Jul 10 Energy & Environment Laid-Off Employees Of Bankrupt Blackjewel Mining Seek Pay, Answers Patrick Fitchpatrick has worked at Blackjewel’s D-11 coal mine in Cumberland, Kentucky, for more than a year. He said he enjoyed the work right up until he was told not to come in last Monday. “Everything was smooth sailing and then one day it just all goes to hell,” he said. The country’s sixth-largest coal […] By Brittany Patterson and Sydney Boles Jul 10 Energy & Environment Laid-Off Employees Of Bankrupt Blackjewel Mining Seek Pay, Answers Brittany Patterson and Sydney Boles
Jul 5 Energy & Environment Watershed Moment: “Ephemeral” Streams Debate Could Reshape Ohio Valley Waterways West Liberty University Professor Zachary Loughman has dedicated his professional life to crustaceans – specifically freshwater crayfish. He dips his hand into one of the water tanks at his laboratory near Wheeling, West Virginia, to pick up a teal crayfish the size of a dollar bill. “See the little guy dropping down? We caught mom […] By Liam Niemeyer Jul 5 Energy & Environment Watershed Moment: “Ephemeral” Streams Debate Could Reshape Ohio Valley Waterways Liam Niemeyer
Jul 3 Energy & Environment Judge Approves $5M Loan To Ailing Blackjewel Coal, But CEO Hoops Is Out Kentucky’s Attorney General said on Friday he is investigating complaints from miners who say they are not receiving pay following the fast-moving bankruptcy negotiations for Blackjewel mining, which employs some 1100 people in Central Appalachia. Attorney General Andy Beshear said in a statement he has received “numerous troubling complaints” related to the company, “ranging from […] By Brittany Patterson Jul 3 Energy & Environment Judge Approves $5M Loan To Ailing Blackjewel Coal, But CEO Hoops Is Out Brittany Patterson
Jul 1 Energy & Environment Major Appalachian Coal Company Files For Bankruptcy Protection In the latest sign of problems for the U.S. coal industry, one of the country’s largest coal producers has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. West Virginia-based Revelation Energy LLC and its recently-formed affiliate, Blackjewel LLC, began the bankruptcy reorganization process in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of West Virginia on Monday. […] By Brittany Patterson Jul 1 Energy & Environment Major Appalachian Coal Company Files For Bankruptcy Protection Brittany Patterson
Jun 28 Energy & Environment My Cold Kentucky Home: Coal Country Turning To Solar As Heating And Housing Costs Climb Joe Oliver and Tony Brown peered into the dark crawl space beneath a Letcher County, Kentucky, home. Already, they could see problems. The crawl space had been blocked off with just a thin sheet of plywood; the posts supporting the house rested on uneven blobs of poured concrete; the whole place reeked of mold. A […] By Sydney Boles Jun 28 Energy & Environment My Cold Kentucky Home: Coal Country Turning To Solar As Heating And Housing Costs Climb Sydney Boles
Jun 19 Energy & Environment Trump Administration Replaces Obama-Era Climate Change Rule On Power Plants The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Wednesday released its long-awaited final replacement for the Obama administration’s signature climate change regulation, which sought to limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants by one-third by 2025. The Trump administration’s Affordable Clean Energy rule, or ACE, tasks states with developing plans that rely on the use of efficiency technologies […] By Brittany Patterson Jun 19 Energy & Environment Trump Administration Replaces Obama-Era Climate Change Rule On Power Plants Brittany Patterson
Jun 19 Energy & Environment As Congressional Panel Focuses On Black Lung, Miners Health Advocates Urge Stronger Health Protections A Congressional panel heard testimony and had some sharp questions Thursday about the epidemic of black lung disease among Appalachian miners. Labor leaders are calling on federal regulators to strengthen protections for miners and several lawmakers wanted to know why the country’s top mine safety agency is not doing more in response to the dramatic […] By Sydney Boles Jun 19 Energy & Environment As Congressional Panel Focuses On Black Lung, Miners Health Advocates Urge Stronger Health Protections Sydney Boles
Jun 11 Energy & Environment Coal Companies Belonging To WV Gov. Justice’s Family Agree To Pay Overdue Taxes In KY Coal companies controlled by the family of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice have agreed to a settlement covering millions of dollars in overdue property taxes in four eastern Kentucky counties: Harlan, Knott, Magoffin, and Pike. Checks totaling $1.2 million from Justice entities began rolling in last week, county officials said. According to state officials, the […] By Brittany Patterson Jun 11 Energy & Environment Coal Companies Belonging To WV Gov. Justice’s Family Agree To Pay Overdue Taxes In KY Brittany Patterson
Jun 7 Energy & Environment As Calls For Action On Black Lung Disease Grow, Regulators Show Little Indication Of Change Harold Sturgill was disabled by black lung disease when he was 58 years old. Now he advocates for disabled miners. “When it comes to the mining companies, and it comes to the worker, it’s still all about production,” Sturgill said. “They could care less about me, how much dust I suck in, or how long […] By Sydney Boles Jun 7 Energy & Environment As Calls For Action On Black Lung Disease Grow, Regulators Show Little Indication Of Change Sydney Boles