Posts Tagged ‘Clean Water Act’
Rule Change Would Gut the Clean Water Act
A federal rule change will cut protections for wetlands, headwater streams, and rivers that go underground. In Appalachia, this would harm wildlife, damage water quality and increase flood risk.
Read MoreOur air and water are under attack
Today, much of the country has clean air and access to clean water. But instead of strengthening these safeguards and improving public health, Congress and the Trump administration are attempting to gut our core environmental protections.
Read MoreNC DEQ approves water permit for MVP Southgate pipeline
Today, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality issued a Clean Water Act Section 401 certification for Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC’s proposed methane gas pipeline “Southgate,” rejecting concerns raised by North Carolina community members that the project would pollute streams and wetlands and harm protected aquatic species.
Read MoreEnvironmental groups sue to challenge mountaintop removal mine on Coal River Mountain
Environmental groups filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to grant a Clean Water Act permit for four valley fills associated with the Turkeyfoot Surface Mine in Raleigh County, West Virginia.
Read MoreLexington Coal held in contempt for third time for continuing to violate federal court order to stop polluting West Virginia streams
Today, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia held Lexington Coal Company in contempt for the third time for the company’s ongoing refusal to address the environmental damage caused by its coal mining operations in Appalachia.
Read MoreThe slow, steady process of making regulators and coal companies monitor pollution
In late summer of 2022, Appalachian Voices discovered selenium, a common pollutant associated with coal mining, in high concentrations in certain streams in the Big Sandy River watershed in Pike County, Kentucky. These waterways receive runoff from the S-1 Hunts Branch Surface Mine, a nearly 2,000-acre mountaintop removal coal mine operated by Lexington Coal Company.
Read MoreOverride of HB 600 makes it easier for Mountain Valley Pipeline to spoil North Carolina rivers and streams
Yesterday, the North Carolina General Assembly voted to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of HB 600, the Regulatory Reform Act of 2023. A section of this bill provides special loopholes for energy transmission projects, like pipelines, that are built in the state, giving them a much faster and more lenient Clean Water Act review by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.
Read MoreA step forward for clean water protections, but threats remain
In September, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a new rule that restores certain protections for water under the Clean Water Act. The changes in the rule will give states and tribes more oversight over water protection within their boundaries.
Read MoreAppalachian Voices statement on Mountain Valley Pipeline’s receipt of key Clean Water Act permit
The U.S. Army Corps issued a Clean Water Act permit to Mountain Valley Pipeline following a passage of a law requiring the agency to do just that.
Read MoreCourt vacates critical West Virginia water permit for Mountain Valley Pipeline
Today, a unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit vacated the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s Clean Water Act § 401 certification for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, finding that the agency’s justification behind its conclusion that the pipeline would not violate the state’s water quality standards was deficient.
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