Coal and Water Resources

Evaluation of Nine Ky Power Plant SO2 Compliance

Kentuckians For The Commonwealth

Posted in: Enforcement, Central Kentucky, Enforcement, Jefferson County

Some of Kentucky's largest working-class communities are being put at risk by power plants that are violating national clean air standards, according to a new report from the Sierra Club and the Kentucky Environmental Foundation. Their study finds that nine power plants, most located next to major cities, are spewing out more sulfur dioxide than they should be.The nine are:

A Case Study in Non-Compliance and Non-Enforcement in Kentucky

Kentuckians For The Commonwealth

Posted in: Enforcement, Big Sandy

One citizen's story about our drinking water

Promoting Long Term Investment in Appalachian Kentucky, 2012

Mountain Association For Community Economic Development

This report, published by MACED, describes a proposal to create a permanent fund with coal severance tax resources in order to support long-term investments in economic diversification and transition.

The Impact of Coal on Kentucky's State Budget, 2009

Mountain Association for Community Economic Development

This report, published by the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development, compares the amount of state revenues directly and indirectly generated by the coal industry with the level of state spending on the coal industry, through tax breaks, subsidies, and other direct expenses.

Clean Water Protection Act

The Clean Water Protection Act would redefine fill material to not include waste.

Appalachian Transition Website

Mountain Association for Community Economic Development and Kentuckians For The Commonwealth

This website is a joint project of the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED) and Kentuckians For The Commonwealth. It contains useful analysis, resources, case studies and examples about the opportunity and need for a just economic transition in Appalachia.

Mountaintop Mining Consequences

Margaret Palmer, et al in the journal Science

This is a brief and comprehensive review of many scientific studies describing the environmental and health consequences of mountaintop coal mining in Central Appalachia.

Full Cost Accounting for the Life Cycle of Coal

Dr. Paul Epstein, et al in the Annals of the New York Academy of Science

This study estimates that the mining, transporting and burning of coal results in $75 billion annually in public health costs in Appalachian communities, with a majority of those impacts resulting from increased health care costs, injury, and death.

Self-Reported Cancer Rates in Two Rural Areas of West Virginia

Dr. Michael Hendryx et al in the Journal of Community Health

This study found that mountaintop mining is linked with increased community cancer risk. Self-reported rates of cancer were higher in a WV county with mountaintop coal mining than in a similar, nearby Appalachian county without large scale strip mining.

Health-Related Quality of Life Among Central Appalachian Residents in Mountaintop Mining Counties

Keith Zullig and Michael Hendryx

This study found that residents of Central Appalachian counties with mountaintop coal mining reported significantly more days of poor physical, mental and activity limitation and rated their own health more poorly than people living in similar communities without large scale strip-mining.

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