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
Bankrupt Westmoreland Coal granted permission to sever worker agreements
A federal bankruptcy judge ruled that Westmoreland Coal Company can back out of its collective bargaining agreements with current workers and retirees as soon as Feb. 28, putting pensions and health benefits for thousands of people at risk.
Gov. Jim Justice’s Barren Mine Lands and Unpaid Taxes
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice made nearly $2 billion off Appalachia’s coalfields, but his family’s mines owe back taxes in multiple states. They have also accrued hundreds of environmental violations, and many idled mines are still unreclaimed.
Exports and Bankruptcies Mark Volatile Year for Coal
Although Central Appalachian coal production has seen a slight rebound since 2016, it may be short-lived due to export and transportation costs. Additionally, two coal companies filed for bankruptcy last fall.
Coal Ash Cleanup: Three States See Major Developments
North Carolina holds meetings on coal ash cleanup in the state. Tennessee workers who are sick after cleaning up TVA’s 2008 coal ash disaster seek resolution. Virginia moves closer to requiring Dominion Energy to relocate its toxic coal ash.
Underground mine blowout causes flood, property damage in Virginia
Accumulated water bursting out of one of CM Mining, LLC’s operations in Hurley, VA, causes flooding and property damage in nearby neighborhood.
Push for N.C. Coal Ash Cleanup Enters Final Stages
We joined North Carolinians living near Duke Energy’s coal ash dumps in telling the state that capping the toxic pits instead of moving the material away from water sources is a non-starter.
