Press Releases
Tenn. committee nixes bill for state “primacy” over regulating surface coal mining
Contact: Ann League, Tennessee campaign coordinator, 865-617-2451 (cell) Today, the Tennessee Senate Energy, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee essentially killed a bill that would have given regulatory oversight of surface coal mining in the state to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation rather than the federal government, which currently oversees mining in Tennessee. The…
Read MoreEPA takes right action on Alpha mining violations, must do more to prevent future pollution
Contact: Tom Cormons, executive director, 434-293-6373, tom@appvoices.org Cat McCue, communications director, 434-293-6373, cat@appvoices.org A settlement filed late yesterday in federal court between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Alpha Natural Resources — the largest mountaintop removal mining operator in the nation — stipulates that the company pay a $27.5 million fine for almost 6,300 violations…
Read MoreGoogle Features Map of Poverty and Electricity Costs in the South as Part of Worldwide Launch of Interactive Maps Gallery
PRESS RELEASE Map images from the report (images are high-res PNG, contact cat@appvoices.org for other formats): Main: Electricity cost burden for all electric utilities in the Southeast Figure 1: Electricity cost burden for rural electric cooperatives in the Southeast Figure 2: Electricity cost burden for investor-owned utilities in the Southeast Figure 3: Energy efficiency loan/tariff…
Read MoreWater Quality Specialists Heading to Coal Slurry Spill in West Virginia
Contact: Cat McCue, communications director, 434-953-8672, cat@appvoices.org Two water quality specialists with Appalachian Voices are on their way to the site of a coal slurry spill south of Charleston that was reported by officials early today. They will attempt to take water quality samples and photographs of the scene. Early press reports indicate a pipe…
Read MoreSampling confirms coal ash pollutant contamination in Dan River
Contact: Eric Chance, water quality specialist, 828-262-1500, eric@appvoices.org Cat McCue, communications director, 434-293-6373, cat@appvoices.org Appalachian Voices today released results of water quality sampling the organization conducted on the coal ash spill earlier this week on the Dan River in North Carolina. Water quality specialists with Appalachian Voices took samples of river water at several spots…
Read MoreAppalachian Voices Water Quality Specialists on Site of N.C. Coal Ash Spill
Contact: Cat McCue, Communications Director, 434-293-6373 Eden, N.C. – A team of scientists from Appalachian Voices remains on-site of the Dan River coal ash spill, where they arrived last night when the spill was first reported, to sample the water for toxics such as arsenic, as well as other contaminants. Two of the team will…
Read MoreEnvironmental Groups Call for Immediate Disclosure of Magnitude of Coal Ash Disaster
Contacts: Ulla Reeves, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, ulla@cleanenergy.org, (828) -713-7486 Amy Adams, Appalachian Voices, amy@appvoices.org, (828) 262-1500 Donna Lisenby, Waterkeeper Alliance, dlisenby@waterkeeper.org, (704) 277-6055 Tiffany Haworth, Executive Director, thaworth@danriver.org, (336) 627-6270 Bridget Whelan, North Carolina Conservation Network, bridget@ncconservationnetwork.org, (313) 919-5919 – – – – Asheville, N.C. — Upon receiving news of a new coal…
Read MoreEPA Agrees to Deadline for First-Ever US Coal Ash Regulations
Washington, D.C. – Late yesterday, the Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to finalize first-ever federal regulations for the disposal of coal ash by December 19, 2014, according to a settlement in a lawsuit brought by environmental and public health groups and a Native American tribe. The settlement does not dictate the content of the final…
Read MorePenn Virginia Faces Legal Challenge for Toxic Water Pollution
Resources View the Complaint Here Complaint’s Exhibit A Complaint’s Exhibit B Community Groups Protest Coal Mining Pollution and “Bully Tactics” Contacts: Eric Chance, Appalachian Voices, eric@appvoices.org, 828-262-1500 Oliver Bernstein, Sierra Club, oliver.bernstein@sierraclub.org, 512-289-8618 Glen Besa, Virginia Sierra Club, glen.besa@sierraclub.org, 804 225-9113 Matt Hepler, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, mhepler24@gmail.com, 540 871-1564 Roanoke, Va. – Today, a…
Read MoreCharlottesville Benefit Concert to Assist West Virginians After Chemical Spill
FEATURING: Morgan O’Kane, Jon Stickley Trio, Dane Alderson Trio & After Jack Charlottesville – Local nonprofit Catalyst Productions announces a benefit concert, to be held Saturday, January 25, at Charlottesville’s revered Jefferson Theater. The concert will benefit communities in the Charleston area of West Virginia effected by the chemical spill on January 9. The spill…
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