Posts Tagged ‘West Virginia’
Black Lung Awareness Day at the West Virginia Capitol
On Thursday, March 20, 2025, coal miners and their families from across West Virginia’s coal-producing communities will gather at the Capitol building for Black Lung Awareness Day.
Read MoreEnvironmental groups sue to challenge mountaintop removal mine on Coal River Mountain
Environmental groups filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to grant a Clean Water Act permit for four valley fills associated with the Turkeyfoot Surface Mine in Raleigh County, West Virginia.
Read MoreThousands urge EPA to regulate coal dust from trains polluting communities and waterways
Appalachian Voices submitted a letter signed by nearly 4,000 individuals urging the Trump administration’s newly appointed Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Lee Zeldin, to develop new protections from coal dust that blows off of trains, contaminating waterways and posing serious public health risks.
Read MoreFederal regulators issue notice to DEP for failing to enforce environmental protections at Greenbrier County coal mines
A notice issued by federal coal mining regulators outlines the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s failures to address persistent problems at a set of South Fork Coal Company mines and directs state regulators to address the issues and report back.
Read MoreWest Virginia DEP Suspends Bluestone Coal’s Mining Permit for Poca Surface Mine
West Virginia regulators suspended the mining permit for a Bluestone Coal surface mine in Wyoming County that is operated by the family of Sen. Jim Justice.
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 MoreTop mine regulator can and must halt illegal coal hauling in the Monongahela National Forest
Sharon Buccino, the acting head of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, could take immediate action to shut down South Fork Coal’s illegal coal hauling operation in the Monongahela National Forest.
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 MoreConservation groups ask nation’s top coal mine regulator to shut down illegal coal haul road in Monongahela National Forest
Today, 11 conservation organizations urged the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement to take immediate action to close an illegal coal haul road in the Monongahela National Forest in Greenbrier and Pocahontas Counties, West Virginia.
Read MoreCoal Miners’ Widows Tell their Stories to Kentucky Rep. Morgan McGarvey
Currently, some miners’ widows can lose their black lung benefits in certain situations. A bill Congress would help make the system more fair.
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