Citizens groups, Kentucky reach historic settlement with coal company over water pollution

Deal sends strong signal to incoming Bevin administration Contact: Erin Savage, Appalachian Voices, 206-769-8286, erin@appvoices.org Ted Withrow, Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, 606-784-6885, tfwithrow@windstream.net Pat Banks, Kentucky Riverkeeper, 859-200-7442, kyriverkeeper@eku.edu Peter Harrison, Waterkeeper Alliance, 828-582-0422, pharrison@waterkeeper.org Alice Howell, Sierra Club, 859-420-8092, a.howell0607@gmail.com Highlights of press coverage New York Times Louisville Courier-Journal Daily Independent (CNHI) Lexington Herald-Leader…

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Student leaders support the POWER+ Plan

Yesterday, a group of student leaders in eastern Kentucky took a commendable step in support of Central Appalachia’s youth and economic future. By a unanimous vote, the Appalachian Renaissance Initiative Student Senate passed a resolution of support for the Obama administration’s POWER+ Plan.

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Understanding the Stream Protection Rule

While the draft Stream Protection Rule is far from perfect, it is a long overdue update to protections for surface and groundwater from mountaintop removal coal mining. Not surprisingly, the coal industry had relied on “war on coal” talking points to fight against the rule, and claims these protections are unnecessary and will undermine an otherwise viable industry. Let’s examine those claims.

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White House POWER Initiative grants awarded

Efforts to increase employment, and develop and diversify the economies of historically coal-reliant communities just received a major boost. Earlier today, the White House announced $14.5 million in grant awards to organizations and projects occurring across 12 states. A majority of the three dozen awards, and most of the grant dollars, are going to plan or implement projects in Central Appalachia.

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Thank God for our Kentucky newspapers

Local newspapers in Kentucky have helped expose state regulators’ lax treatment of industry, most recently in the form of a secretive deal stuck with an oil company responsible for polluting drinking water supplies. But sadly, Kentucky’s politicians and agencies aren’t shy in revealing whose interests they truly serve either.

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Citizen stories counter coal industry deception

Citizens and clean water advocates used a series of hearings on the proposed Stream Protection Rule to demand improvements to the draft version and call out state agencies for repeatedly failing to enforce regulations already on the books. Coal industry representatives, on the other hand, relied on “war on coal” rhetoric and deception to rally against the rule.

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