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.
Zombie Mines need to be cleaned up!
Tell Congress: Support Legislation to Stop Zombie Mines
Three new bills aim to make sure coal companies clean up their mines in a timely manner and set aside adequate funding to do so, ensuring that responsibility doesn’t end up falling to taxpayers — or worse, leaving communities with the dangerous mess of an unreclaimed mine.
Latest News
The Impacts of Coal Bankruptcies
With industry projections trending downwards, questions continue about whether the mine reclamation system can handle ongoing bankruptcies.
Beginning of the end of N.C.’s coal ash crisis
North Carolinians have won a major victory with the announcement that Duke Energy would remove coal ash from its remaining sites. Appalachian Voices is proud to have worked side-by-side with the people who fought so hard, for so long to defend their communities.
North Carolina, Duke Energy reach historic settlement on coal ash cleanup
Today, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
Progress on healthcare for miners with black lung disease
Congress reinstated a tax to fund healthcare and benefits for miners with black lung and their families for 2020 — but further action is needed to extend the tax and support the fund for 10 years.
East TN Coal Ash Concerns Continue
The Tennessee Valley Authority found traces of toxic coal ash in a mysterious dust coating homes and cars in Anderson County, Tenn. The monopoly utility is considering opening a coal ash landfill in Claxton, Tenn., despite local pushback.
Bankruptcies Shake Coal Industry
Murray Energy filed for bankruptcy in October, the latest of eight coal bankruptcies in 2019. Legal disputes regarding the summer Blackjewel bankruptcy continue.
