ValleyWatch

We wish you the most wonderful of holidays.

December 23, 2010-by Travis Walter Donovan in the Huffington Post–

Various conservative Christian leaders have united with the Cornwall Alliance for the release of a shocking new 12-part DVD series, “Resisting The Green Dragon,” that attempts to debase and discredit the environmental movement by portraying it as “one of the greatest deceptions of our day” that is “seducing your children” and “striving to put America and the world under its destructive control.”

The hyperbolic accusations spewed throughout the video give it the appearance of a ridiculous parody, calling environmentalism “deadly,” a “cult” and a “spiritual deception.” Unfortunately, the comical PSA is anything but a joke.

In the video, David Barton, founder of WallBuilders, attests that environmentalists’ “false assertions are based more on their own morbid pessimistic fears, not on any good science,” while the president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Dr. Richard Land, says, “Environmentalists have a long history of believing and promoting exaggerations and myths” — statements both so steeped in irony that they are hardly worth parrying.

From the series’ press release:

“One of the greatest threats to society and the church today is the multifaceted environmentalist movement,” says Cornwall Alliance founder and national spokesman Dr. E. Calvin Beisner. “There isn’t an aspect of life that it doesn’t seek to force into its own mold.”

RightWingWatch.org put together the following highlight reel from “Resisting The Green Dragon.” What do you think of the DVD series? Let us know in the comments.

December 23, 2010, by John Russell in the Indianapolis Star-(Editors Note-Valley Watch is one of the intervening groups that will be deposing Turner)

In private, James L. Turner, the second-highest-paid executive at Duke Energy Corp., was rarely at a loss to express himself, exchanging frequent e-mails with Indiana regulators about cars, vacations, alcohol and personnel decisions.

Jim Turner on Duke's website prior to his dismissal

Now a collection of citizens’ and environmental groups is hoping that Turner, who is leaving the company next week under an ethics cloud, will keep talking.

Backed by a state order, they plan to grill him early next year about his role in the company’s decision to hire away several state employees in possible violation of Indiana ethics laws. They also want to question him about the company’s $2.9 billion coal-gasification plant in Edwardsport, which they call a boondoggle.

The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission signed an order Tuesday that compels Turner to appear at a deposition in Indianapolis for questioning by the Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana, the Sierra Club, Save the Valley and Valley Watch.

The groups plan to ask Turner about “anything and everything” concerning his relationship with several state officials and Duke employees who were fired earlier this year in a growing ethics scandal, said Kerwin Olson, program manager for Citizens Action Coalition.

“He was the go-to guy in the whole affair,” Olson said. “We want to know exactly what role he played.”

The groups want to use any information they can get from Turner to help build a case that Duke Energy used undue influence in getting the state to approve the Edwardsport plant and its cost overruns, much of which will be passed along to consumers. The groups want to halt construction at the plant, which is more than halfway completed, and have Duke foot much of the bill on the grounds that the company has concealed information and mismanaged the project. (More)

Illustration © 2010 John Blair

Ceres recently released a new report concluding that coal-to-liquid (CTL) and oil shale technologies face significant environmental and financial obstacles—from water constraints, to technological uncertainties to regulatory and market risks—that pose substantial financial risks for investors involved in such projects.

Ceres is a national network of investors, environmental organizations and other public interest groups working with companies and investors to address sustainability challenges such as global climate change.

Authored by David Gardiner and Associates, the Ceres-commissioned report recommends that investors closely scrutinize their portfolios for exposure to these projects and press companies leading the ventures to provide better disclosure on wide-ranging risks and steps for managing such risks. The report comes as oil majors like ExxonMobil, Chevron and Shell, and other companies, are developing at least a couple dozen oil shale and CTL projects, including 12 CTL facilities projected to produce 170 million barrels of liquid fuels per year at a cost of $2 billion to $7 billion per plant.More at:

By John Blair, president of Valley Watch, Inc.

Evansville, IN, December 10, 2010 – Duke Energy always rewards it creepy disgraced executives it seems. A couple of days ago James L. Turner resigned in disgrace after the Indianapolis Star revealed emails between him and his buddy, David Lott Hardy, who was the Chairman of the Indiana Utility Regulator Commission.

