Sarah Winner
Working with plaintiffs in Dallas, Texas who were disproportionately and adversely affected by the harmful effects of industrial nuisances inspired Sarah to commit to a career in environmental law. Since then, she has been fortunate to work on a variety of complex environmental issues. Sarah earned her law degree at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. As a Certified Legal Intern at the University of Pittsburgh Environmental Law Clinic, Sarah worked on a variety of environmental matters involving coal extraction and natural gas development. After law school, Sarah was the Interim Legal Director at CCJ before joining Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services as a Resident Attorney. In March 2016, Sarah returned to CCJ as Staff Attorney. When she's not working, Sarah enjoys hiking, running, and skiing.
Contact Sarah at sarah@centerforcoalfieldjustice.org.
Blog Posts by Sarah Winner
It started with a drinking water well explosion on New Year’s Day 2009. Dimock, a small community in Susquehanna County, gained national attention when the 2010 documentary “Gasland” showed residents lighting their tap water on fire. Since unconventional gas drilling, known as fracking, took off in the late 2000s in Pennsylvania and neighboring states, the […]
Climate change is a complex problem that requires complex and thoughtful solutions. Finding these solutions is contingent upon accurately framing the problem.
The Pennsylvania Senate has been busy considering a series of bills that would reduce accountability and transparency regarding the impact of longwall mining operations in Pennsylvania, weaken water protections, and limit the ability for concerned individuals and organizations to challenge permits issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”). Senate Bill 763 SB 763 […]
The DEP is considering a permit application for the beneficial use of stabilized flue gas desulfurization material (stabilized FGD or coal ash) at the over 400-acre Champion coal waste pile, the largest coal refuse pile east of the Mississippi, containing over 37 million tons of coal waste. The Champion Coal Refuse Pile is the lingering […]
Kent Run at Ryerson Station State Park. (Photo credit: Sarah Winner) A Stipulation of Settlement Entered in Permit Revision 204 Litigation Permit Revision 204 authorized longwall mining beneath Kent Run and Polen Run in the 3L panel of the Bailey East Expansion. In January 2017 we successfully petitioned for a supersedeas that prohibited Consol from […]
On Tuesday, August 15, 2017, the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board (EHB) unanimously delivered a major victory to Center for Coalfield Justice, Sierra Club and their members in a consolidated appeal of two longwall mining permits for the Bailey Coal Mine: Permit Revision No. 180 and Permit Revision No. 189. The EHB’s decision sets important precedent […]