News

By Steven Allen Adams for The Intelligencer

MORGANTOWN — With steam coal being replaced by natural gas and renewables, and a slowdown in metallurgical coal mining for steelmaking, a researcher at West Virginia University sees another use for the state’s coal mines.

West Virginia University, a leader in energy research and innovation, is repositioning the institutes within its Research Office to best meet industry-wide transitions.

The Energy Institute will transform into the WVU Institute for Sustainability and Energy Research, effective July 1, 2023, with Sam Taylor as its director. Taylor will build the new Institute on the foundation of the Energy Institute laid by James Wood.

Jack Walker, WV Public Broadcasting

Coal mining can expose minerals like pyrite to oxygen from rainwater and the air. In turn, this pyrite creates sulfuric acid — a toxin to aquatic wildlife that frequently enters water runoff.

David Beard, The Dominion Post

MORGANTOWN – The new Richard Mine acid mine drainage treatment plant began operation last week, and on Monday, officials from the U.S. Department of Interior and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement toured the site in advance of a special DOI announcement (see companion story).

WHAT: West Virginia University will co-host the 2024 Mine Drainage Task Force Symposium and 15th International Mine Water Association Congress, bringing together mining, water and reclamation experts from around the world who will provide the latest updates on research, regulations and practices involving mine drainage, water quality and rare earth element extraction. 

WHEN: April 21-April 26

Published in Montana Free Press on April 10, 2024

Rare earth elements are used in a broad range of high-tech devices ranging from electric vehicles and computer hard drives to components of fighter jets, missiles and drones used by the Department of Defense.

West Virginia University scholars will join other water restoration experts to provide the latest updates on regulations and practices during a joint conference hosted by WVU, the West Virginia Mine Drainage Task Force, and the International Mine Water Association.

The event will be held April 21-26, 2024 in Morgantown at the Morgantown Marriott at Waterfront Place.

The risks of living near drilling pads are well documented. Radioactive fracking waste processed at off-site landfills extends those concerns to other communities.  

Strange things have been happening around Rostraver. One of Jack Kruell’s neighbors died of Ewing sarcoma. Another, Kruell said, is ill and “on the way out.” Overnight, the plants in his backyard died and sometimes when he mows his lawn, a silvery dust floats through the air. 

Private support from the Colcom Foundation for West Virginia University and the West Virginia Water Research Institute is providing $3.5 million in financial resources to help bolster environmental sustainability and water research efforts at WVU and throughout the region.

The Colcom Foundation, a longtime benefactor of the WVU School of Medicine, is based in Pittsburgh, and focuses on enacting positive environmental change with a focus on aquatic, riparian and terrestrial habitats. Now, the organization is providing additional funds for the West Virginia Water Research Institute that will add a new element to Three Rivers Quest, a water quality monitoring and reporting program supported by Colcom Foundation for more than a decade with upwards of $3.3 million in grant funding.

First published in the 2023 Buckhannon River Watershed Association Newsletter.