Posts Tagged ‘EPA’
Clean Water Protection Act Introduced with 45 Cosponsors
Yesterday, Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA) introduced the Clean Water Protection Act in the 113th Congress with 45 original cosponsors. The Clean Water Protection Act, H.R. 1837, is a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives which would sharply reduce mountaintop removal coal mining by making it illegal to dump mining…
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 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 MoreEPA Releases Proposal To Update Clean Water Act Standards for Power Plant Pollution
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has finally proposed a range of options to regulate waste water from power plants which are responsible for half of the nation’s water pollution. While the public comment period has yet to begin, a public hearing is schedule for July 9th in Washington, DC. More details on the rule itself,…
Read MoreEPA Gets Its Day in Court: Hearings Begin on Spruce Mine No. 1 Appeal
By Brian Sewell Dozens of coal industry groups and environmental organizations crowded into a Washington, D.C., courtroom on March 14 for the latest chapter of a long legal battle. A three-judge panel heard arguments on the legality of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to veto permits for one of the largest mountaintop removal coal…
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 MoreCanvassing Against Coal Ash
Last Saturday, the Red, White and Water team traveled to Belmont, N.C., to the G.G. Allen Steam Station for a day of canvassing. Walking door-to-door, we asked residents of the communities near the coal-fired power plant if they had been impacted by water pollution. I met Archie Dixon, who was featured in the Gaston Gazette…
Read MoreAn Uphill Climb Gets Steeper
Sequestration Comes to Appalachia By Melanie Foley Legislative Policy and Research Assistant, Summer 2013 In August 2011, Congress and President Obama made a pact. They agreed to $1.2 trillion worth of cuts over 10 years if another deficit reduction compromise could not be reached. Efforts to avoid the severe and widespread cuts failed, and as…
Read MoreMcCarthy Nominated to Lead EPA
President Obama today announced the nomination of Gina McCarthy as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator, replacing Lisa Jackson who served throughout the president’s first term. McCarthy is currently the assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. Appalachian Voices released the following statement from Executive Director Tom Cormons: “This nomination clearly shows…
Read MoreVirginia Transportation Board OKs Coalfields Expressway Project
Yesterday, Virginia’s Commonwealth Transportation Board approved a four-lane divided highway that will flatten steep mountain ridges in southwest Virginia along a route proposed by Alpha Natural Resources — the largest coal company operating in Appalachia today. The proposed 26-mile Coalfields Expressway is only a few miles off of several less destructive routes studied by the…
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