Posts Tagged ‘West Virginia’
Compensation Remains Elusive After Elk River Chemical Spill
By Kimber Ray Prospects of a full cleanup are uncertain at the site of a chemical leak that contaminated the drinking water of 300,000 West Virginia residents last January. Freedom Industries in August submitted a proposal to the state bankruptcy court outlining its intention to abandon the site that housed the culpable chemical storage tank…
Read MoreInjustices Follow Elk River Chemical Spill
By Kimber Ray For many in West Virginia whose water was contaminated by Freedom Industries this past January, the $11,000 fine issued against the company by federal officials in July demonstrated the failure of state and federal officials to demand corporate accountability. In a Charleston, W. Va., prison, inmates are reporting that they had to…
Read MoreKeeping West Virginia Wild
Lovers of outdoor recreation and stunning scenery can now permanently enjoy expanded public access to the popular Gauley River. The 665 acres in Gauley River National Recreation Area acquired by West Virginia Land Trust this spring includes a gorge once intended for development. According to Brent Bailey, executive director of the land trust, “The importance…
Read MoreCamp Creek: Gateway to West Virginia Wonders
Just two miles away from busy Interstate 77, visitors to West Virginia’s Camp Creek State Park trade the hum of passing traffic for birdsong and the rushing chatter of waterfalls.
Read MoreSurface Mine Near State Forest Meets Opposition
By Brian Sewell A mountaintop removal permit in West Virginia is causing significant backlash because of its proximity to a cherished state forest and residential areas. Located along the eastern boundary of Kanawha State Forest in Kanawha County and a few miles from downtown Charleston, the 414-acre KD Mine No. 2 received approval from regulators…
Read MoreOrder Will Protect Portion of Historic Blair Mountain Battlefield
By Brian Sewell A section of historic Blair Mountain is off-limits to mountaintop removal coal mining until at least 2018 when the permit comes up for renewal. An order issued by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection prohibits Aracoma Coal, a subsidiary of Alpha Natural Resources, from mining within 1,000 feet of the mountain’s…
Read More“Hollow” Documentary Wins Award
By Kelsey Boyajian Throughout “Hollow,” an interactive online documentary, the lush hills of Appalachia are juxtaposed beside stripped mountaintops. Through the stories of 30 individuals living in rural McDowell County, W.Va., director and producer Elaine McMillion uses a combination of web and film to spotlight the history and aspirations of the county’s 21,000 residents, and…
Read MoreDoubts Follow Elk River Contamination
By Kimber Ray Four months after a Freedom Industries chemical tank contaminated the water of approximately 300,000 West Virginia residents this past January, only 36 percent of those residents were drinking their tap water, according a survey released in May by the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department. The affected private utility, West Virginia American Water Company, is…
Read MoreCommunities Pursue Revitalization Plans
By Carvan Craft Convenient access to local food can be a rare commodity in rural communities. Thanks to the Appalachian Livable Communities grant program, founded in 2012, five Appalachian communities will receive a shared total of $375,000 to help make local food projects a reality. The grant will fund a new agricultural education facility for…
Read MoreToxic Warnings: Recent Spills Underscore Lack of Water Oversight
By Kimber Ray In the early morning hours of Jan. 9, Kim Thompson was getting ready to leave her South Charleston home in Kanawha Co. — the most populated region in the mountains of West Virginia — and head out to her job as field supervisor for a local telecommunications company. As she twisted the…
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