The Front Porch Blog, with Updates from AppalachiaThe Front Porch Blog, with Updates from Appalachia

Action needed: Va. General Assembly considers pipeline policy fixes

Thursday, February 4th, 2016 | Posted by Hannah Wiegard | No Comments

Late last month, we learned that the U.S. Forest Service rejected the Atlantic Coast Pipeline’s proposed route. This development significantly checks the lickety-split pace of the project. If that renews your desire to take action, there are opportunities channel that feeling into these important legislative fights in the General Assembly. [ Read More ]


The 2016 General Assembly session begins in Virginia

Thursday, January 21st, 2016 | Posted by Hannah Wiegard | No Comments

Clean energy is a major area for potential policy changes during this year’s General Assembly session. But some of the most exciting measures that legislators are considering face significant challenges. Here is a roundup of energy bills to watch. [ Read More ]


North Carolina’s reckless approach to the Clean Power Plan: Part 1

Monday, January 11th, 2016 | Posted by Rory McIlmoil | 2 Comments

North Carolina’s elected leaders and agency officials, with little say from the citizens they represent, have placed us on a reckless course in regard to our future energy mix and our ability as a state to determine that future. But together we can change that. [ Read More ]


Coal, Congress and the art of lying

Monday, January 11th, 2016 | Posted by Tarence Ray | 1 Comment

It’s amazing how much work goes into stretching the truth. It’s even more amazing when media outlets and political leaders latch onto that “truth” and peddle it without scrutiny. A recent and relevant example: an economic impact analysis of the Stream Protection Rule, commissioned by the National Mining Association. [ Read More ]


Bleak outlook for coal in 2016

Friday, January 8th, 2016 | Posted by Brian Sewell | No Comments

After the dismal year coal had in 2015, more hard times for the industry are ahead. Nowhere is the struggle more real than in Central Appalachia. A new white paper from Downstream Strategies tells the story of Appalachian coal over the past few decades in five simple charts. [ Read More ]


Coal’s death knell in Kentucky

Monday, January 4th, 2016 | Posted by Tarence Ray | No Comments

The final months of 2015 may prove to be a historic moment for Kentucky’s politics and the state’s struggling coal industry. But it remains to be seen how the industry will maintain its political power in the Bluegrass State. [ Read More ]


Budget holds promise for Central Appalachia

Friday, December 18th, 2015 | Posted by Thom Kay | 1 Comment

Today the U.S. Congress passed a spending bill that covers expenditures for agencies including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Department of the Interior, Department of Labor, and the Appalachian Regional Commission. The spending bill is a big deal for Appalachian Voices and our work. And honestly, it looks pretty darn good. [ Read More ]


What to expect for Virginia’s energy policy in 2016

Friday, December 18th, 2015 | Posted by Hannah Wiegard | No Comments

Around this time of year, we usually offer a legislative preview, looking ahead at the issues that will arise in the upcoming session of the Virginia General Assembly. Recent events relate to some of those possible energy policy changes, thickening the plot and making this session one worth engaging in — especially for customers of Appalachian Power Company. [ Read More ]


An end to Frasure Creek’s water violations in Kentucky — finally

Thursday, December 10th, 2015 | Posted by Erin Savage | 1 Comment

Late Monday evening, Appalachian Voices and our partners finalized a historic settlement in our case against Frasure Creek Mining. The settlement follows a five-year-long legal battle to protect eastern Kentucky’s waterways and bring a coal company notorious for violating environmental laws to justice. [ Read More ]


NC DEQ’s blatant bid for control

Tuesday, December 8th, 2015 | Posted by Ridge Graham | No Comments

Over the past few months, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality has seemed determined to have complete environmental regulatory control with little regard for federal or public input. In this endeavor, DEQ has taken every chance to highlight how external forces, including citizens groups and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, are simply getting in its way. [ Read More ]


North Carolina lawmakers put fracking first

Wednesday, November 18th, 2015 | Posted by Amy Adams | No Comments

Residents across North Carolina are looking to their local government officials to oppose fracking since pleas to decision makers in Raleigh have largely fallen on deaf ears. The town of Walnut Cove, N.C., and Rockingham County recently joined the small but growing list of localities where commissions of elected officials have passed anti-fracking moratoriums. [ Read More ]


I heard it through the pipeline

Friday, November 6th, 2015 | Posted by Brian Sewell | No Comments

From Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s perspective, it’s probably best to just keep a lid on what state officials say publicly about controversial natural gas pipelines proposed to cut through the state. But among opponents of the pipelines, the administration’s actions are only deepening skepticism of the governor and his relationship with the projects' primary backers. [ Read More ]



 

 


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