of > interest to many people on ECOLOG. Something to note (not mentioned in the > forward) is that Captina Creek has one of the last- if not *the* last- > breeding population of Hellbenders in Ohio. > > Thanks! > LKR > Doctoral Student, Kent State University > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: CNAH <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Mon, Dec 8, 2008 at 3:42 PM > Subject: Do Not Hurt Hellbenders > To: > > > NEWS RELEASE > The Center for North American Herpetology > Lawrence, Kansas > http://www.cnah.org > 8 December 2008 > > OHIO'S REMAINING HELLBENDER HABITAT IS IN JEOPARDY > > Ohio Senate Bill 386 is being rushed through Legislature. This bill would > remove the Ohio > EPA's authority to regulate mine discharges, essentially giving full > authority to do this to > the mining industry. > > WHAT CAN YOU DO RIGHT NOW? > > Go to the URL below. > > Check out what is at stake and send your own message directly to the > relevant decision > makers. > > Spread the word. > > Using this link will send your message directly to Senator Bill Seitz and > Representative > Robert Mecklenborg. Do it now at > > http://ga1.org/campaign/SB386?rk=91XHLM71TJ2uW > > The Ohio Senate vote is TUESDAY (9 December) and WEDNESDAY (10 December). > > Please act swiftly. > > ******** > > For more information, the following is a recent article from the Columbus > Dispatch. > > EDITORIAL: DON'T MUDDY THE WATERS > Environmental-protection experts should regulate water pollution from mines > > Wednesday, December 3, 2008 3:25 am > > The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency should be in charge of protecting > the state's > waterways from pollution, whether that pollution comes from a factory pipe, > a large-scale > farm or the byproducts of mining coal. A proposed bill to put state mining > officials in > charge of granting water-pollution permits for coal mines is a bad idea. > > State Sen. Timothy J. Grendell, R-Chesterland, is behind the bill to switch > authority from > the EPA to mining bureaucrats in the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. > > This proposal is similar to a 2001 state law -- also a bad idea -- that > transferred the state > EPA's authority to regulate large-scale livestock farms to the Department of > Agriculture. > That transfer still isn't final, because the U.S. EPA, which has ultimate > responsibility for > enforcing the 1972 federal Clean Water Act, hasn't approved it. > > In a recent public-comment meeting, opponents of the farm-regulation switch > pointed out > that the Department of Agriculture's mission is to promote farming in Ohio, > not to be a > watchdog. > > The same potential for conflict of interest exists in putting ODNR's > Division of Mineral > Resources Management in charge of water-pollution permits for mines. > > The timing of the bill lends weight to the suspicion that the real goal is > to allow an end run > by a major mine company that has been denied a permit by the EPA. > > Murray Energy Corp., owner of Ohio's largest underground coal mines, wants > to bury > Casey Run, a 2-mile-long stream in eastern Ohio, under a 1.85-billion-gallon > coal-slurry > lagoon. > > Slurry is water contaminated with coal dust after it has been used to wash > coal. In 2005, a > broken slurry pipeline from a Murray Energy-owned mine blackened 2,300 feet > of Belmont > County's Captina Creek, killing thousands of fish in a habitat that supports > the > endangered hellbender salamander. > > Casey Run is a tributary of Captina Creek. EPA scientists, in recommending > denial of the > permit for the massive lagoon, said it would pose "insurmountable" > environmental > concerns for the high-quality water resource. > > Murray officials say they'll have to close two mines employing about 1,000 > people if they > can't build the slurry lagoon, but EPA and ODNR officials said the company > could find > other ways to dispose of its waste. > > Another supposed justification for the bill is a claim that the Ohio EPA > takes too long to > review mining permits. This appears to be a moot point. The bill would give > mine > regulators a six-month deadline for approving or denying permits. In recent > months, the > EPA has eliminated its backlog of applications and has pledged to handle new > ones within > six months. > > Murray Energy's checkered track record of multiple environmental and safety > violations in > Ohio and elsewhere, including the Crandall Canyon mine cave-in that killed > six men in > Utah in August 2007, argues against easing regulation of the company. > > Regardless of one company's history, safeguarding Ohio's waterways should > remain with > the agency for which environmental protection is the core mission. > -- Malcolm L. McCallum Associate Professor of Biology Texas A&M University-Texarkana Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology http://www.herpconbio.org Fall Teaching Schedule & Office Hours: Ecology: M,W 1-2:40 pm Cell Biology: M 6-9:40 pm (don't ask!) Forensic Science: T,R 10-11:40am Office Hours: MW 12-1, 5-6, TR 11:40-12:30, 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
