The Energy Report
Court Upholds EPA Revocation of Mine Permit
A federal judge acknowledged the environmental damage caused by mountaintop removal this September when she ruled to uphold a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency veto of a permit for one of the largest surface mines ever proposed in Appalachia.
Read MoreResearch Finds Mine Reclamation Failures
Efforts to restore mountaintop removal coal mines are not meeting the objectives of the Clean Water Act, creating a variety of consequences for aquatic life, according to a September study by the University of Maryland’s National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center.
Read MoreIndustry Attempts to Derail Oil Train Safety Rules
Following a rise in explosive, and sometimes deadly, oil train derailings, the U.S. Department of Transportation proposed new safety regulations on trains carrying crude oil including stronger tanker cars, slower speeds and improved braking systems. But oil and railroad industry groups argue it will take at least seven years to produce safer tank cars while…
Read MoreFormer Massey CEO Don Blankenship indicted for fatal Upper Big Branch mine explosion
In November, former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship was indicted on four charges in conjunction with the April 2010 explosion that killed 29 miners at the company’s Upper Big Branch mine. He pleaded not guilty.
Read MoreAtlantic Coast Pipeline Proposal Advances
Duke Energy, Dominion Resources and other partners are teaming up to build a 550-mile pipeline to better access natural gas produced in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, where fracking has proliferated in the Marcellus and Utica shale formations.
Read MoreNorth Carolinians React to Proposed Fracking Rules
The N.C. Mining and Energy Commission held public hearings in August and September on the proposed rules it has put forth to regulate fracking in the state. At each of the four hearings held across the state, North Carolinians overwhelmingly expressed concerns with the rules’ shortcomings and the state’s rush to begin fracking.
Read MoreGainesville Commission Votes to End Mountaintop Removal Coal Purchases
On Sept. 18, city commissioners in Gainesville, Fla., voted 5-2 for a policy that could end the local power plant’s purchases of Appalachian coal mined by mountaintop removal, and they unanimously adopted a resolution opposing the destructive practice. The move makes Gainesville the first city with a municipal utility to adopt such a policy.
Read MoreAppalachian Power seeks solar “standby” charge
Virginia’s second-largest electric utility wants permission to levy a charge on residential customers who produce their own power but remain connected to the grid.
Read MoreBlack lung disease reaches near-record levels
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has released research on the “entirely preventable” resurgence of black lung among coal miners.
Read MoreAs Companies Warn of More Layoffs, Lawmakers Look to Employment Training Programs
Two Appalachian coal companies warned nearly 1,500 West Virginia employees that layoffs are likely this fall, underscoring the dire need for other job opportunities in central Appalachia.
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