Podcasts about reclaim act

What political issues currently affect West Virginia citizens?In Segment 1, Gary Zuckett, Executive Director of the West Virginia Citizen Action Group, talks about key political issues that affect citizens of the Mountain State, including the Reclaim Act, For the People Act, and Medicare.For more information, you can visit the official WV Citizen Action Group website.The new common COVID-19 variant in WVIn Segment 2, Dr. Clay Marsh, the COVID-19 Czar in West Virginia, discusses the latest coronavirus news in the Mountain State, such as how the United Kingdom variant of COVID-19 is becoming the most common variant of the United States and in West Virginia.According to Marsh, The U.K. variant is 50% more infectious and lethal, along with a higher chance for children to get it, which is the state’s focus on vaccinations have switched toward getting them vaccinated.Getting ready for COVID-19 vaccinations for 12-to-15 year-oldsIn Segment 3, Dr. Ayne Amjad, West Virginia Public Health Officer, talks about the Joint Inter-Agency Task Force (JIATF) and how they are getting ready for the anticipated announcement that 12-to-15-year-olds can now receive the COVID-19 vaccine.Amjad says with the United Kingdom variant of COVID-19, it’s more important to have kids vaccinated now, and the availability to get the vaccine will also expand to middle schools.What you need to know about medical cannabis in West VirginiaIn Segment 4, Rusty Williams, a patient advocate on the WV Medical Cannabis Advisory Board, discusses how the Department of Health and Human Resources has opened applications for patients to receive a medical cannabis I.D. card, which is needed to purchase medical marijuana. Patients who qualify to receive an I.D. card must have one of these conditions: CancerAmyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)Parkinson’s DiseaseNeurological problemsChronic pain

(Credit: Vivian Stockman and Southwings) A brief history of the deforestation of Appalachia and efforts now underway to return abandoned mine lands to something approximating their original state. Surface mining in Appalachia has replaced approximately one million acres of eastern deciduous forest, one of the most diverse and valuable forests in the world, with primarily non-native grasses and shrubs. We get the details of legislation now before Congress to renew the Abandoned Mine Lands trust fund to continue financing reforestation. And, there was a time when Kentucky Spring Lamb was sought nationwide. Now, a vision to revive this once thriving mountain industry in concert with the return of forests.   Interviews in order of appearance. Click on name to listen:   Kathryn Newfont - We asked the near-impossible of Dr. Newfont, a professor of Appalachian and Environmental History at the University of Kentucky: begin the hour by giving us the history of the deforestation of Appalachian Kentucky in no more than 12-minutes. She did it!   Rebecca Shelton - Director of Policy & Organizing at Appalachian Citizens Law Center in Whitesburg, Ky. discusses the bi-partisan legislation before Congress that would renew the Abandoned Mine Lands trust fund, and the associated RECLAIM Act.   Michael French - Director of Operations, Green Forests Work, a non-profit establish to reforest Appalachia. More than 187 million trees have been planted on about 275,000 acres of former mines, an area more than six times the size of the District of Columbia.   Patrick Angel - Retired from a lengthy career as a soil scientist in the Interior Department’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Dr. Angel now leads the South East Kentucky Sheep Producers Association. He discusses a vision of reviving a once-thriving sheep industry in Eastern Kentucky.   Kathryn Newfont and Patrick Angel figure prominently in a February 13, 2020 Washington Post article by Lexington native Gabriel Popkin about the deforestation and efforts to reforest the surface mine sites in Eastern Kentucky. Popkin made an appearance on Eastern Standard soon after the article was published.

This show features Rep. Matt Cartwright and Rep. Glenn Thompson, both from Pennsylvania coal mining districts, introducing the RECLAIM Act and legislation to reauthorize the Abandoned Mine Lands Fund at a March 10 Press Conference. Sponsors describe these bills as bipartisan, and state they could create 13,000 jobs immediately, while helping to ensure coal country is a part of the economic recovery. Following that, members of the RECLAIM Working Group describe the dire need for this legislation and the impact it could have in the Appalachian coalfields, including stories of reclamation projects that are already putting people to work and creating new businesses.

Hugh Hewitt talks with Senator Ted Cruz about many of the things that President Trump has brought the Republican Party, what the dire consequences will be if Joe Biden gains the presidency, and what the RECLAIM Act will do to protect the country.

