Coal
Mine safety advocates agree new silica dust rule is progress, but some worry it’s not enough
It was a celebratory moment years in the making when acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, flanked by miners and advocates, announced the rollout of a new rule limiting silica dust exposure for miners in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, last week. For years, advocates for mine safety had urged the federal government to adopt strict rules around the […]
Some states are cutting higher ed in rural areas. What if Kentucky tried the opposite?
HAZARD — Haley Autumn Dawn Ann Crank thinks she might like to become a teacher. There’s a shortage of teachers in this corner of Kentucky, and Crank, who has eight siblings, gets kids. “I just fit in with them,” Crank said during a shift one February day at the Big Blue Smokehouse, where she works […]
Government transparency decisions await Kentucky lawmakers when they reconvene Friday
FRANKFORT — A bill that open government advocates warn would introduce loopholes into Kentucky’s open records law could make its way to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s desk when lawmakers return to Frankfort later this week.? The final two days of the 60-day regular session — Friday and Monday — are set aside to consider gubernatorial […]
$1.3 billion investment to turn Eastern Kentucky coal mine into hydropower ‘battery’
FRANKFORT — An Eastern Kentucky coal mining site set to become a giant hydropower battery is getting a significant boost from the federal government.? Florida-based Rye Development is in line for an $81 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for its Lewis Ridge Pumped Storage Project.? The funding is provided through the Bipartisan […]
Kentucky Senate advances bill creating new hurdles for utilities to retire power plants
Republicans in the GOP-dominated Kentucky Senate advanced a bill Tuesday largely on a party line vote to create new hurdles before utilities can retire fossil fuel-fired power plants in the state, touting the legislation as a way to keep the state’s electricity supply reliable and available.? Senate Bill 349, backed by Senate President Robert Stivers, […]
Kentucky House passes bill weakening safety protection for coal miners
Republicans in the GOP-dominated Kentucky House of Representatives passed a bill Monday that a long-time coal mine safety advocate says would put miners at risk by weakening a key protection put in place nearly two decades ago.? House Bill 85, sponsored by Rep. Bill Wesley, R-Ravenna, would reduce the number of required mine emergency technicians […]
McGarvey, coal miner advocates renew push to ease burden of proof for black lung benefits
Kentucky’s lone Democrat in Congress is joining a renewed push to expand benefits for coal miners suffering from black lung and their families and to ease the burden of seeking such benefits.? Rep. Morgan McGarvey of Louisville during a Wednesday afternoon press conference with coal miner advocates from several states said he’s introducing the Relief […]
Lawsuit alleges federal agencies failing to protect ‘imperiled’ crayfish, darter from coal mining impacts
Two environmental advocacy groups are suing federal agencies for allegedly failing to implement conservation protections for hundreds of coal mines, including those in Eastern Kentucky, whose discharges into waterways could harm endangered and threatened aquatic life.?? Appalachian Voices and the Center for Biological Diversity, in a lawsuit filed in federal district court Wednesday, alleged hundreds […]
Two words rarely heard on Kentucky’s campaign trail: Climate change
PROVIDENCE — Walking through a bathhouse at what until a few years ago was Webster County’s last operating coal mine is not just a moment for Tony Felker to revisit memories. It is also a window into a way of life that he recognizes is disappearing. Felker is quick to rattle through the nearly four […]
Second worker dies trapped in collapsed coal-preparation plant in Martin County
The second of two workers who were trapped inside a collapsed coal preparation plant in Martin County has died.? Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear in a Friday afternoon post on the social media platform X confirmed the death. The Lexington Herald-Leader newspaper had identified the second worker as 57-year-old Alvin Nees, who had been missing after […]
Search continues for man missing in collapsed coal plant in Eastern Kentucky
The search for a worker missing in the collapse of an idle coal-preparation plant is moving into a new phase as rescuers who have been combing through the wreckage now plan to use heavy equipment to remove debris, emergency officials said Thursday. One worker, pinned under a metal beam, died Wednesday after being found by […]
One confirmed dead in collapse of idle coal prep plant in Martin County
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency in Martin County Wednesday morning after an idle coal preparation plant collapsed on two people who had been working inside, killing at least one of them.?? A Kentucky Emergency Management release Wednesday identified the collapsed building as the Martin Mine Prep Plant near Middlefork Wolfe Creek […]