Holding the Coal Industry Accountable
An abandoned and decaying structure at the Sugar Cove Mine in Virginia. Photo courtesy of DMME
Centuries of coal mining in Appalachia have left a wake of destruction behind. Thousands of former mine sites still pose health and safety risks, and the extensive environmental damage includes polluted waterways, compromised groundwater, and the loss of 1.5 million acres of forest in one the most biologically diverse temperate ecosystems on the planet.
Residents in this region have dealt with increased illness and shortened life expectancy. Black lung disease is again on the rise, and both current and former miners are fighting to protect their vital healthcare benefits. Communities that depended on the coal industry’s boom years now face daunting financial challenges.
Meanwhile, the bosses and bankers who got rich off of Appalachia realize that the market for coal is continuing to decline. Many are trying to jump ship, taking their wealth with them and leaving the problems for local communities and taxpayers to deal with.
As Appalachian Voices continues to fight new mountaintop removal coal mining permits and monitor existing mines, we are also committed to ensuring that the communities that have long borne the brunt of mining are not left behind. We are determined to hold the coal profiteers responsible for cleaning up the land and water they defiled and fulfilling their obligations to miners and their families.
Communities near mines and power plants are among those that often face elevated air pollution. We’re working with 16 community groups and two universities to track air quality in communities throughout Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia with about 80 monitoring devices. These are deployed at in communities near fossil fuel infrastructure and other industries.
Similarly, the communities living near coal-fired power plants have suffered the burden of air and water pollution created by burning coal for electricity. Our years-long campaign alongside North Carolina communities impacted by Duke Energy’s dangerous storage of coal ash resulted in statewide cleanup orders, and we are committed to making sure the massive utility follows these rules.
We’re also working with communities in East Tennessee, site of the first major coal ash disaster in the country, to ensure that coal ash is stored in ways that protect residents, workers and waterways. And we’re engaged in legal challenges against Trump-era rollbacks on federal regulations for coal ash handling.
Ending Mountaintop Removal
Since the 1970s, the coal industry has blown up more than 500 of the oldest, most biologically rich mountains in America and destroyed more than 2,000 miles of headwater streams. Despite an ongoing citizen movement to end the destruction, and despite the decline in coal, it’s still happening.
Latest News
Coal miners travel to D.C. to advocate for black lung protections and benefits
Coal miners, their families and medical professionals from Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia gathered in the nation’s capitol to meet with senators and representatives to advocate for improving black lung benefits and protections.
Coal miners head to the Hill, calling for black lung protections and disability benefit improvements
Next week, coal miners and their families, doctors, attorneys and supporters are traveling to the nation’s capitol to meet with senators and representatives to advocate for improving black lung benefits and protections.
A new map shows the funding need for abandoned mine cleanup across the U.S.
Three million people live near water polluted by acid mine drainage, open mine portals, underground mine fires, polluting mine waste, dilapidated infrastructure and a number of other abandoned mine features.
The Trump-Vance administration is pressing the gas pedal on fossil fuels and throwing up roadblocks for renewables. Congress should not enable it.
Given the Trump-Vance administration’s focus on fossil fuels, it’s clear that the projects expedited by changing the permitting process are virtually guaranteed to be for dirty energy.
Coal ash: The next-door neighbor no one is talking about
There are millions and millions of tons of coal ash sitting in unlined ponds and pits right next to our waterways. And right now, the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation are holding public hearings to gather community input on the future of that waste.
Learn more about the hazards of coal ash and TVA’s plans at July 30 community meeting
The Sierra Club and Appalachian Voices are co-hosting a community meeting in Kingston, Tennessee, on July 30 to discuss the Tennessee Valley Authority’s plans to manage and store the massive amounts of hazardous coal ash it is responsible for.
