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Center in the Media
News Archive
(Listing with summaries)
2007 - 2008
2006
2005
2004
News Archive
(Headlines only)
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
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State Articles:
Since the Center’s inception in 2001, its work has
been extensively covered by West Virginia's largest newspaper, the
Charleston Gazette. Please visit their archives for a
comprehensive look at the Appalachian Center and the issues it
confronts. Of special interest in the Charleston Gazette is
Mining the Mountains, a comprehensive and ongoing series of
stories on mountaintop removal mining that frequently feature the
Center’s work.
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State asked to get
tough on mercury pollution The West Virginia
Rivers Coalition on Thursday asked a state board to crack
down on mercury pollution from West Virginia’s largest
source of the potent neurotoxin. Coalition lawyers
asked the state Environmental Quality Board to slash the
amount of mercury the PPG Industries plant at Natrium can
discharge into the Ohio River. Joe Lovett, a coalition
lawyer, asked the board to throw out a two-year waiver of
tougher, new mercury limits in the latest version of PPG’s
state water pollution permit. Charleston Gazette, December
16, 2005
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New mine permits
gain speed; Bush administration issues final mountaintop
removal study New mine permits gain speed; Bush
administration issues final mountaintop removal study,
Federal regulators Friday released the final version of a
landmark study of mountaintop removal, paving the way for
the Bush administration’s plan to streamline the review of
new coal-mining permits. The study approves the original
proposal to combine the review for mining permits required
by various state and federal agencies into a single, joint
evaluation. Charleston Gazette, October 29, 2005.
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The mountaintop
removal study The mountaintop removal study , A
timeline, Charleston Gazette, October 29, 2005.
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Pollution;
Washington obstacle DISTURBINGLY, the Bush
administration in Washington seems to be blocking some
federal experts in West Virginia from trying to prevent acid
mine drainage that turns creeks orange, devoid of life. At
issue is a proposed Mettiki Coal Co. mine on the
Grant-Tucker county line. Two years ago, the state
Department of Environmental Protection denied a permit,
saying the mine would be a perpetual source of acid seepage.
Charleston Gazette, October 27,2005.
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OSM blocked from
probe into Mettiki mine permit Interior Department
officials have blocked the federal Office of Surface Mining
from investigating a West Virginia coal mine that OSM fears
would eventually pour acid mine drainage into streams.
Charleston Gazette, October 26, 2005
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Lawsuit seeks more
study on Blair Mountain mining permit Aracoma Coal
Co. wants to mine 12.5 million tons of coal from the hills
around historic Blair Mountain, near Ethel in Logan County.
In the process, the Massey Energy subsidiary would bury
nearly 3 miles of streams. Over the next eight years,
millions of tons of waste rock and dirt would be dumped into
Camp Branch and Dingess Run. When it approved the proposal
in July, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers concluded that
Aracoma’s plan “does not significantly affect the quality of
the human environment.” On Thursday, three West Virginia
environmental groups filed a lawsuit challenging the corps
finding. Charleston Gazette, September 23, 2005.
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Environmentalists
challenge Blair Mountain mining permit Three
environmental groups have filed a federal lawsuit
challenging a mountaintop removal mining permit granted to a
Massey Energy subsidiary to extract 12.5 million tons of
coal from the hills around historic Blair Mountain.
Charleston Gazette, September 22, 2005
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Mettiki permit
flawed, feds say Federal regulators have found
dozens of major problems with a Mettiki Coal Co. underground
mine permit that the state Department of Environmental
Protection already approved. The U.S. Office of Surface
Mining findings back up complaints from state environmental
groups, who fear the mine will eventually pour acid mine
drainage into streams. Charleston Gazette, September 21,
2005.
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Mountaintop removal
fight returns to appeals court Mountaintop removal
fight returns to appeals court, Does mountaintop removal
coal mining cause only minimal damage to West Virginia’s
hills, forests and streams? On Monday, a federal appeals
court will consider that question. The 4th Circuit Court of
Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments in the latest legal
effort to more strictly regulate Appalachian strip mining.
Charleston Gazette, September 18, 2005.
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DEP
slow to tighten limits on mercury in water; PPG plant
escapes tougher permit terms NATRIUM — Just north
of New Martinsville along W.Va. 2, a two-story, wooden
gazebo stands at the “PPG Wildlife Management Area.” There
are picnic tables, a walking path and a small pond formed by
Ohio River backwater. Signs alert visitors to look for
cardinals, gray squirrels, skunks and other animals.
Charleston Gazette, August 15, 2005.
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DEP; Chronic
bungling After the state Department of
Environmental Protection realized that it had based a
Raleigh County surface mining permit on erroneous maps, the
agency sprang into action. I rescinded a recent permit
letting Goals Coal Co. add a second silo near Marsh Fork
Elementary School and ordered the company to remove its
foundation. Charleston Gazette, Editorial, August 12, 2005.
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Group wants boundary violation notice in silo case
State regulators may have taken the wrong enforcement action
to stop construction of one of two Massey Energy coal
storage silos near a Raleigh County elementary school, a
citizens group said Tuesday. In a new notice of intent to
sue, Coal River Mountain Watch said “it is still unclear
under what legal authority” the state Department of
Environmental Protection rescinded the silo permit. Instead,
the group said, DEP Secretary Stephanie Timmermeyer should
have cited Massey subsidiary Goals Coal Co. for mining
outside its legal permit boundary. Charleston Gazette,
August 10, 2005.
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Citizens group
intervenes in Massey silo case The state Surface
Mine Board has allowed a Raleigh County citizens group to
intervene in a case over a Massey Energy coal silo under
construction adjacent to a local elementary school.
