Energy & Environment

Much of the state is under a Winter Weather Advisory Thursday as snow is expected to move into the region throughout the day. 

The Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect until 6 a.m. Friday, as parts of the state will see 2-4 inches of snow. 

A butterfly sanctuary is under construction at Huntington's Kinetic Park.

Huntington Municipal Development Authority executive director Tom Bell tells The Herald-Dispatch that 400 milkweeds and three varieties of perennials have been planted in the lower part of the park along Fourpole Creek.

A proposed natural gas pipeline that would cross West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina would have adverse environmental impacts, but most could be avoided, minimized or mitigated, according to an analysis federal regulators released this week.

A National Weather Service meteorologist called it a "1-in-1,000-year" storm. By the time it was over, 23 West Virginians were dead.

Flooding that ravaged the state in late June was voted the No. 1 news story in 2016 in West Virginia by Associated Press member newspapers and broadcasters.

State and federal agencies are calling for a more complete assessment of the environmental impact of a proposed natural gas pipeline that would run through Virginia.

The Roanoke Times reported Friday that Virginia's Department of Environmental Quality weighed in on the draft environmental impact statement for the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline, which would transport natural gas from West Virginia to another pipeline in Pittsylvania County.

West Virginia conservation officials say several remediation projects at or adjacent to old mine sites have received approvals to start spending federal grants.

The Obama administration on Monday set final rules designed to reduce the environmental impact of coal mining on the nation's streams, a long-anticipated move that met quick resistance from Republicans who vowed to overturn it under President-elect Donald Trump.

Officials are trumpeting the return of an elk herd to West Virginia for the first time since 1875.

West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and officials from the state Division of Natural Resources are set to introduce the elk on Monday in Logan County.

Appalachian Power says its website has a new interactive map to simplify how customers can get details about outages.

The company says in a statement that the new mapping tool at www.appalachianpower.com makes it easier to research or report power outages.

The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy says incomes in the resource-rich state continue to lag behind the nation, faulting in part a "trickle-down" approach to state economic policy that puts more power and money in the hands of a wealthy few.

According to the center, West Virginia has historically been one of the poorest states, a trend continuing in 2015 with per capita personal income of $37,047 that was nearly $11,000 below the national average.

A Catholic Charities social services building serving residents of West Virginia and Ohio is installing solar panels in response to Pope Francis' call for caring for the environment.

A small city in southern West Virginia is telling residents not to drink tap water because of possible contamination.

The city of Gary issued the warning Friday evening, saying there's a possible introduction of "coal refuse" into the city's raw well water source.