Coal News
Here are the latest articles written by the Center for Coalfield Justice team on the subject of coal. We regularly publish new information, so check back often for new articles.
The Ram Mine Has Been Denied
Mingo Creek taken by Allison Evans The PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) accepted an application for a new underground mine – the Ram No. 1 Mine – on February 25, 2015. Ram Mining, LLC (RAM), a Kentucky-based company with a history of coal mining in West Virginia and southwestern Virginia, submitted the application. RAM’s […]
Ramaco Withdraws Appeal, Ram No. 1 Mine will NOT Be Developed in Washington County!
Washington, PA – In November 2023, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) denied the permit for the Ram No. 1 underground mine in Washington County. This was the DEP’s first denial of a mining permit since 1994.
Yesterday, Ramaco Resources withdrew its appeal of this decision before the Environmental Hearing Board (EHB). With no more pending appeals or permits, it’s official: a mine is actually going to stay closed in southwestern Pennsylvania!
Black Lung and Silica Rule Updates
Living in coal country, most of us know someone who has – or, more unfortunately, had – black lung, silicosis, and other respiratory diseases associated with coal mining. Sure, on paper the companies may show compliance with state regulations, but the fact is, more and more miners receive diagnoses of irreversible and progressive lung […]
Black History in the Coalfields
“Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history” – Carter G. Woodson The African American experience has largely been excluded in the telling of stories of Appalachia and the coal miners that fueled our country, but it is an important […]
Supplementary Resources
Coal Mining
- Fossil-Fueled Foolery: An Illustrated Primer on the Fossil Fuel Industry's Deceptive Tactics
- Video | Subsided Ground: Fallen Futures (Part 1 of 2)
- Video | Subsided Ground: Fallen Futures (Part 2 of 2)
- The Big Seep: Longwall mining is draining the water from the springs and streams of northern Appalachia
- New Scrutiny of Longwall Mining Finds Damage in Pennsylvania Streams
- Longwall Coal Mine Companies Push to Downgrade Stream Pollution Controls
Coal Ash
- SCI Fayette - Coal Ash Investigation, including the report No Escape: Exposure to Toxic Coal Waste at State Correctional Institution Fayette
- Earthjustice Reports on the Issue of Coal Ash
- Pennsylvania and Coal Ash Disposal in Ponds and Landfills
- Coal Ash: Myths vs. Facts
- Southeast Coal Ash Waste
- Video | EarthJustice Story on Little Blue Run Disaster
- Coal Ash: The Dan River Spill and the Power Industry’s Toxic Legacy
For more CCJ resources, comments, and public notices, click below.