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Although heavy-duty trucks make up 10% of vehicles on the road, they create more than 25% of total pollution. (Adobe Stock)

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

VA officials support new EPA clean truck standards

Virginia officials support the Environmental Protection Agency's new emissions rule. The federal clean truck standards will reduce emissions by up to …

Environmental justice communities are linked to health issues that include asthma, cardiovascular disease and cancer. The4 effects of climate change often exacerbate these issues. (Adobe Stock)

VA groups angry over Youngkin’s Environmental Justice Council picks

Environmental organizations in Virginia have united in opposition to Gov. Glenn Youngkin's picks for the state Environmental Justice Council…

Although U.S. government subsidies have helped keep the biomass industry afloat, the programs have a lengthy track record of being unsuccessful. (Adobe Stock)

Biomass company bankruptcy filing shows industry’s instability

Biomass producer Enviva's recent bankruptcy filing is being considered a sign of the industry's volatility. Recent financial challenges have …

Virginia has two liquefied natural gas facilities with a total storage capacity of 407,200 barrels. (Adobe Stock)

Environmental groups discourage U.S. use of liquified natural gas

The U.S. is reconsidering its use of liquefied natural gas. While it has long been touted as a "clean alternative" to fossil fuels like coal…

Some environmental effects of pipeline projects are loss of water and air filtration capability from forests, risk of severe erosion in mountainous areas, and increased air pollution from leaking methane gas. (Adobe Stock)

Despite opposition, VA pipeline expansion moves ahead

Despite extensive opposition, the Virginia Reliability Project is moving forward. This month, the state's Marine Resources Commission issued a …

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported 12% of methane emissions stem from leaks in natural gas systems. (Adobe Stock)

New methane safeguards protect VA communities

New methane safeguards can protect communities in Virginia and the U.S. A new rule targets leaks from wells and pipelines, which can emit at least 2.…

Along with flooding, Virginia is experiencing sea level rise. Between 1950 and 2023, the state has seen a 14-inch rise in sea level rise, putting 45,000 homes at risk of tidal flooding. (Adobe Stock)

Wetlands forming on VA surface mines, impacts uncertain

A recent report found wetlands forming on surface mines in Virginia can benefit the state. The wetlands form because surface mining flattens land…

Virginia's Department of Energy is one of nine state and tribal programs to receive funds from Congress for repurposing abandoned mine lands. It was first authorized in 2016, and the state received $10 million in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. (Adobe Stock)

VA group looks at carbon-offset market to help reforest former mines

A Virginia group is working out ways to reforest former mines across Appalachia. The state has several hundred thousand acres of mine land, which …

Based on current environmental impacts, residents of Petersburg have a life expectancy 10 years lower than the national average, according to U.S. News & World Report. (Adobe Stock)

VA environmentalists frustrated by FERC-approved pipeline extension

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved a plan extending a natural-gas pipeline in Virginia. The Virginia Reliability Plan and Transcot's …

A 2023 Resources for the Future report noted the state of Virginia established a climate resilience fund in early 2022, using $25 million from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. (Chesapeake Climate Action Network)

Environmental Groups File Lawsuit to Keep VA in RGGI

Several environmental groups have filed a lawsuit to keep Virginia in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. In June, Virginia's Air Pollution …

Nuclear energy is one part of Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin's

Experts Concerned about SW Virginia Nuclear Plant Placement

Environmentalists and Southwest Virginia residents are concerned about proposed sites for small modular nuclear reactors. The LENOWISCO Planning …

The Chesapeake Legal Alliance sued in May to challenge the Virginia Marine Resources Commission's standards on menhaden harvesting. The proposed regulations would have pushed these operations away from the shores of Chesapeake Bay in the hopes of preventing net spills. (Adobe Stock)

Industrial Menhaden Operations Harm VA Ecosystems

Virginia fishermen want action to be taken to keep industrial menhaden operations in the state in check. Menhaden are a nutrient-rich fish and a key …

