Tag: coal fields

Changing The Legislative Auditor’s Office And The Fall Of AppHarvest, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, the demise of eastern Kentucky’s AppHarvest and bills changing the Legislative Auditor’s Office.

On this West Virginia Morning, eastern Kentucky’s AppHarvest was called the future of farming and a way to bring new jobs to coal country. But as Inside Appalachia’s Mason Adams explores, the company fell nearly as fast as it rose and filed for bankruptcy last year.

Also in this show, in our most recent episode of The Legislature Today, bills in both the House and the Senate would change the way the legislative auditor operates. Randy Yohe spoke with Del. Mike Pushkin and House Speaker Roger Hanshaw about the office, which has long been a watchdog of the executive branch of government, making sure that money is spent properly.

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.

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

New Research Explores Thriving Plants On Former Coal Lands, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, thousands of acres of land across West Virginia and surrounding states are covered in coal mines where not much grows. But some new research is looking at a plant that thrives in that environment.

On this West Virginia Morning, a WVU researcher is studying a plant that can help restore surface mine properties by creating missing topsoil and capturing carbon out of the air and storing it underground. The above ground plants can also be used as biomass which can be turned into biofuels or even particle board.

News Director Eric Douglas spoke with Jennifer Kane, a postdoctoral student in plant and soil sciences from the WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design. Kane is studying the plant Miscanthus. She grew up in Raleigh County and has first-hand knowledge of the abandoned mine lands she is looking to improve.

Also, in this show, an entire city in Jefferson County, Kentucky is slated to disappear, thanks to a relatively new law in the state. But few know the city of Poplar Hills even exists. WFPL’s Justin Hicks reports the city government went defunct years ago and now the state is trying to get rid of these so-called “ghost cities.”

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 Concord University and Shepherd University.

Eric Douglas is our news director and 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

New State Commission To Connect Federal Dollars With Coalfield Communities

We’ve heard for years about help to revitalize struggling coalfield communities. One bill’s passage may be a grant writer’s godsend.

House BIll 4479 could be a big help for small towns and is heading to the governor’s desk.

Del. Mark Dean, R-Mingo, explained how the Coalfield Communities Grant Facilitation Commission will work. Dean said using a portion of the state’s allotment of the federal infrastructure funding, the bill addresses one of small town governments’ biggest needs: grant writing, then finding matching grant funds.

“This commission is going to facilitate those matching funds,” Dean said. “Also, they’re going to provide a lot of technical assistance for people who are applying for grants.”

Del. Ed Evans, D-McDowell, said trained grant writers are hard to come by.

“It’s generally the mayor and maybe one or two people that work in the city hall that wind up writing these grants,” Evans said. “So now we’ve got professionals that will be able to add that technical assistance.”

Forty one of West Virginia’s 55 counties have towns that qualify for the grant funding. Under HB4479, coalfield grant funds are earmarked for promoting recreation and history, retraining coal miners, improving telecommunications, and most importantly, infrastructure.

“We’ve got people coming in all over West Virginia, especially southern West Virginia for trail riding. It’s become one of the great industries for West Virginia,” Evans said. “Well, the first thing they see is these torn down or falling down or burned down buildings that just need to be abated.”

Dean explained the funding mechanism to be allocated at the governor’s discretion.

“The funding is going to be starting in July from infrastructure money that comes down from the federal government,” Dean said. “A lot of it is going to be put in this fund.”

How much money? Evans is hoping for $250 million to start.

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