Those communications may have been illegal as ex parte communications but hey, it is Indiana, where the line between the regulators and the regulated has been ill defined for a long time but especially in the last six years as Mitch Daniels has strategically placed industry leaders in the position of regulating the industries they work for.

In Duke’s case, the practice of giving rewards to those who seemingly do some of the worst damage to their Indiana Customers is almost a tradition dating back at least to the massive compensation and retirement benefits offered to then Public Service Indiana Chair and CEO, Hugh Barker, who oversaw the company’s stock crashing in 1984 when construction of the Marble Hill nuclear plant was forced to stop by the exasperated administration of Governor Robert Orr.

Illustration by John Blair

The Marble Hill case closely mirrors what is happening today with the precarious Edwardsport new coal plant being build near Vincennes in Knox County. In both cases, the Company gathered great political and business support for construction low balling projected cost figures that later turned out to be grossly small compared to final costs.

When Marble Hill was first proposed in 1973, the construction costs was estimated at a mere $700 million. By the time we engaged hearing on the matter before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 1977, projected costs had risen to $1.4 billion.

When construction was halted permanently seven years later, PSI had expended more than $2.7 billion and the plant was estimated to be only 20% complete.

With Edwardsport, Duke, PSI’s successor company, announced their plant in 2006 and told Indiana politicians the cost would be  $1.2 billion and that the plant would capture and sequester carbon dioxide. But by the time the Utility Regulatory Commission held a public hearing on the matter, the costs had mushroomed to $1.9 billion without carbon capture, let alone sequestration (the US Department of Energy estimates that CCS will cause an additional 50% of capital cost).

At the time of the hearing 8/30/07, Valley Watch warned the IURC (see:http://valleywatch.net/wp-content/uploads/docs/Blair.mp3) to carefully control costs or expect the same scenario as Marble Hill in the long run.

Since then, Duke has been back before the Commission seeking greater and greater increases in their projected costs, claiming increased materials prices even though most of those prices were in serious decline during most of the ensuing years due to the global recession. As a result, construction costs is now estimated at just under $3 billion without any sort of carbon controls.

© 2007 John Blair. File Photo of Indiana Governor, Mitch Daniels

Continue reading →

November 28, 2010-By John Russell, in the Indianapolis Star. In dozens of e-mails, obtained by The Indianapolis Star under an open records request, the two men schmoozed and joked over all sorts of personal topics, sometimes trading messages eight or 10 times a day. Photo © 2010 John Blair is a file photo of David Lott Hardy. James L. Turner, the second-highest-paid executive at Duke Energy Corp., liked keeping in touch with Indiana regulators, even on a long holiday weekend when he was riding in a boat.

On July 2, Turner sent an e-mail to David Lott Hardy, then chairman of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, telling him he was heading out on a channel to Lake Michigan.

David Lott Hardy in file Photo © 2009 John Blair

“Would the ethics police have a cow if you and the woman came up some weekend?” he wrote.

Hardy wrote back: “Probably — we might ‘be in the area’ some afternoon, but I won’t be doing this forever.”

A few minutes later, he added that driving to the lake would be a fun outing in a high-performance BMW M5. “It would be a nice run in the M5 and a cheaper [Michigan] journey as usually we only go to [Michigan] so the woman can go to Nieman Marcus.”

In dozens of e-mails, obtained by The Indianapolis Star under an open records request, the two men schmoozed and joked over all sorts of personal topics, sometimes trading messages eight or 10 times a day. At one point, Hardy offered advice on what kind of BMW Turner should buy. Another time, they talked about Butler University’s basketball championship games. Several times, they had frank discussions on private personnel matters involving Duke officials and job candidates.

Taken together, the e-mails paint a picture of a cozy relationship that extended far beyond a professional association between a utility executive and a powerful state regulator.

They also show that the friendly relationship between Duke and Indiana regulators, which resulted in the firing of Duke’s Indiana president, Mike Reed, in an ethics scandal earlier this month, extended all the way to Duke’s headquarters in North Carolina.

