Reports show need for energy efficiency financing in western NC

Contacts: Rory McIlmoil, Appalachian Voices, 828-262-1500, rory@appvoices.org Amber Moodie-Dyer, Appalachian Voices, 828-262-1500, amber@appvoices.org Daniel Kauffman, ResiSpeak, 919-812-5657, dk@resispeak.com BOONE, N.C. — Two reports released today by Appalachian Voices show how effective home energy efficiency improvements can be for saving families money and the tremendous customer demand in western North Carolina for accessible, upfront financing to…

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Groups force strong pollution controls on Virginia gas plant

Contact: Evan Johns, Appalachian Mountain Advocates, 434-738-186, ejohns@appalmad.org Hannah Wiegard, Appalachian Voices, 804-536-5598, hannah@appvoices.org Ben Weiner, Sierra Club Virginia Chapter, 804-225-9113 Ex. 1002, benjamin.weiner@sierraclub.org RICHMOND, Virginia – In response to extensive comments from citizens and conservation groups, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has imposed precedent-setting protections against greenhouse gases and other air pollutants…

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NCDEQ wants changes to coal ash law before finalizing rankings

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality announced on Wednesday tentative closure deadlines for coal ash ponds at Duke Energy facilities across the state. A statement from Appalachian Voices’ N.C. Campaign Coordinator Amy Adams: “Residents threatened by Duke Energy’s coal ash want results, not headlines. Today’s announcement has no guarantee that DEQ is taking swift and…

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Appalachian Voices congratulates BRE on launch of Energy SAVER Loan Program

Contact: Rory McIlmoil, Appalachian Voices Director of Energy Policy, (828) 262-1500, Rory@AppalachianVoices.org Members of Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation (BRE) have a new way to pay for improving the energy efficiency of their homes thanks to BRE’s new Energy SAVER Loan Program. BRE provides electricity to more than 74,000 residents of all or parts of…

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Appalachian river among America’s “Most Endangered Rivers”

Contact: Jessie Thomas-Blate, American Rivers, 202-347-7550 Tarence Ray, Appalachian Voices, 276-679-1691 Save the Russell Fork! Send a quick comment to the Virginia governor and regulators to reject the mountaintop removal coal mine permit. Washington, D.C.- American Rivers named Central Appalachia’s Russell Fork River among America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2016 today, shining a national spotlight…

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DEQ flip-flops on drinking water safety

PRESS STATEMENT For immediate release, March 8, 2016 At a meeting in Lee County yesterday, officials at the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality and N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reversed their previous position and told citizens their well water was safe to drink despite elevated levels of certain contaminants associated with coal ash.…

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Re-route of fracked gas pipeline threatens new areas of Va., West Va.

Contact: Ben Luckett, Staff Attorney, Appalachian Mountain Advocates, 304-645-0125 Hannah Wiegard, Appalachian Voices, hannah@appvoices.org, 804-536-5598 Drew Gallagher, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, drew@chesapeakeclimate.org Kirk Bowers, Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club, kirk.bowers@sierraclub.org Dominion Energy announced plans today to re-route the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline through Highland, Bath and Augusta counties. The new route comes in response…

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Groups in two states challenge WB XPress

Contact: Ben Luckett, Appalachian Mountain Advocates, 304-645-0125, bluckett@appalmad.org Kate Rooth, Appalachian Voices, 804-536-5598, kate@appvoices.org Anne Havemann, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, 240-396-1984, anne@chesapeakeclimate.org Kirk Bowers, Virginia Chapter, Sierra Club, 434-296-8673, kirk.bowers@sierraclub.org On behalf of conservation groups in Virginia and West Virginia, Appalachian Mountain Advocates today filed a formal protest and motion to intervene in the Federal…

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Abandoned mines bill directs federal investment to communities hit hardest by coal decline

Contact: Adam Wells, Economic Diversification Program Coordinator, Appalachian Voices 276-679-1691, adam@appvoices.org Washington, D.C. — A bipartisan bill introduced in Congress today would allocate $1 billion for cleaning up abandoned mine lands and advancing economic development in communities across the country that have been hardest hit by the coal-mining industry’s decline. The Revitalizing the Economy of…

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Appalachian Voices testifies before Senate panel on coal-mining rule

Contact: Matt Wasson, Program Director, 828-773-0799, matt@appvoices.org Cat McCue, Communications Director, 434-293-6373, cat@appvoices.org Appalachian Voices Director of Programs Matt Wasson, Ph.D., is testifying tomorrow morning before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works at a hearing on the implications and environmental impacts of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement’s draft Stream Protection…

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