Press Releases
Mountain Valley Pipeline impacts halt construction; rollbacks for Atlantic Coast Pipeline revealed
Northam administration must act following string of regulatory failures BREAKING: Developers of the Mountain Valley Pipeline announced today that they are suspending construction activities of the project in Virginia. Citizens have repeatedly called on the state to order a halt of construction due to dozens of documented violations of the state’s water quality standards. Today’s…
Read MoreCourt order suspends Mountain Valley Pipeline construction in W.Va.
RICHMOND, VA — Today, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay of a crucial permit that the fracked-gas Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) needs to build across waterways in West Virginia. Under section 404 of the Clean Water Act, the Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit for the pipeline’s stream crossings that allows…
Read MoreCitizens boycott N.C. coal ash meeting
Greensboro, N.C. — Members of a statewide coalition who have been advocating for years for proper cleanup and disposal of massive coal ash ponds around the state today announced they are boycotting a public meeting in Greensboro scheduled for tonight by the Department of Environmental Quality, and another scheduled in Roxboro tomorrow night. The citizens,…
Read MoreCorps of Engineers suspends part of permit for Mountain Valley Pipeline in W.Va.
CHARLESTON WV — The Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has indefinitely suspended portions of a permit required for construction of the fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). MVP’s own documents show that they can not complete crossings for the Gauley, Greenbrier, Elk, and Meadow rivers in the time allotted under the permit. The Corps’s decision…
Read MoreEnvironmental coalition asks federal court to halt construction on Mountain Valley Pipeline
RICHMOND, VA — Today, lawyers for a coalition of environmental advocates including Appalachian Voices filed a motion for stay, asking the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to put an immediate stop to the construction across waterways of the fracked-gas Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). Because MVP’s own documents show it cannot meet…
Read MoreNew TVA rate structure likely to harm low-income families
TVA’s Board of Directors voted to implement a rate change that will disproportionately burden low-income residential ratepayers and will discourage investments in energy efficiency and renewables.
Read More“Water Justice Summit” will engage Appalachians to protect clean water as a human right
PRESS ADVISORY For June 1 and 2, 2018 On June 1 and 2, individuals from across Appalachia and the Southeast will gather in Blacksburg, Va., for the Water Justice Summit. The event is being organized by and for individuals fighting mountaintop removal coal mining, fracked-gas pipelines, and other industrial threats to streams, rivers and drinking…
Read MoreReport calls for improvements to coal mine bonding in Central Appalachia
The Alliance for Appalachia, a coalition of 15 organizations, today released a report on the state of surface coal mine bonding in four Central Appalachian states. Bonds are used to ensure reclamation of mine sites should a company be unable to finish reclamation. The report details the bonding programs in West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky and…
Read MoreGroups urge Tenn. governor to veto coal mining bill
Nashville, Tenn. – Today, 20 environmental and community organizations delivered a letter to Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam urging him to veto legislation approved by the state House that would significantly weaken protections relating to coal mining in Tennessee. The legislation would transfer authority to regulate coal mining from the federal Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation…
Read MoreStatement regarding Va. Governor Northam’s call for DEQ improvements
At today’s Environment Virginia Symposium in Lexington, Va., Governor Ralph Northam announced Executive Order VI, requiring a comprehensive review by the Secretary of Natural Resources and the Department of Environmental Quality of the agency’s permitting, monitoring, and enforcement activities. Further background is below. Statement from Peter Anderson, Virginia Program Manager with Appalachian Voices: “Governor Northam’s…
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