Slightly Down But Not Out

Appalachian Mountains Preservation Act Takes Blow, Survives To See Another Committee

Story by Sam Calhoun

House Bill 340, the Appalachian Mountains Preservation Act, did not come to a vote in a Tuesday, April 21, meeting of the N.C. House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources and is now on the table in the N.C Senate Commerce Committee, of which Sen. Steve Goss (D-45) is a member.

If signed into law, the Appalachian Mountains Preservation Act would prohibit electric public utilities operating coal-fired generating units located in North Carolina from purchasing or using coal extracted through mountaintop removal.

Appalachian Voices is leading the charge in North Carolina in support of the bill. Similar bills were introduced this year in South Carolina, Maryland and Georgia, but North Carolina has been the center of national media attention, mostly because Appalachian Voices has made the bill a top priority through outreach, lobbying and education.

On Tuesday, Appalachian Voices lobbyists and House committee members arrived to find out that the upper echelon of the mountaintop mining lobby had chartered a private jet and flown from West Virginia to Raleigh to debate their side of the argument, underscoring the national attention this bill is garnering. More than a dozen mountaintop mining stakeholders made the trip, including Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Friends of Coal Association; Chris Hamilton, president of the National Mountaintop Mining Association; and Bill Crowley, president of the Kentucky Friends of Coal Association.

Even though the mountaintop mining lobby brought multiple members to the committee meeting, Rep. Lucy T. Allen (D-49), chair of the N.C. House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, stood by her previous word to only allow two people to speak from each side during Tuesday’s meeting. Appalachian Voices Conservation Director Dr. Matt Wasson and Ann League of Tennessee’s Save Our Cumberland Mountains spoke on behalf of the Appalachian Mountains Preservation Act, and Progress Energy Vice President Sasha Winetraub and Duke Energy Vice President Vince Stroud spoke against the act.

According to Appalachian Voices North Carolina Field Organizer Austin Hall, who has led the charge in support of the bill in North Carolina, the pressure from the mountaintop mining lobby succeeded in changing many swing votes on the 23-member committee to nays, but Hall is pleased that the bill did not come up for a vote and it can live to see another day.

“I think the legislators found out that this was much bigger than they thought—that it was much more of a national issue than they ever imagined,” said Hall.

Rep. Cullie Tarleton (D-93) is vice chair of the N.C. House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources and has been reluctant to support the bill, even though, according to Hall, 1,935 people from Tarleton’s district signed a petition in support and a Town of Boone resolution supporting the bill passed unanimously. Tarleton, however, is not the reason why the bill first arrived in the House—that is because its primary sponsor and biggest supporter is Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-57).

According to Hall, Tarleton changed his tone about the bill on Tuesday. While reiterating that he was “philosophically opposed” to mountaintop removal, Tarleton said that North Carolina could not be an exacting force for other state’s laws, that he was scared that the bill would put North Carolina on an un-level playing field and that this is a federal matter, not a state matter. Tarleton, like many of the state’s public utilities and electric cooperatives, argues that the bill would cause electric rates to increase.

The fact that the mountaintop mining lobby traveled to Raleigh and did not see the bill die in committee, said Hall, is a triumph for supporters of the bill.

“[The mountaintop mining lobby] found out that they couldn’t just fly down here, show their muscle and get it done,” said Hall.

Because the bill did not come up for a vote in Tuesday’s committee meeting, it is now tabled in the House committee and considered stagnant. But the bill is also in front of the Senate, which provides another opportunity to hear the bill.

“The next step is to get a hearing in the Senate Commerce Committee,” said Hall.

Since the beginning, Goss has supported the bill, according to Hall.

“Senator Goss has been awesome all along,” said Hall.

In addition to Goss, Appalachian Voices has another supporter on the Senate Commerce Committee—Sen. R.C. Soles (D-8), who is chair of the committee and the longest serving senator in the N.C. Senate.

“Soles is incredibly receptive to this bill,” added Hall.

Now that the bill is in front of the Senate committee, Hall expects a hearing on the bill will take place within one to two weeks, and he is traveling back to Raleigh next week to continue lobbying.

“The whole point is to get people talking,” explained Hall. “The overarching goal is to get exposure and let as many people know as possible that when they turn on a light switch a mountain is getting ripped down. These committees are unbelievable forums to lay out all arguments against mountaintop removal.”

Appalachian Voices does not expect a vote on the bill from the Senate Commerce Committee this session. Hall and his supporters are hoping the hearing will bring more attention to the bill while allowing it to remain on the docket until the General Assembly’s 2009-10 session.

If the bill is not passed by the May 15 General Assembly legislative deadline, yet it is still tabled in either a House of Senate committee—which it will be—then it will ‘sleep’ until the 2009-10 session. Even if the Senate votes the bill down in an unexpected turn of events, the bill will still be tabled in the House and live to see the next session.

To make it to the floor of the General Assembly, the bill must either make it through one Senate committee or make it through three House committees.

“In North Carolina, we have more bipartisan support of the bill than in any other state,” said Hall. “This fall, I’m going to hit the road and go to every district in North Carolina, host meetings and speak about this bill. I will develop constituent support so it’s not just the members of the General Assembly who are hearing about it, it’s also the people who vote for them. Every person has to know about it. It’s very grassroots.”