Press Releases
20 former coal sites in Appalachia identified for innovative economic development
Norton, VA — A coalition of groups in Central Appalachia today issued a report highlighting 20 innovate projects that would clean up abandoned coal mine lands and give them new life as sustainable agriculture businesses, solar farms or other economic ventures. The report, Many Voices, Many Solutions: Innovative Mine Reclamation in Central Appalachia, provides economic…
Read MoreVa. air board waits to decide on ACP compressor station
Today, Virginia’s State Air Pollution Control Board voted 6-0 to defer until December a decision on a permit requested by Dominion Energy to operate a 55,000 horsepower natural gas compressor station for its proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline in Buckingham County. According to statements made by Board Chair Richard Langford during the meeting, the information record…
Read MoreBlue Ridge Energy’s solar policies among the worst in Southeast
A new interactive website launched this week by the Southern Environmental Law Center highlights Blue Ridge Energy electric cooperative as having one of the worst solar energy policies of all electric utilities throughout the Southeast. The website, “Rates of Solar,” lists Blue Ridge among its solar “brakers” because of its high monthly fee for owner-members…
Read More3rd water-crossing permit suspended on Mountain Valley Pipeline
Pittsburgh, PA — At the request of a coalition of clean water advocates, the Pittsburgh District of the Army Corps of Engineers late Friday suspended a third permit that the fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) must have to build through waterways for its project. This permit affected waterways in Wetzel and Harrison counties in…
Read MoreMountain Valley Pipeline loses authority to cross Virginia waters
NORFOLK, VA — Today, at the request of a coalition of clean water advocates, the Army Corps of Engineers suspended a permit that the fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) must have in order to build through waterways in Virginia. This action follows Tuesday’s federal court ruling throwing out MVP’s stream crossing permit for southern…
Read MoreFederal court vacates key permit in W. Va. for Mountain Valley Pipeline
Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacated the Army Corps of Engineers’ verification that the Mountain Valley Pipeline project can be certified under a general permit, Nationwide Permit 12, instead of an individual permit for large portions of its route in West Virginia. The decision is a victory for pipeline opponents,…
Read MoreWhile the nation celebrates Energy Efficiency Day, N.C.’s High Country residents left out in the cold
Boone, N.C. — Residents, businesses, local and state governments, electric utilities and others all across the United States will celebrate October 5th as National Energy Efficiency Day. Proclaimed a national day of recognition in 2016 as part of a bigger Energy Action Month, the purpose of the event is to showcase the benefits of energy…
Read MoreCouncilman and constituents deliver black lung resolutions to Congress
From September 24 to 26, 10 residents of Southwest Virginia traveled with The Alliance for Appalachia, a regional coalition, to Washington, D.C., to speak with senators and representatives in support of miners suffering from black lung disease. The Black Lung Disability Trust Fund provides medical care and financial support for miners with black lung and…
Read MoreAppalachian Voices response to Va. water board meeting on pipelines
Today, the Virginia State Water Control Board voted to direct the Department of Environmental Quality to aggressively enforce violations of water pollution control plans for the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast pipeline, and to respond promptly to citizen complaints about construction problems. The board also voted to direct DEQ to provide relevant information to the…
Read MoreCourt deals another blow to fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit dealt another blow to the floundering Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), handing down a decision that rescinds permission for all pipeline-related activities in the Jefferson National Forest. In response to a challenge from a coalition of clean air and water advocates, the court vacated…
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