coal
Government transparency decisions await Kentucky lawmakers when they reconvene Friday
FRANKFORT — A bill that open government advocates warn would introduce loopholes into Kentucky’s open records law could make its way to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s desk when lawmakers return to Frankfort later this week.? The final two days of the 60-day regular session — Friday and Monday — are set aside to consider gubernatorial […]
$1.3 billion investment to turn Eastern Kentucky coal mine into hydropower ‘battery’
FRANKFORT — An Eastern Kentucky coal mining site set to become a giant hydropower battery is getting a significant boost from the federal government.? Florida-based Rye Development is in line for an $81 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for its Lewis Ridge Pumped Storage Project.? The funding is provided through the Bipartisan […]
Kentucky Senate advances bill creating new hurdles for utilities to retire power plants
Republicans in the GOP-dominated Kentucky Senate advanced a bill Tuesday largely on a party line vote to create new hurdles before utilities can retire fossil fuel-fired power plants in the state, touting the legislation as a way to keep the state’s electricity supply reliable and available.? Senate Bill 349, backed by Senate President Robert Stivers, […]
Kentucky House passes bill weakening safety protection for coal miners
Republicans in the GOP-dominated Kentucky House of Representatives passed a bill Monday that a long-time coal mine safety advocate says would put miners at risk by weakening a key protection put in place nearly two decades ago.? House Bill 85, sponsored by Rep. Bill Wesley, R-Ravenna, would reduce the number of required mine emergency technicians […]
McGarvey, coal miner advocates renew push to ease burden of proof for black lung benefits
Kentucky’s lone Democrat in Congress is joining a renewed push to expand benefits for coal miners suffering from black lung and their families and to ease the burden of seeking such benefits.? Rep. Morgan McGarvey of Louisville during a Wednesday afternoon press conference with coal miner advocates from several states said he’s introducing the Relief […]
Lawsuit alleges federal agencies failing to protect ‘imperiled’ crayfish, darter from coal mining impacts
Two environmental advocacy groups are suing federal agencies for allegedly failing to implement conservation protections for hundreds of coal mines, including those in Eastern Kentucky, whose discharges into waterways could harm endangered and threatened aquatic life.?? Appalachian Voices and the Center for Biological Diversity, in a lawsuit filed in federal district court Wednesday, alleged hundreds […]
Two words rarely heard on Kentucky’s campaign trail: Climate change
PROVIDENCE — Walking through a bathhouse at what until a few years ago was Webster County’s last operating coal mine is not just a moment for Tony Felker to revisit memories. It is also a window into a way of life that he recognizes is disappearing. Felker is quick to rattle through the nearly four […]
Second worker dies trapped in collapsed coal-preparation plant in Martin County
The second of two workers who were trapped inside a collapsed coal preparation plant in Martin County has died.? Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear in a Friday afternoon post on the social media platform X confirmed the death. The Lexington Herald-Leader newspaper had identified the second worker as 57-year-old Alvin Nees, who had been missing after […]
Search continues for man missing in collapsed coal plant in Eastern Kentucky
The search for a worker missing in the collapse of an idle coal-preparation plant is moving into a new phase as rescuers who have been combing through the wreckage now plan to use heavy equipment to remove debris, emergency officials said Thursday. One worker, pinned under a metal beam, died Wednesday after being found by […]
One confirmed dead in collapse of idle coal prep plant in Martin County
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency in Martin County Wednesday morning after an idle coal preparation plant collapsed on two people who had been working inside, killing at least one of them.?? A Kentucky Emergency Management release Wednesday identified the collapsed building as the Martin Mine Prep Plant near Middlefork Wolfe Creek […]
Organizers out to help shape power generation in Kentucky for decades
On a recent August weekend, canvassers walked along a neighborhood street in West Louisville, cars and semi-trucks roaring down the nearby interstate just a few hundred feet away. Chase Smith with the progressive grassroots organization Kentuckians for the Commonwealth knocked on each door, asking people if they “have a couple of seconds to talk about […]
Advocates for coal miners say MSHA’s proposed silica dust rule needs teeth
The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration is hosting a public comment hearing in Beckley on Thursday on a proposed rule that could strengthen silica exposure standards — one of the leading causes of black lung — for coal miners. The proposed rule would, for the first time, implement a separate exposure limit for silica […]