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.
Bankrupt coal company Murray Energy has filed several notices warning of impending mass layoffs.
CONTACT: Dana Kuhnline, RECLAIM Campaign Coordinator 304-825-3262 dana@appvoices.org Cat McCue, Sr. Communications and Public Engagement Strategist 434-293-6373 cat@appvoices.org The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the RECLAIM Act (HR 2156) as part of The Moving Forward Act (HR 2), a…
The coal industry is trying to exploit the coronavirus pandemic for a tax break at the expense of healthcare and disability benefits for miners with black lung, but miners are pushing back.
CONTACT: Rebecca Shelton, Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, rshelton@aclc.org Willie Dodson, Appalachian Voices, willie@appvoices.org (NOTE: Several miners and their family members are available for interviews; images are also available; please contact Rebecca or Willie.) The president of the Black Lung Association…
Three Virginia strip mines, neglected in the wake of the Blackjewel bankruptcy, may finally have a buyer. But it remains to be seen if the new company would be able to reclaim the land.
Virginia regulators, a surety insurance company, and two coal companies are playing hot potato with 22 of bankrupt Blackjewel’s coal permits — and none of them want to be left with the responsibility of reclaiming the sites.
Satellite photos taken years apart reveal that little reclamation has taken place at several Virginia mines owned by the family of billionaire West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice.
Mining companies owned by West Virginia Governor Jim Justice and his family have chronically violated environmental standards and failed to pay fines and fees. Virginia regulators recently issued notices of mine permit revocation and bond forfeiture for two of the family’s companies.
For decades, coal companies ignored a federal requirement to provide enough funds for black lung benefits — and the government let them.
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