Press Releases
Appalachian Voices receives $1.5M from Appalachian Regional Commission’s POWER Initiative
CONTACT: Autumn Long, Appalachian Solar Finance Fund Project Manager autumn.long@appvoices.org, 304-841-3539 Adam Wells, Regional Director of Community and Economic Development adam@appvoices.org, 804 240 4372 Molly Moore, Appalachian Voices Editorial Communications Coordinator molly@appvoices.org, 847-401-3633 The Appalachian Solar Finance Fund (SFF) is part of a $46.4 million award package, and will catalyze commercial and institutional solar projects…
Read MoreVirginia’s draft permit for Mountain Valley Pipeline won’t protect water resources, groups say
CONTACT: David Sligh, Wild Virginia, david@wildvirginia.org, (434) 964-7455 Cat McCue, Appalachian Voices, cat@appvoices.org, (434) 293-6373 Russell Chisholm, Protect Our Water Heritage Rights, russell@powhr.org, (540) 404-2727 The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) today released a draft decision on a request for a water quality certification for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). This certification request is…
Read MoreCommunity advocates celebrate Senate passage of historic bill on reclaiming coal lands
CONTACT: Chelsea Barnes, Legislative Director, chelsea@appvoices.org, 276-207-9636 Trey Pollard, trey@pollardcommunications.com, 202-904-9187 Largest-ever investment in clean-up means billions in economic activity and thousands of jobs in Appalachia and other coal communities Following the U.S. Senate’s passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, advocates from coal communities across the country celebrated the legislation’s historic investments in…
Read MoreNational Academies of Sciences to study impacts of potential industrial gold mining in Virginia
CONTACT: Chad Oba, Friends of Buckingham, chado108@icloud.com, 434-806-6332 Jessica Sims, Appalachian Voices, jessica@appvoices.org, 804-356-1228 Stephanie Rinaldi, Friends of Buckingham, rinaldis10@gmail.com, 402-290-6149 Buckingham, VA – Groups from around the state expressed optimism today that the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) has agreed to study the potential impacts of industrial gold mining on water…
Read MoreWhite House releases historic guidance for environmental justice investments
CONTACT: Chelsea Barnes, chelsea@appvoices.org, 276-207-9636 Yesterday, the Biden administration released a first-of-its-kind guidance document to ensure the benefits of federal investment reach environmental justice communities. The new “Interim Implementation Guidance for the Justice40 Initiative” provides recommendations to federal agencies regarding how to achieve the Biden administration’s promise to deliver at least 40 percent of the…
Read MoreEPA says Corps must reject federal water crossing permit for Mountain Valley Pipeline
CONTACT: Cat McCue, 434-293-6373, cat@appvoices.org Amy Adams, 828-964-7431, amy@appvoices.org The Environmental Protection Agency has recommended to the Corps of Engineers that it not issue a stream-crossing permit currently under consideration for the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline. In a May 27 letter to the Corps, the EPA said that MVP has failed to show that muddy…
Read MoreNew report finds significant cleanup needed at coal mines in the East
Contact: Erin Savage – Senior Program Manager at Appalachian Voices, erin@appvoices.org, 206-769-8286 A new report estimates that 633,000 acres on mines still held by coal companies in the East require some degree of reclamation, at an estimated total cost of $9.8 billion dollars. The report, which covers mines across Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia,…
Read MoreArmy Corps gives Virginia more time on Mountain Valley Pipeline permit
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today partially granted a request from Virginia for additional time to review a water-crossing permit for the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Under the Corps’ original timeline, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality would have had just four months to decide whether to approve or deny the permit, or waive its…
Read MoreCommunity groups call on KUB to end service shutoffs, provide affordable utilities to lower-income customers
Contacts: Kendall Wimberley – Appalachian Voices, kendall@appvoices.org, 731-363-8359 Calvin Taylor Skinner, calvin.taylor.skinner@gmail.com, 865-214-7011 Today, racial, labor and environmental justice organizations and faith based groups launched a community campaign to urge the Knoxville Utilities Board to offer a program that would make utility bills affordable for low-income households. The Knoxville Water and Energy for All Campaign…
Read MoreWest Virginia statehouse resolution shows growing bipartisan support for increased funding for mine reclamation
West Virginia legislature interim committee passes resolution encouraging federal legislators to increase investments in mine land reclamation CONTACT: Dana Kuhnline, RECLAIM Coalition Coordinator, dana@appvoices.org, 304-825-3262 Erin Savage, Senior Program Manager at Appalachian Voices, erin@appvoices.org, 206-769-8286 Charleston, WV — The West Virginia Legislature’s Joint Committee on Mine Reclamation passed a motion today that recommends adoption of…
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