Press Releases
Community members, conservation groups condemn TVA’s fossil fuel-driven rate hike
In a disappointing move, the Board of the Tennessee Valley Authority last week approved a 4.5% increase to its base power rate. This rate hike will go into effect in just a few weeks and will lead to higher electricity bills throughout the region.
Read MoreAdvocates in coal communities urge Congress to prevent “enormous step backwards” by rejecting harmful appropriations bills
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 24, 2023 Contact: Trey Pollard – trey@pollardcommunications.com – 202-904-9187 VIEW THE LETTERS: House & Senate COAL COUNTRY — Leaders and advocates from across coal country sounded the alarm today, warning Congress that harsh cuts in proposed appropriations legislation would dramatically undercut economic development in coal-impacted communities and threaten efforts to safeguard…
Read MoreJoint statement: Bargaining progressing at Appalachian Voices
Bargaining teams for Appalachian Voices’ management and the Appalachian Voices Workers Union, a unit of the Progressive Workers Union, have been making good progress in the development of the first Collective Bargaining Agreement for the organization.
Read MoreEnvironmental groups sue to keep Virginia in regional climate program
Today on behalf of the Association of Energy Conservation Professionals, Virginia Interfaith Power and Light, Appalachian Voices, and Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions, the Southern Environmental Law Center filed a petition in Fairfax Circuit Court challenging the Youngkin administration’s effort to withdraw Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, better known as RGGI.
Read MoreConservation groups ask federal court of appeals to review key Cumberland Pipeline permit
The Southern Environmental Law Center and Appalachian Mountain Advocates, on behalf of Appalachian Voices and the Sierra Club, are asking a federal court of appeals to review a state-issued permit for the proposed Cumberland Pipeline.
Read MoreFederal court dismisses challenges to Mountain Valley Pipeline
Today, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted motions by the federal government and Mountain Valley Pipeline to dismiss environmental groups’ pending legal challenges of recent federal authorizations of the project.
Read MoreMiners, advocates speak out during silica rule hearing
During a public hearing held today in Beckley, West Virginia, a number of coal miners and advocates spoke out in support of strengthened silica dust exposure standards proposed by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration in response to an epidemic of new black lung cases among coal miners while highlighting areas where the proposed rule could be improved.
Read MoreUpcoming public hearings should highlight weaknesses of new silica rule proposal
The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration is planning three hybrid hearings on its proposed rule to strengthen silica exposure standards for coal miners. These hearings will give miners and their advocates an opportunity to point out some of the weaknesses of the proposal.
Read MoreEnvironmental groups file notice of appeal as fight to keep Virginia in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative continues
Two months after Virginia’s Air Pollution Control Board voted to remove the state from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, environmental groups are working to stop this from happening.
Read MoreStatement from Rural Power Coalition regarding pending FY 2024 agricultural and rural development appropriations bill.
H.R.4368 makes significant cuts to critical investments in rural energy that could delay improvements to rural energy infrastructure by decades, leaving rural communities vulnerable to energy insecurity, continued fossil fuel pollution and volatile electricity costs.
Read More