In 2021, transportation was the highest source of greenhouse-gas emissions, accounting for 28% of all emissions in the United States, according to the EPA. (Adobe Stock)

Public Comment for EPA’s EV Standards Concludes

The Environmental Protection Agency's comment period on new electric vehicle standards has ended. New regulations from the agency would phase-in …

En 2021, el transporte fue la mayor fuente de emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero, representando el 28% de todas las emisiones en los Estados Unidos. (Adobe Stock)

Concluyen comentarios públicos sobre normas de EPA para vehículos eléctricos

El período de comentarios de la Agencia de Protección Ambiental sobre los nuevos estándares para vehículos eléctricos ha fina…

A 2018 study from The Electricity Journal found the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative had created a $4.7 billion net benefit for consumers and created over 40,000 jobs. (Adobe Stock)

VA Bails on Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative

Virginia's Air Pollution Control Board has voted to leave the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. RGGI is a cooperative effort among multiple …

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wetlands cover 5.5% of the 48 contiguous states, with one million acres of wetland in Virginia. (Adobe Stock)

SCOTUS Ruling Creates New Definition for Wetlands

Virginia environmental advocates are not happy with the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision on the Clean Water Act. The ruling in Sackett versus E-P-…

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has identified several locations across the state as having forever chemicals at their sites. Some are Fentress Air Base, Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach, DuPont Spruance Manufacturing in Richmond. (Adobe Stock)

EPA Issues New Guidance on ‘Forever Chemicals’

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is implementing new rules on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances known as forever chemicals. The new …

In recent years, Norfolk Southern has kept accidents on a downward trend, according to Federal Railroad Authority data. Since the derailment of freight cars carrying hazardous materials in East Palestine, Ohio, the company has been under a great deal of scrutiny. (Adobe Stock)

VA Environmentalists Disagree with DEQ’s Norfolk Southern Fine

Virginia environmentalists are frustrated by the state Department of Environmental Quality's $27,000 fine of Norfolk Southern for a 2020 train derailm…

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United States has sustained a total of 341 climate disasters where the damage was more than $1 billion since 1980. In those four decades, the cost of these events exceeds $2.475 trillion. (Adobe Stock)

UN Preparing Fund to Aid Poorer Nations Facing Climate-Change Impacts

The United Nations is reviewing details for a loss and damage fund to aid poorer countries for the harm they will suffer from climate change's effects…

The top five states for green building in 2022 were Massachusetts, Illinois, New York, California and Maryland. Each state had more than 2 million square feet of green building space become LEED certified. (Adobe Stock)

Virginia Ranks Among Top 10 States for Green Building

Virginia ranked eighth on a list of the top 10 states for green building. The report by the U.S. Green Building Council finds Virginia had 95 …

As part of the Virginia Clean Economy Act, Dominion Energy must generate all electricity from carbon free sources by 2045. (Adobe Stock)

Sierra Club VA Chapter: Lots More Work to Do in 2023

The Sierra Club's Virginia Chapter said it has spent the past year working toward climate solutions to benefit everyone in the state, and the work is …

Tribes from Alaska, Montana, and British Columbia have been adamantly opposed to pollutants flowing into a transboundary waterway between the U.S. and Canada. (Adobe Stock)

U.S. Tribal Leaders Bring Canadian Mine Waste Concerns to D.C.

