E82 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks January 14, 2009 

HONORING MELANIE BARKER 

HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, January 14, 2009 

Mr. RADANOVICH. Madam Speaker, I rise 

today to congratulate Melanie Barker as the 

outgoing President of the Yosemite Gateway 

Association of Realtors. Ms. Barker will be 

recognized at the annual installation luncheon 

for the Yosemite Gateway Association of Realtors on November 21, 2008 in Oakhurst, California. 

The Yosemite Gateway Association of Realtors (YGAOR) was first known as the Mountain Co-Op in 1998 with a group of eight volunteers. Today, the group has paid professional staff and ownership of the Association’s 

building. YGAOR was responsible for developing one of the first computerized Multiple 

Listing Systems, which continues to operate 

with the latest technology. They work very 

closely with the California Association of Realtors by providing leadership at regional and 

statewide levels. YGAOR provides educational 

opportunities for members and fundraising activities that benefit local non-profit organizations and scholarship programs. 

Under Ms. Barker’s leadership, YGAOR had 

a very successful year. The 8th Annual Monster Rummage Sale was held earlier this year 

and raised over $70,000, the highest since it’s 

establishment. The proceeds were donated to 

local non-profit charities. Over the years, the 

YGAOR Scholarship Golf Tournament has 

raised over $84,000 for college scholarships 

for high school seniors from local high 

schools. Ms. Barker has been instrumental in 

the establishment of the Women’s Council of 

Realtors. She was able to establish an ‘‘Affiliate Committee’’ to give the Association direct 

communication to the Office of the President. 

The committee structure within YGAOR has 

become stronger with her leadership by 

prioritizing structure and establishing goals to 

be discussed at biannual meetings. Ms. Barker has successfully brought the Senior Real 

Estate Specialist designation to the area 

through the efforts of the Education Committee. 

With Ms. Barker’s role at YGAOR, she has 

been a strong leader by providing a voice of 

optimism for local real estate. She has involved herself with many speaking engagements and editorial opportunities. Her goal 

was to provide a positive realtor image in the 

community and has accomplished this through 

her leadership during one of the toughest 

housing markets this nation has ever seen. 

She has been able to develop and build upon 

relationships with fellow realtors throughout 

the region and the state. She has also committed three weeks a year to further her education on the real estate industry and in turn, 

teach other members of YGAOR. Ms. Barker, 

the committee chairs and all of the volunteers 

have made 2008 a very successful year. 

In 2008, Ms. Barker was also elected as Assistant Region 12 Chair for the California Association of Realtors and will become the Region 12 Chair in 2010. Prior to being named 

as President of YGAOR, she was the first 

Local Government Relations Chair and Government Affairs Director for YGAOR. In 2006, 

Ms. Barker became a California Golden R. 

Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend 

and congratulate Melanie Barker upon her 

achievements. I invite my colleagues to join 

me in wishing Ms. Barker and the Yosemite 

Gateway Association of Realtors many years 

of continued success. 

f 

RECOGNIZING THE EFFORTS OF 

THOSE WHO SERVE THEIR COMMUNITIES ON MARTIN LUTHER 

KING DAY 

SPEECH OF

HON. JOHN B. LARSON OF CONNECTICUT

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, January 13, 2009 

Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I 

rise in support of H. Res. 43—Recognizing the 

efforts of those who serve their communities 

on Martin Luther King Day. Of the many legacies left behind by this great leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s message of community 

building is one that resonates with us today. 

Martin Luther King Jr. recognized that in 

striving toward equality, the true work begins 

in the neighborhoods and streets of our communities. King demonstrated power of service 

through his work spreading his message 

across the United States. We not only pause 

on January 19, 2009, Martin Luther King Day 

to remember his legacy, but we use this as a 

day to promote his message of service. Volunteers across this great nation are working on 

service projects to commemorate his vision 

and teachings. In addition to asking Americans 

to serve, President-elect Obama, Vice President-elect BIDEN, and their families will participate in service activities. President-elect 

Barack Obama leads by example as a former 

Chicago community organizer, helping people 

one at a time. When he calls for progress and 

change he asks the American people to participate in that change. Martin Luther King Day 

should inspire us all to participate in serving 

our communities throughout the year. 

