Yesterday had to be a bit embarrassing for WVDEP Secretary Randy Huffman.
When last I spoke with him, Randy was insisting he didn’t say that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would “pay the price” for its new water quality guidance on surface mining.
But a few minutes later, WVDEP spokeswoman Kathy Cosco called to tell me that in fact Randy had made those and other inflammatory remarks to Associated Press reporter Vicki Smith. Randy didn’t call me himself. He was busy on the phone, apologizing to EPA officials.
Randy’s prepared statement, issued later by Kathy Cosco, contained this interesting sentence:
It is easy to lose focus in this debate that the purpose of all of our efforts is the protection of the state’s water quality.
Folks in West Virginia’s environmental community would probably read that a bit differently than Randy intended it … Given the way WVDEP sometimes speaks and acts, they would say, it is hard to remember that the agency is the Department of Environmental Protection.
In fact, Randy had earlier in the day recalled to me part of the discussion in Gov. Joe Manchin’s closed-door meeting with coalfield citizens a few months ago.
The way Randy told the story, one of the citizens was giving him the speech about how WVDEP’s duty isn’t to worry about protecting jobs, but to work to protect the state’s environment. Gov. Manchin interrupted, though, and told the citizen:
He works for me, and I do worry about jobs.
The story reminded me of hearing Gov. Manchin wonder aloud several times following the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster about why, if the Massey Energy mine was so dangerous, safety inspectors didn’t order it closed. Gov. Manchin mentioned this again in his testimony to the House Labor Committee during a field hearing in Beckley:
Why did serious safety violations repeatedly occur at Upper Big Branch? Were the miners concerned about their safety? Were miners threatened or intimidated from speaking out? If state or federal regulators knew the mine was unsafe, why was it allowed to continue to operate?
Does Gov. Manchin really wonder why a government inspector would hesitate to shut down a coal mine? Does any coalfield politician and Friend of Coal really not understand why the folks who run their regulatory agencies don’t take stronger action before disasters occur?
You’ve got to hand it to Randy Huffman for standing up and admitting his remarks went too far. But it’s not the first time that some of Randy’s comments came off as if his agency was speaking for the West Virginia Coal Association, instead of for the people of our state. And perhaps there’s something more that could be learned here, about the way we — and especially our political leaders — talk about the coal industry and the important issues that face it and our region as we move into the future.
Despite his occasional calls for calm in the coalfields, Gov. Manchin has been pretty serious about fanning the flames over the last two years as the mountaintop removal issue has heated up to the point of violence.
Other West Virginia political leaders will go to great lengths as well to be seen as Friends of Coal … take the recent misstatements by Sen. Jay Rockfeller regarding CCS and regarding how much of our electricity comes from coal. Or look at the lengths Congressman Nick Rahall goes to in order to appear entirely pro-coal, ignoring his responsibility to ensure the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement is doing its job policing strip mining.
All of these political leaders like to talk about “balance.” But they also go out of their way to squelch anything that smells of real discussion of the negative side of the industry. They love anything that promotes coal, and will jump up and down and scream if anyone even tries to provide a balanced accounting of the costs and benefits.
And if the politicians miss a beat and don’t do so, West Virginia business leaders are quick to step in. Take the response from the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce to a pretty balanced report on the benefits and costs to the state government budget from the coal industry.
Without pointing out any major errors in the report, the Chamber’s PR operation (now run by one of Massey President Don Blankenship’s former operatives) issued a statement attacking the report authors:
“This report was created by people who are staunchly ant-coal, oppose job growth in the production sector, and who seek to drive away the coal and manufacturing industries which pay the highest wages, offer the best benefits, and fuel much of West Virginia’s economy,” said Steve Roberts, President of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce.
The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy supports a government takeover of health care, higher taxes for those who create jobs, increasing our national debt, and other anti-jobs, anti-economic growth policies.
“If West Virginia ever hopes to make progress and improve its economic situation and be able to compete in the global economy, we have to start listening to people who have an ownership stake in West Virginia, have created jobs, invested in a business, and are not dependent on government or the philanthropy of others for their survival.”
Sen. Robert C. Byrd has wisely encouraged the coal industry and the rest of West Virginia to “embrace the future” and to respect our state’s land and people.
But given the way other political and business leaders react to any discussion of coal’s negative impacts and doing something about them, does anyone really wonder why Randy Huffman would go a little too far in his rhetoric about the U.S. EPA, or why a government inspector might think twice about shutting down a coal mine?
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Perhaps the Governor with the assistance of our state legislators could provide the citizens of West Virginia with a job description and duties of the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection. That way, if Randy’s duties are mountaintop removal jobs first and water quality second or third, or last, or non-existent we could all understand better why Randy says some of the things he says. It would also be good to know what qualifications are required for the job of Sec. WV DEP. If a mine engineering degree is required, is an environmental degree also required, and if not, why not?
Mr. Huffman’s leadership on environmental accountability is sorely lacking thanks to his boss, Joe Manchin. His agency is grossly understaffed and lacks direction to truly protect our states environment. When the investigation is completed and facts come out we will see the fed EPA come in and execute a takeover of the agency until they can get their priorities straight. This has been going on for too long and the only way it will change is with a new governor or with help from the feds.
One of these days, maybe soon, the breakthrough in alternative energy that is coming — the one that will change the energy economy like the automobile changed travel — will in fact come. And then Gov. Manchin and all the folks who spent all their time doing nothing but fighting to protect the coal industry will be left with nothing but a handful of black dust.
bo,
I think the Legislature has already done that … See 22-1-1 of the W.Va. Code, which creates the DEP and the Secretary’s position …
http://www.legis.state.wv.us/WVCODE/Code.cfm?chap=22&art=1
CHAPTER 22. ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES.
