Dirty tricks in the Virginia State House - ACT NOW!
By: ahavemann
Published On: 1/18/2008 12:12:05 PM
In an obvious move to blunt the effects of the Virginia Conservation Network’s Lobby Day on Monday the 21st, the Senate has bumped up the vote on SB423, the Citizen Board Abolition Bill, to 9:30 am Monday morning, well before our people arrive at the Capitol.
SB423, a Citizen Board Abolition Bill in the Senate, is set for a vote THIS MONDAY at 9:30AM. This bill, if passed would make it much harder for us to fight the Wise County coal plant by taking away the VETO POWER of the Air Pollution Control Board, a citizen group which works with the Department of the Environmental Quality. If the Air Board loses permitting authority, which the bill asks for, Dominion gets a rubber stamp to build whatever they want.
What You Can DO:
Notify everyone you know.
Call BY FRIDAY 5PM!! (Both ones from home address and school address).
If your Senator is listed here: It’s SO IMPORTANT that you send this to others from your area since they will decide first in committee!!! (Alexandria) Ticer (Chairman), (Arlington) Whipple, Hanger, (Midlothian) Watkins, (Martinsville) Reynolds, Puckett, (Clarksville) Ruff, (Chesapeake) Blevins, (Charlottesville) Deeds, (Harrisonburg)Obenshain, (Mechanicsville) McDougle, (Richmond) McEachin, (Fairfax) Petersen, (Norfolk) Northam, (Montross) Stuart
Talking Points:
- As a constituent, I need Senator ________ to vote against Bill SB423 and protect Virginia’s air and water.
- Virginia’s Citizen Environmental Boards have long had a key role in protecting Virginia’s environment.
- Virginia’s governors appoint the members of the Air, Water and Waste Boards and the appointees reflect the choices of different governors and have provided a balanced group of citizens with expertise in the specific field.
- The Citizen Environmental Boards hold meetings and hearings in public and provide accountability and transparency on important environmental issues.
- Virginia industry enjoys a highly favorable regulatory climate now. Virginia is regarded as #1 in the U.S. as an easy place to do business, due in large part to this favorable regulatory climate. There is no need to make it even easier to pollute, especially at the expense of citizen input.
- Stripping the Environmental Boards of their authority to review and decide certain permits is unacceptable. We must preserve the right of Virginians to be heard on environmental protection, particularly in cases that have heightened public interest and could have a significant impact on the environment.
- When the Department of Environmental Quality was created in 1993 by combining Air, Water and Hazardous Waste agencies, there was agreement to keep each of the Citizen Boards in place.
- The Air Pollution Control Board has delegated its permit authority for most cases & only decides cases where permits have been identified as significant (less than one-percent of all permits are decided by a citizen board).
Comments