WVFA eNews Weekly

As we have reported here, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has conducted a public hearing on the draft interpretive rule for the Aboveground Storage Tank Program. The new program and the hearing is a requirement of Senate Bill 373, which passed the West Virginia Legislature in March after the Jan. 9 chemical spill in Charleston that contaminated drinking water.

As discussed, all tanks in West Virginia that have the capacity to hold 1,320 gallons or more of liquid, are 90 percent or more above ground and are at a fixed location for at least 60 days are subject to regulation under the program. The draft interpretive rule details the DEP’s plan to classify tanks into three risk categories based on contents, location and size. It also provides guidance to tank owners on the requirements for spill prevention response plans, which are to be submitted by Dec. 3, and tank certifications, which are due Jan. 1.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/wvf-nwl/articles/?aid=289634&issueID=40924 to view the full article online.

This month, the White House Council on Environment Quality released a 79-page Climate and Natural Resources Policy Agenda, summarized on a six-page Fact Sheet, outlining programs to support the President’s Climate Action Plan announced in 2013. The details of the document merit further study, but we note several provisions relative to a role for forestry among the carbon-mitigation measures.

? A "Tall Wood Competition" to demonstrate the use of wood in high-rise construction, as a carbon-sequestration option.

? Endorsing industry-supported initiatives to demonstrate the use of wood in preference to steel and concrete, "as a lower carbon-footprint building material."

? Endorsing a major American Forest Foundation campaign to promote "climate friendly stewardship" among family and individual forestland owners.

Significantly, on Page 28, the Climate and Natural Resources Policy Agenda recommends "Strengthening the collection, coordination and assessment of field inventory data through the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program, the Natural Resources Inventory, and other surveys of terrestrial condition"—a recommendation which, if adequately budgeted, may acknowledge a key point that forestry allies have been advocating in the context of carbon management policy.

Visit http://m.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/Press_Releases/October_8_2014 to view the full article online.

To help foster on-the-ground engagement, the WVDOF and its partners the Cacapon Institute, West Virginia Conservation Agency, West Virginia Potomac Tributary Team, and the USDA Forest Service have created CommuniTree (CTree).

Working with local communities near the Potomac headwaters, CTree provides kits and technical support to help plant native trees in their area. Working with a USDA Forest Service grant, the kits are provided upfront, and communities match the cost with volunteer hours and their own equipment. In turn, the volunteers go to work planting the trees along their roads and in their neighborhoods.

In addition to this physical component, volunteers learn about the dangers of soil erosion, and the importance of concepts such as buffer zones for water quality. This educational side to CTree helps ensure the participants go home with a better understanding of their work, and the knowledge they need to help take the initiative on future projects.

CTree’s volunteers have been of all ages and experience; everyone from elementary school children to seasoned adults have taken part.

All told, from 2008 to 2014, CTree’s volunteers have contributed more than 8,268 hours and planted an astounding 2,207 trees across 70 sites. The project has helped foster stronger and healthier communities in West Virginia.

This month alone, CTree volunteers will plant 370 additional trees on 10 sites within the Potomac River Basin.

Visit http://www.cacaponinstitute.org/Forestry/CTree.htm to view the full article online.

To practice sustainable forestry to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs by practicing and land stewardship ethic that integrates reforestation and the managing, growing, nurturing and harvesting of trees for useful products and ecosystem services such as the conservation of soil, air and water quality, carbon, biological diversity, wildlife and aquatic habitats, recreation, and aesthetics.

Forest Productivity and Health - To provide for regeneration after harvest and maintain the productive capacity of the forest land base, and to protect and maintain long-term forest and soil productivity. In addition, to protect forests from economically or environmentally undesirable levels of wildfire, pests, diseases, invasive exotic plants and animals, and other damaging agents and thus maintain and improve long-term forest health and productivity.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/wvf-nwl/articles/?aid=289633&issueID=40924 to view the full article online.