Press Releases
Community Impacts of Controversial Coalfields Expressway Project in Va. to Receive Thorough Review
Agency letters Federal Highway Administration, May 22, 2014 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Sept. 11, 2012 Environmental Protection Agency, Sept. 7, 2012 Corps of Engineers, Sept. 7, 2012 Contact: Jane Branham, Southern Appalachia Mountain Stewards, samsva@gmail.com, (276) 565-6167 Deborah Murray, Southern Environmental Law Center, dmurray@selcva.org, (434) 977-4090 Marley Green, Sierra Club, marley.green@sierraclub.org,…
Read MoreGroups Seek Protection of Virginia Waterways from Mining Pollution
Red River Coal Co. Violating “Last Line of Defense” Clean Water Act Protections Contact: Eric Chance, Appalachian Voices, 828-262-1500 eric@appvoices.org Sean Sarah, Sierra Club, 202-548-4589 sean.sarah@sierraclub.org Matt Hepler, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, 540-871-1564 mhepler24@gmail.com Big Stone Gap, VA –Citizen and environmental groups today filed suit in federal court over illegal water pollution from four mines…
Read MoreAppalachian region will benefit from Obama, EPA plan to cut carbon pollution
Contact: Cat McCue, Communications Director, 434-293-6373, cat@appvoices.org Charlottesville, Va. – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy today announced the nation’s first-ever proposed rule to limit planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants — the single largest factor in America’s carbon footprint. The genesis of the rule is a U.S. Supreme Court decision, and…
Read MoreEPA Proposal for Toxic Coal Pollutant Won’t Protect Clean Water
Resources EPA Draft Selenium Standards Selenium in Kentucky Fact Sheet Read more about selenium on our blog Contact: Eric Chance, Water Quality Specialist, 828-262-1500, eric@appvoices.org Erin Savage, Water Quality Specialist, 828-262-1500, erin@appvoices.org Cat McCue, Communications Director, 434-293-6373, cat@appvoices.org Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a draft of new national water quality…
Read MoreConcerned neighbors of N.C. coal plant speak out
Contact: Kara Dodson, Field Coordinator, 828-262-1500, kara@appvoices.org Cat McCue, Communications Director, 434-293-6373, cat@appvoices.org Residents living near Duke Energy’s coal-fired power plant on Belews Lake, northeast of Winston-Salem, are worried that toxic air and water pollution from the plant over many years has caused health and environmental problems in their community. They share their concerns in…
Read MoreMountaintop removal bill passed by U.S. House imperils Appalachian waters
Contact: Thom Kay, legislative associate, 864-580-1843, thom@appvoices.org The U.S. House of Representatives voted today to make it easier for coal companies to dump mining waste from mountaintop removal sites into Appalachian streams and the headwaters of rivers that provide drinking water to millions of Americans. The House voted 229-192 to pass the “Preventing Government Waste…
Read MorePatriot Co. slurry spill in W.Va. violated water discharge permit
Contact: Erin Savage, Water Quality Specialist, Appalachian Voices, 828-262-1500, erin@appvoices.org Cat McCue, Communications Director, Appalachian Voices, 434-293-6373, cat@appvoices.org Rob Goodwin, Citizen Enforcement Specialist, Coal River Mountain Watch, 304-712-9854 robert.alton.goodwin@gmail.com Test results from water samples taken from Fields Creek the day of the Patriot Coal Co. slurry spill in Kanawha County last month revealed levels of…
Read MoreTenn. 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…
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