ARTICLE 1. DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION.
§22-1-1. Legislative findings; legislative statement of policy and purpose.
(a) The Legislature finds that:
(1) Restoring and protecting the environment is fundamental to the health and welfare of individual citizens, and our government has a duty to provide and maintain a healthful environment for our citizens.
(2) The state has the primary responsibility for protecting the environment; other governmental entities, public and private organizations and our citizens have the primary responsibility of supporting the state in its role as protector of the environment.
(3) Governmental decisions on matters which relate to the use, enhancement, preservation, protection and conservation of the environment should be made after public participation and public hearings.
(4) Efficiency in the wise use, enhancement, preservation, protection and conservation of the environment can best be accomplished by an integrated and interdisciplinary approach in decision making and would benefit from the coordination, consolidation and integration of state programs and agencies which are significantly concerned with the use, enhancement, preservation, protection and conservation of the environment.
(5) Those functions of government which regulate the environment should be consolidated in order to accomplish the purposes set forth in this article, to carry out the environmental functions of government in the most efficient and cost effective manner, to protect human health and safety and, to the greatest degree practicable, to prevent injury to plant, animal and aquatic life, improve and maintain the quality of life of our citizens, and promote economic development consistent with environmental goals and standards.
(b) The Legislature declares that the establishment of a department of environmental protection is in the public interest and will promote the general welfare of the state of West Virginia without sacrificing social and economic development. It is the policy of the state of West Virginia, in cooperation with other governmental agencies, public and private organizations, and the citizens of this state, to use all practicable means and measures to prevent or eliminate harm to the environment and biosphere, to create and maintain conditions under which man and nature can exist in productive harmony, and fulfill the social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations. The purposes of this chapter are:
(1) To strengthen the commitment of this state to restore, maintain and protect the environment;
(2) To consolidate environmental regulatory programs in a single state agency;
(3) To provide a comprehensive program for the conservation, protection, exploration, development, enjoyment and use of the natural resources of the state of West Virginia;
(4) To supplement and complement the efforts of the state by coordinating state programs with the efforts of other governmental entities, public and private organizations and the general public; to improve the quality of the environment, the public health and public enjoyment of the environment, and the propagation and protection of animal, aquatic and plant life, in a manner consistent with the benefits to be derived from strong agricultural, manufacturing, tourism and energy-producing industries;
(5) Insofar as federal environmental programs require state participation, to endeavor to obtain and continue state primacy in the administration of such federally-mandated environmental programs, and to endeavor to maximize federal funds which may be available to accomplish the purposes of the state and federal environmental programs and to cooperate with appropriate federal agencies to meet environmental goals;
(6) To encourage the increased involvement of all citizens in the development and execution of state environmental programs;
(7) To promote improvements in the quality of the environment through research, evaluation and sharing of information;
(8) To improve the management and effectiveness of state environmental protection programs;
(9) To increase the accountability of state environmental protection programs to the governor, the Legislature and the public generally; and
(10) To promote pollution prevention by encouraging reduction or elimination of pollutants at the source through process modification, material substitutions, in-process recycling, reduction of raw material use or other source reduction opportunities.
Among other things, DEP was created to:
“… promote economic development consistent with environmental goals and standards…”
It’s also interesting to read the “welcome” section of Randy’s Website:
Welcome to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. Our agency is committed to protecting and improving the environmental quality of life for all of West Virginia’s citizens. We should never forget the role that our beautiful scenery and rich mineral deposits played in the development of this state and its heritage. The plentiful gas deposits brought a glass industry that still thrives today. West Virginia’s glass blowing and its artisans are known throughout the world for quality and craftsmanship. The discovery of rich coal and oil deposits helped settle this land, bringing people from all walks of life and from every point on the map. West Virginia’s coal was shipped by rail throughout the northeast allowing development of other areas of the country. The rail lines used to ship our coal also helped build an infrastructure in the state that connected many small towns together allowing other commerce to flourish. Just as we should never forget our wonderful past, we must look to and protect our resources for future generations. Using our knowledge of the industry and the laws governing these resources, responsible management is being achieved.
http://www.dep.wv.gov/executive/Pages/default.aspx
Ken.
“The Legislature declares that the establishment of a department of environmental protection is in the public interest and will promote the general welfare of the state of West Virginia without sacrificing social and economic development.”
“The purposes of this chapter are:To strengthen the commitment of this state to restore, maintain and protect the environment.”
Hmmmm … now, I’m not a lawyer, but it seems to me like the first paragraph is a mutually exclusive, impossible to obtain balancing act and the DEP has always erred on the side of not sacrificing economic development. As to the second second sentence, WHAT commitment to protect the environment? I would really, really like to hear Mr. Huffman say, and be able to defend, the statement that his agency is actually doing that job. The job that, by the way, the taxpayers of this state are paying him to do.
The cognitive dissonance created by the explicit expectations of the Department of Environmental Protection as stated in See 22-1-1 of the W.Va. Code, which creates the DEP and the Secretary’s position and the explicit actions of said Department is unbearable. Why don’t they just change the name to the Department of Environmental Destruction and create a mission statement that truly reflects what DEP does, which is protection for the coal industry at all costs.
[...] wonder if when he was apologizing to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for his remarks last week (See “If what EPA is doing is illegal, they will pay the [...]