Feds announce $679 million in coal cleanup grants despite recent Congressional cuts to the program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Eric Dixon dixon@ohiorivervalleyinstitute.org, (865) 202-8688 Feds announce $679 million in coal cleanup grants despite recent Congressional cuts to the program Recent ORVI report shows coal cleanup supports jobs in struggling labor markets in KY LOUISVILLE, Kentucky —— The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement recently announced the latest round of […]
Repairing the Damage in Kentucky
Kentucky’s coal mine reclamation market has grown 360% since the BIL, but the need for greater union density & more market competition remains.
West Virginia’s Abandoned Well Problems
Weak enforcement has allowed West Virginia’s abandoned oil and gas well problem to spiral. Fixing it could support thousands of jobs.
Congress is trying to loot America’s fund to clean up dangerous mines
In a “minibus” bill released by the House Appropriations Committee this week, legislators are attempting to loot $500 million from the bipartisan fund used to clean up the country’s land and water polluted by coal mining. The bill would transfer $500 million in previously appropriated cleanup funds to pay for other federal programs. Since 1977 […]
Addressing Methane Emissions in Appalachia
New EPA methane regulations will create up to 15,000 well-plugging jobs in the Ohio River Valley. $1.3 billion in IIJA and MERP funding can support thousands of additional job-years.
2023 in Review
Together, a more prosperous, sustainable, and equitable Appalachia is possible. That’s the vision that has geared our data-driven research, guided our outreach and campaigns, and grounded our work in the region’s community and culture ever since the Ohio River Valley Institute’s very beginning. It’s now been more than three years since we laid out our […]
Appalachia is Likely the Largest Source of Methane Emissions in the US
If it were its own country, Appalachia would be the third-largest producer of natural gas in the world, behind only Russia and the rest of the United States. And, as new measurements reveal, Appalachia is likely the source of more system-wide fossil fuel methane emissions than any other region in the United States. Methane […]
First Tranche of Federal Orphan Well Funds Out the Door
In August of 2022, the US Department of Interior (DOI) announced it awarded 24 states $560 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) to plug over 10,000 wells, reclaim well sites, and measure methane emissions. In January of last year, DOI announced that 26 states were eligible for $25 million each, or $650 million […]
Here’s How Appalachian States Can Create “Good-Paying, Union Jobs” Cleaning Up Mines.
In March, Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) hosted the Secretaries of the Department of the Interior and the Department of Energy on a tour of West Virginia’s coalfields. After visiting a proposed steel mill in Mason County, they visited a center that educates the public about stream restoration and native wildlife. West Virginia’s need for […]
Can the Infrastructure Law Create “Good-Paying, Union Jobs” Cleaning Up Coal Mines? Not Without Policy Action.
“After decades of delay and decline, America’s workers stand ready to rebuild our country.” That’s what AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said about the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as she joined President Joe Biden in the Rose Garden. At the signing ceremony, the President underlined how workers would now have the chance to take advantage of […]