GOP-Led Senate Poised to Make Ex-Coal Lobbyist EPA’s No. 2
Senate Republicans are moving to confirm a former coal industry lobbyist as the second highest ranking official at the Environmental Protection Agency.
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As Coal Declines, Agency Raises Red Flag on Reclamation
As America’s coal industry faces a difficult market, a new report from the Government Accountability Office says Congress needs to revise how coal companies are required to pay for reclamation of land.
Read moreBig Coal
Arch Coal workers claim in a federal class action in West Virginia that the company stiffs them for overtime, saying they must “work for free.”
Read moreKentucky Coal Companies Fight Bond Increases for Mine Cleanup
A coalition of Kentucky coal companies sued U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke over the disapproval of state regulations related to protecting water quality at mining sites, claiming it will unfairly increase the amount of money collected to fund the cleanup of abandoned mines.
Read moreDominion Power Asks Fourth Circuit to Void Clean Water Violation
Dominion Power went before the Fourth Circuit Wednesday to challenge a lower court ruling that found wastewater seeping from Dominion’s coal ash ponds into local groundwater counted as a Clean Water Act violation.
Read moreFifth Circuit Incredulous at Dirty Coal-Powered Plant in Texas
Fifth Circuit judges got feisty over air pollution Monday during a hearing on whether a polluting coal-fired electric plant in Texas should be allowed to continue to operate without permits, as it has for 11 years.
Read moreUtilities Find Water Pollution at Ash Sites
Major utilities have found evidence of groundwater contamination at coal-burning power plants across the U.S. where landfills and man-made ponds have been used for decades as dumping grounds for coal ash, according to data released by plant owners under a Friday deadline.
Read moreCoal Mining
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a summary judgment for the Department of the Interior regarding its lease of coal-mining rights in Montana’s Bull Mountains.
Read moreSenate Committee Advances Coal Lobbyist to Serve at EPA
Republican senators used their majority to advance President Donald Trump’s nomination of a former coal-industry lobbyist to serve as the second-highest ranking official at the Environmental Protection Agency.
Read moreEnvironment
The Sierra Club brought a federal FOIA complaint for records on communications and meetings of Department of the Interior officials under Secretary Ryan Zinke and members of the oil, gas and coal industries.
Read moreEnvironmentalists Decry Trump’s ‘Illegal’ Energy Plans for Public Lands
A dramatic downsizing of national monuments took effect on Friday, coinciding with Trump administration announcements about increasing energy development on public lands that drew heavy rebuke from environmentalists.
Read moreGreens Say Pruitt’s EPA Gives Poisons a Pass
A Trump administration delay in Obama-era rules governing release of toxic pollutants into water violates the Endangered Species Act and puts people, plants and animals at risk, the Center for Biological Diversity said Tuesday in federal court.
Read moreSanctioned Coal Company Tied to Visa-Investment Program
Amending claims against an accused supporter of North Korea’s missile program, prosecutors say the Chinese company used America’s visa-investment program to launder the proceeds of illegal coal sales.
Read moreIndiana Fuel Producer Settles Emissions Case for $5 Million
The federal government and Indiana reached a $5 million settlement Thursday with a coal coke producer that the Environmental Protection Agency accused of releasing excessive amounts of sulfur dioxide, lead and other dangerous pollutants into the air.
Read moreEnvironmentalists Say Coal Mine Continues to Pollute West Va. Waters
A coalition of environmental groups and West Virginia resident sued the Fola Coal Co., and its new owners for allegedly discharging pollutants into a number of rivers and streams in violation of the Clean Water Act.
Read moreEnergy Officials Say Power Grid Aced Bomb-Cyclone Test
Touting the performance of the national electric grid against this winter’s record-breaking bomb-cyclone event, officials assured a Senate committee Tuesday that the independent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will resist what one senator called “undue political pressure.”
Read moreOakland Coal Ban Trial Wraps With Debate Over Pollution Levels
Attorneys for a developer fighting to export coal from Oakland, California, tried to convince a judge Friday that city officials fudged a key scientific report to justify enacting a coal-handling ban in the city.
Read moreCity Accused of Bowing to Political Pressure in Coal-Ban Trial
Attorneys for a developer fighting to reverse a ban on coal-handling in Oakland suggested in a Tuesday bench trial that city officials conspired to enact the ban to appease their environmental allies.
Read moreOakland’s Ban on Coal Exports Headed for Federal Trial
A federal judge Wednesday refused to dismiss a challenge to Oakland, California’s ban on coal exports, clearing the way for trial between the city and developers.
Read moreCoal Baron’s ‘Action Plan’ Became Trump Policy Initiatives
In the early days of the Trump administration, the head of one of America’s largest coal companies sent a four-page “action plan” to the White House calling for rollbacks of Obama-era environmental and mine safety regulations.
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