Press Releases
Groups urge N.C. lawmakers to prevent Duke Energy from gouging customers for grid “improvements”
A joint press release from NC Warn and Appalachian Voices Duke Energy executives are seeking support from North Carolina legislators and others for a highly controversial and twice-failed plan to lock in up to $13 billion in customer rate increases for what critics say are wasteful capital projects. Today, two watchdog groups denounced Duke’s grid…
Read MoreVa. air board issues misguided approval of gas compressor in African-American community
Today Virginia’s Air Pollution Control Board unanimously approved an air pollution permit for a natural gas compressor station that would power Dominion Energy’s proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline. The board’s approval came despite evidence presented at the board’s November 8 and 9 meetings showing that the industrial facility would have a disproportionate impact on the low-income…
Read MoreVa. air board delays decision on ACP compressor station in African-American community
The Virginia Air Pollution Control Board today delayed a highly anticipated vote on the controversial proposed compressor station in the largely black community of Union Hill in Buckingham County. In a packed meeting room of mostly opponents of the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline, the board adopted several technical amendments to the draft permit. The board…
Read MoreMVP and ACP fracked-gas projects both dealt major blows — again
The Virginia State Water Control Board voted 4-3 today to reconsider the Clean Water Act section 401 certification that the board approved last December for the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Six days after Attorney General Mark Herring filed an enforcement suit against MVP, LLC for violations of state water laws and terms of the 401 certification,…
Read More100 sign letter supporting Va. citizens fighting frack gas compressor station
Residents of Union Hill today sent an open letter to the members of the State Air Pollution Control Board urging them to deny the proposed permit for a natural gas compressor station in this predominantly African-American community in rural Buckingham County, Va. The letter is signed in solidarity by 100 people, including Karenna Gore, director…
Read MoreCitizens herald major setbacks for controversial fracked-gas pipelines
The Mountain Valley Pipeline and Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which have triggered growing opposition and controversy across Virginia and beyond this year, were both dealt major legal setbacks today. On the Mountain Valley project, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring and the state Department of Environmental Quality filed a lawsuit against Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC, based on…
Read MoreCorps suspends stream-crossing permit for entire length of Atlantic Coast Pipeline
The Army Corps of Engineers late yesterday suspended an essential permit for the fracked gas Atlantic Coast Pipeline, meaning its developers cannot do any work on stream or wetland crossings along its entire 600-mile route in West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina. Known as the Nationwide Permit 12 (NWP 12), the permit authorized developers to…
Read MoreExpired mining permit poses risks to Coal River Mountain and surrounding communities
Contact: Sumer Shaikh, sumer.shaikh@sierraclub.org Erin Savage, erin@appvoices.org, 206-769-8286 Vernon Haltom, vernon@crmw.net, 304-952-4610 CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Today, a coalition of groups filed a federal lawsuit against mining company Republic Energy seeking to halt unlawful coal mining activities in Raleigh County, W.V. Republic Energy is mining one of the only remaining intact ridges on the heavily mined…
Read MoreAppalachian Voices calls on Gov. Northam to respect citizen boards and environmental justice
Today it became public knowledge that Governor Northam will replace two members of the State Air Pollution Control Board and at least one member of the State Water Control Board. The decision comes one week after the Air Pollution Control Board voted to delay a final permitting decision on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline’s Buckingham Compressor…
Read MoreVirginia company wins bid to negotiate contracts to install six solar projects in Southwest Virginia
Wise, Va. — The Solar Workgroup of Southwest Virginia is pleased to announce that the team led by NCI, Inc. of Richmond, VA has been awarded the 1.5-megawatt Southwest Virginia Solar Project Portfolio. NCI teamed with Acorn Electrical Specialists (Piney Flats, Tenn.) and RockBridge Energy (Savannah, GA) to complete the Request for Proposal. The portfolio…
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