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West Virginia Delegate Evan Hansen advocates for infrastructure and budget legislation that include significant funding to support transition priorities and economic development in coal communities.

Analysis by the Associated Press indicates that $11.3 billion in funding to clean up abandoned mine lands could help rehabilitate and restore thousands of sites that pollute rivers and streams in coal communities.

WVPB’s "Inside Appalachia" program explores the economic and health impacts of coal, the industry’s past and future, and tells the story of a woman working in the male-dominated industry.

The Appalachian Regional Commission’s investments coupled with state programs are key to spurring economic development in rural areas of New York, according to Governor Kathy Hochul.

While noting there are some “risks,” the U.S. Treasury’s climate counselor labels programs designed to accelerate the closure of coal plants as essential to tackling climate concerns, emphasizing new investments to close plants in developing countries.

The executive director of the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority in West Virginia discusses the potential of new economic development pathways for coal country in the context of increased federal investments in the region.

As federal leaders increase funding for coal communities, many of Wyoming’s eligible areas lack the resources and expertise needed to access it.

In the program’s largest funding announcement to date, the agency funded 57 projects in Appalachian coal communities through the Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative.

Despite an epidemic of black lung disease and thousands of abandoned mine lands, funding for federal programs that help address these problems is at risk.

Among other results, the poll found that “90% of statewide respondents and 95% of coal country respondents could identify the benefits of shifting focus from the traditional energy industry in West Virginia towards clean energy production.”