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SELC, Appalachian Voices seek release of opinion that Virginia’s withdrawal from RGGI would violate law

A solar installation photo by NREL

CONTACT: Alexandra Werner-Winslow, SELC Communications Manager (VA), awernerwinslow@selcva.org, (434) 977-4090 Peter Anderson, Appalachian Voices Virginia Policy Director, peter@appvoices.org, (434) 249-6446 CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Today the Southern Environmental Law Center filed suit in Charlottesville Circuit Court on behalf of Appalachian Voices

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Support shown for the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative with a “march backwards”

Marchers rallied support for Virginia's continued participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Photo by Jen Lawhorne

Rallygoers in Richmond opposed Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s efforts to remove Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

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Planning ahead for a bright future in Virginia

This Sun Tribe Solar project utilizes native plantings, which provide pollinator habitat and reduce erosion. By creating a cooler microclimate, native plantings can even increase the efficiency of the panels! Photo by Sun Tribe Solar

Solar is essential to meeting urgent emissions reduction goals, but concerns about smart land use and the community and environmental impacts of large-scale solar don’t have easy answers.

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Citizen groups notify Justice-owned coal company of intent to sue over reclamation violations

A coal company owned by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and his family has been notified that Appalachian Voices, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards and Sierra Club are planning to file a lawsuit over its failure to clean up three Wise County, Virginia, mines.

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The Beast of Bristol: The Landfill Haunting Residents of the Twin Cities

two people in front of a large guitar statue hold signs about the landfill problems

Terrible, persistent smells from the Bristol landfill have put a damper on quality of life for residents of the Twin Cities. Officials acknowledge the problem, but there’s no clear path forward.

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Environmental groups seek to defend Virginia’s denial of air permit for MVP in court

pipes and and a tower clustered together, sunset sky

Richmond, VA — The Sierra Club and Appalachian Voices, represented by Appalachian Mountain Advocates, moved to intervene in a lawsuit to help defend the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board’s denial of an air permit for the proposed Lambert Compressor station. If built, the station would connect the beleaguered Mountain Valley Pipeline to the proposed “Southgate” extension into North Carolina. The conservation groups filed the motion in response to a lawsuit by the Mountain Valley Pipeline that seeks to reverse the board’s decision.

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Gov. Jim Justice’s Straight Fork Surface Mine again facing possible permit revocation

aerial image of mine

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.

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Member-owners join together to support transparency and governance reforms for Virginia’s rural electric cooperatives

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.

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Can’t stop, won’t stop! Fighting to protect you and the environment at Virginia’s General Assembly

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!

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Appalachian Voices calls on Gov.-elect Youngkin to withdraw Wheeler’s nomination as Natural Resources secretary

people announcing thing

“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.

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