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In August 2008, Laurel Mountain Preservation Association received approval from the IRS as a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. We greatfully accept donations to support our educational programs and other activities promoting sustainable living and wise energy choices in West Virginia and in other states.
We recently provided a workshop on "Fall Organic Gardening" and we provided information to the public at a booth in the Forest Festival in Elkins, WV. We have prepared workshops on the "Geology of West Virginia", the "Water Resources of West Virginia", and "Industrial-Scale Wind Projects Fail as Green Energy". We can provide these free workshops to your group, organization, or school. Please contact us for details and scheduling!

The Marcellus Shale has been the most recent popular topic of exploitation in West Virginia. The shale is described as a black shale because it is black in color, containing kerogen. Kerogen is not oil. Kerogen is derived from coal-forming materials which accumulated in an oxygen-starved environment and which were subsequently exposed to heat and pressure from overlying sediments and mountain-building processes. Kerogen has a higher molecular weight than oil. It is “released” from shale by a drilling methodology which uses approximately one million gallons of pressurized water per well (a process called hydraulic fracturing or “hydrofracking”), with the addition of silica (stored in silos and which can potentially release silica dust to the surrounding area: this can cause silicosis in people who breath the silica dust) and chemicals such as surfactants to help release the kerogen. So far, none of the drilling companies has released composition of the chemical constituents added to the drilling water. The Marcellus Shale contains the following radioactive elements: uranium, thorium, radium 226, radium 228, and radon; it is considered highly radioactive by Hill, D.G., Lombardi, T.E. and Martin, J.P. 2004: “Fractured Shale Gas Potential in New York”; Northeastern Geology and Environmental Sciences, Vol. 26. p.8 (http://www.pe.tamu.edu/wattenbarger/public_html/Selected_papers/--Shale%20Gas/fractured%20shale% 20gas%20potential%20in%20new%20york.pdf). The Marcellus Shale contains the mineral pyrite (iron sulfide), which forms into sulfuric acid and iron hydroxide when exposed to water and air. The resulting acidic drainage dissolves toxic metals occurring in the surrounding rock, thereby releasing them to the environment. Toxic metals typically released by acid drainage (the same as coal mining drainage) can include copper, aluminum, cadmium, arsenic, lead, mercury, cobalt, chromium, molybdenum, nickel,
vanadium, and zinc. Problems associated with drilling the Marcellus shale in such wells include: 1) the excessive use of water from nearby rivers and streams, impacting our water resources; 2) the release of radioactive materials into the air (as methane gas); 3) the release of radioactive materials onto the ground surface and into streams from drill cuttings and from recovery of drilling water directed into streams; 4) the release of radioactive materials into groundwater from “backwashing” of the pressurized water introduced into the well and from underground injection of the used drilling water; and 5) the release of toxic metals and excessive acidity (similar to acid mine drainage) into our streams from drill cuttings and recovered drilling water directed into streams. Any radioactive methane gas recovered from the well is piped to holding tanks and subsequently transported to major gas lines such as the Tennessee Pipeline in Pennsylvania or the Millennium Pipeline in New York to be sold to the public. Therefore, there are hundreds of miles of numerous pipelines associated with transporting the radioactive methane gas from the wells. On the internet, there are numerous websites available which provide information on the Marcellus Shale and the potential environmental problems which can occur. Some of these sites are: http://www.statejournal.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=42542; http://www.wvsoro.org/resources/marcellus/OGAPMarcellusShaleReport-6-12-08.pdf; and http://www.wvsoro.org/resources/how_a_well_is_drilled/index.html.