Turner is one of Duke Energy’s top executives, responsible for the company’s regulated business segment, which is Duke’s largest, and for legislative and regulatory strategy and rates. He oversees a vast portfolio, with responsibility for power delivery, gas distribution, customer service and several other functions. (MORE)
Go to Original

November 23, 2010-Indianapolis Star Editorial.Rolling heads at this point may repair some credibility damage, but it leaves unanswered a glaring question about the validity of Duke’s highly controversial and hugely expensive Edwardsport coal gasification plant.

The revolving-door scandal that forced the firing of its chairman would seem to call for a wholesale makeover of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. That’s unlikely to happen without a change in how the powerful body is formed.

illustration by John Blair

Of the 12 applicants for the seat previously occupied by David Lott Hardy — the chairman who was fired by the governor — at least three have ties to regulated industries and five hail from the executive branch of state government.

Gov. Mitch Daniels, as the state’s chief executive, will appoint one of three finalists selected by a nominating committee.

In most states, that process is too close for comfort. Indiana is one of the few that do not choose utility regulators by general election or the vote of a legislative body.

The resulting Hoosier tradition has been one of mostly quiet cronyism, with commissioners and staff often coming from utility companies and often leaving for jobs in those industries.

The quiet was disturbed in the Hardy case by consumer watchdogs who pointed out that then-IURC general counsel Scott Storms had been negotiating for a job with Duke Energy while involved in a $2.9 billion Duke case before the commission.

At first, Hardy, the IURC and the State Ethics Commission cleared Storms of any wrongdoing. The outside critics persisted and were vindicated. Duke fired the newly hired Storms and Daniels fired Hardy (who is, by the way, a former lawyer for Duke’s predecessor company).

Rolling heads at this point may repair some credibility damage, but it leaves unanswered a glaring question about the validity of Duke’s highly controversial and hugely expensive Edwardsport coal gasification plant. Beyond that, the administration has acknowledged no issue in the fact that three of the four remaining IURC members have industry connections.

The reasoning commonly given for this coziness, not only with IURC but also with regulators in such areas as environment and insurance, is know-how. But know-how is attainable outside the industries, as has been shown. More important to governance is knowing how — how consumers are affected.

Throwing the selection process out to elections or legislative review, both of which have been proposed, would not necessarily be a panacea. Corporate dollars would influence voters; lobbying and partisanship would have their usual effect on lawmakers. But at least the public and/or its elected representatives would have some say over whom to entrust with, among other public business, $14 billion a year in utility rates. With all due respect to the governor, it’s time to invite the payers of the heat bill in from the cold.

Go to Original

November 21, 2010-by the Associated Press in the Louisville Courier Journal. A map of Indiana in the report shows hundreds of red dots at river and stream sites across the state where sampling found mercury-contaminated fish. In 2005, coal-fired power plants were responsible for 58 percent of all mercury emissions into Indiana’s air. The other largest contributors were steel mills and cement plants. Photo:John Blair

Photo © 2006 John Blair

One in eight fish taken from Indiana waterways and analyzed over a five-year period was tainted with the toxic metal mercury, according to federal scientists who last year reported that precipitation falling near southeastern Indiana’s coal-fired power plants harbors some of the nation’s highest concentrations of atmospheric mercury.

The study led by U.S. Geological Survey hydrologist Martin Risch also showed that mercury contamination in both surface water and fish across Indiana routinely exceeds levels recommended to protect humans and animals.

Risch said the front cover of the mercury report includes photographs of an eagle and a boy holding a big fish.

“The young person needs to be told how many big fish he can eat to protect his health,” Risch said.

Mercury released by coal-fired plants, metals industries and other sources enters the food chain and can accumulate in fish species that humans eat. Women who eat tainted fish during pregnancy or while breast-feeding can unknowingly lower their child’s intelligence because mercury is a potent neurotoxin that harms the developing brain and can cause other problems. (MORE)
Go to Original

Illustration by John Blair

October 28, 2010-Since costs have gone up on the plant by a whopping $990 million, Valley Watch, Sierra Club, Save the Valley and the Citizens Action Coalition are asking for at least two field hearings so the public can sound off on the gigantic rate increases they are facing as a result of the fiasco and scandal that has become synonymous with “Dupe Energy.”
A coalition of consumer and environmental organizations filed a request today with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission that two public field hearings be scheduled regarding the cost increases pertaining to the problem plagued IGCC power plant currently under construction in Knox County by Duke Energy. The coalition also questions Duke Energy’s continued need for the overly expensive project.