Join CCL's Vice President of Government Affairs Dr. Danny Richter for a training that reviews the updates and context for CCL's 2020 Primary and Supporting Asks as well as guidance for lobby teams as they plan their virtual June 2020 meetings. Skip ahead to the following section(s):Congressional Context (2:05)Primary Asks (6:46)RECLAIM Act (10:55)Energy Innovation & Carbon Dividend Act (16:20)Supporting Asks (23:13) More Information:Presentation Slides: http://cclusa.org/2020-asks-review CCL Community’s Lobby Forums: http://cclusa.org/lobby-forums Primary Asks: https://community.citizensclimate.org/resources/item/19/237 Supporting Asks: https://community.citizensclimate.org/resources/item/19/240 Danny's Q&A Discussion: https://youtu.be/Vx38Iprwnfk

Most folks living in central Appalachia would agree that we need to create a new economy to counter the coal industry’s decline. But the question becomes how? Coalfields residents came together several years ago to propose the RECLAIM Act, federal legislation that would more rapidly release money from the $2.5 billion Abandoned Mine Lands Trust Fund for regional reclamation and redevelopment projects. In this story we hear from Eric Dixon, policy coordinator at Appalachian Citizens Law Center, and Adam Wells who directs Appalachian Voices’ New Economy Program from Norton VA. Both helped write a report that shares concrete examples and ideas for projects in four Appalachian states that could create new economic opportunities using AML pilot project funds and those from the RECLAIM Act if it is passed by Congress.

In this episode we bring you stories about Benham, KY’s recent re-launch of an energy efficiency program “Benham Saves"; the Hemphill Community Center & Black Sheep Bakery's June 21, 2019 celebration of their brand new solar panels! And updates about Central Appalachian organizing around the RECLAIM Act - proposed federal legislation that would more rapidly release funding from the 2.5 billion dollar Abandoned Mine Lands Trust Fund for regional reclamation & redevelopment projects.

Over the past 6 years residents of coal-impacted communities and supporters across the country have urged Congress to pass the RECLAIM Act. which would invest $1 billion on an accelerated clean up of land and water harmed by abandoned mines, and provide a catalyst for economic development on those sites. This report includes Congressional testimony in support of the RECLAIM Act from Eric Dixon, Appalachian Citizens' Law Center in Kentucky, and Pennsylvania Rep. Matt Cartwright just prior to the bill's reintroduction in the U.S. House of Representatives on April 9, 2019.

"Many Voices, Many Solutions: Innovative Mine Reclamation in Central Appalachia" is a new report that highlights 20 projects across five Appalachian states that would create new economic opportunities in areas with abandoned mine lands. These case studies and similar efforts could be funded by the Abandoned Mine Land Pilot Program, and if passed by Congress, the RECLAIM ACT. Together they have the potential to jump start a "New Deal" in Appalachia. In this episode of WMMT's Mountain Talk two of the report organizers, Eric Dixon from Appalachian Citizens Law Center in Whitesburg KY and Adam Wells with Appalachian Voices' New Economy program in southwestern Virginia, describe the ways in which Abandoned Mine Lands funds could be used for innovative and sustainable development in the region. Also featured are projects in VA, KY and WV that are case studies in the report as examples of innovative reclamation and economic development opportunities.

Citizens from six states traveled to Washington D.C. in late November 2018, to urge their legislators to uphold the fees supporting the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, and to pass the Reclaim Act. One in 5 miners in our region have Black Lung, and that rate has doubled in the past decade. And yet, as rates of the disease rapidly increase, the Trust Fund that provides benefits and health care is under threat. This Mountain Talk episode features the DC press conference with miners and their families, as well as an interview with retired east Kentucky miner Kenny Fleming and organizer Eric Dixon from Appalachian Citizens' Law Center.

The Black Lung Disability Trust Fund is set to expire on December 31st, 2018. The fund provides crucial support for miners suffering from the disease, as well as widows who have lost their husbands to the disease. In late November a group of citizens from across the country, including right here in eastern KY, traveled to Washington D.C. to urge their representatives to uphold the Trust Fund and to support the Reclaim Act. The trip was put together by organizations across the country, including the Appalachian Citizens Law Center. In this episode we'll hear audio of the press conference itself, and interviews with one of the retired miners who attended, Kenny Fleming, and one of the organizers, Eric Dixon of the ACLC.

Little by little, Philadelphia is building a 750-mile regional trail system. As the Circuit Trails Coalition celebrates spring with new trail openings, we get to know one of the many small groups that are accomplishing big things by working together. Plus: an update on the federal RECLAIM Act, Three Mile Island anniversary, and the latest bald eagle news from across the Commonwealth.

Millions of dollars from the federal Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund could soon reach Pennsylvania, if Congress approves the bipartisan RECLAIM Act this year. The legislation is about to be reintroduced, and its backers are excited about the prospect of funding for reclamation projects throughout coal country. Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds director John Dawes explains why in this week's episode.