Posts Tagged ‘surface mining’
Presidential orders to prop up coal companies would increase pollution, damage public lands and raise power bills
President Trump signed four executive orders aimed at propping up declining coal-fired power plants and reducing environmental protections for communities impacted by coal plants and mining.
Read MoreBad actor coal company seeks to expand surface mine in endangered candy darter habitat
Surface mining of this scale is bad news for the environment even if it is conducted within the confines of the law, but South Fork Coal Company’s history of regulatory infractions is almost as egregious as Greenbrier County is beautiful.
Read MoreCleaning up mines owned by Gov. Justice and his family would create hundreds of jobs
There is enough outstanding reclamation liability on coal mines owned by West Virginia Governor Jim Justice and/or his adult children to employ 220 to 460 workers for five years, according to our report. Nearly 34,000 acres of Justice-family mines across five states are in need of some degree of environmental cleanup.
Read MoreA new wave of abandoned coal mines?
As coal collapses, the industry is leaving behind thousands of acres of mined lands in various states of environmental destruction. A new report seeks to understand the scope of the problem and outline potential solutions.
Read MoreProtected or not? Coal company pushes for mine in protected Tennessee area
Federal regulators are considering a proposal for a new surface coal mine in Tennessee’s Cumberland Mountains, despite the fact that in 2016, the federal government declared most of the area in question off-limits to surface mining.
Read MoreCommunity resists proposed strip mine in Ohio State Forest
The grassroots group Friends of Perry State Forest formed to fight a proposed 550-acre strip mine in Southeast Ohio’s Perry State Forest. A key public meeting is set for Feb. 26.
Read MoreNew Study Maps Increase in Land Disturbed by Coal Mining
A new study shows that surface mining has cleared 1.5 million acres of land between 1976 and 2015, and also showed a drastic increase in the ratio of land cleared to tonnage of coal produced over the last three decades.
Read MoreNew maps reveal yearly footprint of surface coal mining in Central Appalachia
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — In a peer-reviewed study published today in PLOS ONE, researchers from SkyTruth, Duke University, and Appalachian Voices released the first-ever maps of the year-by-year footprint of surface coal mining, including mountaintop mining, in Central Appalachia. Among the key findings: Surface mining, including mountaintop mining, has been responsible for clearing 2,900 km2 (~720,000…
Read MoreGroups urge Tenn. governor to veto coal mining bill
Nashville, Tenn. – Today, 20 environmental and community organizations delivered a letter to Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam urging him to veto legislation approved by the state House that would significantly weaken protections relating to coal mining in Tennessee. The legislation would transfer authority to regulate coal mining from the federal Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation…
Read MoreRECLAIMing Central Appalachia
From The Appalachian Voice: A rare bipartisan proposal aims to tackle two pressing issues related to the flailing coal industry — the need for new economic opportunities in central Appalachia and repairing environmental damage from decades of mining.
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