Kentucky Surface Water: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

By Erin Savage | March 22, 2012 |

Depending on what you have heard about eastern Kentucky, or your own experiences there, you may have different impressions of Appalachian streams around the area. Some may envision picturesque creeks running through green valleys, while others may think of bright orange “streams” running over rip-rock. Unfortunately, bright orange streams are commonplace in eastern Kentucky. The…

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Big Coal’s Assault on Property Rights

By Tom Cormons | March 13, 2012 |

Big Coal’s audacity can be astounding. For years, the coal company Consol has been dumping toxic wastewater into mined-out underground mines in Buchanan County, Virginia, without the consent of the owners of the property where these old mines are located. In 2008, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that this is an illegal trespass against the…

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Subcommittee Hearing A “Dog and Pony Show” With Your Ringmaster, Rep. Bill Johnson

By Brian Sewell | March 6, 2012 |

I’ll admit, this morning’s Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources hearing had my head spinning. Similar to the committee’s previous hearings on the stream buffer zone rule, statements made by the Republican majority committee members could cause concerns as to who exactly they’re representing. The hearing seemed staged to give committee members yet another opportunity…

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URGENT: Don’t Let Big Coal Poison Virginia’s Groundwater!

By Appalachian Voices | March 5, 2012 |

A dirty bill in the Virginia General Assembly is bad news for the health of Virginia’s groundwater. We urgently need to show state senators that clean water for the Commonwealth is more important than cost-cutting measures for the coal industry! A bill, HB 710, has been introduced into the Virginia General Assembly that would allow…

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Yesterday and Today: Defending the Clean Water Act

By Jamie Goodman | February 21, 2012 |

By Jamie Goodman Forty years ago, it took a flaming river to spur our nation to protect its waterways. The river that played a prominent role in the creation of the Clean Water Act and the Environmental Protection Agency is thought to have erupted in flames on thirteen separate occasions in a one-hundred-year period, ending…

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SELC Releases Top Ten Endangered Places List, Shows Threats in Southeast

By Jamie Goodman | February 21, 2012 |

The Southern Environmental Law Center recently released its fourth-annual Top 10 Endangered Places list for 2012, highlighting the ecologically and culturally rich areas throughout the Southeast that are threatened by development, water issues and the environmental impacts of mountaintop removal and hydraulic fracturing. Southeastern states bordering Appalachia, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee, are each featured…

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Kentucky Arrow Darter Threatened by Mountaintop Removal

By AV's Intern Team | January 25, 2012 |

By Madison Hinshaw, Communications Editorial Intern in Spring 2012. We’ve known for a long time that mountaintop removal is affecting Appalachian creatures. This time it’s a fish found in the Appalachian streams and rivers — the Kentucky arrow darter. This fish, found only in Kentucky, is one of the top 10 U.S. species most threatened…

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Delayed Coal Ash Regulations Put Public Health at Risk

By Appalachian Voices | January 18, 2012 |

Appalachian Voices issued the following press release to news outlets in North Carolina. A similar version was released nationally by the eleven environmental and public health groups involved in this litigation. Delayed Coal Ash Regulations Put Public Health at Risk Groups head to court to force issuance of important national safeguards Washington, D.C. – Environmental…

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