Posts Tagged ‘Coal’
Kentuckians Challenge Cabinet’s Order for Failing to Protect Clean Water from Coal Pollution
Resources Citizen’s petition for review (May 2013) Citizens’ Objection Letter (Jan 2013) Cabinet and Frasure’s Agreed Order FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Appalachian Voices * Kentuckians For The Commonwealth * Kentucky Riverkeeper * Waterkeeper Alliance CONTACTS: • Eric Chance, Appalachian Voices, 828-262-1500, eric@appvoices.org • Pat Banks, Kentucky Riverkeeper, 859-200-7442, kyriverkeeper@eku.edu • Peter Harrison, Waterkeeper Alliance, 828-582-0422, pharrison@waterkeeper.org…
Read MoreA Must-Read Report, Another Reminder It’s Time to Build Something New in Central Appalachia
The litany of voices pointing to the writing on the wall for the Central Appalachian coal industry continues to grow. They’re saying the same thing in almost every way imaginable, and have been for some time. Watching coal production decline and demand shift as other energy sources out-compete coal domestically, it is vital that policymakers…
Read MoreMountaintop Removal 101: Congressional Research Service Updates Report
Every day, more Americans become concerned with the threat of mountaintop removal in Appalachia. Just yesterday, I was made aware of a website called “What About Mountains?” created by a fourth grade class at the Episcopal School of Knoxville. These students may just be learning about the issue, but they know that “mountaintop removal coal…
Read MoreKentucky’s Lab Certification- Is it strong enough?
Yesterday, Appalachian Voices submitted public comments on a proposed wastewater lab certification program in Kentucky. To discharge polluted water, coal companies must receive a permit under the Clean Water Act. This permit that requires companies to test wastewater and report the data to ensure it falls within the limits of the permit. In Kentucky, there…
Read MoreTennessee Tuesday: What Do We Do Now?
This is a post about how we can improve life for Tennesseans, protect an American culture that has endured for centuries, and promote our beloved Appalachian Mountains that once stood higher than the Himalayas, and are now threatened by mountaintop removal coal mining. Tennessee Tuesdays is a new weekly feature on the Appalachian Voices Front…
Read MoreA Good Week for Mountains – Multiple Court Rulings Favor Science and Enforcement
We’re only two days into Earth Week — if we must limit it to one week out of the year — but it sure is getting off to a great start. In the past two days, two major court rulings have underscored the need for increased scrutiny from the federal agency responsible for evaluating environmental…
Read MoreEnergy Report Shorts
OSM Approves Expansion of Appalachia’s Largest Slurry Impoundment The Federal Office of Surface Mining recently approved an expansion of the Brushy Fork impoundment in West Virginia — one of the largest slurry disposal sites in the country — to hold two billion more gallons of the waste produced from washing coal. Unless the West Virginia…
Read More“War on Coal” Claims are a War on Reality
By Melanie Foley Legislative Policy and Research Assistant, Summer 2013 The coal industry and the members of Congress who depend on its support have accused President Obama and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of waging a “war on coal.” Industry supporters argue that limits on emissions from coal-fired power plants and increased scrutiny of mountaintop…
Read MoreWhat We Weren’t Allowed to Say
In this legislative session, Tennesseans’ voices were silenced. Here’s what I would have said. Yesterday, I was honored to be called to testify before the Tennessee State Senate Committee on Energy, Agriculture, and Natural Resources, along with a friend, hero and colleague, Ann League. Ann is a property owner and resident of coal-bearing areas in…
Read MoreProtecting Tennessee’s mountains? Not worth the Senate’s time.
Despite broad citizen and political support for a bill protecting Tennessee’s mountains, the state Senate Energy, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee today decided to not even allow public testimony on the measure and instead killed the bill. SB99, the Scenic Vistas Protection Act, was slated to be heard by the committee during its usual meeting…
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