This week's broadcast of Mountain Stage is a special episode featuring songs that represent the four seasons of the year. You'll hear live performances by Doc Watson, Bruce Hornsby, Susan Werner, Molly Tuttle, Taj Mahal, Norah Jones and many more.
President Trump Signs Bill Dismantling Stream Protections
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While surrounded by coal-state lawmakers and coal miners, President Trump signed a bill this week that rolls back an environmental rule designed to protect streams from coal mining debris.
Miners wearing hard hats and overalls stood with politicians in suits during the bill signing at the Whitehouse. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, thanked the president for supporting the coal industry.
“The last eight years brought a depression to eastern Kentucky,” McConnell said. “And our folks are so excited to have a pro-coal president and we thank you so much for being on our side.”
West Virginia’s democratic senator Joe Manchin said coal miners there represent the economy and the environment, and a balance must be struck.
West Virginia’s republican senator Shelley Moore-Capito was also there. Afterwards in a release she said the President Trump “signaled an end to years of overregulation targeting the coal industry and vital jobs in West Virginia.”
The signed bill dismantles a Department of Interior regulation finalized just days before Trump took office.
The U.S. Department of Commerce has granted West Virginia $1.2 billion for affordable broadband services. More than 300,000 West Virginia households were underserved by broadband in 2023.
The power plant rules align with changes that have been happening in the sector in the past decade. Electric utilities have moved sharply away from coal, largely switching to natural gas.
In Pineville, West Virginia, a town of 500, residents filled up the front rows of the county courtroom recently. They came to hear the latest legal update on a battle some have been fighting for generations - securing clean water. Bobby Lee Keen and his wife Patsy attended the hearing. “How come they have people living like they're in a third world country in the United States of America?” asked Bobby Keen.
Two deer tested positive for chronic wasting disease in Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, marking the disease's first documented occurrence in the park.