Late last week, an amendment proposed by Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D), of New Mexico’s third district, attempting to alter a deal between the U.S. government and a major mining firm was voted down. Luján had been seeking to tweak the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act of 2009, More…
The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a bill that authorizes the transfer of 2,400 acres of Arizona federal forest land to the UK and Australia-based mining company, Rio Tinto.
In a 235-186 vote this week, the House passed the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act of 2011, which More…
An environmental attorney who argued in favor of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule before a federal appeals court says there are only two legal options left for opponents of the Clinton-era rule and backers of state-specific rules like Colorado’s – and both are long-shots.
Conservation groups reacted swiftly Wednesday to a bill introduced by Republican Sens. John McCain and Orrin Hatch, among others, that would block the U.S. Interior Department from implementing a 20-year moratorium on new uranium mining near Grand Canyon National Park.
Following a meeting with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson today, Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, said in a press release that the federal agency tasked with protecting the environment has “taken the broad authority irresponsibly ceded to them by Congress, and run wild with it.” Ross also said More…
TWI alumnus Mike Lillis reports today that the agency in charge of mine safety said it still doesn’t know if methane monitors were tampered with before the explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia. The agency’s comments appear to contradict recent statement’s by Massey Energy, the owner More…
As a reminder that coal mining accidents are not peculiar to either West Virginia or Massey Energy, two miners in Western Kentucky have gone missing after the section of their mine collapsed in Western Kentucky Wednesday night. The Associated Press reports:
Rescue crews were in the mine on
Since an explosion at the Upper Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia killed 29 workers on April 5, Mike Lillis has been covering every angle of the story: the dozens of other mines owned by Massey Energy that pose safety risks, the failed 2008 bill that could More…
Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.), a steadfast supporter of the coal industry, responds to the tragic mine explosion yesterday that killed at least 25 people:
West Virginia is in mourning today. Twenty-five of its hard-working, courageous miners have been lost and we are bound together with their families, friends,
The EPA just issued a statement announcing that they have extended the review period for 79 surface mining permit applications in Appalachia. This means that the permits will not be streamlined for approval, and is in accordance with the Obama administration’s memorandum issued in June to subject coal-mining permits More…
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