Tribal leaders from the Northwestern U.S. have been in Washington, D.C., this week to discuss how waste from mines in British Columbia is threatening …

surveyed by Pew Research view climate-change policies as good for the environment. However, Americans are split on whether those policies help or harm the U.S. economy. (Adobe Stock)">

VA Environmental Group Utilizes Elder Activists' Strengths

This story is based on original reporting by Elizabeth McGowan for Energy News Network, and is part of the Solutions Journalism Network-Public News …

On his first day in office, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order to

Virginia Activists: Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Essential

As Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin pushes forward on plans to withdraw the Commonwealth from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), …

Dominion Energy has cited the Russian invasion of Ukraine and global inflation as factors contributing to the rising cost of energy. (Adobe Stock)

Virginia Customers Could See Dominion Energy Rate Hikes

Dominion Energy is proposing a rate hike, which would push up utility costs for Virginia's homes and businesses. The company has submitted several …

The Virginia Mercury reports the Mountain Valley Pipeline's current price tag stands at $6.2 billion, up from its initial cost estimate of $3.7 billion. (Adobe Stock)

Advocate: Mountain Valley Pipeline Far From Complete

Construction on the 300-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline is more than 90% complete, according to the project's developers. But environmental advocates …

President Joe Biden's infrastructure bill, expected to come to a vote Sept. 30, includes measures to help the nation switch to renewable energy. (Adobe Stock)

Virginia Business Leaders Urge Congress to Pass Infrastructure Bill

RICHMOND, Va. -- Business leaders are urging Congress to take action to curb climate change by supporting the Biden administration's Build Back …

A new poll finds fewer than four in 10 Caucasian adults are aware that both Latino and Black communities face more pollution than does the general population. (Adobe stock)

Poll: Many Caucasians Unaware of Unequal Burden of Pollution

RICHMOND, Va. -- While high pollution often is found in Black and Brown communities, a new poll shows many white Americans aren't aware of this gap…

Climate change has caused sea level rise and excessive flooding in recent years in parts of Virginia, including the Norfolk area. (U.S. Navy)

House Climate Plan to Address Environmental Injustice

RICHMOND, Va. - House Democrats in Congress have released a new plan that says the United States should reach a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas …

Lawyers opposing the Atlantic Coast Pipeline crossing the Appalachian Trail say it will cut a path the width of a four-lane highway across the scenic route. (Wikimedia Commons)

SCOTUS Hears Challenge to Atlantic Coast Gas Pipeline

RICHMOND, Va. -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday suggested it is unlikely to block the Atlantic Coast natural gas pipeline from running under a …

The White House moved on Thursday to remove penalties for companies whose activities accidentally kill birds, including for oil spills. (Wikimedia)

Feds Could Make Life Tougher for Feathered Friends

RICHMOND, Va. - Conservation groups say they'll fight the Trump administration's move to revise the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The Interior …

The Trump administration's new water rules loosens pollution regulations for streams and wetlands, which flow into large bodies of water such as Chesapeake Bay. (Wikimedia)

New Trump Water Rules Set Back Chesapeake Bay Cleanup

RICHMOND, Va. -- The Trump administration announced last week that it will remove millions of miles of streams and roughly half the country's …

The federal government has ordered more protections for Virginia's menhaden fish population. (NOAA)

New Fishing Decision Called Environmental Victory for Chesapeake Bay

RICHMOND, Va. -- Last week, the U.S. Department of Commerce ordered Virginia's menhaden fishery in the Chesapeake Bay, the largest on the East Coast…

An image of mountaintop removal on Black Mountain in Virginia. According to the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee, countries with mountaintop-removal mines have a more than 40 percent higher rate of birth defects. (David Hoffman/Flickr)

New Congress Reviewing Cancellation of Strip-Mine Health Study

RICHMOND, Va. — The new Democratic leadership in Congress is investigating why the Department of the Interior stopped a major study of the …

Local officials claim environmental justice and climate change are the new civil rights issues of our day. (Public Domain Pictures)

Officials Celebrate MLK Day by Pushing for Environmental Change

RICHMOND, Va. – On Tuesday next week, civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr. will be honored on his 90th birthday. In Virginia, local …

$The 600-mile-long pipeline would would carry fracked gas from West Virginia into Virginia and North Carolina, with three compressor stations along the route. (Atlantic Coast Pipeline)$

