Posts Tagged ‘West Virginia Highlands Conservancy’
Permits for coal-hauling in Monongahela National Forest are terminated
Late Wednesday, attorneys representing a coalition of conservation groups asked a judge to dismiss their case against the U.S. Forest Service.
Read MoreCoal hauling through the Monongahela National Forest has ceased… for now.
Our collective efforts to defend the Monongahela National Forest and the Cherry River from the abuses of South Fork Coal Company are having an impact.
Read MoreSouth Fork Coal says it will liquidate rather than restructure in bankruptcy filing
White Forest Resources, the parent company of South Fork Coal Company, announced that its bankruptcy would end in liquidation rather than restructuring. South Fork Coal has a history of more than 140 environmental violations at its mining complex near Richwood, West Virginia.
Read MoreTrump administration rubber stamps bankrupt coal company’s encroachment into Monongahela National Forest
Today, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement determined that a bankrupt coal company with a long history of regulatory violations has the right to haul coal through the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia.
Read MoreFederal court clears path for legal challenges to coal-hauling in Monongahela National Forest
A federal judge in Delaware ruled Tuesday in favor of two motions filed by conservation groups, allowing key legal and administrative actions to move forward to protect portions of the Monongahela National Forest from mining activities by South Fork Coal Company
Read MoreSouth Fork Coal Company: ‘a trail of pollution, debt and disregard’
Since late 2023, Appalachian Voices has worked closely with the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance and other partners to defend the Cherry River from South Fork Coal’s negligence, and to resist this coal company’s encroachment into the Monongahela National Forest.
Read MoreCoal company with 80+ clean water violations files for bankruptcy
South Fork Coal Company and its parent entities Xinergy and White Forest Resources, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware. The move follows the company’s well-documented pattern of water pollution and mine clean-up violations, which have drawn mounting public scrutiny and legal actions.
Read MoreFederal regulators shut down illegal WV coal haul road — Interior quietly reopens it at company’s request
In a whirlwind of conflicting decisions, the U.S. Department of the Interior has quietly allowed South Fork Coal Company to resume hauling coal through the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia — just weeks after Biden administration regulators shut down the unlawful haul road.
Read MoreFederal regulators poised to crack down on coal mine operated by Jim Justice’s family
On Dec. 10, 2024, the U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement sent a damning letter to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection over the state’s failure to rein in operations on a wildly non-compliant coal strip mine in Wyoming County, West Virginia.
Read MoreEnvironmental groups sue South Fork Coal over damages near Cranberry Wilderness
The West Virginia Highlands Conservancy and Appalachian Voices sued South Fork Coal Company today for ongoing violations of the federal Clean Water Act and Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act at five coal mines in Greenbrier County, West Virginia.
Read More