Sierra Club Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

DEP Motions To Intervene In EPA Settlement

The state Department of Environmental Protection has filed a motion in federal court to intervene in a proposed settlement to limit mining pollutants in streams.

At the heart of the issue is the Guyandotte River and the alleged failure of the DEP to administer water testing and limits for ionic toxicity in 11 state streams that affect 100,000 people. As a result, conservation groups filed a lawsuit.

The state Department of Environmental Protection has filed a motion in federal court to intervene in a proposed settlement to limit mining pollutants in streams.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed to settle the lawsuit by agreeing to establish specific water quality standards for mining runoff. Environmental groups celebrated the settlement and said it will restore aquatic life and the health of the streams.

“The consent decree comes after decades of advocacy and legal action by the Sierra Club and its partners to compel the EPA to fulfill its obligations under the Clean Water Act,” the Sierra Club said in a statement.

However, on April 22, the DEP filed a motion to have a seat at the table, which possibly could change the direction of the proposed settlement. In the motion the DEP said its interest could not be adequately represented by existing parties in the lawsuit, i.e. the EPA.

“As the primary regulator of water quality in the State of West Virginia, the WVDEP is flummoxed as to why it has been kept in the dark regarding a proposed settlement which must have been months in the making,” DEP said in the motion.

The state organization also said it was “astounded” that the EPA had not mounted a defense against the allegations made by the environmental groups in the lawsuit.

State leaders have also questioned the EPA’s proposed settlement, including U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin D-W.Va.

“If the EPA has any legitimate water quality concerns, they should have worked with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection,” Manchin said in a statement. “Which knows our waterways better than the federal government ever will. Instead of collaborating with the state, it appears the EPA colluded with environmental groups to enter into a ‘sue and settle’ agreement that bypasses the regulatory process and expands federal authority without any accountability.”

The three environmental groups on the lawsuit are the Sierra Club of West Virginia, the Highlands Conservancy, and the West Virginia Rivers Coalition.

The proposed settlement is open for comments from the public until April 29.

Warned By Treasurer, 2 Banks Avoided List Of Restricted Institutions

Treasurer Riley Moore added HSBC, Citigroup, TD Bank and Northern Trust to its list of financial institutions barred from state contracts. BMO and Fifth Third were not added to the list.

West Virginia’s Treasurer added four banks to a list of restricted institutions this week, but two more were left off.

Treasurer Riley Moore added HSBC, Citigroup, TD Bank and Northern Trust to its list of financial institutions barred from state contracts.

They join five others that Moore determined were boycotting fossil fuel investments.

However, two more banks that received warning letters from Moore in February, BMO and Fifth Third, were not added to the list.

Both banks replied to Moore that they were not shunning such investments. Senate Bill 262, enacted two years ago, enabled the Treasurer to review banks’ environmental, social and governance, or ESG policies.

Of the nine banks now on the list, six are among the top banks financing coal-burning utilities, according to the Sierra Club.

They are Goldman Sachs, Chase, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and TD.

Other states, including Kentucky and Texas, have passed similar laws in opposition to ESG policies that are perceived to discourage fossil fuel investments.

BlackRock, another bank blacklisted from state contracts, is financing EQT, the biggest natural gas producer in the state and the biggest customer of the nearly finished Mountain Valley Pipeline. EQT announced last month it is buying the builder of the $7.5 billion pipeline, Equitrans Midstream.

EPA Proposes Settlement In Guyandotte Watershed Pollution Lawsuit

The EPA’s proposed consent decree would settle a lawsuit filed this month by environmental groups in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.

The U.S Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a settlement to a federal lawsuit over water pollution from coal mining.

The EPA’s proposed consent decree would settle a lawsuit filed this month by environmental groups in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.

It establishes total daily maximum loads for ionic toxicity in the lower Guyandotte watershed.

Ionic toxicity, dissolved mineral salts that result from surface mining, can impair aquatic life.

The West Virginia Rivers Coalition, the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy and the Sierra club filed the lawsuit on March 18. It named Adam Ortiz, the EPA Region 3 Administrator, as a defendant.

The proposed settlement was published in the Federal Register on Friday. The public has until April 29 to submit comments.

State Blacklisted BlackRock. But Guess What It’s Financing?

A report earlier this month from the Sierra Club shows that in 2022 and 2023, BlackRock bought more than $45 million in bonds issued by EQT Corporation.

One of the banks barred from state contracts by the Treasurer’s Office is financing the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

In 2022, following the enactment of Senate Bill 262, Treasurer Riley Moore issued the first list of “restricted financial institutions” he determined were not friendly to fossil fuels.

One of those was BlackRock. Moore accused the firm of putting China’s interests over West Virginia’s and encouraging companies to move away from coal, oil and natural gas.

