Groups Act to Stop Coal Mining Pollution in West Virginia Waterways
Today, environmental and citizen groups in West Virginia filed suit against Pritchard Mining Company for violating Clean Water Act protections at its Fourmile Surface Mine in Boone and Kanawah Counties.
No New Prison in “District 12”
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has proposed to build a new facility located in the mountains of eastern Kentucky—the actual region used as the model for "District 12" in The Hunger Games trilogy, showing that the police state isn't just science fiction.
Celebrating the Ground Beneath Our Hearts
If solastagia is getting to you, you are not alone, and you are invited to join in an international event to do something about it. Solastalgia is the pain you feel when the place you live in and love is under assault. Although coined by Australian philosopher Glenn Albrecht, the meaning of the word resonates around the world for people whose homes have been irrevocably changed and damaged by industrial practices.
Stream Protection Rule? Your Comments Needed!
All hands on deck!: Come to the hearing in WV! Location: Charleston Civic Center 200 Civic Center Dr., Charleston 5:00 – 9:00 p.m, Thursday, Sept. 17
Free Tickets for WV Premier of Blood on the Mountain
Step right up and get your free tickets! The West Virginia premier of Blood On The Mountain will be held at 7 p.m. on September 4 at the Culture Center on the State Capitol Grounds, 1900 Kanawha Blvd, Charleston WV.
Court Finds Fola Coal Violating Clean Water Act
Today, the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia found that conductivity pollution from two mountaintop removal coal mines owned by Fola Coal, a subsidiary of Consol Energy, violated key state and federal water quality protections. The mines, Fola Surface Mine No. 2 and Fola Surface Mine No. 6, are located in Nicholas and Clay counties and both dump mine waste into valley fills located in tributaries to Leatherwood Creek.
Call to Action: “No New Permits Fast”
Beyond Extreme Energy has decided to organize a long-term, water-only “No New Permits Fast” this September in front of FERC, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. We are undertaking this action in support of the call in Pope Francis’s encyclical, “Laudato Si,” for action on the climate crisis commensurate with its seriousness.
Groups Highlight Failed Reclamation at Coal Mine
For the first time, environmental and citizen groups in West Virginia filed suit against a mine operator to enforce water quality certification protections. Mingo Logan Coal Company, the target of the suit, has failed to turn two diversion ditches (ditches that re-route streams destroyed by the mining) into functional streams at its Mountain Laurel Mine Complex in Logan County.
Radioactive Drill Cuttings and WV Landfills
In his commentary of the report, Hughes writes, "Wetzel County has had active Marcellus black shale exploration and drilling for at least eight years now. And finally we now have a public report that clearly, unambiguously states that Marcellus shale is radioactive. Of course, geologists have known that for many decades. But, also for decades, there has been great reluctance by the natural gas exploration and production companies to acknowledge that fact in public."
Dear Senator Manchin: Please Lead WV Out of Fossil Fuel Quagmire
The Mountain Lakes Preservation Alliance and other groups have written an open letter to Senator Joe Manchin asking him to lead the state out of the fossil fuel quagmire / crisis we are in.
No More MTR on Coal River Mountain (Or Anywhere)
The WV DEP held an informal conference on the Long Ridge mountaintop removal permit on July 7. Of course, Coal River Mountain Watch urged folks to comment against Alpha Natural Resources’ proposed new 847-acre site on Coal River Mountain.
Together We Grow: Help Fund Our Office Space
OVEC's roots run deep. For 28 years, thanks to the help of folks like you, we’ve worked together to defend the air, land and water for the people and communities we love. Together We Grow. Now, we are pushing our roots deeper, so we can broaden our reach.
Sept. 12: The Ground Beneath Our Hearts
Mark your calendars now and join OVEC on September 12 for a very special international event, The Ground Beneath Our Hearts! This will be a worldwide celebration of our love for the beauty of our homes and heritage in places that have been terribly damaged by extractive industries. OVEC will be hosting an Appalachian celebration at Kanawha State Forest (Shelter #6) beginning at 11:00 a.m.
$50 Billion Just Waiting For Groups Like Ours
The fabulous Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation has funded OVEC for years. Noyes knows that small grassroots groups like ours are making a real difference in the world. They also know we face big issues and that we need to funding to increase our capacity on the ground. That's why Noyes has started a campaign to get donor advised funds into the hands of grassroots groups across the country. Currently, more than $50 billion in donors advised funds are waiting to be contributed to nonprofit organizations. Imagine what $50 billion can do to advance social justice!
July 13: Not Your Grandparent’s Oil & Gas Industry, Meeting Two
Please plan to join us at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, July 13 at First Congregational UCC, 701 5th Ave, Huntington, WV. Come join the community conversation. Share what you know and what you want to know about leasing of mineral rights in Wayne and surrounding counties. Come voice your concerns about potential Rogersville Shale "development" in our area.
Rogersville Shale: USGS Report on Rome Trough
In our attempts to learn more about Rogersville Shale, we've excerpted some information from Evidence for Cambrian Petroleum Source Rocks in the Rome Trough of WV and KY, Appalachian Basin (U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO Open-File Report 05-1443). Note that the information below is restricted to the reports findings for West Virginia.
Winds of Change, Summer 2015
OVEC Wins Second Annual Jean and Leslie Douglas Pearl Award
Call to Action for Racial Equality in WV
In response to the persisting violence against people of color in cities and towns around the […]
Bucks For Bats Fundraising Party June 16
Come party with the Kanawha Forest Coalition on June 16 from 6-9 p.m.! We're gathering friends and supporters, with great live music, food, and drink, to celebrate a year of organizing to save our mountains -- and to help fund our latest effort: a scientific bat survey of a few abandoned mine portals inside Kanawha State Forest.