At What Cost?

Concerns about Duke’s toxic coal ash have prompted Annie Brown and dozens of other community members to meet regularly since July 2013 to discuss how to get it out of their neighborhood once and for all. The group, which calls itself “Residents for Coal Ash Cleanup,” has recently grown in size, becoming more outspoken and more certain of their demands.

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Mixed Reports on Coal Finance

By Brian Sewell Rainforest Action Network’s annual coal finance report card found that the biggest banks put up $31.7 billion for coal projects in 2013. Citigroup, the largest funder of coal, invested $6.5 billion. JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo updated their policies to begin phasing out financing for mountaintop removal. Stanford University also announced it…

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N.C. General Assembly to Consider Coal Ash

By Brian Sewell In the first North Carolina legislative session since a Duke Energy coal ash pond spilled 39,000 tons of toxic ash into the Dan River, two lawmakers introduced a bill based on Gov. Pat McCrory’s coal ash cleanup proposal. The governor’s proposal mirrors previous recommendations made by the utility itself, and State Senator…

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Murky Rules Raise Questions About Coal Ash Minefill

By Brian Sewell When FirstEnergy Corporation announced plans last year to close Little Blue Run coal ash pond, a 1,700-acre unlined basin that sits along the banks of the Ohio River, nearby residents were understandably relieved. But not everyone was celebrating. The coal ash still has to go somewhere, and the Bruce Mansfield coal plant…

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Virginians demand an impact statement for the Coalfields Expressway

CFX_virginia_sqAppalachian Voices, our allies and supporters are standing up against the Coalfields Expressway proposal. Recent hearings have provided a opportunities to reach decision makers, and meetings in Lynchburg and Roanoke are still ahead. Join the chorus demanding a proper environmental study before the Coalfields Expressway, a mountaintop removal project masquerading as a highway, goes any further.

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EPA Proposal for Toxic Coal Pollutant Won’t Protect Clean Water

Resources EPA Draft Selenium Standards Selenium in Kentucky Fact Sheet Read more about selenium on our blog Contact: Eric Chance, Water Quality Specialist, 828-262-1500, eric@appvoices.org Erin Savage, Water Quality Specialist, 828-262-1500, erin@appvoices.org Cat McCue, Communications Director, 434-293-6373, cat@appvoices.org Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a draft of new national water quality…

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A Victory in the Battle to Protect Blair Mountain

blairmtn-1aAn order from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection will put a section of a mountaintop removal permit near historic Blair Mountain off limits to mining until at least 2018, when the permit comes up for renewal. During a site visit in March, Friends of Blair Mountain documented “significant areas of the battlefield” that were destroyed through logging and construction methods.

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Tennessee mountains are at risk, here’s what you can do

TennesseeThe Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation is conducting a public hearing tomorrow on a proposed surface mine in Claiborne County, Tenn. If the permit for the Clear Fork mine is approved, Kopper Glo Fuel, Inc., would discharge its pollution into surrounding creeks that feed the Cumberland River, many of which are already impaired by surface mining. Here’s what you can do.

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Like a “good neighbor,” the Supreme Court is there

coal-plantThe U.S. Supreme Court handed a significant win to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency when it revived a federal rule aimed at reducing air pollution that travels across state lines and harms the health of those downwind, and the ability of certain states to meet Clean Air Act requirements.

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