CHARLESTON, W.Va. - As a result of a lawsuit over water pollution from mining, a tract of land that once housed surface mines is being repurposed as a public recreation area for West Virginians.

The Mammoth Preserve in Kanawha County will offer mountain biking, hiking trails and other amenities. A coalition of environmental groups sued the Alpha Natural Resources mining company more than 10 years ago over selenium discharge that contaminated nearby waters.

Cindy Rank is the chair of the mining committee at the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, one of the groups involved in the court case. She said Alpha agreed to transfer the land to correct the pollution problems.

"I just hope that people see these as positive outcomes of what are normally seen as negative actions, like taking people to court or even suing them," said Rank. "And sometimes there are good things that come out."

The 5,000-acre plot of land is part of the old Cannelton mines and is being developed by the West Virginia Land Trust and the Appalachian Headwaters. The Trust will manage the preserve for wildlife habitat, water protection and recreation access.

Rank said the preserve represents a new approach to restoring land polluted by former coal mines. She pointed out that in the past, mines would be abandoned and the land left deserted without a way for new growth to return.

Now the Trust will dig up the area and plant new vegetation.

"This is returning pre-mined land to some of the healthier hardwood forests that have existed in that area before," said Rank. "And in turn, that improvement in the reclamation also improves the drainage, and that helps the water and the streams in the area."

Rank said the site will be a boost for the local tourism industry. In the future, she said, West Virginians in the area won't have to drive for hours to hike and bike and enjoy nature.

Chemical plants in West Virginia and other states will be required to curb emissions of toxic, cancer causing pollutants - such as ethylene oxide, chloroprene and other chemicals - under a new Environmental Protection Agency rule.

Hundreds of facilities, most located near low-income or communities of color, will also have to collect air pollution data and submit it to the EPA.

The data will also be made available to communities, which Jeremy Symons - a senior advisor with the Environmental Protection Network - said is an important tool for transparency and environmental justice.

"Not only will this action by EPA reduce these dangerous toxic air pollutants by 96%," said Symons, "but they're also going to require chemical plants to install fenceline air-pollution monitors."

Research has shown that long-term exposure to ethylene oxide and chloroprene can increase the risk of certain types of cancer, such as lymphoma, leukemia, breast cancer and liver cancer.

Children are particularly at risk.

The Biden administration says the rule will slash more than 6,200 tons of toxic air pollution each year in affected regions.

Symons, a former EPA advisor, said the rules come after years of work by local community members and environmental organizations that have sounded the alarm on the impact of deadly air pollution.

"There's been especially high cancer rates in these communities," said Symons. "So it's really significant that EPA has taken action and gone into the communities that have not been protected as much as they should be in the past."

A handful of companies in West Virginia - including Chemours, Koppers and Altivia - will have to comply with the new rules.

Investigative reporting published in 2021 by Mountain State Spotlight and ProPublica have revealed how toxic chemical pollution has harmed the state's majority Black communities.

People working for environmental justice are rallying today at the downtown Pittsburgh headquarters of U.S. Steel, voicing their concerns to company shareholders about creating a healthier future in the Monongahela Valley region.

Japan's Nippon Steel is buying U.S. Steel for more than $14 billion.

Duquesne Mayor Nickole Nesby, an environmental-justice organizer with the group 412Justice, said the asthma rate in the Mon Valley is four to five times higher than the national average. She pointed out they're being left out of important conversations about the sale and are urging better health protections.

"We are actually gathering to demand a seat at the table," she said. "We -- the communities which have been impacted by the pollutants for decades -- have not had a seat at the table. Our voice needs to be heard."

U.S. Steel has had a presence in the Mon Valley since 1901 and currently employs more than 3,000 workers. Nesby said the sale isn't supposed to affect local employment, as U.S. Steel has said it will keep the contract as it currently exists.

U.S. Steel's Mon Valley Works, which includes the Clairton Coke Works, is the biggest coke plant in the country.

NaTisha Washington, communications manager for the Breathe Project, said the plants have a long history of breaking air-quality rules and facing complaints. She added that the plants keep getting fined for exceeding pollution limits - and even have trouble getting new permits.

"There is no transparency with the communities about these air quality days being bad," she said. "No protections, no resources like air filters, or anything that's supporting residents that are affected by these bad-air days."

Washington added that money is being put into a clean-air fund and a Community Benefit Trust. But there has been no visible improvement to community health so far. She noted many Mon Valley residents are feeling the impacts of either poor air or water quality.

Environmental organizations in Virginia have united in opposition to Gov. Glenn Youngkin's picks for the state Environmental Justice Council.

In the last two years, the council has been short several members, unable to reach a quorum or conduct official votes. But critics point out that most of the new appointees have strong ties to the fossil-fuel industries that cause environmental harm.

Tim Cywinski, communications director for the Sierra Club's Virginia chapter, said there's no upside to the new appointments.

"People who are tied to the fossil-fuel industry are not going to be helpful in initiatives that are meant to reduce pollution and improve public health, to make sure that people aren't affected by toxic air from polluting projects, toxic water from polluting projects," he said.

The groups also have said new appointees don't meet certain background requirements to be on the council. They've signed a letter asking the General Assembly to reject the appointees. Instead, Cywinski suggested, Youngkin should appoint the people whose terms expired. He noted that their backgrounds are better suited to recognizing the social and environmental challenges facing some communities.

Projects are already underway in areas sensitive to environmental issues. In Petersburg, a methane pipeline extension and compressor station are being proposed despite the concerns listed in an Environmental Impact Statement. Petersburg already ranks as the "least healthy" place in Virginia.

Cywinski said it's distressing Youngkin hasn't taken up policies protecting these areas.

"I wish we didn't have to have environmental-justice projects," he said. "I wish there was more humanity in the development and planning of energy plants or power plants, or infrastructure projects - but there are not."

Pipeline projects can cause damage to surrounding forests, which means losing valuable water and air filtration. In addition, methane leaks are already common. Based on current environmental impacts, Petersburg residents have a lifespan about a decade lower than the national average.