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Victory For the Mon: Forest Service terminates South Fork Coal Co’s haul-road permit.
Our coalition shut down the illegal haul road and the shady coal company that was dependent on it! On September 16, the U.S. Forest Service terminated South Fork Coal Company’s road‑use permit through the Monongahela National Forest. That authorization was the company’s only access to the 1,100‑acre Rocky Run Surface Mine. Without it, coal and…
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James River Headwaters Developments
Thanks to your generous support, the James River Headwaters project has met several early project milestones. With your continued help, we can maintain the momentum we have built this summer, reach our goals for 2025 in the Cowpasture watershed, and extend our monitoring to the Jackson River in 2026! Monthly data collection has continued at…
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Potential Rollback of the Roadless Area Protection Rule
The long-standing U.S. Forest Service Roadless Area Conservation Rule—which for nearly 25 years has limited new road-building and industrial development in the wildest parts of our national forests—is now under active attack. In June, USDA leadership moved to rescind the rule nationwide, and groups across Appalachia are pushing back, citing risks to wildlife habitat, clean…
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Metallurgical Coal Is Not a Critical Mineral
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Energy moved to classify metallurgical coal (the type used for steelmaking) as a “critical” material for America’s supply chain. ABRA and a coalition of allied groups are pushing back, arguing that this designation is both legally improper and unsupported by the facts. In joint comments to DOE, we…
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South Fork Coal says it will liquidate rather than restructure in bankruptcy filing
Press ReleaseAugust 19, 2025 CONTACT Dan Radmacher, Media Specialist, (276) 289-1018, Wilmington, DE. — Late last week, White Forest Resources, the parent company of South Fork Coal Company announced that its bankruptcy would end in liquidation rather than restructuring. South Fork Coal has a history of more than 140 environmental violations at its mining…
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Coal for Steel Production is Not a “Critical Material”
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) effort to designate metallurgical coal a “critical material” in the department’s 2026 Critical Materials Assessment relies on a flawed and insufficient process, as detailed in a letter signed by a dozen groups. The Department of Energy’s May 2025 analysis fails to meet the threshold for designating metallurgical coal, which…
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Trump administration rubber stamps bankrupt coal company’s encroachment into Monongahela National Forest
Today, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement determined that a bankrupt coal company with a long history of regulatory violations has the right to haul coal through the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia. Richmond, Virginia-based South Fork Coal Company — which declared bankruptcy in February — has been using both private and…
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Stand with Chesterfield: Say no to Dominion’s polluting gas plant
Dominion Energy wants to spend $4.5 billion on a massive gas-burning plant at its old Chesterfield coal station—right next to the Dutch Gap Conservation Area. Chesterfield neighbors have already lived with coal-ash pollution for decades. Now they’d get millions more tons of carbon, soot, and smog each year. Why build it at all? It’s not…
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Federal court clears path for legal challenges to coal-hauling in Monongahela National Forest
A federal judge in Delaware ruled Tuesday in favor of two motions filed by conservation groups, allowing key legal and administrative actions to move forward to protect portions of the Monongahela National Forest from mining activities by South Fork Coal Company, despite the company’s bankruptcy proceedings. South Fork Coal Co. filed for bankruptcy in February…
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The Roadless Area Conservation Act
Last week, ABRA joined representatives of conservation organization from across the nation in Washington, D.C. The trip was sponsored by Earth Justice and Sierra Club. We met with lawmakers to convey our concerns about the potential harms to our national forests in legislation currently under development in Congress. One topic we covered was the Roadless…
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The James River Headwaters Initiative
In April, ABRA received thrilling news: the Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance’s James River Headwaters Environmental Stewardship and Resilience Initiative was selected for a two-year, $247,000 Environmental Protection Agency Thriving Communities grant. This bold program would tackle urgent threats in western Virginia’s headwaters – including toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) pollution, failing water infrastructure, weak regulatory enforcement, and…
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Shenandoah Mountain Act and Virginia Wilderness Additions Act Reintroduced in the U.S. Senate
Senators Reintroduce Bills to Protect Public Landin Rockingham, Augusta, Highland, and Bath Counties Yesterday, Senators Time Kaine and Mark Warner reintroduced the Shenandoah Mountain Act and the Virginia Wilderness Additions Act. See their Press Release here. Shenandoah Mountain Act of 2025 The Shenandoah Mountain Act would establish a 92,562-acre Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area (SMNSA)…
Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance
Empowering Communities in the Allegheny-Blue Ridge region