“Given the ethical and legal questions swirling around the decisions made regarding the Edwardsport plant, its escalating cost, and the questionable need for the plant in relation to more economic alternatives, we urge the IURC to hold several public hearings at locations and times accessible for public comment by Duke ratepayers, who ultimately will foot the bill for this expensive experiment”, said Steve Francis, state chairperson for the Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter.

Citizens Action Coalition has gathered over 450 signatures to date from Duke Ratepayers requesting that hearings be held. Due to the overwhelming response from the public, CAC intends to continue the petition drive until the hearings are scheduled. Only one public hearing has been held to date regarding the plant. That was in Bloomington in 2007 where hundreds attended and dozens spoke, the majority in opposition to the project. “Duke’s customers saw this disaster coming three years ago,” states Kerwin Olson, Program Director for CAC. “The question is why Duke’s management and regulators didn’t also see it coming. Could it be that they were blinded by the fact that Duke makes more and more money off the project the more expensive it becomes?” added Mr. Olson.

John Blair, president of the environmental health group Valley Watch, based in Evansville asserted: “This plant has increased ratepayer risk substantially since it was first approved by the IURC. Now we know about the cozy and corrupt connection between Duke and the IURC by the ongoing scandal that has come to light. It is time to allow the public to again weigh in on the need and veracity of the ill fated Edwardsport project with hearings throughout the Duke service territory.”

Richard Hill, President of Save the Valley, an environmental group based in Madison, added: “We believe there are numerous unanswered questions regarding the need and costs of this plant. A public hearing is needed to bring those questions to light.”

“This plant never should have been approved in the first place,” states Grant Smith, Executive Director of CAC. “We have been saying from the beginning that first and foremost, this plant is not needed. Secondly, Duke Ratepayers should not be mandated to foot the bill for a science project. Costs are soaring because of what we view as incompetence and mismanagement by Duke. Ratepayers should be given the opportunity to voice their opinions since they are currently the involuntary financiers of this boondoggle.”

illustration by John Blair

October 22, 2010-A new report issued yesterday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says, “Record temperatures across Canadian Arctic and Greenland, a reduced summer sea ice cover, record snow cover decreases and links to some Northern Hemisphere weather support this conclusion.”
Atmosphere:
Arctic climate is impacting mid-latitude weather, as seen in Winter 2009-2010

Sea Ice:
Summer sea ice conditions for previous four years well below 1980s and 1990s

Ocean:
Upper ocean showing year-to-year variability without significant trends

Land:
Low winter snow accumulation, warm spring temperatures lead to record low snow cover duration

Greenland:
Record setting high temperatures, ice melt, and glacier area loss

Biology:
Rapid environmental change threatens to disrupt current natural cycles

[youtube id=”NjmHMSv2Amk”]

Download Arctic Report Card

October 21, 2010-by Jon M. Broder, in the New York Times. “It’s a flat-out lie,” Mr. Dennison said in an interview after the debate, adding that he had based his view on the preaching of Rush Limbaugh and the teaching of Scripture. “I read my Bible,” Mr. Dennison said. “He made this earth for us to utilize,” referring to climate change science
JASPER, Ind. — At a candidate forum here last week, Representative Baron P. Hill, a threatened Democratic incumbent in a largely conservative southern Indiana district, was endeavoring to explain his unpopular vote for the House cap-and-trade energy bill.

Peter Stevenson for The New York Times
Representative Baron P. Hill after a forum in Jasper, Ind., where he tried to defend his vote for a cap-and-trade energy measure.

“Climate change is real, and man is causing it,” Mr. Hill said, echoing most climate scientists. “That is indisputable. And we have to do something about it.”

A rain of boos showered Mr. Hill, including a hearty growl from Norman Dennison, a 50-year-old electrician and founder of the Corydon Tea Party…

(MORE)
Go to Original

October 13, 2010- by John Blair, valleywatch.net editor. Drought conditions have permeated much of southern Indiana for the last few months. Today, DNR warned water users the problem is reaching a serious level. Illustration © 2010 John Blair
Issued only to “Owners and Operators of Significant Water Withdrawal Facilities” the INdiana Departments of Natural Resources and Homeland Security today issued a definitive “warning” calling for a “voluntary reduction in current water use of 10-15%.

