Public Energy Authority Must Follow State Code and Appoint an Environmental Advocate
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: September 20, 2022
NOTE: Press Release
CONTACT and QUOTES: Linda Frame at lframewv@gmail.com and Gary Zuckett at garyz@wvcag.org
FOR MORE INFO: Morgan King at mking@wvrivers.org
Public Energy Authority Must Follow State Code and Appoint an Environmental Advocate
The Public Energy Authority (PEA) in West Virginia was reactivated over a year ago by Governor Jim Justice. With a mandate to initiate directives and create measures to advance the mineral development industry, the PEA plays an important role in power plant management, “developing the next generation of coal plants and long-term energy policies.” According to West Virginia State Code (§5D-1-4), one of the four board members appointed from the general public must be “a person with significant experience in the advocacy of environmental protection." Given the known and potential impacts of the energy sector on environmental and public health, it is reasonable to expect that this safeguard be met by the PEA in their advisory role.
The West Virginia Climate Alliance and West Virginia Environmental Council are concerned by the lack of representation of environmental advocacy in the board. We question whether the Board is properly constituted without such expertise. Given the Board’s extensive legal authority to promote the energy industry, it is a requirement, according to WV State Code (§5D-1-4;e), that the Board include a true environmental advocate with actual experience, and one who has support from environmental advocacy organizations.
In a letter to Governor Justice in April 2022, the West Virginia Environmental Council offered several nominations of West Virginia environmental advocates for him to consider to join the board. This letter has gone unanswered. If this critical Board is not properly constituted, we question if their actions can be legally justified.
####
