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
Cleaning Up A Mess: Coal Ash Across Appalachia
Appalachian states are burdened by millions of tons of toxic coal ash. Without firm federal standards, it’s up to states to determine much of the cleanup process — and regional states are taking varying approaches.
Rebukes, a resignation and more reasons to worry about coal ash in NC
Where does the war of words over coal ash health advisories leave North Carolinians with contaminated drinking water? Exactly where they were before: as distrustful of DEQ and DHHS as they are of their water’s safety. But in the battle between state employees and the McCrory administration, residents are clear on who they trust.
Alpha Natural Resources to Exit Bankruptcy
Alpha Natural Resources won approval to emerge from bankruptcy. The plan rests on the transfer of Alpha’s core coal assets to new company, Contura Energy, Inc.
Federal Support for Clean Energy Financing and other shorts
Federal support for clean energy financing, carbon emissions from coal mine drainage, new pollution controls for a proposed natural gas plant and more short stories.
New law puts coal ash progress in NC at risk
The rushed introduction, concurrence and signing of North Carolina House Bill 630 puts at risk many aspects of the progress that residents and environmental groups have made since the introduction of the Coal Ash Management Act in 2014.
If I had a hammer…
Lara Mack, our Virginia Field Organizer, helped organize last Saturday’s “March on the Mansion” in Richmond to call for clean energy solutions over fracked-gas pipelines, toxic coal ash and climate impacts. She reflects on the legacy, captured in the timeless song, “If I had a hammer,” on the power of citizens coming together to fight for social justice.
