Energy Report
A digest of regional energy news
Court Upholds EPA Revocation of Mine Permit
A federal judge acknowledged the environmental damage caused by mountaintop removal this September when she ruled to uphold a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency veto of a permit for one of the largest surface mines ever proposed in Appalachia.
Research Finds Mine Reclamation Failures
Efforts to restore mountaintop removal coal mines are not meeting the objectives of the Clean Water Act, creating a variety of consequences for aquatic life, according to a September study by the University of Maryland’s National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center.
Industry Attempts to Derail Oil Train Safety Rules
Following a rise in explosive, and sometimes deadly,…
Former Massey CEO Don Blankenship indicted for fatal Upper Big Branch mine explosion
In November, former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship was indicted on four charges in conjunction with the April 2010 explosion that killed 29 miners at the company’s Upper Big Branch mine. He pleaded not guilty.
Atlantic Coast Pipeline Proposal Advances
Duke Energy, Dominion Resources and other partners are teaming up to build a 550-mile pipeline to better access natural gas produced in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, where fracking has proliferated in the Marcellus and Utica shale formations.
