“MVP” is not a most valued project

tinabadgercroppedOpposition is mounting to the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline that would carry highly pressurized natural gas for 300 miles through farms and forests from W.Va. to Va. Several counties have taken action to oppose or question the project, and citizens all along the route are making their voices heard. Guest blogger Tina Badger is one.

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Digging Under the Surface: West Virginia’s Fracking Boom

Many West Virginia landowners agreed to sever the right to use their land from their rights to the minerals buried beneath the surface long before the onset of fracking technology. Today, fracking operators are using those old leases to bring industrial development to formerly secluded country homes, like the ridge above David Wentz’ house.

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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

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WV 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.

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Alpha Agrees to Water Pollution Settlement

Alpha Natural Resources agreed to a settlement in a 2012 lawsuit, brought by the Sierra Club and other environmental groups, regarding high levels of conductivity found in streams at two of its mountaintop removal mining complexes in West Virginia.

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