Our blogs are written by the staff of the Center for Coalfield Justice, with an occasional guest post. The most recent post appears on top, and others show up below in order of publishing date. You can receive the blogs in your inbox by signing up for our mailing list. Once per month we publish a newsletter, which contains most of the blog posts.
Radon: What it is, and how we can protect our families
What Is Radon? Radon is created when uranium found in the soil, rocks, and underground water breaks down. It is colorless, odorless, and tasteless, and travels vertically through holes and cracks in the ground; this gas can sometimes enter homes, businesses, and schools. When inhaled, radon can increase the risk of cancer and result in…
On the naughty list: State funding for a facility to transport fracking wastewater
As more and more decorations are being hung throughout our communities, you can feel the spirit of the holidays in the air. Soon enough, people will be together with their families to celebrate the wonderful holiday season, stuffing our faces with delicious food, playing games, and having some great laughs. That one Holly Jolly guy…
“The New Coal” — What Climate Conversations Miss About Coal Communities
A report was recently released by Beyond Plastics, a non-profit organization based out of Bennington College in Vermont that seeks to end plastic pollution. This 21-page report does a wonderful job of explaining the comparisons in climate-changing emissions from the coal industry and the plastic industry. Plastics manufacturing currently emits the CO2 equivalent of 57…
Proposed Rulemaking on CRDAs
Act 74 of 2019 Previously, PA’s Coal Refuse Disposal Control Act limited the temporary cessation of operations at coal refuse disposal sites to no more than 1 year. The Federal Surface Mine Conservation and Reclamation Act of 1977 (“SMCRA”) allowed for flexibility with temporary cessation status. Act 74 of 2019 amended Section 6.1 of the…
Hemp Can Help to Regrow Our Local Economy
In late September, a few CCJ staff members took a field trip to Burnsville Hemp Company in West Finley in Washington County, with Greene County and the Bailey Mine CRDA just a stone’s throw away (see the photo above). As we drove through the winding roads to the farm, I was amazed how much of…
An update on ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funding from the American Rescue Plan
The American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act was passed in March of 2021 and allocated $122.7 billion dollars in supplemental Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding; this is now known as the ESSER III fund. The first two-thirds of the funding has already been disbursed to individual states to be distributed. In order to…
Your reminder to vote, and helpful information on voter registration and mail-in voting
It’s that time of year again, right before the holiday season. Halloween is at the end of this month, Election Day and Thanksgiving are just around the corner, and Christmas and the New Year will be here before we know it! Just after Halloween, another day that many are preparing for will occur: the municipal…
The latest on the efforts to close the hazardous waste loophole in PA
Under current PA law, oil and gas waste is not classified as hazardous, although it contains radioactive and other dangerous materials. This waste is allowed to be disposed of in our local landfills. Eventually, some of this waste makes its way into our streams and rivers, posing a health risk to all Pennsylvanians. CCJ has…
What we have asked for, and what they are giving us
Who determines whether we have clean air or not? As members of the public, do we hold a responsibility to ourselves and each other to ask for clean air? On the other hand, if we don’t ask for clean air, should we be surprised to find that our air is considered dangerous to our health?…
The climate crisis is here, and collective care is a solution
A few weekends ago, Hurricane Ida hit the Gulf Coast as a Category 4 and decimated communities, causing many people’s homes to be destroyed and millions to be without power and clean water and with limited access to internet/cell service. In Pennsylvania, many of us felt the impacts as Hurricane Ida downgraded to a tropical…