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Martin County Kentucky is no stranger to the dangers posed by coal slurry dams. In 2000, a slurry dam broke inundating two forks of the Tug River with over 300 million gallons of toxic sludge. This spill as thirty times the size of the Exxon Valdez Spill, and was called one of the worst environmental…

Duke Energy has been ordered to take greater measures to test groundwater near coal ash ponds. The order comes from the North Carolina Division of Water Quality (NCDWQ) in the wake of an October report that found 13 ash ponds owned by Duke and Progress Energy to be leaking toxic waste. Appalachian Voices’ Riverkeeper Donna…

The first time I met Ben Sollee when he came to perform for us during our training in Washington DC at our Annual End Mountaintop Removal Week in Washington. There were close to 150 concerned citizens from California to the Carolinas, and many who were directly impacted by mountaintop removal. Armed only with his cello…

On February 11, Virginia citizens convene at 4 p.m. to participate in a public hearing on the Stream Saver Bill (S. 564), before the Senate Agriculture, Conservation and National Resources Committee held in Richmond, Va. This is the first time ever Virginia has had a state bill to address mountaintop removal! The Stream Saver bill…

The Appalachian Voices’ Waterkeeper Team Continues the Fight Against Water Pollution from Coal The Appalachian Voices Watekeeper team began its journey into the dark abyss of coal ash and its toxic impact to waterways in December of 2008 when it started documenting the environmental harm caused by the TVA coal ash pond spill into the…

Today, President Obama took questions from the House Republican Caucus, including one from Congresswoman Shelly Moore Capito (WV-02) about coal jobs in West Virginia. The exchange begins around minute 19. Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Unofficial Transcript: CONGRESSWOMAN CAPITO: Thank you, Mr. President, for joining us here today.…

A much publicized tree-sit at the Bee Tree mine on Coal River Mountain has come to an end after nine days. Eric Blevins, 28, and Amber Nitchman, 19, descended from their trees this morning citing concerns from cold temperatures. Read the full press release by Climate Ground Zero.

Photo by Climate Ground Zero Representatives from Climate Ground Zero met with West Virignia Governor Manchin today to discuss the harassment of two tree sitters who have halted blasting on Coal River Mountain since last Wednesday. Eric Blevins, 28, and Amber Nitchman, 19, have occupied trees in the Bee Tree strip mine for the past…

On Thursday, I was greeted with this headline by Pam Kasey of the WV State Journal in my inbox: “North-Central W.Va. is Ground Zero for Surface Mine Coal Ash” The topic of the story in a nutshell is this: “Mine operators are spreading serious amounts of coal combustion waste in W.Va. before the EPA declares…

By_Bill_Kovarik An often pointed but unfailingly polite debate Thursday demonstrated a wide gulf between environmental and coal industry positions on Appalachia’s environmental woes. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., president of the Waterkeeper Alliance, challenged coal baron Don Blankenship to be honest about the coal industry’s environmental record, especially mountaintop removal mining. “This is the worst environmental…