Front Porch Blog
Updates from Appalachia
New map hints at scale of black lung crisis
Using data from the Department of Labor, we’ve created a map that hints at the scale of the black lung crisis.
Proposed Arch-Consol merger must secure black lung benefits for miners
Regulators scrutinizing a proposed merger between two of the country’s largest coal companies must make sure black lung benefits are protected.
How the Department of Government Efficiency’s plans will harm Appalachian communities: Part 2
What the heck is impoundment and why should you care? Undoing of the Impoundment Control Act would lead to much less certainty when it comes to many programs that the people of Appalachia and people all over the country use for economic growth and stability, environmental protection and more.
Federal regulators poised to crack down on coal mine operated by Jim Justice’s family
On Dec. 10, 2024, the U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement sent a damning letter to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection over the state’s failure to rein in operations on a wildly non-compliant coal strip mine in Wyoming County, West Virginia.
Top mine regulator can and must halt illegal coal hauling in the Monongahela National Forest
Sharon Buccino, the acting head of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, could take immediate action to shut down South Fork Coal’s illegal coal hauling operation in the Monongahela National Forest.
