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.
Can We Get to Zero Carbon? Panelists Weigh In
On January 29, StateImpact Pennsylvania and WESA sponsored an event at the Energy Innovation Center in Pittsburgh during which three panelists – Paulina Jaramillo, a professor of engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University; Ivonne Pena, an energy analyst working with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory; and Greg Reed, a professor of electric power…
Permit to Use Beneficial Coal Ash to Reclaim Mine Waste Dump Under Review by DEP
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…
Support Coal Miners, Urge Your Legislators to Reinstate the Black Lung Fund
Rates of Black Lung disease are on the rise in coal communities across Appalachia, but Congress allowed the excise tax that supports the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund to be automatically slashed at the end of 2018. The trust fund, already struggling to remain solvent, would need an increase from 2018 levels in order to…
January 2019 Coalfield Review
Read our monthly e-newsletter, which will update you on our work, current action items, and upcoming events. If there is any other information you would like to see, please let us know. Featured Jul 26, 2019 Heaven Sensky – Community Organizer Jul 26, 2019 Jul 26, 2019 Jan 23, 2019 Tour Reflection from Mimi Wahid…
Tour Reflection from Mimi Wahid
Mimi Wahid is an intern from MIT working with The Center for the month of January. Last week, she went on CCJ’s “Fracking and the Coalfields” tour with Executive Director Veronica Coptis. Below are her reflections on the experience. As an intern at the Center for Coalfield Justice, I’ve heard a lot about undermining these…
I-70 Delays Upset Local Residents
Mining operations under I-70 near the West Virginia and Pennsylvania border have begun and will cause delays for commuters. These specific lane closures will last until at least the end of May, and this is just the first leg of many in the marathon of destroying and rebuilding the highway. PennDOT executives estimate that the…
Welcome Caroline and Mimi
Caroline Boone and Mimi Wahid are MIT undergraduate students who are interning with CCJ this month. They are excited to learn more about the needs of coalfield communities and contribute to CCJ’s mission. Born and raised in Salisbury, North Carolina, Mimi Wahid is a sophomore at MIT where she is majoring in Urban Studies and…
Petrochemical Projects Given Green Light over Holiday Break
The PA Department of Environmental Protection issued water permits (Chapters 102 and 105) for the PA leg of the Falcon Pipeline to be built, run, and operated by Shell. This pipeline will carry ethane, a natural gas liquid, from Houston, PA’s MarkWest facility to the Ethane Cracker Plant in Beaver County. Concerned residents from Washington,…
Explosion at MarkWest Processing Facility in Washington County Left Four Injured
The explosion and fire occurred at the MarkWest gas processing plant in Houston, PA, on Thursday, December 14. All of the injured workers suffered burns; one of them is in critical condition. They were flown by medical helicopter to two Pittsburgh hospitals. A MarkWest official said in a statement that the explosion occurred “near two…
Black Lung Disability Fund in Jeopardy unless Congress Acts
Rates of Black Lung disease are on the rise in coal communities across Appalachia, but Congress is set to allow Black Lung Disability benefits to be jeopardized. Congress has failed to pass an extension of current funding levels, but some members are fervently working to pass this extension as part of an appropriations bill up…