Press Releases
Air board votes to move forward with Virginia’s withdrawal from Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 7, 2022 CONTACT Jessica Sims, jessica@appvoices.org Richmond, Va. — Today, the seven-member citizen Air Pollution Control Board voted 4-1 (with 2 abstaining) to move forward with Virginia’s withdrawal from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multistate program that has resulted in approximately $452 million of critical funding for communities and localities…
Read MoreStatement on exclusion of permitting and Mountain Valley Pipeline language from defense bill
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Dec. 7, 2022 CONTACT Chelsea Barnes, chelsea@appvoices.org Ridge Graham, ridge@appvoices.org Update, 2 p.m., Dec. 7: After yesterday’s defeat, today Sen. Manchin released a new bill, the Building American Security Act of 2022, which contains many of the same reckless measures as the failed Energy Independence and Security Act. Yet again, the bill…
Read MoreAdvocates to rally in Richmond to stay in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 5, 2022 CONTACT Jessica Sims, jessica@appvoices.org Richmond, VA — On Wednesday, Dec. 7, advocates for the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative will gather in Henrico County to rally in support of the program. Virginia’s participation in the program has resulted in over $378 million of critical funding for communities and localities, and…
Read MoreAdvocates to rally against ongoing attempt to withdraw Virginia from RGGI
On Wednesday, December 7, advocates in Henrico will rally in advance of the meeting of the State Air Pollution Control Board that morning. The citizen board will discuss the regulatory process currently underway to withdraw Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
Read MoreStatement on the passing of Rep. Donald McEachin
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Nov. 29, 2022 CONTACT Dan Radmacher, dan[at]appvoices.org The staff of Appalachian Voices is deeply saddened by the passing of Rep. A. Donald McEachin, an inspiring and committed public servant and stalwart champion of environmental justice and the people of Virginia. From his time in the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate through…
Read MoreAppalachian Voices receives EPA grant for community air monitoring project
Appalachian Voices has received $118,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to fund the Upper South and Appalachia Citizen Air Monitoring Project.
Read MoreBacked by bipartisan momentum, STREAM Act advocates urge leadership to advance legislation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 16, 2022 Contact: Trey Pollard, trey@pollardcommunications.com READ THE LETTER APPALACHIA — With the clock ticking down on the current session of Congress, 87 organizations are urging leadership of both parties to not miss an opportunity to score a bipartisan win for coal communities all over the country by getting the STREAM…
Read MoreScorecards rate rural electric cooperatives in Virginia
A scorecard released today by Appalachian Voices reveals that rural electric cooperatives in the Southeast need critical reform to ensure they are operating according to good governance standards and providing clean energy programs to their members. The new scorecards build on a previous project, and find that while Virginia’s electric co-ops have made some reforms and are leading the region, there is still room for improvement.
Read MoreScorecards rate rural electric cooperatives in Tennessee
Today, advocacy organizations across seven southeastern states released scorecards that examine the policies and programs of the region’s rural electric cooperatives across a number of areas, including governance, transparency, energy efficiency, member access to renewable energy and other factors. Though no co-op across seven states scored more than 65 out of 100 total points, co-ops in Tennessee achieved an average score of 28 points.
Read MoreScorecards rate rural electric cooperatives in North Carolina
Today, Appalachian Voices released scorecards examining how electric cooperatives in North Carolina measured up across a number of areas, including governance, transparency, energy efficiency, member access to clean energy and other factors. The results showed that the majority of the 26 co-ops in North Carolina impose significant barriers for customer-members to participate in the democratic governance of their co-ops, while only a few offer services or supportive policies to help members lower their electric bills.
Read More