Coal
Organizers out to help shape power generation in Kentucky for decades
On a recent August weekend, canvassers walked along a neighborhood street in West Louisville, cars and semi-trucks roaring down the nearby interstate just a few hundred feet away. Chase Smith with the progressive grassroots organization Kentuckians for the Commonwealth knocked on each door, asking people if they “have a couple of seconds to talk about […]
Advocates for coal miners say MSHA’s proposed silica dust rule needs teeth
The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration is hosting a public comment hearing in Beckley on Thursday on a proposed rule that could strengthen silica exposure standards — one of the leading causes of black lung — for coal miners. The proposed rule would, for the first time, implement a separate exposure limit for silica […]
$1 billion solar project planned on former Starfire coal mine in Eastern Kentucky
KNOTT COUNTY — It was a little over five years ago when Philip Marsh looked over the thousands of acres of reclaimed strip mine land he owned near the Knott County line and wouldn’t have a clue what would come of it. The Eastern Kentucky mountaintops that Marsh owned, now pastures after decades of coal […]
New rule aims to limit miners’ silica dust exposure but still relies on coal company self-oversight
Correction: This story previously stated the Mine Safety and Health Administration was not holding a hearing on the new silica dust proposal close to Appalachian coal communities. MSHA announced Thursday it had added a hearing in Beckley, West Virginia on Aug. 10. We regret the error. Gary Harriston, 69, compares what it feels like to […]
EPA proposal could bring more scrutiny to toxic coal ash ponds, landfills in Kentucky
More ponds, landfills and impoundments in Kentucky containing the toxic byproducts of burning coal for electricity could come under federal oversight for water monitoring and cleanup under a proposal by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.? The EPA is seeking comment on the proposal from stakeholders and the public in an online hearing Wednesday and is […]
Toyota to buy power from planned Martin County solar installation on former surface coal mine
Japanese car manufacturer Toyota says it plans to purchase 100 megawatts of power from a 200-megawatt solar installation in Martin County being built on a former surface coal mine and brownfield site.?? Toyota in a Wednesday news release stated the multi-billion-dollar company would use the solar power to offset some of its carbon emissions. Toyota […]
EPA narrows loophole by expanding regulation of coal ash dumped at power plants
The Biden administration is taking steps to address a regulatory loophole that public interest groups said allowed at least a half-billion tons of toxic coal ash to go unregulated. The Environmental Protection Agency published a new draft rule last week that the groups said would extend federal oversight to much of the coal ash disposed […]
Workers forced to clean up TVA coal ash spill without personal protection settle with company
After 10 years of litigation, workers who were forced to work without personal protection to clean up the Tennessee Valley Authority’s massive coal ash spill at its Kingston Fossil Plant in 2008 have reached a settlement in the case. TVA’s disaster clean-up contractor Jacobs Engineering posted a one-line notice Monday on its website affirming that […]
EPA again proposes power plant carbon rules
The Obama administration’s 2015 Clean Power Plan — intended to cut carbon emissions from power plants — was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Trump administration’s much-criticized replacement, the Affordable Clean Energy rule, derided as a “tortured series of misreadings” of the U.S. Clean Air Act, was also tossed by a federal court. […]
Bill aiming to preserve Kentucky’s coal-fired power plants becomes law without Beshear’s signature
A bill that would make it harder for Kentucky’s utility regulator to allow utilities to retire coal plants on the state’s electricity grid became law Friday without Gov. Andy Beshear’s signature.? Senate Bill 4, primarily sponsored by Sen. Robby Mills, R-Henderson, would create a series of prerequisites on the Kentucky Public Service Commission before it […]
Senate approves studying feasibility of four-year public university in Southeastern Kentucky
FRANKFORT — Citing higher education’s potential for spurring economic development in the wake of the coal industry’s decline, a resolution calling for a comprehensive review of Kentucky’s higher education system received Senate approval Wednesday.? The vote for Senate Joint Resolution 98 was 35-0. It now goes to the House for consideration.? The resolution, sponsored by […]
New study finds coal miners in Central Appalachia at highest risk of dying from lung diseases
Central Appalachian coal miners in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia are more than eight times more likely than men in the general population to die from respiratory diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and black lung, according to recent research. “This higher mortality has also worsened over time with modern miners facing greater risk than […]