Posts Tagged ‘Water Pollution’
State Legislative Updates
While lawmakers in Washington, D.C., might get most of the spotlight, the legislators in state capitols across the region are busy making — and blocking — laws that affect Appalachia’s land, air, water and people. Here’s the latest updates from state legislatures around the region
Read MoreWV Coal Lab Penalty Upheld
The West Virginia Environmental Quality Board upheld a decision by the state Department of Environmental Protection to revoke the certification of Appalachian Laboratories Inc., where employees routinely conspired to violate the federal Clean Water Act.
Read MoreGoing to Court for Clean Water
In mid-March, Appalachian Voices and our partners in Kentucky sued Frasure Creek Mining in federal court for more than 20,000 violations of the Clean Water Act, which could lead to nearly $700 million in fines.
Read MoreA first for North Carolina, now open for fracking
March 17 marked the first day in history that North Carolina has been fully open to the oil and gas industry for the dangerous, environmentally destructive practice of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas. Though the moratorium on fracking has been lifted, communities and environmental organizations across the state are prepared to continue fighting.
Going to court for clean water
After we revealed thousands of water pollution violations at Frasure Creek Mining’s mountaintop removal coal mines in eastern Kentucky, state regulators (finally) took administrative action. Appalachian Voices and our partners are seeking to intervene in that process to ensure environmental protections are enforced, and we have filed our own lawsuit in federal court.
Permits and Payments: Will Duke Energy ever stop polluting?
On Tuesday, DENR announced a historic $25.1 million fine for coal ash pollution at Duke Energy’s Sutton power plant. The agency also recently released updated permit drafts for coal ash ponds at other sites, proposed to “better protect water quality near coal ash ponds until closure plans are approved.” Though permitting the pollution will lead to better monitoring, it does nothing to stop or even stymie the toxic discharges.
Apologies for the Dan River spill, guilt for coal ash crimes
Duke Energy likes to use a tagline about how, for more than 100 years, it has provided affordable, reliable electricity to its customers “at the flip of a switch.” But a year after the Dan River spill, Duke seems to accept that coal ash pollution has its own chapter in the company’s corporate story. Now, facing federal criminal charges, Duke will pay for its crimes.
Déjà vu in Kentucky clean water cases
Friday, Appalachian Voices and our partners filed a motion to intervene in a case between the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet and Frasure Creek Mining to ensure clean water laws are being enforced in Kentucky. To anyone following our lawsuits in Kentucky, these recent developments will sound familiar.
Criminal charges filed against Duke Energy
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed criminal charges against Duke Energy for violating the federal Clean Water Act at coal ash sites across North Carolina. The company announced today that it has reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors to resolve the charges that includes $102.2 million for fines and mitigation.
Coal Ash Management
The first federal regulations governing the disposal of toxic coal ash passed in December 2014. The rule provides some safeguards, but environmental advocates aren’t reassured. And in North Carolina, more than a year after the Dan River coal ash spill, communities living near the waste are still concerned about the pollution’s effects.
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