Monthly Archives: December 2010

The People vs. Big Coal- Appalachia Water Watch

Our Appalachia Water Watch team has been busy busting Big Coal in Kentucky with great results. After finding over 20,000 violations of the Clean Water Act, including evidence of tampering and falsification of discharge monitoring reports, we filed a legally

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Clean Water Advocates Seek to Intervene in Kentucky’s Settlement with Polluter Coal Companies

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Falsified Monitoring Data in Violation of Federal Law Among the Groups’ Claims ————————————————————– CONTACTS Donna Lisenby for Appalachian Voices, 828-262-1500 Pat Banks for Kentucky Riverkeeper, 859-622-3065 Ted Withrow for Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, 606-784-6885 Nicole Summer and

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Kentucky’s Investigation into Coal Company Water Violations Should Dig Deeper

Last Friday the State of Kentucky announced that they had negotiated a $660,000 settlement with three coal companies over 2,765 water quality related violations at 103 coal mining operations in Kentucky. Based on a recent analysis by Appalachian Water Watch

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Don Blankenship Awarded $12 million Retirement Package

Having run the deadliest coal company in America for 10 years, Don Blankenship will earn a tidy $12 million retirement bonus for his troubles. Maybe this type of reimbursement seems normal in some circles, as this sum is roughly equal

DC Office Open House!

By Mike Alilionis Mountaintop Removal Campaign intern, Fall 2010 In our fight to end mountaintop removal, Appalachian Voices staff work day-in and day-out to make progress on legislation that would stop the destruction of Appalachia. A keystone of our legislative

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New Coal Dust Regs Aimed at Black Lung Disease Resurgence

Story by Bill Kovarik An alarming rise in new cases of black lung disease inspired new Mine Safety and Health Administration regulations announced this fall by the Obama Administration. The new regulations come 15 years after occupational safety and disease

A Coal Miner’s Health

Short term gains and long term loss Story and photo by D.A. Hawkins Coal mining is dangerous work. Spend any length of time talking with a group of underground coal miners and you are sure to hear “war stories” about

Two years after the coal ash disaster: Class action lawsuits target TVA and others

Story by Bill Kovarik Lawsuits against the Tennessee Valley Authority are continuing in the wake of the coal ash disaster two years ago. Currently, 58 lawsuits against TVA have been consolidated into a class action suit alleging various health, economic

Coal Ash: One Woman’s Fight To Save A Community

Story by Jillian Randel Elisa Young walked to the front of the room, slammed down a jar of blackberry ginger crepe syrup and a ziploc bag of coal ash in front of the three Environmental Protection Agency government officials. “Think

Combating A Culture of Substance Abuse in Appalachia

Story by Jared Schultz At the Grandfather Home for Children in Watauga County, N.C., evidence of the devastation that addiction can wreak on families and communities resides in the residents, some as young as infants. One baby, less than a

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