Posts Tagged ‘Clean Water Act’
Criminal charges filed against Duke Energy
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed criminal charges against Duke Energy for violating the federal Clean Water Act at coal ash sites across North Carolina. The company announced today that it has reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors to resolve the charges that includes $102.2 million for fines and mitigation.
To protect or prosecute polluters?
Kentucky regulators recently filed an administrative complaint against Frasure Creek Mining for hundreds of violations of the Clean Water Act. As we wait to see if the state is going to take its responsibility to protect the people and water of Kentucky from pollution seriously, Appalachian Voices will continue to do whatever we can to ensure that Frasure Creek and other polluters are held accountable.
Corruption and Enforcement Failures Raise Concern for Clean Water
Recently uncovered conspiracies to violate the Clean Water Act have heightened concerns about corruption in central Appalachia and the effectiveness of state agencies responsible for enforcing the law.
Read MoreResearch Finds Mine Reclamation Failures
Efforts to restore mountaintop removal coal mines are not meeting the objectives of the Clean Water Act, creating a variety of consequences for aquatic life, according to a September study by the University of Maryland’s National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center.
Read MoreNothing to see here
The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet’s dismissive attitude toward the severity of mining pollution in the state is unsurprising after citizen cases against one coal company exposed the agency’s utter failure to enforce the Clean Water Act. But the jig is up. The Cabinet should stop trying to cover up its incompetence and actually do its job.
What will Obama’s legacy be on mountaintop removal?
After six years of the Obama presidency, mountaintop removal coal mining continues to put Appalachian communities at risk, leading many to wonder what his legacy on the issue will be. The Alliance for Appalachia just released a Grassroots Progress Report examining the administration’s successes and shortfalls in dealing with mountaintop removal.
Kentucky court sides with citizens and environment
Last week, Appalachian Voices and our partners won a major victory in the Kentucky courts when a judge overturned two slap-on-the-wrist settlements that the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet had reached with Frasure Creek Mining a few years ago.
Same coal company, same old (illegal) tricks
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. That certainly seems to be the case with Frasure Creek Mining. Four years ago we took legal action against them for submitting false water monitoring reports, and now they are at it again, but this time the false reporting is even more extensive.
Citizens File Against KY Coal Company for Falsifying Water Pollution Reports
Resources View the Notice of Intent to Sue Here View example duplicated reports and images of some of the mines involved here For more information view our blog post here State regulators ignore clean water protections and enforcement CONTACTS Erin Savage, Appalachian Voices, 828-262-1500, erin@appvoices.org Ted Withrow, Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, 606-784-6885 (h) or 606-782-0998…
Read MoreBe cool and keep fighting
For the next couple of days, you’ll have a hard time looking at anything online or on TV that doesn’t try to break down the midterm elections. Most pundits will analyze what happened, and some will try to tell you what it all means. Whatever that is, the job before us has not changed, and our responsibilities to Appalachia are the same today as they were yesterday and will be tomorrow.