“Any company that thinks Communist China is a better investment than West Virginia energy or American capitalism clearly has a bad strategy,” Moore said in 2022. “We will continue to give our state’s business to people who aren’t simultaneously trying to destroy our economy.”

Two years later, BlackRock is still on the list.

“It’s one of the largest shareholders of publicly traded fossil fuel companies on the planet,” said Ben Cushing, director of the Sierra Club’s Fossil Free Finance campaign.

A report earlier this month from the Sierra Club shows that in 2022 and 2023, BlackRock bought more than $45 million in bonds issued by EQT Corporation.

Not only is EQT one of the largest gas producers in Appalachia, it also is poised to be the biggest user of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

Once the pipeline becomes operational this year, EQT plans to use it to ship 1.2 billion cubic feet of gas per day 303 miles from north central West Virginia to southern Virginia. That’s two-thirds of the pipeline’s total capacity.

Environmental groups and landowners have long opposed the pipeline. The state’s leading elected officials have been its biggest champions.

Cushing said BlackRock’s earlier public commitments to address climate change may have made it a target.

“Lots of speculation, I suppose as to why they’ve been particularly attacked, I think, because they are the biggest and one of the best well, well known and that they have at least nominally stated their commitment to climate action, has put them in the crosshairs of this climate denial movement,” he said. “But the fact remains that many of those commitments have not actually been implemented, and they continue to be one of the largest investors in fossil fuels in the world.”

Five banks are on the original list. Moore sent letters this week to six more. They have 45 days to prove they’re not boycotting fossil fuels, or they will be added to the list.

Jared Hunt, a Treasury spokesman, said SB 262 allows any company to petition the Treasurer to be removed from the list. None has asked to be removed, Hunt said.

State Treasurer Warns 6 Banks They May Be Added To ‘Restricted’ List

Treasurer Riley Moore has sent letters to six financial institutions warning them their environmental, social and governance policies could cost them state contracts.

West Virginia’s treasurer has warned a new set of banks they may be barred from engaging in contracts with the state.

Treasurer Riley Moore has sent letters to six financial institutions warning them their environmental, social and governance policies could cost them state contracts.

The restricted financial institutions list arose from Senate Bill 262, which became law in 2022.

Moore initially placed five banks on the list: BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo.

Kentucky enacted a similar law the same year, though the Kentucky treasurer’s office has different banks on its list.

Through a Freedom of Information Act Request, the banks that received the new letters are: BMO Bank, Citibank, Fifth Third, Northern Trust, TD Bank and HSBC.

They have 45 days to prove they are not engaged in a boycott of fossil fuel companies, or they will be added to the list.

A report last year from the Sierra Club showed that four of the five banks originally on the West Virginia Treasurer’s list – Goldman Sachs, Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo – are among the top providers of financing to utility companies that burn coal.

Citibank and TD Bank are also among the companies supporting coal-burning utilities.

Three of the banks on the combined list – Chase, Citi and Wells Fargo – are among the top six providers of financing to coal-burning utilities.

The three banks have committed to align their financing with the Paris Agreement and the Net Zero Banking Alliance yet have injected billions of dollars into coal-consuming utilities since 2016.

U.S. Senate Disclosure Shows Justice’s Debts, Biggest Creditors

Gov. Jim Justice’s U.S. Senate candidate financial disclosure form reveals details not found in his filings to the state ethics commission. He must report his liabilities as a Senate candidate but not as governor.

Gov. Jim Justice’s U.S. Senate candidate financial disclosure form reveals details not found in his filings to the state ethics commission.

He must report his liabilities as a Senate candidate but not as governor.

Justice is not required to list his debts in his annual disclosure filed with the West Virginia Ethics Commission.

However, his disclosure as a U.S. Senate candidate, filed Monday, shows tens of millions of dollars in liabilities.

For example, Justice owes $25 million to $50 million to JP Morgan Chase. The New York bank is his largest single creditor.

It is also one of the five banks on the state treasurer’s restricted financial institutions list, because that office determined the bank was “boycotting” fossil fuel investments.

Justice made his fortune in the coal business, and most of his assets are coal-related.

The law behind the restricted financial institutions list, SB 262, does not apply to Justice. It blocks the institutions on it from receiving state contracts.

A recent Sierra Club report found that JP Morgan Chase and other banned banks are some of the biggest backers of electric utilities that burn coal.

The state’s ethics code exempts the disclosure of debts “resulting from the ordinary conduct of your business, profession or occupation” and “to a financial institution or credit card company.”

The debts listed in Justice’s Senate disclosure do not include the additional tens of millions of dollars he owes in taxes, fees and penalties to states in which he does business or the federal government.

The U.S. Justice Department is suing 13 of Justice’s companies to recover $7.6 million in civil penalties, administrative fees and interest.

The Senate disclosure requires candidates to report liabilities of $10,000 or more.