There were bright spots and not-so-bright spots in the 2024 Virginia General Assembly session.
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Engaged activists get bipartisan wins in 2024 General Assembly session
TAGS: clean energy cyanide disconnection protections regional greenhouse gas initiative shared solar Small Modular Nuclear Reactors Virginia Clean Economy Act Virginia General Assembly
Investing in what matters: Federal funding to kick off community-led resiliency projects
As spring bursts into bloom in the mountains, Appalachian Voices is officially launching Building Community Resilience in Virginia’s Coalfields, a new project funded through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Grant.
TAGS: Building Community Resilience in Virginia's Coalfields Clinchco Dante Dungannon Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Grant Pennington Gap Pound U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Opposition to new Dominion gas plant grows — and now includes Virginia state legislators
What I learned from the town hall was that Dominion, a company with significant resources and ability to expand clean energy in Virginia, has branded a new polluting gas plant as its only option for “reliability.”
TAGS: battery storage Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center Dominion Energy state corporation commission Virginia Clean Economy Act Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
The latest on Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate
Even as Mountain Valley Pipeline’s rushed construction results in landslides and muddy waters in Virginia and concerned residents call for state and federal authorities to stop the damage, communities to the south are facing new and changing threats from the pipeline’s proposed Southgate extension.
TAGS: Dominion Energy equitrans Federal Energy Regulatory Commission mountain valley pipeline mountain valley pipeline southgate natural gas pipelines
Join App Voices at the Appalachian Studies Conference
This year, the App Studies Conference will be held at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina, from March 7 to March 9. Along with a wide array of grassroots partners, Appalachian Voices will be there to learn, teach and have a good time!
TAGS: air monitoring App Studies Conference Appalachian Studies Association cultural organizing environmenta justice just transition mountain valley pipeline tourism water monitoring Western Carolina University
Prominent Navajo environmental leader to speak in Southwest Virginia and Western North Carolina
Along with Andrew Atencia and Adrian Herder, organizers for Tó Nizhoní Aní, Nicole Horseherder will be visiting Appalachia in March to teach and learn about the environmental justice movement in the coalfields of Black Mesa and Appalachia, respectively.
Crossover: Virginia General Assembly session reaches an important milestone
The Virginia General Assembly has reached the halfway mark — and amid the highs and lows of committee decisions, hundreds of Virginians have helped advocate for critical environmental protections. Thank you for your calls and emails to legislators!
TAGS: Affordable Energy Act Affordable Energy Coalition brightfields cyanide disconnection protections hydrogen metals mining pipelines shared solar Virginia Clean Economy Act Virginia Conservation Network Virginia General Assembly
New report shows alarming lack of mine cleanup progress in Kentucky
A recent study found that nearly 40% of the “active” surface permits in Kentucky have been sitting idle for the last five years. The coal companies responsible for those mine permits did not produce any coal, nor did they make any progress in cleaning up the sites.
TAGS: Appalachian Citizens Law Center coal impacts idle mine lands Kentucky mine cleanup reclamation
Four ways you can support Appalachian communities in the new year!
In 2023, Appalachian advocates made several advancements in the fight for greater protections for rural communities and families affected by black lung but as we enter 2024, an ongoing battle in Congress over spending is threatening to undo much of this progress while also cutting programs that benefit these communities.
TAGS: appropriations Black Lung Black Lung Benefits Black Lung Benefits Improvement Act coal impacts Congress funding OSMRE Relief for Survivors of Miners Act U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
‘A moral imperative:’ Two bills would support miners with black lung and their families
Dec. 13 was a day that Vonda Robinson had been waiting over three years for. On that day, Rep. Morgan McGarvey, D-Ky., introduced the Relief for Survivors of Miners Act in the U.S. House of Representatives.
TAGS: Appalachian Citizens Law Center appropriations Black Lung Benefits Improvement Act National Black Lung Association Rep. Morgan McGarvey Sen. Bob Casey silica rule
