Sep 27 Energy & Environment Ohio To Test For Toxic PFAS Chemicals In Drinking Water Ohio will begin testing some public and private water systems for the presence of toxic nonstick, fluorinated chemicals, broadly called PFAS. In a press release issued Friday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced the state’s environmental and public health agencies will analyze drinking water systems located near places with known contamination. That includes near firefighting training […] By Brittany Patterson Sep 27 Energy & Environment Ohio To Test For Toxic PFAS Chemicals In Drinking Water Brittany Patterson
Sep 27 Economy Meet The Coal Town Betting Big On Outdoor Recreation Standing on the breezy outlook at Flag Rock Recreation Area, Norton City Manager Fred Ramey is taking in the panoramic view of downtown Norton, Virginia. The brick building-lined streets are framed by the verdant, rolling Appalachian mountains. Jagged, brown scars from mountaintop mining operations can be seen in the distance, reminders of the region’s history […] By Brittany Patterson Sep 27 Economy Meet The Coal Town Betting Big On Outdoor Recreation Brittany Patterson
Sep 23 Energy & Environment Settlement Reached Over Proposed Ohio Cracker Plant Air Permit Environmental groups have reached a settlement agreement with a petrochemical company in Ohio to beef up air pollution controls at a proposed petrochemical plant along the Ohio River. Thailand-based PTT Global Chemical America and South Korea-based Daelim Industrial Co. have proposed building a multi-billion dollar ethylene cracker plant on a 500-acre tract of land in […] By Brittany Patterson Sep 23 Energy & Environment Settlement Reached Over Proposed Ohio Cracker Plant Air Permit Brittany Patterson
Sep 18 Economy Paychecks Cut For W.Va. Blackjewel Miners; KY And VA Miners Still Waiting West Virginia employees of coal operator Blackjewel LLC have received their final paychecks more than two months after the company declared bankruptcy on July 1. In an agreement reached last week between the Department of Labor and the company, Blackjewel cut paper checks for all owed wages to a few dozen employees working at the […] By Brittany Patterson Sep 18 Economy Paychecks Cut For W.Va. Blackjewel Miners; KY And VA Miners Still Waiting Brittany Patterson
Sep 11 Energy & Environment Congress Hears Testimony From Chemical Company Executives On PFAS Contamination Executives from three major chemical companies — DuPont de Nemours, Inc., The Chemours Company and The 3M Company — testified for the first time to Congress about widespread contamination from the group of nonstick, fluorinated chemicals broadly called PFAS. The so-called “forever chemicals” persist in the environment, are linked to ill health effects, and have […] By Brittany Patterson Sep 11 Energy & Environment Congress Hears Testimony From Chemical Company Executives On PFAS Contamination Brittany Patterson
Sep 4 Energy & Environment Idle Lands: Justice Coal Group Top User Of Loophole Allowing Mine Lands To Sit Idle Standing at an overlook on the top of Black Mountain — the tallest point in Kentucky — the wooded Appalachian mountains stretch on like a sea of green for miles. For many, this mountain is synonymous with the coal industry. It straddles the state line separating Harlan County, Kentucky and Wise County, Virginia, two communities […] By Brittany Patterson Sep 4 Energy & Environment Idle Lands: Justice Coal Group Top User Of Loophole Allowing Mine Lands To Sit Idle Brittany Patterson
Aug 23 Economy Sanders Visits Coal States On Heels Of Climate Plan Release Vermont Senator and Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders will visit Kentucky Sunday just days after releasing his plan to address climate change. Sanders will speak in Louisville Sunday afternoon. His detailed climate plan released Thursday calls climate change “the single greatest challenge facing our country.” Like many of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, Sanders supports […] By Brittany Patterson and Sydney Boles Aug 23 Economy Sanders Visits Coal States On Heels Of Climate Plan Release Brittany Patterson and Sydney Boles
Aug 13 Energy & Environment Trump Visits Shell Plastics Facility, Touts Petrochemical Future For Ohio Valley President Donald Trump Tuesday toured Shell Chemical’s soon-to-be completed ethane cracker complex in Monaca, Pennsylvania, to tout his administration’s commitment to expanding energy production. The facility is part of what industry boosters hope will be a new plastics and chemical manufacturing base in the upper Ohio Valley, but many residents here worry about the heat-trapping […] By Brittany Patterson Aug 13 Energy & Environment Trump Visits Shell Plastics Facility, Touts Petrochemical Future For Ohio Valley Brittany Patterson
Aug 6 Economy Protesting Blackjewel Miners To Get Some Overdue Pay From Bankruptcy Sale More than a thousand coal miners left unpaid by the abrupt bankruptcy of Blackjewel mining could soon be getting some – but not all – of the money they are owed. Dozens of miners have staged a week-long protest on railroad tracks in Kentucky’s Harlan County, blocking delivery of a load of coal from a […] By Brittany Patterson and Sydney Boles Aug 6 Economy Protesting Blackjewel Miners To Get Some Overdue Pay From Bankruptcy Sale Brittany Patterson and Sydney Boles
Aug 5 Economy Few Answers For Unpaid Miners After Day One of Blackjewel Sales Hearing Blackjewel coal miners will have to wait at least another day to learn if the sale of the bankrupt coal company’s mines and equipment will deliver their overdue paychecks. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of West Virginia recessed Monday after an all-day hearing that yielded few results. The court is scheduled to […] By Brittany Patterson and Sydney Boles Aug 5 Economy Few Answers For Unpaid Miners After Day One of Blackjewel Sales Hearing Brittany Patterson and Sydney Boles