Mountaintop Removal Mining Gets Big Blow
In a major step forward in stopping the blasting of mountaintops to get to coal, a federal court unanimously upheld the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to veto these projects under the Clean Water Act. In 2011, EPA, for the first time, revoked a permit for mountaintop removal. It was for Spruce Mine, the biggest, most destructive project proposed to … Read more
Massey official sent to jail for cover-up Upper Big Branch explosion killed 29
Rick Barbero/AP Photo/The Register-Herald Gary May, former UBB mine superintendent walks away from the U.S. District Court in Beckley with his attorney, Tim Carrico, after his sentence hearing By Michael A. Fuoco / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The former superintendent of the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia was sentenced Thursday to 21 months in a federal prison … Read more
In the Coal Fields, A Novel Way to Get Rid Of Pensions Is Born
This is part two of a three-part series, “Dying in the Coal Mines,” which looks at how environmental and financial imperatives are dramatically altering the coalfields while the situation for workers deteriorates. MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA–If you are an individual struggling with debt, your options are limited. But if you are a coal company, you may be … Read more
Patriot files bankruptcy, gives up mountaintop removal
After being driven to bankruptcy, environmental groups were able to use cleanup obligations to pressure a major mountaintop removal practitioner to give up mountaintop removal mining. Patriot Coal was having plenty of problems this year. By this summer, the company was filing for bankruptcy and it didn’t take long for union representatives to raise some … Read more
Kentucky officials seek to punish miner who reported safety violations
HARLAN — To federal prosecutors, Mackie Bailey is a witness who provided information about dangerous practices at an underground coal mine in Harlan County where a man was crushed to death in June 2011. The company and three supervisors pleaded guilty in federal court. To state authorities, Bailey is a miner who broke the rules. … Read more
Companies strip town of homes in order to strip for more coal
People are selling their properties and leaving what used to be a thriving mining area. STONEGA — Dorothy Taulbee lives in a double house that’s more than 100 years old. She was born in another double house 68 years ago. They’re called double houses because they were meant to house two miners’ families. Each family … Read more
Charged exec cooperating in W.Va. mine blast probe
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — An executive who ran several coal companies for Massey Energy and worked closely with former CEO Don Blankenship faces criminal conspiracy charges and is cooperating with federal prosecutors, a sign that authorities may be aiming their sights even higher in the company as they probe a fatal West Virginia blast that … Read more
McDowell man reports black water spill, DEP finds none
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A McDowell County man says black water, likely from a nearby strip-mining site, spilled into Cucumber Creek near his home in Newhall Tuesday. Officials from the state Department of Environmental Protection, though, say they did not find a spill there. Alexander Wright, of Newhall, said he noticed a spill around 2 p.m. … Read more
FLASH: Patriot Coal Commits to End its Mountaintop Removal in Appalachia!
Company, Among the Largest Surface Coal Mine Operators in the Region, Reaches Agreement with Community and Conservation Groups Charleston, WV – Today, Patriot Coal Corporation (NYSE: PCX) announced its intention to immediately begin phasing out all large scale surface mining in Appalachia. The announcement follows an historic agreement with the Sierra Club, Ohio Valley Environmental … Read more
Energy Forum – West Virginia’s Eyewitness News
Energy Forum – West Virginia’s Eyewitness News.
