Mar 1 Energy & Environment Clean Water Wanted: Contaminated Wells And The Legacy Of Fossil Fuel Extraction “You seen that one with the tombstone up there?” seven-year-old Timothy Easterling asks, looking toward the grass just uphill from his home. “That’s my papaw.” Timothy’s grandfather Chet Blankenship died in 2016, at age 69. Blankenship lived on land he and his family have long owned at the end of a road atop Bradshaw Mountain […] By Benny Becker Mar 1 Energy & Environment Clean Water Wanted: Contaminated Wells And The Legacy Of Fossil Fuel Extraction Benny Becker
Dec 31 Economy 2020 Hindsight: The Ohio Valley’s Decade In Data The year: 2009. A Senator from Illinois named Barack Obama has just made history upon taking the presidential oath of office. The national economy is at a low point in the Great Recession. And the Pittsburgh Steelers are the first NFL team to win six Super Bowls. Ten years later, as 2019 gives way to […] By Becca Schimmel Dec 31 Economy 2020 Hindsight: The Ohio Valley’s Decade In Data Becca Schimmel
Dec 19 Economy After Nearly A Decade Of Anxiety Over Pensions, Coal Miners See Light At The End Of The Tunnel Union coal miners and retirees breathed a collective sigh of relief after the U.S. Senate passed a spending bill that includes support for miners’ pensions, which had been at risk due to the coal industry’s downturn. The bill, which funds the federal government for the coming year, also includes The Bipartisan American Miners Act which […] By Becca Schimmel Dec 19 Economy After Nearly A Decade Of Anxiety Over Pensions, Coal Miners See Light At The End Of The Tunnel Becca Schimmel
Dec 13 Energy & Environment Two Decades Of Resistance: Coal River Mountain Watch Takes Stock At 20 Coal River Mountain Watch’s history of resistance to mountaintop coal mining is plastered across the wood-paneled walls of the group’s modest office in Raleigh County, West Virginia. Framed photos, many of demonstrators being handcuffed, dot the walls. In the back of the building, a floor-to-ceiling length tapestry depicts the “true cost of coal” as envisioned […] By Brittany Patterson Dec 13 Energy & Environment Two Decades Of Resistance: Coal River Mountain Watch Takes Stock At 20 Brittany Patterson
Dec 11 Economy Ohio Valley Lawmaker Plans To Halt Senate Action Over Coal Miners’ Benefits West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin pledged Wednesday to block all legislation until pensions and health benefits are secured for coal miners. Manchin said no legislation will pass the Senate until he is assured that coal miners’ benefits will be in the spending bill used to fund the federal government. The Bipartisan American Miners Act […] By Becca Schimmel Dec 11 Economy Ohio Valley Lawmaker Plans To Halt Senate Action Over Coal Miners’ Benefits Becca Schimmel
Dec 10 Economy Watchdog Group Calls Decreased Tax on Coal a “Blatant Subsidy” for the Coal Industry A new report from the nonpartisan budget watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense says that an expired coal tax is effectively a taxpayer subsidy for the coal industry. The analysis reflects a growing concern about the fiscal health of a federal fund that supports tens of thousands of disabled coal miners. The Black Lung Disability […] By Sydney Boles Dec 10 Economy Watchdog Group Calls Decreased Tax on Coal a “Blatant Subsidy” for the Coal Industry Sydney Boles
Nov 22 Health MSHA Comment Period Shows Divide on Measures to Protect Miners Health The comment period has closed for the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s proposed rule on respirable silica, a major contributor to skyrocketing rates of lung disease among coal miners. The 49 relevant comments included a striking testimony from an anonymous coal miner sharing details of the ways in which current mine operators cheat on dust […] By Sydney Boles Nov 22 Health MSHA Comment Period Shows Divide on Measures to Protect Miners Health Sydney Boles
Nov 1 Economy Murray Energy’s Bankruptcy Could Bring Collapse Of Coal Miners’ Pensions The recent bankruptcy of Ohio Valley coal giant Murray Energy has renewed fears about the already shaky financial foundations of the pension plan that tens of thousands of miners and their families depend upon. The seismic collapse of yet another coal employer has lawmakers from the region renewing their push to fix the United Mine […] By Becca Schimmel Nov 1 Economy Murray Energy’s Bankruptcy Could Bring Collapse Of Coal Miners’ Pensions Becca Schimmel
Oct 29 Economy Ohio-Based Coal Giant Murray Energy Declares Bankruptcy Murray Energy Corp., the largest underground coal mining company in America with a substantial footprint across the Ohio Valley, has filed for bankruptcy protection. “Although a bankruptcy filing is not an easy decision, it became necessary to access liquidity and best position Murray Energy and its affiliates for the future of our employees and customers […] By Brittany Patterson Oct 29 Economy Ohio-Based Coal Giant Murray Energy Declares Bankruptcy Brittany Patterson
Aug 28 Energy & Environment Mining Regulators Seek Information On Silica Dust Exposure The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration announced Wednesday it will collect information on how dust from silica, or quartz, has contributed to Appalachia’s worsening epidemic of black lung disease, and ways that mining operations might prevent exposure. The announcement comes after an NPR investigation last year found that MSHA had failed to sufficiently regulate […] By Sydney Boles Aug 28 Energy & Environment Mining Regulators Seek Information On Silica Dust Exposure Sydney Boles