Press Releases
Virginia state lawmakers call on U.S. Senate to pass climate reconciliation bill
Virginia legislators sent a letter to Sens. Kaine and Warner supporting a budget reconciliation package under negotiation that invests $555 billion in climate and clean energy.
Read MoreWife of Kingston coal ash cleanup worker to be featured in event
Appalachian Voices and Just Transition Northwest Indiana will be co-hosting a virtual event on May 26 spotlighting the dangers of coal ash to our communities through testimony by the wife of a cleanup worker of the 2008 Kingston, Tennessee, coal ash disaster, the worst ever in U.S. history.
Read MoreAdvocates praise federal guidance for abandoned mine land funding
The federal government is getting ready to make a huge investment in cleaning up abandoned mine lands. The Department of Interior released guidance to help states and tribes to spend that money in ways that have the greatest impact for hard-hit communities.
Read MoreDuke Energy’s fossil-focused Carbon Plan misses 2030 targets
Duke’s draft Carbon Plan is far too dependent on polluting resources and misses the opportunity to lower costs for customers with rooftop solar, battery storage and energy efficiency.
Read MoreMiners with black lung & families to Manchin: “We’re counting on you, Joe”
CONTACT: Trey Pollard – trey@pollardcommunications.com – 202-904-9187 Dan Radmacher – dan@appvoices.org – (540) 798-6683 CHARLESTON, WV – Today, in front of the West Virginia Coal Miners Memorial in Charleston, leaders from the Black Lung Association launched a new statewide campaign urging Senator Joe Manchin to fight for a long-term extension of the black lung excise…
Read MoreCitizen groups notify Justice-owned coal company of intent to sue over reclamation violations
A coal company owned by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and his family has been notified that Appalachian Voices, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards and Sierra Club are planning to file a lawsuit over its failure to clean up three Wise County, Virginia, mines.
Read MoreCommunity groups call on Congress to increase economic revitalization funding
CONTACT: Dan Radmacher, (540) 798-6683), dan@appvoices.org APPALACHIA — Today, 26 organizations, businesses and local governments from coal mining communities sent a letter to leaders of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees calling for increased funding to the Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization (AMLER) Program for Fiscal Year 2023 as Congress works to draft the next…
Read MoreStatement: MVP faces more delay and expense
CONTACT: Dan Radmacher, (540) 798-6683), dan@appvoices.org Today, the lead partner in Mountain Valley Pipeline announced that project developers would once more seek permits from the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rather than appealing the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decisions to vacate those permits earlier this year. Equitrans Midstream Corporation…
Read MoreAppalachian groups urge Biden, Congress to ensure climate action helps energy transition communities
APPALACHIA — Today, dozens of Appalachian organizations and national partners submitted a letter to President Joe Biden, U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer urging them to make sure that a budget reconciliation package under negotiation in Congress targets climate action spending in ways that help communities in coal-impacted Appalachia and elsewhere benefit from the transition to a clean-energy economy.
Read MoreWebinar to explain how the Appalachian Solar Finance Fund is helping coal-impacted communities
CONTACT: Autumn Long, Appalachian Solar Finance Fund Project Manager autumn.long@appvoices.org, 304-841-3539 A new regional solar initiative awarded its first $44,690 grant award to help a nonprofit go solar on April 7, 2022. More such awards are on the horizon in the six states where the fund operates. Join a webinar on Thursday, April 21, at…
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