Front Porch Blog
Updates from Appalachia
One neighbor shares the devastating impact of Mountain Valley Pipeline construction on her animals and family
Arietta Ann DuPre’s land and her neighbor’s land in Wayside, W.Va., serves as a home for rescued horses and other animals – and in early 2018, Mountain Valley Pipeline developers cut her horses’ pasture land in two.
Virginians brace for the fallout from Westmoreland Coal’s bankruptcy
Westmoreland Coal’s bankruptcy puts health benefits for 500 Virginians and pensions for 7,000 former Virginia miners in jeopardy. A bill proposed in the Senate would protect these benefits — and also shore up the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund.
Westmoreland Coal’s Appalachian connection
In October 2018, the oldest coal company in the United States filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. While now largely operating in the western United States, Westmoreland has many ties to Southwest Virginia.
100 sign letter to Va. air board to reject frack-gas facility in African-American community
Environmental justice advocates Karenna Gore, Mustafa Santiago Ali, Don Cheadle and Ed Begley, Jr. were among the 100 people who signed a letter to Va. regulators urging a denial of huge compressor station in the largely African-American community of Union Hill.
Central Appalachia’s newest coal boss facing bankruptcies
Virginia businessman Tom Clarke’s foray into the coal industry initially looked promising for addressing environmental and community problems. Now, however, his business model is looking questionable.
