In this guest post, West Virginia resident and former coordinator of The Alliance for Appalachia Katey Lauer shares her perspective on the aftermath of the storms and the humanity she witnessed as communities come together and begin to rebuild.
Blog Archives
West Virginia files Clean Water Act suit against Kanawha County mine
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has brought a lawsuit against Keystone Industries over Clean Water Act violations at the KD #2 surface mine in southern Kanawha County, W.Va., adjacent to the Kanawha State Forest.
TAGS: appalachia Clean Water Act Coal Environment Health Mountaintop Removal Water Pollution West Virginia
An open letter to the North Carolina General Assembly
In an open letter addressed to North Carolina lawmakers by the Alliance of Carolinians Together (ACT) Against Coal Ash, citizens threatened by coal ash pollution call on decision makers to take urgent action to ensure coal ash is cleaned up and impacted communities have access to clean water.
TAGS: Coal Ash Duke Energy Electric Utilities Environment Health North Carolina Politics Water Pollution
Coal ash controversy continues in North Carolina
In May, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality released risk rankings for Duke Energy’s coal ash impoundments across the state following 15 public hearings. But those rankings could still change and a newly revived legislative battle is a sign that the controversy over coal ash cleanup in North Carolina will continue.
TAGS: Appalachian Voices Coal Ash Duke Energy Electric Utilities Environment Health North Carolina Politics Water Pollution
Announcing the Energy Savings for Appalachia webinar series
If you happened to miss our first energy efficiency on-bill financing webinar on May 11, don’t despair. You can watch the recording of the webinar, which is the first in a series describing the benefits of on-bill financing entitled “Leveraging Energy Savings: On-bill Financing as an Economic Opportunity in the Southeast.”
TAGS: Appalachian Voices Economy Electric Utilities Energy Efficiency Energy Savings Environment Health North Carolina Tennessee
DEQ dodges legitimate coal-ash safety concerns
Enabled by anti-regulatory powers in the legislature, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has abandoned the principles necessary to serve the public. It’s time for lawmakers to acknowledge DEQ’s failures and focus on moving forward on coal ash cleanup.
TAGS: Appalachian Voices Coal Ash Duke Energy Electric Utilities Environment Health North Carolina Politics Water Pollution
Peabody Energy joins coal bankruptcy club
While the company no longer operates in Central Appalachia, the story of Peabody Energy’s downfall is similar to those of major producers in the region, where coal mining communities have plenty of first-hand experience with what happens next.
Another step toward clean water in Southwest Virginia
Through a settlement with Penn Virginia Operating Company, a large landholding company, and A&G Coal Corp., a Jim Justice-owned company, several sources of the toxic pollutant selenium in Wise County, Va., will be cleaned up.
What happened on Pine Creek?
A lot of folks have had questions about last month’s mine blowout on Pine Creek, in Letcher County, Ky. So we’ve put together an explainer that runs through the facts, the science and the regulatory protocols behind spills like this — and offers tips on what you can do about them.
From inside Appalachia, a look at WGN’s “Outsiders”
Exclusive to the Front Porch: WGN’s television series “Outsiders” doesn’t leave a single stereotype of Appalachia unturned. In this essay exclusive to the Front Porch Blog, award-winning author Ron Rash reflects on how stereotypes cloak harms much more profound than cultural misperceptions: “The region is diverse, and many areas are doing well, but for those that are not, might a show focused on “retard hillbilly animals” make it easier for America to ignore the region’s needs?”
