Even before the pandemic, a growing number of coal companies were declaring bankruptcy — and now the decades-long decline of coal is in a nosedive. This will leave already-shortchanged coalfield communities even less money to deal with decades of damage to people’s health and the environment.
Although Central Appalachian coal production has seen a slight rebound since 2016, it may be short-lived due to export and transportation costs. Additionally, two coal companies filed for bankruptcy last fall.
Increased coal exports contributed to minor gains in the industry for the first three quarters of 2017.
The Trump administration claims an uptick in coal production shows its anti-regulatory agenda is working —
ignoring the fact 2017 was an outlier and coal’s long-term trend is downward. Meanwhile, coal communities across the country need better policies now to help diversify their local economies.
More environmental news from across the region including the impact of energy bills on low-income and minority families, regulation of coal ash cleanup and methane emissions.
Data shows a steep decline in coal production from Appalachian surface mines, yet the data doesn’t fully account for the extent of mountaintop removal coal mining.
By Brian Sewell On Sept.18, Appalachian coal mining giant Alpha Natural Resources announced it would idle eight mines and lay off 400 employees in the first phase of a “strategic repositioning” plan designed to meet the evolving demands of a…
78%: Voters nationwide who support the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s work to hold polluters accountable. 170: Votes against environmental protection in the House of Representatives since the beginning of 2011 1,048.3 million: Number of short tons of coal the U.S.…
Increase Comes Despite Arguments that Regulations Kill Jobs Some congressional representatives claim that federal oversight of mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia threatens domestic coal production and the regions coal mining jobs, but new government data indicates the opposite is true.…
