Posts Tagged ‘Mountaintop Removal’
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 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 MoreA Return to the States
By Appalachian Voices staff State legislatures in Appalachia are using their authority on health care reform, taxes, education, and energy and environmental policy to accomplish their own agendas, and sometimes, to rebuke federal policies. Here is the latest from our region’s representation. Virginia As he prepares to leave office this fall, Gov. Bob McDonnell will…
Read MoreTennessee Legislators Dodge Vote on Mountaintop Removal Although a bill to protect Tennessee’s mountains received broad citizen and political support — and media attention from around the world — state legislators chose to deny public testimony on the measure and instead let the Scenic Vistas Protection Act die without a vote. Appalachian Voices Tennessee Director…
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 MoreAmerica’s “Sadness Belt”: Appalachian States Worst in U.S. for Health and Happiness
By Melanie Foley Legislative Policy and Research Assistant, Summer 2013 Gallup and Healthways recently released their annual Well-Being Index for 2012, and Appalachia was found once again to be home to some of the least healthy and happy Americans. The most striking result of last year’s Well-Being Index is that while the happiest states are…
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