Mr. Speaker, I rise in commemoration and 

celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin 

Luther King Jr. In addition, in the coming days 

and beyond, I encourage my fellow Americans 

to both celebrate great change that has come 

and strive to be the change that we need as 

we progress towards King’s vision of the ‘‘beloved community.’’ 

f 

COAL ASH RECLAMATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY ACT OF 

2009 

HON. NICK J. RAHALL, II OF WEST VIRGINIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, January 14, 2009 

Mr. RAHALL. Madam Speaker, years ago a 

coal miner from West Virginia wrote a letter to 

me noting that every single federal law regulating coal was penned in blood. He was referring to the fact that it took an explosion claiming 78 souls in 1968 at a mine in Farmington, 

West Virginia, to give rise to the Federal Coal 

Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969. And that 

it took the failure of a coal slurry impoundment 

at Buffalo Creek, in Logan County, West Virginia, that killed 125 people, for the Congress 

to finally pass the Surface Mining Control and 

Reclamation Act of 1977. 

Just a few weeks ago, in December, a facility owned by the Tennessee Valley Authority 

(TVA) gave way, unleashing an avalanche of 

coal ash sludge that covered more than 300 

acres. This time Heaven intervened, and 

thankfully no lives were lost. 

This disaster—which could have been 

avoided if TVA had exercised appropriate engineering and monitoring regimes at its Kingston facility in Harriman, Tennessee—was a 

clarion call for action. Now is the time to take 

that action, before any lives are lost to a similar disaster. 

Simply put, there are no federal standards 

for coal ash impoundments. They are constructed and maintained under a patchwork of 

State requirements, or on a voluntary basis. 

Today I am introducing legislation to impose 

uniform federal design, engineering, and performance standards on coal ash impoundments. These standards are aimed at ensuring 

the structural stability of these impoundments, 

and requiring adequate monitoring and inspection regimes to avoid a repeat of what happened at Kingston, Tennessee, and what almost happened just last week at another TVA 

facility in Alabama. 

Coal ash is a byproduct of the combustion 

of coal at electric utility powerplants. Some of 

the coal ash produced is recycled, usually as 

construction materials like concrete, Portland 

cement, and wallboard. However, the majority 

of coal ash is deposited in impoundments, 

landfills, or mines. 

The larger issue here is how to regulate 

coal ash, and, in this respect, the track record 

is woefully inadequate. Back in 1980, former 

Representative Tom Bevill of Alabama and 

this gentleman from West Virginia successfully 

offered an amendment to what became the 

Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1980 requiring the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to determine how to regulate coal ash. 

I am sorry to say that after 29 years the 

EPA has yet to do so. Over the years, I have 

cajoled the agency to move forward. It came 

close to making a decision under the Clinton 

Administration, then retrenched under the 

Bush Administration. I called for a study by the 

National Research Council of the National 

Academy of Sciences on this issue, which was 

completed in 2006. Following up on that study, 

last year our colleague, Rep. JIM COSTA, in his 

capacity as the Chairman of the Energy and 

Minerals Subcommittee of the Natural Resources Committee, held a hearing on coal 

ash. The study, and the hearing, all pointed to 

the pressing need for a federal regulatory regime governing the disposal of coal ash, 

whether in impoundments, landfills, or in 

mines. 

I have no doubt that the Obama Administration will finally take action on this issue. In the 

meantime, however, the purpose of my legislation is to address the engineering aspects of 

the impoundments themselves. 

For its part, the electric utility industry says 

it complies with voluntary guidelines in this 

matter. And some States claim they have adequate requirements. Yet, as it stands, one 

State might require strict standards for the 

construction of a coal ash pond, while the 

State next door largely ignores how coal ash 

ponds are constructed. Pennsylvania, for example, requires a solid waste permit for all 

surface impoundments that receive coal ash, 

while Illinois and Indiana are among the states 

that regulate surface impoundments as water 


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