Search Results: south fork coal

Environmental groups sue South Fork Coal over damages near Cranberry Wilderness

The West Virginia Highlands Conservancy and Appalachian Voices sued South Fork Coal Company today for ongoing violations of the federal Clean Water Act and Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act at five coal mines in Greenbrier County, West Virginia.

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American Rivers names Gauley River to America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2025, due to toxic coal mining pollution

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEApril 16, 2025 CONTACTHawk Hammer, National Communications and Media Director, Hhammer@americanrivers.org   Andrew Young, staff attorney for the Allegheny Blue Ridge Alliance (ABRA), ayoung@abralliance.org Dan Radmacher, Media Specialist, Appalachian Voices, (276) 289-1018, dan@appvoices.org  WASHINGTON, D.C. — The threat of toxic pollution from coal strip mining in the headwaters of one of the Gauley’s primary tributaries — the…

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Presidential orders to prop up coal companies would increase pollution, damage public lands and raise power bills 

President Trump signed four executive orders aimed at propping up declining coal-fired power plants and reducing environmental protections for communities impacted by coal plants and mining.

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Bankrupt coal company cited for releasing ‘sludge’ into West Virginia’s Gauley River watershed

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection issued its latest notice of violation against South Fork Coal Company, the bankrupt mining firm operating a 3,600-acre surface mining complex in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, on March 24. The citation was issued for “iron staining and sludge deposits” in Becky Run caused by the company’s Lost Flats #2 Surface Mine.

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Coal company with 80+ clean water violations files for bankruptcy

South Fork Coal Company and its parent entities Xinergy and White Forest Resources, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware. The move follows the company’s well-documented pattern of water pollution and mine clean-up violations, which have drawn mounting public scrutiny and legal actions.

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Federal regulators shut down illegal WV coal haul road — Interior quietly reopens it at company’s request

In a whirlwind of conflicting decisions, the U.S. Department of the Interior has quietly allowed South Fork Coal Company to resume hauling coal through the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia — just weeks after Biden administration regulators shut down the unlawful haul road.

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Federal regulators issue notice to DEP for failing to enforce environmental protections at Greenbrier County coal mines

A notice issued by federal coal mining regulators outlines the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s failures to address persistent problems at a set of South Fork Coal Company mines and directs state regulators to address the issues and report back.

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Top mine regulator can and must halt illegal coal hauling in the Monongahela National Forest

Sharon Buccino, the acting head of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, could take immediate action to shut down South Fork Coal’s illegal coal hauling operation in the Monongahela National Forest. 

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Conservation groups ask nation’s top coal mine regulator to shut down illegal coal haul road in Monongahela National Forest

Today, 11 conservation organizations urged the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement to take immediate action to close an illegal coal haul road in the Monongahela National Forest in Greenbrier and Pocahontas Counties, West Virginia.

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Upper South and Appalachia Citizen Air Monitoring Project

Main / Holding the Coal Industry Accountable / Upper South and Appalachia Citizen Air Monitoring Project Appalachian Voices’ Central Appalachian Field Coordinator, Willie Dodson, installs an air monitor on a house in Kentucky. Photo by Michael Swensen/Earthjustice Regardless of where we live or how much money we make, we all deserve to breathe clean air…

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