Posts Tagged ‘Water Pollution’
Bringing Polluters to Justice — One Court Case at a Time
By Eric Chance and Erin Savage On Oct 1., Appalachian Voices and a coalition of citizens’ groups reached a historic settlement in a Kentucky case involving some of the most far-reaching and astonishing violations of the Clean Water Act in its 40-year history. The agreement between the citizens’ groups, International Coal Group, Inc., and the…
Read MoreKentucky Governor Under Suit for Pro-Coal Corruption
Former Mine Permits director Ron Mills claims he was fired for failing to sign illegal coal mining permits. Mills was a political appointee of Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear, whose official website states: As governor, Beshear has helped restore public trust by creating a culture of integrity in state government that has included rooting out cronyism…
Read MoreHappy 40th Birthday, Clean Water Act!
At Appalachian Voices, we strive to connect communities, families and individuals to their decision-makers to help them protect their land, air and water. We see ourselves in service to those people to help them achieve their goals of providing a good quality for themselves and others. The Clean Water Act, which is 40 years old…
Read MoreLandmark Settlement Proposed in Kentucky Water Pollution Case
Appalachian Voices, along with a coalition of citizens’ groups, has reached a historic agreement with International Coal Group, Inc. (ICG), and the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet over years of false reporting and water pollution violations in Eastern Kentucky and a failure by the state to enforce the Clean Water Act. We are very glad…
Read MoreGo Tell It on Mountain Island Lake
Last Sunday, the Charlotte Observer asked the question, “Are we doing enough on coal ash?” Two people stepped in to answer. The column in the negative was written by Sam Perkins, Director of Technical Programs for the Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation; the column in the affirmative was written by Mitch Griggs, vice president of environmental services…
Read MoreRevealing the True Cost of Coal by Taking the “Con” Out of Economics
At the Democratic National Convention, Appalachian Voices’ staff attended and participated in several panel discussions and events relevant to our work. Perhaps the most engaging forum that I was fortunate enough to attend was the “Summit for a Sustainable Economy,” hosted by the American Sustainable Business Council. Shortly after I arrived, flipped through the materials…
Read MoreUpdate: House Passes Dirty Coal Package
UPDATE: Last Friday, the House passed the Dirty Coal package, H.R. 3409, by a vote of 233-175. Thirteen Republicans, led by Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (PA-8), crossed party lines to oppose the bill and stand up for Appalachian communities and public health. The three parts of the bill not related to mountaintop removal mining had received…
Read MoreThe Senate and the L’awful’ Coal Ash Bill
To put it mildly, the supposed coal ash regulation bill S. 3512 falls short of our expectations. The bill — proposed last July by Sens. Hoeven (R-SD), Conrad (D-SD), and Baucus (D-MT) — shields utilities from their obligations to upgrade their unsafe ash dumps in a timely fashion, clean up sites that they have contaminated,…
Read MoreTen Years In, the Clean Smokestacks Act Continues to Benefit Us All
Right now, members of Congress are at home hearing from their constituents about the issues they most care about. In this spirit, we joined residents of North Carolina working on water issues to visit the Charlotte office Sen. Kay Hagan. It was exciting to be in the Queen City, as it gears up for the…
Read MoreA One-Two Punch in the Fight for Clean Water
It has been a week of good news in the fight for stronger protections against coal ash pollution. A court settlement in South Carolina and a major decision regarding the 2008 TVA Kingston coal ash spill make for a one-two punch against the poorly regulated toxic waste. This morning, a federal court ruled that the…
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