Citizen Panel to Vote on Pipeline through African-American Community

BUCKINGHAM, Va. — After a winter storm delayed a closely watched vote on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, the issue will be back before a citizens' …

The Clean Power Plan is projected to save thousands of lives a year by reducing asthma and other respiratory illnesses. (Pixibay)

Clean Power Plan Rollback Has Health Consequences

RICHMOND, Va. - Doctors are warning that the Trump administration's intent to roll back the Clean Power Plan will mean more respiratory illness…

One hundred days in, environmental groups say some of President Trump's policies could be a serious threat to human health. (White House Photographer)

Environment and Health After 100 Days of Trump

RICHMOND, Va. -- Three months into President Trump's term, conservationists say his administration is in the process of dismantling important …

For women working on conservation issues in Virginia, such as Giles Harnsberger, left, current challenges are turning into opportunities for growth. (Groundwork RVA)

Women in Virginia Conservation Say Their Challenges Mean Growth

RICHMOND, Va. - Women working in Virginia on conservation issues say they sometimes struggle to be heard - but the way their younger peers are …

The falling cost of solar and wind is changing the energy picture in the developing world. (Sierra Club)

Solar, Wind Grow Quickly in Developing Countries

RICHMOND, Va. – Renewable energy is growing fast in poor countries, and in a change from a few years ago, demand for coal is stalled or falling…

A new poll shows addressing climate change is a critical issue for Latino voters in Virginia. (Sierra Club)

Latino Voters Strongly Favor Climate Action

RICHMOND, Va. – As a growing population in Virginia, the voice of Latino voters is becoming more powerful, and a new survey finds a strong …

Critics say the agency that regulates natural gas pipelines - like those proposed for West Virginia and Virginia - has a bias in favor of gas industry. (Dominion Pipeline Monitoring Coalition)

Federal Pipeline Agency Criticized for Being Too Close to Industry

RICHMOND, Va. — A spate of proposed gas pipeline projects have drawn sharp criticism from advocates who say the federal permitting agency has a …

Utilities in southern coastal states are cleaning up some of the many coal ash ponds left from decades of power generation. (Google)

Coal-Ash Cleanup Progressing in Other SE States

RICHMOND, Va. -As Congress debates the issue, utilities and communities in southeastern states, not including Virginia, are moving ahead with clean …

An EPA investigation into the use of pesticides near a California high school took 12 years to resolve. (Mr_Write/morguefile)

EPA's Handling of Environmental Discrimination Cases Criticized

RICHMOND, Va. - Despite more than 300 complaints that local environmental regulations have been discriminatory toward minority communities, the …

A new homesteading law for Appalachia could help bring agriculture and hope to the coalfields. (M. Ahmed - National Forest Service)

Appalachian Homestead Act – Could The Land Bring Hope to SW Virginia?

RICHMOND, Va. - Could homesteading, giving people free land for agricultural and other uses, bring some hope to southwest Virginia? Jim Branscome …

Critics say the federal agency with the power to allow pipeline construction is oriented not to take into account the concerns of people along the route. (Dominion Pipeline Monitoring Coalition)

Critics Charge FERC Biased Against Local Pipeline Opponents

RICHMOND, Va. - The federal agency that approves or denies gas pipelines is oriented against the concerns of landowners and communities, according to …

An audit commissioned by Reynolds American identifies instances of minors working in unsafe conditions on contracted tobacco farms in Virginia. (Marcus Bleasdale for Human Rights Watch)

Report: Children Working in VA Tobacco Fields

RICHMOND, Va. - Children are working in Virginia's tobacco fields and some in hazardous conditions. That's one of the findings of an audit …

Coastal flooding is one of the issues moving a coalition of 50 separate Virginia groups to press for climate action. (NOAA)

Broad VA Coalition Pushing Climate Action

RICHMOND, Va. - A broad coalition is pushing Gov. Terry McAuliffe to speed the state's transition away from fossil fuels and interestingly, it's not …

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VA: Environmental Justice