Peculiar Patriot Coal deal raises questions

What would a health care executive-turned-environmentalist want with the dying business of mining coal? That’s the question some are asking after the announcement that a Virginia environmentalist plans to acquire assets, and assume around $400 million in liabilities, from recently-bankrupt Patriot Coal.

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How much progress are we making on ending mountaintop removal?

Last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration pointed to a steep decline in coal produced by mountaintop removal mining. But
a closer examination of the data calls into question the adequacy of the legal definition of “mountaintop removal” and, more importantly, demonstrates that much more work is needed to truly end destructive mining practices in Central Appalachia.

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Supreme Court delivers blow to EPA’s mercury rule

In a major decision today, the Supreme Court ruled the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency did not properly consider costs when it created a rule to limit mercury emissions from power plants. But the agency has a mandate and a clear path forward to protect public health by limiting emissions of mercury and other toxic air pollutants.

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Appalachian legislators give POWER+ the cold shoulder

economyVirginia’s coal-bearing counties would directly benefit from the adoption of the POWER+ plan, a proposal in the Obama administration’s 2016 budget that would direct more than a billion dollars to Central Appalachia. But budget bills passed out of both houses of Congress weaken or include no mention of the POWER+ Plan.

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White House Unveils New Plans to Protect Honeybees

By Laura Marion The White House unveiled its federal honeybee protection plan less than a week after the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that honeybee populations further declined by 40 percent between April 2014 and April 2015. The agency’s National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators plan will provide funding…

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Public Comment Period on Key Ingredient of RoundUp

By Laura Marion This May, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency told Reuters news agency that it has finished a review of the health and environmental impacts of glyphosate — a chemical used in popular herbicides such as RoundUp — and will release a preliminary human health risk assessment this July. After this release, the EPA…

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Tennessee Rivers at Risk

By Cody Burchett According to a report released this May by the nonprofit Tennessee Clean Water Network, surface water enforcement actions issued by Tennessee state regulators have dropped 75 percent since 2008. Of the 53 enforcement orders issued last year by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, more than a quarter were related to…

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