Energy & Environment Archives - Ohio Valley ReSource

May 16

Energy & Environment

Capito Among Senators Seeking Faster EPA Action On PFAS Chemical Pollution

A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators including West Virginia Republican Shelley Moore Capito this week introduced two bills aimed at further regulating a group of toxic chemicals known as PFAS. The chemicals include PFOA, or C-8, used to make nonstick products and other similar chemicals used in flame retardants. They have been detected in at […]

By Brittany Patterson

May 16

Energy & Environment

Capito Among Senators Seeking Faster EPA Action On PFAS Chemical Pollution

By Brittany Patterson

May 15

Energy & Environment

As Ohio Valley Ponders Plastics Growth, Report Warns Of Threat to Climate

As a new plastics industry emerges in the Ohio Valley, a report by environmental groups warns that the expansion of plastics threatens the world’s ability to keep climate change at bay. The report released Wednesday by the Center for International Environmental Law, Environmental Integrity Project, FracTracker Alliance, and others used publicly available emissions data and […]

By Brittany Patterson

May 15

Energy & Environment

As Ohio Valley Ponders Plastics Growth, Report Warns Of Threat to Climate

Brittany Patterson

May 7

Energy & Environment

Justice Dept. Seeks $4.7M In Overdue Mine Safety Fines From WV Gov. Justice’s Family Companies

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a civil lawsuit against 23 coal companies owned by the family of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, seeking more than $4.7 million in unpaid fines and fees for mine safety and health violations. The delinquent fines were brought to light by investigations by NPR and the Ohio Valley […]

By Brittany Patterson

May 7

Energy & Environment

Justice Dept. Seeks $4.7M In Overdue Mine Safety Fines From WV Gov. Justice’s Family Companies

Brittany Patterson

May 3

Energy & Environment

Remembering A Coal Miner Who Stood Up For Those With Black Lung

Robert Bailey started mining coal in southern West Virginia’s McDowell County in the 1970s. By the time he retired from the Patriot Coal Company 36 years later he was already having trouble breathing. By the time I first interviewed Bailey in 2014, his black lung disease had become severe. “I’m in the process of a […]

By Jessica Lilly

May 3

Energy & Environment

Remembering A Coal Miner Who Stood Up For Those With Black Lung

Jessica Lilly

Apr 22

Energy & Environment

For Earth Day Nature Conservancy Preserves 100,000 Acres Of Appalachian Forest And Streams

A conservation group chose Earth Day, April 22, to announce the purchase of a massive property in Appalachian forest to protect habitat and help wildlife adapt to the challenges of climate change. The property covers 100,000 acres of forest straddling the Kentucky-Tennessee border. The Nature Conservancy, the nonprofit that made the purchase, said it plans […]

By Sydney Boles

Apr 22

Energy & Environment

For Earth Day Nature Conservancy Preserves 100,000 Acres Of Appalachian Forest And Streams

Sydney Boles

Apr 9

Energy & Environment

Coal Community Residents Again Ask Congress For Health Study Of Mountaintop Removal

Residents of Appalachian coal communities told a Congressional subcommittee Tuesday that the controversial mining practice known as mountaintop removal should be halted until its health effects are better studied. Late in the Obama administration the National Academy of Sciences launched a study into the health effects for communities near mountaintop removal coal mines. Donna Branham […]

By Jeff Young

Apr 9

Energy & Environment

Coal Community Residents Again Ask Congress For Health Study Of Mountaintop Removal

Jeff Young

Apr 5

Energy & Environment

Mine Safety Debt For WV Gov. Justice’s Family Companies Grows to $4M

An Ohio Valley ReSource analysis of federal mine safety data shows that the companies belonging to the family of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice owe $4.3 million in delinquent debt for mine safety violations. That is far more than the companies owed when Justice ran for governor in 2016, when he pledged to make good […]

By Alexandra Kanik and Brittany Patterson

Apr 5

Energy & Environment

Mine Safety Debt For WV Gov. Justice’s Family Companies Grows to $4M

Alexandra Kanik and Brittany Patterson

Apr 1

Energy & Environment

As Some Midwest Farmers Struggle With Historic Flooding, Ohio Valley Ethanol Producers See Profit Boost

Mick Henderson runs the Commonwealth Agri-Energy ethanol plant in west Kentucky. He said the past year for U.S. ethanol producers, including in the Ohio Valley, has been rough. “We’ve just passed our 15th anniversary just now, and this is going to be one of our weakest years,” Henderson said. Ethanol prices have been down the […]

By Liam Niemeyer

Apr 1

Energy & Environment

As Some Midwest Farmers Struggle With Historic Flooding, Ohio Valley Ethanol Producers See Profit Boost

Liam Niemeyer

Mar 29

Energy & Environment

Rare Conservation Win In Congress Helps Ohio Valley Parks And Monuments

The Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge’s namesake is apparent upon stepping outside its visitors center in Williamstown, West Virginia. Gazing past bird feeders and the forested bank of the Ohio River, a skinny island looms large. “So Buckley Island is right across the water from us,” says Michael Schramm, visitor services manager at the […]

By Brittany Patterson

Mar 29

Energy & Environment

Rare Conservation Win In Congress Helps Ohio Valley Parks And Monuments

Brittany Patterson

Mar 27

Energy & Environment

House Subcommittee To Consider Coal Mine Reclamation Bill

A congressional subcommittee will hear testimony Thursday in support of a bill that would help clean up and redevelop surface mine land. The bill enjoys bipartisan support, but still faces hurdles. A 2015 report found that as many as 6.2 million acres of land and water were harmed by mining operations that ended prior to […]

By Sydney Boles

Mar 27

Energy & Environment

House Subcommittee To Consider Coal Mine Reclamation Bill

Sydney Boles