Empowering Communities in the Allegheny-Blue Ridge region
There have been quite a few developments since our last update on the James River Headwaters (JRH) Program. We are now sampling for E. coli levels weekly at 21 public access sites across the Jackson River and Cowpasture River watersheds.
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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 2025.