Whitesville-based Coal River Mountain Watch sought to join
the case to defend a state order that blocked the silo at
Massey’s Goals Coal Co. subsidiary near Sundial. Charleston
Gazette, August 4, 2005.
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Massey seeks stay of
order to remove silo foundation Lawyers for Massey
Energy on Tuesday asked a state board to temporarily suspend
an order that requires the company to rip up the foundation
of a coal silo under construction adjacent to a Raleigh
County elementary school. Massey lawyers urged the state
Surface Mine Board to block the order until board members
can hear a full appeal of the Department of Environmental
Protection order. Charleston Gazette, August 3, 2005
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State buffer rule
weaker than federal West Virginia’s rule to block
new strip mining operations near schools, churches and homes
is weaker than required by federal law, government records
show. State Department of Environmental Protection officials
have never adopted a tougher legal standard finalized six
years ago by the Clinton administration. The U.S. Office of
Surface Mining has never forced the state to act. Charleston
Gazette. July 31, 2005
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Appeals court sets
argument in mining case A federal appeals court
has scheduled a September oral argument in a challenge to
the latest ruling to limit mountaintop removal coal mining.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals scheduled the argument
for Sept. 19 in Richmond, Va., court records show. Under
court rules, the names of the three judges who will hear the
case will not be announced until that morning. Charleston
Gazette. July 29, 2005
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Massey to appeal
DEP silo order Massey Energy will appeal an order
that blocked construction of one of two coal storage silos
near a Raleigh County elementary school, company lawyers
told state regulators Thursday. Massey lawyers also are
expected to seek an emergency ruling from the West Virginia
Surface Mine Board, state Department of Environmental
Protection officials said. Charleston Gazette, July 29, 2005
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Both Massey silos
off permit, DEP says survey shows Both of
Massey Energy’s controversial coal silos near Marsh Fork
Elementary School are outside the original permit boundary
shown on company maps, a state Department of Environmental
Protection official says an agency survey has confirmed.
The site for the second silo — which has not yet been
completed — sits entirely outside the permit boundary,
according to the survey released Tuesday night. The permit
boundary line runs through the middle of the first silo,
which was approved by DEP in June 2003 and is completed, the
survey shows. Charleston Gazette, July 28, 2005.
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Manchin defends DEP on Massey silo permit Gov. Joe
Manchin on Wednesday defended his administration’s handling
of the controversy over two new Massey Energy coal-storage
silos in Raleigh County. Manchin said that he has not lost
any confidence in the state Department of Environmental
Protection. Charleston Gazette. July 21, 2005.
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DEP criticized over
Massey silo Complaints of proximity to school ignored,
boundary advances overlooked, Raleigh residents say .
Charleston Gazette, July 17, 2005.
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DEP halts Massey
silo project Maps show facility outside site’s
original permit area, Charleston Gazette, July 16, 2005.
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OSM delays changes to buffer zone rule Bush administration officials announced Thursday that they will conduct a detailed environmental study before they scrap a federal rule that prohibits coal mining within 100 feet of streams. The study could delay the rule change for two years or more. The change had been strongly pushed by the coal industry. Charleston Gazette, June 17, 2005.
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Quarry hearing begins; Need for valley fill not proven,
residents’ engineer says Three years ago,
Stephanie Connolly and her husband moved to their house off
U.S. 33 east of Elkins so they could live near Shavers Fork,
in the shadow of the Monongahela National Forest. Now, the
J.F. Allen Co. wants to move in right across the road.
Charleston Gazette, May 11, 2005
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Quarry permit appeal to be heard this week
FAULKNER — Pat Gallagher pointed at a spot on the
topographic map. Chairman Tom Michael and other members of
the state Surface Mine Board gathered around to see.
Then, Gallagher wheeled his arm across the old logging road
at a mountain chocked full of Greenbrier Limestone.
The J.F. Allen Co. hopes to turn this Randolph County
hillside into a huge limestone quarry. Michael and his
fellow board members came for a guided tour. Charleston
Gazette, May 08, 2005
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Mining damage far from ‘minimal,’ environmentalist lawyers
tell court Damage to streams and forests from
mountaintop removal coal mining is far from minimal, lawyers
for environmental groups have told a federal appeals court.
Lawyers for the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and
other groups urged the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to
uphold a federal court ruling to make mining permits harder
to get. Charleston Gazette, May 6, 2005
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Environmentalists seek ruling in Kentucky fill case
Environmental group lawyers are wasting no time in seeking a
ruling in a lawsuit aimed at curbing mountaintop removal in
Kentucky. The lawyers want to expand a West Virginia court
order that banned a streamlined process for obtaining new
mining permits. Charleston Gazette, March 15, 2005.
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A
different tack on mercury In West Virginia, an
environmental group is trying a different tack to get the
toxic metal removed from the state’s rivers and streams.
The Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment
wants the EPA to force the state to toughen its water
pollution limits for mercury. Charleston Gazette,
March 13, 2005
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Aluminum committee told to meet in public
A state
Environmental Quality Board committee that is helping to
rewrite West Virginia’s water pollution limit for aluminum
must comply with the state open meetings law. Charleston
Gazette, March 4, 2005.
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Mine
board told to merge with other boards A Kanawha
County judge has
ordered the state Surface Mine Board to comply with a
decade-old law that
requires it to merge with two other state environmental
panels. Charleston
Gazette,February 12, 2005.
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Lawsuit would expand valley fill limits to Kentucky
Three environmental groups filed suit Thursday to expand new
restrictions on mountaintop removal permits to the
coalfields of Kentucky.If successful, the lawsuit would stop
new mining operations in Kentucky from being approved
through a streamlined permit process meant for activities
that cause little environmental harm. Charleston Gazette,
January 28, 2005.
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