Revitalizing Appalachia from the ground up

"Citizens share ideas about diversifying the local economy at a public forum last fall in Wise County, Va., hosted by Appalachian Voices.

In February, a bill was introduced in Congress that would expedite funding to clean up old coal mining sites and redevelop them specifically to foster economic growth. The RECLAIM Act is now in committee and the language is expected to change a bit in the coming weeks. As Congress considers those changes, lawmakers should look to communities impacted by the coal industry, in Appalachia and across the country, whose perspective is vital to the bill’s success.

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POWER+ Plan deserves a warmer welcome

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While we here in Appalachia are working overtime to reinvent our economy and outlast the fall of King Coal, you would think that our representatives in Washington, D.C., would be eager to pass measures that send much-needed federal aid to help our hard hit coal-producing counties. But most of the region’s congressmen and senators are staying silent, and those who are going on the record are definitely not stepping up to the plate.

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Another Coal Company on the Run

Yesterday we announced our intent to sue Nally and Hamilton Enterprises for more than 12,000 violations of the clean water act at more than a dozen of its strip mines in Eastern Kentucky. Click here for more information on that action. Later in the day we noticed something odd about their website, it was gone.…

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Another Kentucky Coal Company Falsifies Water Monitoring Data

Working in coalition with national and state-wide environmental and social justice groups, we are once again seeking justice for clean water in Appalachia. At 2pm today, Appalachian Voices and partners announced an intent to sue yet another coal company in Kentucky for violations of the Clean Water Act – this time with a single outfit…

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Rahall: Protecting Appalachians Is Harming National Security

A set of so-called “pro-coal” Representatives have introduced HR 6113 to prove that they care more about Don Blankenship’s approval than their constituents’ health. This bill asserts that Obama’s EPA threatens national security. Continuing their march to ignore evidence, make stuff up, and push for an entirely rampant and unregulated coal industry, coal-bound legislators have…

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