Abandoned Coal Mine Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

An Experimental Orchard And Larry Groce Has Our Song Of The Week, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, an experimental apple orchard in the state is helping to fight pollution, improve food scarcity and some hope even heal veterans. Briana Heaney has the story.

On this West Virginia Morning, an experimental apple orchard in the state is helping to fight pollution, improve food scarcity and some hope even heal veterans. Briana Heaney has the story.

Also, in this show, our Mountain Stage Song of the Week comes to us from co-founder, artistic director and former host of Mountain Stage, Larry Groce. Groce is joined by the Mountain Stage House Band in this 1991 performance of “Turn! Turn! Turn!”

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.

Our Appalachia Health News project is made possible with support from Marshall Health.

West Virginia Morning is produced with help from Bill Lynch, Briana Heaney, Chris Schulz, Curtis Tate, Emily Rice, Eric Douglas, Jack Walker, Liz McCormick, and Randy Yohe.

Eric Douglas is our news director. Chris Schulz produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

W.Va. Receives $30 Million To Revitalize Coal Communities

This year, nearly $30 million in federal funding will go toward projects that revitalize West Virginia’s coalfield communities and repurpose abandoned mine lands across the state.

In an effort to repurpose abandoned mine lands, state officials have granted millions of dollars in federal funding to community development projects on former West Virginia coalfields.

The funding was secured in the latest round of the Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization (AMLER) Program. Since 2016, the program has provided federal dollars to community and economic development projects that rehabilitate coalfields, as well as the towns surrounding them.

West Virginia has hundreds of abandoned coal mining sites, with an estimated 173,000 acres of land across the state abandoned before 1977 alone.

For 2024, West Virginia was granted just under $30 million through the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), which oversees the program.

This year’s funding marks the most West Virginia has received since 2016, the first year of the program.

With OSMRE’s final approval still pending, West Virginia officials said that this year’s funding would be divided between 10 different economic development initiatives across the state.

Projects selected for funding by state officials this year include a cattle processing facility in Brooke County, a sports park in Marion County and a heritage center in Ohio County.

Announced Thursday, the following projects were tapped for AMLER funding this year by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, the West Virginia Department of Commerce, the West Virginia Department of Transportation and the Governor’s Office:

Chief Logan Resort and Recreation Center, Logan County: $6,800,000
West Virginia Farm Foods, Brooke County: $4,000,000
City of Thomas Water Improvement Project, Tucker County: $3,000,000
Cleanwater RU2 Process Project, Kanawha County: $2,950,000
Ashland Resort Tourism Park, McDowell County: $2,993,500
Liberty Station Lodge & Tavern, Mercer County: $2,421,968
Opal Smith Highwall and Roanoke Center Expansion, Lewis County: $2,406,739
Gravity Adventure Park, Kanawha County: $2,163,954
Wheeling Heritage Center, Ohio County: $2,011,172
Baxter VFD Sports Park, Marion County: $600,000

Abandoned Mine Land Development Grants Available In W.Va.

Federal funding is available for economic development projects along abandoned mine lands in West Virginia.

The state Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Abandoned Mine Lands and Reclamation is taking applications for part of $35 million in grant funding for such projects.

The DEP says projects must be located on or near mine sites that stopped operations before the 1977 signing of the Surface Mine Control and Reclamation Act.

A map of such known sites is available on the DEP’s website along with the grant application and other resources. Completed applications are due by June 20.

Projects must be approved by the U.S. Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement. A state advisory committee is responsible for determining project eligibility and advancing recommended projects to the federal level, the DEP said.

Authorities Arrest 4 Who Entered West Virginia Coal Mine

Authorities in West Virginia say they’ve arrested the four people who entered an idle coal mine earlier this month.

Kayla Williams and Erica Treadway surrendered to authorities Wednesday on charges including entering without breaking. Authorities say they entered the inactive Rock House Powellton Mine along with Eddie Williams Jr. and Cody Beverly.

Eddie Williams left the mine two days later, and authorities later rescued the other three. Eddie Williams and Beverly surrendered to authorities Friday on similar charges.

A criminal complaint filed in Raleigh County Magistrate Court says the four entered the mine to steal copper wire. Beverly has told The Register-Herald that their lights went out shortly after entering the mine and chaos ensued, prompting Eddie Williams to leave in search of help.