Residents of Walnut Cove, N.C., have fought for years to win justice for community members who have been harmed by coal ash pollution at the nearby Belews Creek power plant. In response to the interest in the threats posed by coal ash expressed by the North Carolina Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, the Walnut Cove community showed up in a big way.
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.
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.
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?”
Over the weekend, a letter by our Executive Director Tom Cormons to the editors of The New York Times appeared on the newspaper’s website. It was penned in part to stress the importance of the Stream Protection Rule and to urge federal regulators to stand firm in the face of industry opposition, and finalize it.
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe stated that Virginia will “stay the course” and continue working to reduce carbon pollution after the U.S. Supreme Court hit pause on the Clean Power Plan. But there’s still more that we’re counting on Governor McAuliffe to deliver.
The Catholic Committee of Appalachia’s third pastoral letter highlights the voices of ordinary citizens and focuses on social justice and environmental issues including mountaintop removal coal mining, water quality, climate change, poverty and health.
Despite challenges from industry groups, a federal court has upheld new mine safety standards that will go into effect on Feb. 1.
While football fans were pumping up for the Big Game last weekend, supporters of clean power in Virginia were gearing up for a different showdown as key committees in the General Assembly prepared to take up important clean energy legislation.
Late last month, we learned that the U.S. Forest Service rejected the Atlantic Coast Pipeline’s proposed route. This development significantly checks the lickety-split pace of the project. If that renews your desire to take action, there are opportunities channel that feeling into these important legislative fights in the General Assembly.
