Jan 22 Energy & Environment Bankrupt Blackjewel Coal Still Racking Up Environmental Violations, Officials Warn An attorney for the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet told a federal judge Wednesday that the bankrupt coal company Blackjewel has accrued nearly 300 environmental violations since it entered bankruptcy in July. “It’s essential that these violations are addressed, abated, and that they stop accruing,” Cabinet attorney Lena Seward told bankruptcy judge Frank Volk in […] By Sydney Boles Jan 22 Energy & Environment Bankrupt Blackjewel Coal Still Racking Up Environmental Violations, Officials Warn Sydney Boles
Jan 14 Economy More Unpaid Appalachian Miners Stage A Coal Train Blockade For the second time since summer, eastern Kentucky coal miners are blockading a railroad track to protest unpaid wages. The new blockade, which was started Monday afternoon by Quest Energy miners, echoes the months-long blockade by Blackjewel coal miners over the summer and speaks to a growing discontent in Appalachian coal country. “It’s hard to go […] By Sydney Boles Jan 14 Economy More Unpaid Appalachian Miners Stage A Coal Train Blockade Sydney Boles
Jan 7 Energy & Environment Study Finds Coal Closures Saved Thousands Of Lives A new study finds the closure of coal-fired power plants and transition to natural gas generation across the United States over a decade saved an estimated 26,610 lives due to a reduction in air pollution, with about a fifth of those avoided deaths in the Ohio Valley. The coal-rich Ohio Valley states received out-sized health […] By Brittany Patterson Jan 7 Energy & Environment Study Finds Coal Closures Saved Thousands Of Lives Brittany Patterson
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 17 Energy & Environment Conservation Groups Concerned About Cleanup Costs For Bankrupt Blackjewel Coal Environmental groups sparred with coal company Blackjewel Tuesday over damage left behind in the coal company’s ongoing bankruptcy. The group is calling attention to numerous environmental violations by Blackjewel and its related companies and urging the federal bankruptcy judge to prioritize the environment as the bankruptcy continues. The groups identified more than 400 instances when […] By Sydney Boles Dec 17 Energy & Environment Conservation Groups Concerned About Cleanup Costs For Bankrupt Blackjewel Coal Sydney Boles
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