Pamela C. Dodds, Ph.D.
Registered Professional Geologist

Information about unexpectedly large numbers of bat deaths at a wind energy site in Montana can be accessed at http://www.windaction.org/news/16470. TRC (evidently the same contractor who provided the AES application to the WV PSC for a wind project on Laurel Mountain in Randolph and Barbour Counties, WV) has been conducting post-construction avian and bat fatality monitoring and grassland bird displacement surveys (at a cost of more than $200,000) for Judith Gap Energy, LLC, which is owned by Chicago-based Invenergy. The wind farm is the largest in Montana, spanning 14,300 acres of public land in Wheatland County. It is important to note that more research must be conducted to understand why wind turbines kill such great numbers of bats. There is also a report in a recent “Bats” magazine issue of the Bat Conservation International that pointed out a surprising amount of bat deaths at a wind energy site on the plains of Canada. Paul Cryan (U.S.G.S.) reported to the USFWS Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee that bats may be attracted to wind turbines as part of their mating habits: male bats seek the highest trees to attract female bats (http://www.fws.gov/habitatconservation/windpower/wind_turbine_advisory_committee.html). The male bats are slaughtered by wind turbines in far greater numbers than the female bats. The evidence supports the theory that the male bats regard the wind turbines as the highest “trees”. This information should direct wind turbine research toward the smaller vertical-axis, drag-type wind turbines which can be used at residences or in cities. Use of small wind turbines would make the energy available where it is needed and would eliminate the environmental problems of habitat fragmentation, watershed destruction, and bat and avian mortalities.

ABSTRACT
This report documents a consistent, often debilitating, complex of symptoms experienced by adults and children while living near large (1.5-3 MW) industrial wind turbines, examines patterns of individual
susceptibility, and proposes pathophysiologic mechanisms. Symptoms include sleep disturbance,
headache, tinnitus, ear pressure, dizziness, vertigo, nausea, visual blurring, tachycardia, irritability,
problems with concentration and memory, and panic episodes associated with sensations of internal
pulsation or quivering which arise while awake or asleep.
The study is a case series of 10 affected families, with 38 members age 0-75, living 305 m to 1.5 km
(1000 to 4900 ft) from wind turbines erected since 2004. All competent and available adults and older
teens completed a detailed clinical interview about their own and their children’s symptoms, sensations,
and medical conditions before turbines were erected near their homes, while living near operating
turbines, and after leaving their homes or spending a prolonged period away.
Statistically significant risk factors for symptoms during exposure include pre-existing migraine disorder, motion sensitivity, or inner ear damage (pre-existing tinnitus, hearing loss, or industrial noise exposure). Symptoms are not statistically associated with pre-existing anxiety or other mental health disorders. The symptom complex resembles syndromes caused by vestibular dysfunction. People without known risk factors are also affected.
The proposed pathophysiology posits disturbance to balance and position sense due to low frequency noise or vibration stimulating receptors for the balance system (vestibular, somatosensory, or visceral sensory, as well as visual stimulation from moving shadows) in a discordant fashion. Vestibular neural signals are known to affect a variety of brain areas and functions, including memory, spatial processing, complex problem-solving, fear, autonomic effects, and aversive learning, providing a robust neural framework for the symptom associations in Wind Turbine Syndrome. Further research is needed to establish prevalence and to explore effects in special populations, including children. This and other
studies suggest that safe setbacks will at least 2 km (1.24 mi), and will be longer for larger turbines and in more varied topography.

BUY Nina Pierpont's Book: www.windturbinesyndrome.com

In spite of overwhelming opposition, the West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) has approved construction of a 500 kV transmission line proposed by Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line Company, referenced as TrAILCo and owned by Allegheny Power, conditional on construction approval by the State of Pennsylvania. The transmission line would be constructed for a distance of 114 miles through six WV counties: Monongalia, Preston, Tucker, Grant, Hardy, and Hampshire (http://nietc.anl.gov/). The corridor of the transmission line includes 5 miles on either side of the proposed location, which affects additional counties: Taylor, Mineral, and Marion. The PSC has failed its mission to determine that a project "will result in an acceptable balance between reasonable power needs and reasonable environmental factors”. Electricity transmitted through the power lines will not provide electricity to West Virginia Residents; however, the Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line Company has provided notice to the PSC that Allegheny Power customers (PJM customers) in WV will have a rate increase due to construction costs of the proposed 500 kV transmission line. The construction cost is estimated to be $390 million in WV. The rate increase will affect Allegheny Power electric customers statewide even though none of the electricity from the transmission line will serve WV residents. The PSC has assigned Case No. 07-0508-E-CN to this project (http://www.psc.state.wv.us/).

The West Virginia Sierra Club (http://westvirginia.sierraclub.org/) has filed a motion to the PSC to reconsider this case. Additionally, the Sierra Club is addressing the proposed 765 kV transmission lines, referenced as PATH (Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline), through West Virginia. These lines would connect with the TrAILCo transmission line, causing additional cost to WV residents and negatively impacting the environment. Information is available at http://www.pathtransmission.com/maps/default.asp.