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Portal 31: How A Closed Mine Opened New Prospects For One Coal Town
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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Devin Mefford is sitting in the squat metal buggy of a modified mantrip, the train-like shuttle coal miners use to travel underground. Mefford is dressed for work, in a hardhat… Read More
EPA Proposes Changes to Federal Coal Ash, Wastewater Rules
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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Federal environmental regulators released proposed changes to two rules related to the disposal of coal ash and wastewater from coal-fired power plants. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced its third… Read More
Ohio-Based Coal Giant Murray Energy Declares Bankruptcy
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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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… Read More
Advocacy Group Finds Traces Contamination In Many Regional Water Systems
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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Tap water delivered by more than 2,000 water systems across the Ohio Valley contain pollutants, many harmful to human health, even though they mostly meet federal drinking water standards. That’s… Read More
Ohio To Test For Toxic PFAS Chemicals In Drinking Water
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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Ohio will begin testing some public and private water systems for the presence of toxic nonstick, fluorinated chemicals, broadly called PFAS. In a press release issued Friday, Ohio Gov. Mike… Read More
The Coal Town Betting Big On Outdoor Recreation
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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Standing on the breezy outlook at Flag Rock Recreation Area, Norton City Manager Fred Ramey is taking in the panoramic view of downtown Norton, Virginia. The brick building-lined streets are… Read More
Settlement Reached Over Proposed Ohio Cracker Plant Air Permit
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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Environmental groups have reached a settlement agreement with a petrochemical company in Ohio to beef up air pollution controls at a proposed petrochemical plant along the Ohio River. Thailand-based PTT Global Chemical… Read More
Paychecks Cut For Some Blackjewel Miners; Others Still Wait
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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West Virginia employees of coal operator Blackjewel LLC have received their final paychecks more than two months after the company declared bankruptcy on July 1. In an agreement reached last… Read More
Idle Lands: Justice Coal Group Top User Of Loophole Allowing Mine Lands To Sit Idle
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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Standing at an overlook on the top of Black Mountain — the tallest point in Kentucky — the wooded Appalachian mountains stretch on like a sea of green for miles…. Read More
Mussel Woman: Biologist Passes Along Pearls Of Wisdom About Threatened Mussels
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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Janet Clayton is standing thigh-deep in a back channel of the Elk River. Clad in a wetsuit and knee pads, the silver-haired biologist with the West Virginia Division of Natural… Read More
Major Appalachian Coal Company Files For Bankruptcy Protection
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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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… Read More
Coal Companies Belonging To WV Gov. Justice’s Family Agree To Pay Overdue Taxes In KY
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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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:… Read More
Federal Prosecutors Say WV Gov. Justice Responsible For Fines Against Family Company
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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Federal prosecutors on Tuesday said they will seek a court ruling to hold West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and his son, Jay Justice, personally accountable for a $1.23 million civil… Read More
Powering Down: Ohio Community Reckons With Coal Plant Closure
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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Brick buildings line the wide sidewalks of Main Street in downtown Coshocton, Ohio. On a recent spring day the dogwood trees are blooming. Bright red and white tulips dot the… Read More
Senators Seeking Faster EPA Action On PFAS Chemical Pollution
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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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…. Read More
As Ohio Valley Ponders Plastics Growth, Report Warns Of Threat to Climate
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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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… Read More
Rare Conservation Win In Congress Helps Ohio Valley Parks And Monuments
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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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… Read More
West Virginia Coal Miners Rally For Black Lung Legislation
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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Miners and advocates rallied Wednesday at the West Virginia Capitol in support of a series of bills aimed at preventing and treating severe black lung disease. Five bills introduced by… Read More
EPA To Limit PFAS Chemical Contaminants Found In Some Ohio Valley Water Systems
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today said it will move forward with a series of actions to regulate toxic fluorinated chemicals, including proposing drinking water limits by the end of… Read More
Coal Comeback? Coal At New Low After Two Years Under Trump
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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It’s been two years since President Donald Trump took office and began rolling back environmental regulations on the coal industry. At a November rally in Huntington, West Virginia, the president… Read More
EPA Plan to Manage Toxic ‘Teflon’ Chemicals Delayed by Shutdown
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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During a sometimes contentious confirmation hearing Wednesday on his nomination to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler was pressed by members of the Senate Committee on Environment and… Read More
Fracking’s Next Boom? Petrochemical Plants Fuel Debate Over Jobs, Pollution
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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More than 100 people braved freezing temperatures to both listen and have their say in front of Ohio environmental officials at a recent hearing in Belmont County, Ohio. For the… Read More
Shading Out Solar: State Policies In Ohio Valley Dim Future Of Energy Jobs
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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When Jennie and Brian Kahly decided to move to a 150-acre family farm in West Virginia’s Preston County, they thought a lot about what type of farmers they wanted to… Read More
Groups Say Smart Reclamation Of Mine Lands Could Be “Appalachia’s New Deal”
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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From solar farms in Virginia to a green energy subdivision in Kentucky, a new report by a group of regional advocacy organizations highlights 20 ready-made projects across the Ohio Valley that could… Read More
Companies Sue WV Gov.’s Family Companies Over Debts But Find Bank Accounts Empty
By: Brittany Patterson | Ohio Valley ReSource
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The Justice family companies’ difficulties paying taxes over the years are well documented. But tax collectors haven’t been the only ones trying to recover debts from companies once operated by West Virginia Gov…. Read More