Blog Archives

New limits on power plant pollution aim to protect communities and the climate

Kingston Fossil Plant

Four rules finalized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency late last month will limit pollution from power plants — reducing climate-altering emissions, protecting the health of nearby communities and speeding the transition to renewable energy.

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New limits on power plant emissions and new community protections should prompt utilities to turn to reliable, affordable renewable energy

smoke and steam rise from a power plant

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a suite of new rules to limit a range of harmful pollutants from power plants, protecting the climate and human health, and pushing utilities toward cleaner, more reliable ways to meet energy demand, including investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency.

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Investing in what matters: Federal funding to kick off community-led resiliency projects

As spring bursts into bloom in the mountains, Appalachian Voices is officially launching Building Community Resilience in Virginia’s Coalfields, a new project funded through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Grant.

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TVA ignores warnings from federal agencies, moves forward with proposed Kingston Gas Plant

Kingston Fossil Plant

In an extremely disappointing move, the Tennessee Valley Authority issued a Record of Decision for the proposed Kingston Gas Plant, a dirty and expensive project that will hurt the climate and cost families in the Tennessee Valley millions of dollars in unnecessary costs. The new plant would also require a 122-mile pipeline.

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EPA urges TVA to revisit study on Kingston plant replacement, citing “serious deficiencies”

Kingston Fossil Plant

Yesterday, the Environmental Protection Agency sent comments to the Tennessee Valley Authority highlighting “serious deficiencies” with the utility’s Final Environmental Impact Statement, or the review of power source alternatives that it is considering for the replacement of the Kingston Fossil Plant in Harriman, Tennessee.

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Upper South and Appalachia Citizen Air Monitoring Project begins data collection

With funding from the EPA, Appalachian Voices purchased dozens of PurpleAir PM sensors, and distributed these to individuals and grassroots organizations in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Pennsylvania.

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EPA poised to botch update of important air quality rule

PM 2.5 is a lethal combination of metals, organic matter, acids and other substances so tiny that they can be inhaled and delivered directly into the bloodstream. These airborne pollutants are emitted by tailpipes, power plants and numerous other industries. In our region, coal mine dust is an additional source of this pollutant.

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EPA proposes moderate improvements for public health; must do more

The proposal is a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t go nearly far enough. In Appalachia, our people are breathing fugitive mine dust and toxic emissions from numerous industries. Time and again, state regulatory practices have fallen short in curbing the impacts of these industries. Fugitive coal mine dust in particular has not been regulated in any meaningful way. EPA can and should do more to protect our health.

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Monitoring air quality across Appalachia

Power plant pollution

After a decade of focusing on water pollution from coal mining, Appalachian Voices’ coal impacts team is embarking on an ambitious project to monitor air pollution in communities impacted by coal mining and other fossil fuel infrastructure, and in other communities where air quality is an environmental justice concern.

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Appalachian Voices receives EPA grant for community air monitoring project

An example of a compressor station like the one proposed for the Mountain Valley Pipeline route

Appalachian Voices has received $118,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to fund the Upper South and Appalachia Citizen Air Monitoring Project.

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