Front Porch Blog
Updates from Appalachia

Residents fight for Kentucky water
SB 89 would strip protections for Kentucky’s groundwater, headwater ephemeral streams and many wetlands, increasing pollution risks, raising water treatment costs and exacerbating flood risks for communities across the commonwealth.
Federal regulators shut down illegal WV coal haul road — Interior quietly reopens it at company’s request
In a whirlwind of conflicting decisions, the U.S. Department of the Interior has quietly allowed South Fork Coal Company to resume hauling coal through the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia — just weeks after Biden administration regulators shut down the unlawful haul road.
Clintwood JOD cited for black water spill upstream of Fishtrap Lake in Pike County, Kentucky
Clintwood JOD, a coal mining company operating in Kentucky and Virginia, has been cited by Kentucky regulators for releasing polluted, black water into Big Creek and the Levisa Fork from coal mines in Pike County.
The importance of sustained investment in our Appalachian communities
Appalachian communities have been putting funding from two major federal laws to good use, adopting more sustainable and resilient forms of energy. Read about how recent executive orders and proposals from Congress could impact these popular programs.