A Water Shortage Warning is the second level of concern with “Water Shortage Emergency” being the highest level of action.

The warning advises users to go to a DNR web page for additional instruction as to how such a warning should be implemented. That web site is linked below.

The Warning is posted for Bartholomew, Brown, Clark, Crawford, Dearborn, Decatur, DuBois, Floyd, Franklin, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Jennings, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Ohio, Orange, Perry, Ripley, Scott, Shelby, Spencer, Switzerland, Union and Washington Counties.

Go to web page

Illustration and Photograph © 2008 John Blair

October 6, 2010, by John Blair, valleywatch.net editor. The revolving door between the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission and Duke Energy has been well established for a very long time but may be more difficult in the future. File Photo © 2010 John Blair shows former Chairman Hardy listening at a public hearing regarding a rate increase granted to Vectren.
In what may be the clearest signal yet of a run for the presidency by Indiana Governor, Mitch Daniels, he decided yesterday to try to mitigate a scandal of huge proportions by firing the Chairman of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, David Lott Hardy.

Although the media and even Daniels’ opposition had given Hardy a pass for being the chair of a commission that was intended to regulate his former employer, when the revolving door between the Commission and Duke Energy recently became too crowded to maneuver, Daniels had his General Counsel, David Pippen step in with a stern warning that even the appearance of wrong doing was not allowed.

In a strongly worded memorandum to all State Agency heads, Pippen wrote:

“Recently, a former general counsel and administrative law judge (ALJ) for the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission left state government to work for Duke Energy of Indiana, a regulated entity. I wrote a letter to the IURC explaining the Governor’s interpretation of the spirit and intention of the ethics reform he spearheaded when he came to office. In short, he will not tolerate even the appearance of impropriety.

Upon the Governor’s direction, an internal review of the matter revealed the lawyer was communicating with Duke regarding a position with the company at a time he was presiding over administrative hearings concerning Duke. Additionally, the agency head was aware of the communications and did not remove the lawyer from matters for which the lawyer was now conflicted.

So you understand the seriousness of this matter, I want you to know our response:

1. The Governor has terminated the employment of the chairman of the IURC;

2. The administrative opinions over which the ALJ presided regarding Duke will be reopened and reviewed to ensure no undue influence was exerted in the decisions;

3. The one-year cooling off period for decision makers are to be considered to include ALJs who preside over information gathering and order drafting; and

4. The matter has been referred to the Inspector General to determine if any laws were broken or misinformation given to the Ethics Commission when requesting a formal opinion;

To reiterate the ethics rules as they relate to regulated entities:

1. No ALJ should engage in communications with regulated entities regarding possible employment without recusing oneself from matters appearing before that regulator;

2. Administrative opinions over which an ALJ presided while pursuing employment opportunities with the regulated entity will be reopened and reviewed to ensure no undue influence was exerted in the decision;

3. The one-year cooling off period for decision makers includes ALJs who preside over information gathering and order drafting; and

4. Violations of these points will be referred to the Inspector General.

Please advise your staff to avoid this circumstance in the future.

Atterholt’s appointment is effective immediately. The governor will request that the IURC Nominating Committee begin the process of accepting applications to fill the open position on the commission.”
—
The former Judge Pippen referred to was Scott Storms, who served the Commission as both its Chief Counsel and Chief Administrative Law Judge. It was in his capacity as ALJ that created a clear conflict of interest since Storms had “presided” over nearly all the “dockets” decided by the IURC in what may become Duke Energy Indiana’s largest boondoggle ever, the nearly $3 billion Edwardsport new coal plant currently under construction in SW Indiana.

That plant, and its IURC approval has been challenged by Valley Watch, Save the Valley, the Citizens Action Coalition and the Hoosier Chapter of the Sierra Club since it was first proposed as being too expensive for ratepayers and not even needed for supplying the electrical needs of customers in Duke’s sixty-nine Indiana county “service territory.” Continue reading →