Posts Tagged ‘Coal’
Matt Hepler: Charting a Path to Clean Water
By Molly Moore After studying geologic features and data, Matt Hepler maps out a handful of locations in the coal-bearing mountains of southwest Virginia. With a cooler full of empty water bottles, a scientific probe and a pair of waders — just in case — he heads out to monitor water quality in areas impacted…
Read MoreAdvancing a Creative Economy for the Clinch River Valley
By Kimber Ray In the remote coalfields of southwest Virginia, a collaborative grassroots project is taking on the challenge of balancing job creation and environmental conservation. The Clinch River Valley Initiative, conceived at an economic development forum in 2010, is an award-winning coalition of concerned citizens, local government, and environmental and business groups, ardently committed…
Read MoreTouring Coal Country’s Past
By Molly Moore In 1978, student Doug Estepp was poking around in the West Virginia University library when he came across a newspaper headline describing the 1920 Matewan shootout — a violent episode in the dispute between coal companies and pro-union miners. Although Estepp grew up near Matewan in Mingo County, W.Va., it was the…
Read MoreVirginia Tech Student Works to Keep Campus Green
By Nolen Nychay For Virginia Tech student Nneka Sobers, environmental activism is more than an interest — it is a passion that empowers her to promote positive change wherever she goes. Sobers became involved with her university’s Student Environmental Coalition early in her college career, eventually becoming a liaison for the student body’s environmental interests…
Read MoreInvestigation Finds Fraud in Black Lung Cases
By Kimber Ray A year-long investigation revealed evidence this fall that the coal industry has supported fraudulent practices in order to block workers’ compensation claims for black lung disease. According to the investigation conducted by The Center for Public Integrity and ABC News, it appears that officials at prestigious medical institutions including Johns Hopkins Hospital…
Read MoreTennessee Valley Authority Announces Major Coal Cutbacks
By Brian Sewell After more than 50 years of supplying most of its power plants with coal, the Tennessee Valley Authority announced it will idle 3,308 megawatts of capacity at eight coal units in Kentucky and Alabama — approximately half of its coal-based generation. Citing market factors, declining demand and stricter environmental rules, board members…
Read MoreOn the Right Side of the Law
By Molly Moore From the gallery of the Kentucky State Capitol, lawyer Wes Addington and a group of women from eastern Kentucky — mostly widows of coal miners — watched the Kentucky House pass a bill expanding legal and safety protections for state miners. The women had advocated tirelessly in support of the law, and…
Read MoreEPA decision on toxic mining waste leaves Kentuckians, other Appalachians at risk
Resources EPA Approval Letter Selenium Fact Sheet Read more on our blog Contact: Erin Savage, Water Quality Specialist, 828-262-1500, erin@appvoices.org Cat McCue, Communications Director, 434-293-6373, cat@appvoices.org Washington DC – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today approved Kentucky’s changes to how the state measures selenium, a toxic pollutant discharged from many mountaintop removal coal mines. Even…
Read MoreEPA Helps Kentucky Roll Back Water Quality Protections
Just today, after several months of delays, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced its decisions on the Kentucky Department of Water’s (DOW) amendments to the Kentucky Water Quality Regulations. Unfortunately, the EPA has approved substantive changes to the selenium freshwater chronic standard that will not adequately protect aquatic life and will be difficult, if not…
Read MoreAppalachia’s Economic Transition is Underway: Three Broad Strategies to Get Us There
{ Editor’s Note } Anthony Flaccavento is a regional leader in sustainable agriculture, local foods and their overlap with economic development. This is the second part of a post on building a stronger regional economy in Appalachia. Click here to read the first part. Last week, I briefly described three key questions to frame the…
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