Many of our members have been award sponsors for the YouthEnvironmental Program sponsored by DEP and we hope that you will continue thissponsorship.  The program provides its participants with soundenvironmental education information through publications, programs, workshops,camps, conferences, webpage and Facebook page and incentives for youth groupparticipation in the program.

This year, the youth groups recycled 11,964 pounds of aluminum and 143,749pounds of paper.  They planted 3,280 trees; 1,400 of those were throughthe half-priced seedlings program.  The youth groups also cleaned 125miles of roadways, 65 community areas including school campuses, and 11 riversand streams.  As a result, they collected 2,699 bags of trash.  KeepAmerica Beautiful, Inc. calculates the average weight per bag of trash at 20pounds, which means these youth groups removed 53,980 pounds (27 tons) oflitter in addition to 68 tires.  Their total volunteer hours were25,255.  The Independent Sector calculates the 2011 value of a voluteerhour at $21.79, meaning the effort put forth by these youth groups are worthmore than $550,300.

As you can see the DEP Youth Environmental Program is a good solid program thatcan always use our support.

The Charleston-based firm of Arnett & Foster announced on August 1that it will merge with Toothman Rice, LLC a Clarksburg based company to form a new CPAfirm.  The new firm name will be Arnett Foster Toothman PLLC and willbecome one of the top 150 largest accounting firms in the United States. The new company will encompass six offices located in two states:  Charleston, Bridgeport, Morgantown, Buckhannon and Lewisburg,WV and Columbus, OH.

More than 2,000 gather to hear energy message.

BEALLSVILLE, Ohio - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney believes a strong coal industry is key to a strong America.

During a campaign rally Tuesday at American Energy Corp.'s Century Mine, Romney said his administration's energy policy would differ from that of President Barack Obama. Romney said his administration would include coal, natural gas, oil, renewables and nuclear as part of an all-in energy portfolio.

"We have 250 years of coal, why in the heck wouldn't we use it?" Romney told a crowd of more than 2,000 coal miners and their families.

Posted on EMPOWERTEXANS by Dustin Matocha

Texas has again wona battle against the EPA thanks to a 5th U.S. Circuit Court ofAppeals ruling. As a result, Texas cancontinue utilizing its flexible permitting program — a victory for the 10thamendment, and Texas’economy.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court ofAppeals ruled Monday the EPA overstepped itsbounds by prohibiting the State of Texasfrom utilizing its “flexible permitting program.” The programallowed refineries, power plants and other major industrial facilities toimplement their own pollution-control protocols, so long as their aggregateamount of emissions did not exceed levels set by the federal government.

Not good enough, said the ObamaAdministration. In typical disregard for the 10th Amendment, theyargued such policy gave “too much discretionarypower” to the director of the Texas Commission on EnvironmentalQuality.

CHARLESTON –When all you ever see in the media is the caricature presented by anti-coalextremists, it is easy to miss the great benefits that West Virginia, Kentuckyand Virginia have derived from mountaintop surface mining. When they actually seelook at the sites they soon begin to realize the great potential these siteshave for helping with economic diversification and development across thecoalfields.

Members of the Southern Legislative Conference Energy andEnvironmental Committee got just such an up-close view of surface coal miningduring a special tour of two area surface mines July 31.

The West Virginia Coal Association hosted thelegislators, who hailed from West Virginia, Oklahoma, Texas, Georgia, Virginia,North Carolina and even Canada, visiting the Pritchard Mining Four-Mile mine aswell as the Tyler-Morgan facility near the Kanawha/Fayette border.