Energy & Environment Archives - Ohio Valley ReSource

Nov 10

Energy & Environment

Kentucky Court Orders Justice to Pay Penalty Over Mine Reclamation

A Kentucky court has found coal companies owned by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice in default of a 2019 mine reclamation agreement. A judge in Frankfort on Tuesday ordered Justice to pay a nearly $3 million penalty, plus interest, over mine reclamation work at three sites in eastern Kentucky that was not completed before deadline. […]

By Curtis Tate

Nov 10

Energy & Environment

Kentucky Court Orders Justice to Pay Penalty Over Mine Reclamation

By Curtis Tate

Nov 5

Energy & Environment

Justice-Owned Mines to Reopen, in the Midst of Kentucky Reclamation Lawsuit

Jay Justice, son of Jim Justice, governor of West Virginia, with whom he owns several mining companies, just announced the re-opening of four mines in Kentucky. The reopening announcement came with a promise of 150 new jobs, but an active lawsuit and a new report on overdue reclamation liabilities at Justice-owned mines suggest that […]

By Katie Myers

Nov 5

Energy & Environment

Justice-Owned Mines to Reopen, in the Midst of Kentucky Reclamation Lawsuit

Katie Myers

Nov 3

Energy & Environment

Updated tap water database lets you search for contaminants in your drinking water

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) released updates to its Tap Water Database on Wednesday. The environmental health nonprofit’s database makes public drinking water systems searchable by zip code. It also shows legal and illegal levels of contaminants and the health risks associated with them. But many chemicals found in drinking water are not regulated by […]

By Corinne Boyer

Nov 3

Energy & Environment

Updated tap water database lets you search for contaminants in your drinking water

Corinne Boyer

Oct 15

Energy & Environment

In Elk, A Kentucky Professor Sees An Opportunity To Help Revitalize Appalachia

Howard Whiteman is inching along in his black Toyota Prius, craning his neck to see what’s beyond the rolling grasslands into the nearby woods. He wishes he brought binoculars. He’s slowly making his way around an enclosed 700-acre Elk and Bison Prairie in Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, the only public land in […]

By Liam Niemeyer

Oct 15

Energy & Environment

In Elk, A Kentucky Professor Sees An Opportunity To Help Revitalize Appalachia

Liam Niemeyer

Oct 8

Energy & Environment

Letting the Sunlight in: When Appalachian Solar Dreams Become Realities

The promise of solar energy for small, rural communities, and particularly those recovering from the decline of the coal industry, is twofold: job creation, and revenue. Money is flowing into solar energy— the Appalachian Regional Commission just funded a major regional solar financing program, and a massive solar farm may be coming to Martin County, […]

By Katie Myers

Oct 8

Energy & Environment

Letting the Sunlight in: When Appalachian Solar Dreams Become Realities

Katie Myers

Sep 18

Energy & Environment

Coal Keeps The Lights On, For Now, At West Virginia’s Mountaineer Plant

The first thing that strikes you about the Mountaineer power plant is its sheer size. Its stacks rise more than 1,000 feet over the Ohio River floodplain, almost as tall as the Empire State Building. Its massive cooling tower can hold 8.5 million gallons of water. A 20-story building houses its 1,330-megawatt generator. It produces […]

By Curtis Tate

Sep 18

Energy & Environment

Coal Keeps The Lights On, For Now, At West Virginia’s Mountaineer Plant

Curtis Tate

Sep 10

Energy & Environment

Shouldering Coal’s Costs: Uncertain Future for Programs Addressing Coal Industry Health Impacts

Bennett Quillen walks through a late August downpour check on his fall crop, and sees that his greasy beans are coming ripe. He learned how to farm from his father, and he’s determined to model environmental stewardship for his community. “I believe in taking care of the land,” Quillen says. “I want to leave the […]

By Katie Myers

Sep 10

Energy & Environment

Shouldering Coal’s Costs: Uncertain Future for Programs Addressing Coal Industry Health Impacts

Katie Myers

Aug 23

Energy & Environment

Virginia Regulators Reject Plan to Extend Life of 2 West Virginia Coal Plants

The Virginia Corporation Commission on Monday rejected Appalachian Power’s plan to keep the John Amos and Mountaineer power plants in West Virginia operating through 2040. The commission denied the company permission to make wastewater treatment upgrades at the plants and pass the cost on to electric power customers in the state. Not making those upgrades […]

By Curtis Tate

Aug 23

Energy & Environment

Virginia Regulators Reject Plan to Extend Life of 2 West Virginia Coal Plants

Curtis Tate

Jul 30

Energy & Environment

Five Months Later, Eastern Kentuckians Are Still Coping with Fallout of Spring Flooding

Early on a rainy March morning in Jackson, Kentucky, Yolanda Goff found herself abandoning her trailer on Quicksand Road forever. She didn’t think the floodwater would crest so high, but when she woke that morning, it was in the yard and rising fast. She had a few minutes to salvage everything she could, get her […]

By Katie Myers and Corinne Boyer

Jul 30

Energy & Environment

Five Months Later, Eastern Kentuckians Are Still Coping with Fallout of Spring Flooding

Katie Myers and Corinne Boyer

Jul 16

Energy & Environment

Kentucky Regulators: West Virginia Coal Plant Should Close in 2028

Kentucky utility regulators reached a decision this week that could mean a northern West Virginia power plant will have to close years sooner than planned. The Kentucky Public Service Commission on Thursday rejected Kentucky Power’s request to perform environmental compliance work on the Mitchell Plant near Moundsville, West Virginia. Under federal rules, the coal-burning plant […]

By Curtis Tate

Jul 16

Energy & Environment

Kentucky Regulators: West Virginia Coal Plant Should Close in 2028

Curtis Tate