Thursday, November 18th, 2021 | Posted by Willie Dodson | No Comments
There is enough outstanding reclamation liability on coal mines owned by West Virginia Governor Jim Justice and/or his adult children to employ 220 to 460 workers for five years, according to our report. Nearly 34,000 acres of Justice-family mines across five states are in need of some degree of environmental cleanup. [
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Wednesday, November 17th, 2021 | Posted by Josh McClenney | No Comments
Despite immense pressure from advocates and ratepayers, NC Gov. Roy Cooper signed HB 951, Duke Energy’s handwritten legislation that will drastically raise rates on families and small businesses, into law. [
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Tuesday, November 9th, 2021 | Posted by Willie Dodson | No Comments
Congress has passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which includes the reauthorization of the Abandoned Mine Land Program and the largest-ever investment in abandoned coal mine cleanup! Now they must pass the Build Back Better Act to invest in workers, families and clean energy. [
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Monday, November 1st, 2021 | Posted by Guest Contributor | No Comments
Amanda Pitzer with Friends of the Cheat discusses the specific impacts of acid mine drainage on the Cheat River, analyzes abandoned mine lands funding pending before Congress and charts a path for future success in collaboration with state and federal decision-makers. [
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Thursday, October 21st, 2021 | Posted by Ridge Graham | No Comments
Due to all of the feedback and pressure that we and many concerned citizens gave the United States Army Corps of Engineers, they have opened a second comment period for Mountain Valley Pipeline's 404 permit application. [
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Wednesday, October 20th, 2021 | Posted by Austin Counts | No Comments
Learn about several exciting updates on the bright future for Southwest Virginia’s growing solar energy industry, broken down into four categories: 1) residential solar, 2) commercial solar, 3) utility solar and 4) shared solar! [
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Sunday, October 17th, 2021 | Posted by Guest Contributor | No Comments
Joe Pizarchik, former head of OSMRE and one of the nation’s foremost experts on complex and sprawling abandoned mine lands issues, provides an essential overview of how acid mine drainage fits into pending legislative proposals and where we should look next. [
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Thursday, October 14th, 2021 | Posted by AV's Intern Team | No Comments
Undemocratic governance at Virginia's electric cooperatives is a serious issue that has left co-op members across the state frustrated and ready for reform. Closed-door board meetings and unfair voting practices are two of the issues members hope to change in 2022. [
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Thursday, October 7th, 2021 | Posted by Josh McClenney | No Comments
Instead of taking the path outlined by Governor Cooper’s Clean Energy Plan, Duke Energy has continued to work behind closed doors to write legislation that lines the pockets of its shareholders, on the backs of ratepayers, while failing to guarantee that the 70% carbon reductions envisioned in the bill will even be achieved by the 2030 target date. [
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Wednesday, October 6th, 2021 | Posted by Guest Contributor | No Comments
In this conversation, Marissa Lautzenheiser of Rural Action lays out the basics of the acid mine drainage challenge, discusses the unique funding needs for AMD clean-up, and talks about some of the innovative work Rural Action is doing to tackle this problem. [
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Tuesday, September 14th, 2021 | Posted by Erin Savage | No Comments
Insufficient bonding systems and decades of poor enforcement of mine reclamation law have led to a severe backlog in abandoned mines — and a new wave of coal bankruptcies is exacerbating the problem. [
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Thursday, September 9th, 2021 | Posted by Willie Dodson | No Comments
Heavy rains caused debris from an inactive coal mine to block portions of VA State Route 632 in late August — an event that might become all too common with climate change-fueled rainfall likely to intensify. [
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