Press Releases
Hundreds to gather at Va. Capitol in unity for clean water, against fracked-gas pipelines
MEDIA ADVISORY FOR: December 2, 2017, 1:00 pm CONTACT: Cat McCue, Appalachian Voices, cat@appvoices.org, 434-293-6373 Event will feature concert at National Theater and historic human circle around Capitol Grounds Richmond, Va. — On Saturday, December 2, hundreds of Virginians from all walks of life and from all across the state will gather in Richmond in…
Read MoreVirginia approves draft rule to cut carbon pollution from power plants
Contact: Cat McCue, Appalachian Voices, 434-293-6373, cat@appvoices.org Kelley Galownia, Virginia Conservation Network, 571-403-4625, Kelley@vcnva.org RICHMOND – The State Air Pollution Control Board today unanimously approved the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)’s proposed draft regulations under Executive Directive 11 to reduce carbon pollution from existing power plants. These draft regulations serve as a critical first…
Read MoreFeds must re-do environmental studies for fracked-gas pipelines
Contact: Cat McCue, Appalachian Voices, 434-293-6373, cat@appvoices.org Doug Jackson, Sierra Club, 202-495-3045, doug.jackson@sierraclub.org Ben Luckett, Appalachian Mountain Advocates, 304-645-0125, bluckett@appalmad.org WASHINGTON, D.C. — Appalachian Voices and partner organizations have filed a request for a rehearing before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast pipelines, a necessary step before filing…
Read MoreWhite House nominates coal industry insider for director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
Contact: Erin Savage — Central Appalachian Program Manager, 206-769-8286, erin [at] appvoices.org Davie Ransdell — Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, 502-229-1122, davie.ransdell [at] gmail.com The White House today announced the nomination of J. Steven Gardner for Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), the federal agency charged with mitigating the impacts of…
Read MoreVirginia cannot approve proposed natural gas pipelines lacking critical information about impacts on state waters
Appalachian Mountain Advocates * Chesapeake Bay Foundation * Preserve Craig * Southern Environmental Law Center * Wild Virginia Contact: Greg Buppert, Southern Environmental Law Center, 434-977-4090, gbuppert@selcva.org Ben Luckett, Appalachian Mountain Advocates, 304 645-0125, bluckett@appalmad.org Cat McCue, Appalachian Voices, 434-293-6373, cat@appvoices.org Conservationists concerned about the two highly controversial natural gas pipelines proposed to cut hundreds…
Read MoreIn reckless decision, FERC approves two massive, risky fracked-gas pipelines in Appalachia
Contact: Cat McCue, Appalachian Voices Director of Communications, 434-293-6373, cat [at] appvoices.org VIRGINIA – Late yesterday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the controversial and dangerous inter-state Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipelines. The projects are still pending approval from state agencies like the Virginia State Water Control Board, which meets in December to…
Read MoreDuke Energy coal ash pollution in Dan River Basin prompts citizens’ step toward Federal Court
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – On behalf of Appalachian Voices, the North Carolina Conference of NAACP Branches, and the Stokes County Branch of the NAACP, the Southern Environmental Law Center today sent a notice of intent to sue Duke Energy to stop its violations of the Clean Water Act at its Belews Creek facility in Stokes…
Read MoreVa. health advocates hold coal company accountable for water pollution
Contact: Matt Hepler, 276-679-1691, matt.hepler@appvoices.org Brian Willis, 202-675-2386, Brian.Willis@sierraclub.org Isak Howell, 540-998-7744, ihowell@appalmad.org WISE, Virginia – The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia has ruled in favor of the Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards and Sierra Club on a citizen request for federal inspection of Red River Coal Company’s Greater Wise mine. In…
Read MoreVa. foes of Atlantic Coast Pipeline applaud N.C. delay, urge Gov. McAuliffe to likewise seek more information
CONTACT: Cat McCue, Appalachian Voices, cat@appvoices.org, 434-293-6373 VIRGINIA – Late yesterday, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration delayed until mid-December its decision on whether to permit the controversial Atlantic Coast Pipeline project, requesting additional information on its potential impact on more than 300 nearby waterways. This action follows on the heels of a move by…
Read MoreVa. regulators reject APCO’s misguided renewable energy program
Contact: Peter Anderson, Appalachian Voices, 434-293-6373, peter@appvoices.org Yesterday, the Virginia State Corporation Commission rejected a program proposed by Appalachian Power Company that would have charged customers well above market rates if they elected the utility’s proposed program for 100% renewable energy. Appalachian Voices and others who participated in the SCC proceeding were concerned the program…
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