Updated Jan. 20, 2022: On Jan. 13, Virginia Energy sent a letter to A&G Coal Corporation suspending the permit for the Straight Fork Surface Mine after the corporation failed to respond to the Dec. 8, 2021 show cause order. The permit suspension gives the Justice company until Feb. 14 to deal with the ongoing violations. Failure to do so will then trigger permit revocation and a determination of bond forfeiture.
Richmond, Va. — A coalition representing member-owners of Virginia’s rural electric cooperative (RECs) is rallying in support of Del. Wendy Gooditis’ legislation that seeks to establish protections and safeguards for customers (member-owners) of the thirteen rural electric cooperatives in the state. These reforms would include allowing member-owners to observe board meetings, voter integrity measures for cooperative board elections, and transparency in cooperative political lobbying.
Virginia’s 2022 General Assembly gaveled in on January 12 for two months of legislative wrangling in the crowded halls of the state capitol! We expect to play defense on protecting pivotal laws that tackle the climate crisis, while pushing for progress in key areas. Don’t sit this one out — we need all Virginia hands on deck!
“Based on his egregious record as EPA administrator, Andrew Wheeler is unfit to serve as Virginia’s next Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources,” said Tom Cormons, executive director of Appalachian Voices.
Richmond, VA — A new legal action filed today challenges Virginia’s State Water Control Board approval of a key water quality permit for the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline. The petition for review of the project was filed with the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond.
Today the Virginia State Corporation Commission rejected plans from Chickahominy Pipeline, LLC, to construct an unregulated gas pipeline 83 miles from Louisa County to a proposed gas-fired power plant in Charles City County, instead determining that the company is a public utility subject to Commission regulation. The Southern Environmental Law Center represented Concerned Citizens of Charles City County, Hanover Citizens Against A Pipeline, Appalachian Voices, and Chesapeake Bay Foundation in the case.
On Dec. 3 — after more than eight hours of public, industry and agency comments spread over two days — six of the seven members of the state Air Pollution Control Board voted to deny the air permit for the Lambert Compressor Station.
At a virtual press conference on Dec. 13, the launch of the “Press Pause Coalition” was announced. The statewide coalition wants a moratorium on state agencies permitting gold, copper, zinc and lead mining.
CONTACT: Denali Nalamalapu, (302) 307-6966, denali@powhr.org Dan Radmacher, (540) 798-6683, dan@appvoices.org Richmond, VA — Today, the Virginia State Water Control Board approved a water permit for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) via a 3-2 vote, finalizing state approval for the…
On Friday, Virginia’s Air Pollution Control Board will rule on Mountain Valley Pipeline’s hotly contested plan to place a polluting compressor station in a majority Black district already burdened with air pollution from two other compressors.
