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Canary Coalition News and Action
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Annual Membership Meeting Thursday, June 16, 7 PM 530 W. Main, Sylva, NC (map) DAQ Denies Public Hearings for Power Plant Title V Permit Applications Sign Up for the 2005 Relay for Clean Air and AirAid Concert Support Important Wind Legislation in NC General Assembly Next Wind Tour to TVA Pilot Project, Friday, July 15 Sign Up for Portable Solar Workshop, June 18
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Annual Membership Meeting Thursday, June 16, 7 PM 530 W. Main, Sylva, NC (map)
At this years annual membership meeting we will be counting ballots to elect four new members of the Canary Coalition Governing Board. The Executive Director will read the State of the Canary Address. We will have a roundtable visioning discussion about the future direction of the Canary Coalition. Pizza, beer, snacks and beverages will be served. All are welcome.
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DAQ Denies Public Hearings for Power Plant Title V Permit Applications The NC Division of Air Quality has formally rejected a request from the Canary Coalition to hold public hearings to review the Title V permit applications of four utility-owned coal-burning power plants in North Carolina in 2005. In addition hearings were rejected for eight other NC power plant Title V permit applications requested by Appalachian Voices this year. Last year all hearing requests were denied, as well. This is a serious breach of faith with the environmental community and a reversal of State policy. Former Secretary of DENR Bill Holman, in 1998, had promised that permit applications for each of the fourteen utility-owned coal-burning power plants would be subjected to the public hearing process when they came due. Go to http://www.canarycoalition.org/DAQ/TitleV.doc to review the letter sent by the Canary Coalition to DAQ Director Keith Overcash in response to the notice of hearing denials. Express your outrage that a state agency is being used to protect polluting industries from public scrutiny by contacting: Governor Easley- 20301 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-0301, phone: 1-800-662-7952 Secretary of DENR Bill Ross-1601 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1601, email: bill.ross@ncmail.net, phone: 919-733-4984 DAQ Director Keith Overcash- 1641 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1641, keith.overcash@ncmail.net, phone: 919-715-6290 Also, write letters to the editors of your local newspapers to help inform the public of this mis-use of power by the DAQ (Division of Air Quality). The Canary Coalition is promoting reform of this agency that has a shameful record of lack of enforcement and too often seems to act as spokesman for the industries it is supposed to be regulating.
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Sign Up for the 2005 Relay for Clean Air and AirAid Concert, August 25, 26
Participants and support volunteers are needed for this year's Relay for Clean Air. This year the Relay will begin at Newfound Gap in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at 7PM on Thursday, August 25. The Relay will proceed along the Blue Ridge Parkway for 24 hours and about 100 miles all the way to Biltmore Ave in downtown Asheville, where it will end on Friday, August 26th at the Orange Peel. At that time the AirAid concert/rally will begin featuring nationally popular singer/songwriter Steve Earle, as well as Larry Keel and Natural Bridge, and David Via and Corn Tornado. There will also be a keynote speaker to be announced later. Tickets will be $20. $15 for Relay for Clean Air participants and support workers. Sign up now.
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Support Important Wind Legislation in NC General Assembly Ashe County public officials are asking the State for permission to experiment with a utility-scale wind pilot project. Companion bills have been introduced in the House and Senate that would allow this project to move forward. S441 and H681 need our support. Read this overview of the legislation and then write to members of the House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources and the Senate Commerce Committee and urge them to support the bill. |
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Next Wind Tour to TVA Pilot Project, Friday, July 15 Once again the Canary Coalition is cooperating with TVA to bring NC public officials and community leaders to see, first hand, what a modern wind farm looks and feels like in the southern Appalachian mountain range. In the past this has been a rewarding experience for everyone who has participated. If you're interested in gaining more knowledge and experience about this clean, safe and economically superior energy source, sign up for this all-day event. Read this report on the last tour of the Buffalo Mountain wind project. |
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Portable Solar Generator Workshop, June 18 The Long Branch Environmental Education Center is continuing its workshop
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If you have not already done so, please renew your annual membership with the CanaryCoalition and help keep the database updated with your most recent contact information. There is no annual membership fee, although all donations are gratefully accepted (and very much needed). All new and renewing members receive the interactive membership card, a business card-sized CD that works in your computer’s CDROM. The membership card is a powerful tool that aids its owner in being a clean-air activist. It contains a 15-minute PowerPoint presentation about air quality and the Canary Coalition that can be shown to friends, groups, classrooms, etc. Also on the membership card is a library of documents containing information on important air quality issues. There are also graphics for iron-on applications, printable membership forms and a link to the CC website. For donations of $25 or more tee-shirts are available upon request. Send contact information and donations to: Canary Coalition PO Box 653 Sylva, NC 28779
or you can donate online donate online
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