Coal and Water – Virginia Water Central News Grouper

February 22, 2018

Water in the 2018 Virginia General Assembly: Coal Ash Management Bills

This is one of a series of posts on particular water-related bills in the 2018 Virginia General Assembly. For an inventory of about water-related bills in the 2018 General Assembly, please visit the Virginia Water Resources Research Center’s “Virginia Water Legislation” page, online at http://www.vwrrc.vt.edu/virginia-water-legislation/. Each post includes a summary of the bill(s), their legislative… Continue reading

2018 Virginia General Assembly, Coal and Water, Energy, Waste Management

February 21, 2018

Reducing Carbon Emissions from Power Plants in Virginia – Public Hearings in March 2018 on Proposed Carbon-trading Regulation; Proposal Follows Gov. Executive Directive Issued May 16, 2017

Following is information on Virginia’s process in 2017-18 to develop regulations to reduce carbon emissions from electric power plants. The latest update to this post is March 20, 2018. In March 2018, the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board and Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) held a series of public hearings on proposed carbon dioxide (CO2)-trading… Continue reading

Air-Water, Climate Change, Coal and Water, Energy, Events, Laws&Regs

December 4, 2017

Dominion Energy’s Virginia Coal Ash Storage Ponds Options Evaluated in Report Released Dec. 1, 2017; Report was Mandated by SB 1398 in 2017 Virginia General Assembly

On December 1, 2017, Dominion Energy released an 846-page report on options for the company to address its coal combustion by-products, also called coal ash, stored in ponds at four coal-fired power plants in Virginia. The report was mandated by Senate Bill 1398 in the 2017 Virginia General Assembly (online at http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?ses=171&typ=bil&val=sb1398), which stated that… Continue reading

2017 Virginia General Assembly, Coal and Water, Energy, Waste Management

October 25, 2017

Development of Abandoned Mine Lands is Focus of Federal Pilot Program Funding Granted to Virginia in May 2017

In May 2017, Virginia was chosen to receive federal funds for economic development of abandoned mine lands under the Power Plus Pilot Program, part of the federal Ominbus Bill passed in May 2017. More information on this program is available online at https://dmme.virginia.gov/dmlr/Pilot2017.shtml. According to that Web site, Virginia “was one of the states chosen… Continue reading

Coal and Water, Energy, Mining

April 18, 2017

Mining Reclamation Conference Held April 9-13, 2017, in Morgantown, W. Va.

On April 9-13, 2017, in Morgantown, W. Va., “What’s Next for Reclamation?” was presented by the West Virginia Mine Drainage Task Force, the American Society of Mining and Reclamation, and the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative. More information about the meeting is available online at https://wvmdtaskforce.com/2017-joint-conference/. The meeting included two presentations by scientists connected with the… Continue reading

Coal and Water, Energy, Events, Mining

April 4, 2017

Clean Water Act Issues of Chesapeake Energy Center Coal Ash Ruling in March 2017 Discussed in 3/30/17 National Law Review Article

Virginia Ash Pond Seeps Violate CWA, But Do Not Warrant Civil Penalty, by Amy Antoniolli, Daniel Deeb, and Joshua Moore, in National Law Review, 3/30/17, reviews the legal issues related to the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) in a federal lawsuit over coal-ash storage ponds at Dominion Virginia Power’s Chesapeake Energy Center on the Southern… Continue reading

Coal and Water, Energy, Laws&Regs

March 23, 2017

Water in the 2017 Virginia General Assembly: Coal Ash Management Bills – Updated 4/27/17

This is one of a series of posts on particular water-related bills in the 2017 Virginia General Assembly. For an inventory of about 160 water-related bills in the 2017 General Assembly, please visit the Virginia Water Resources Research Center’s “Virginia Water Legislation” page, online at http://www.vwrrc.vt.edu/virginia-water-legislation/. Each post includes a summary of the bill(s), their… Continue reading

2017 Virginia General Assembly, Coal and Water, Energy, Waste Management

February 23, 2017

Water in the 2017 Virginia General Assembly: Coal Employment and Production Tax Credit

This is one of a series of posts on particular water-related bills in the 2017 Virginia General Assembly. For an inventory of about 165 water-related bills in the 2017 General Assembly, please visit the Virginia Water Resources Research Center’s “Virginia Water Legislation” page, online at http://www.vwrrc.vt.edu/virginia-water-legislation/. Each post includes a summary of the bill(s), their… Continue reading

2017 Virginia General Assembly, Coal and Water, Energy

February 14, 2017

Stream Protection Rule Regarding Coal Mining Impacts on Waterways Rescinded in February 2017 After Finalization in December 2016

In early February 2017, Congress used the Congressional Review Act to rescind the U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement’s (OSMRE) “Stream Protection Rule,” on impacts of coal mining on waterways. The rule had been finalized with Federal Register publication on December 20, 2016. OSMRE’s Web site on the proposed rule is at http://www.osmre.gov/programs/rcm/streamprotectionrule.shtm;… Continue reading

Coal and Water, Energy, Laws&Regs, Water Quality and Habitat in Virginia’s Southern Rivers

November 29, 2016

Abandoned Coal Mine Clean-up Examined in Nov. 28, 2016, PBS NewsHour Report

On November 28, 2016, the PBS NewsHour aired a 5 min./25 sec. report on coal mine reclamation and particularly on clean-up of abandoned coal-mining sites. “Why cleaning up abandoned coal mines is so important — and difficult,” available online at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/cleaning-abandoned-coal-mines-important-difficult/, discusses issues of waste left at abandoned mines, reclamation at active mines, potential water-quality… Continue reading

Coal and Water, Energy, Water and Economics, Water Quality and Habitat in Virginia’s Southern Rivers