West Virginia coal miners and advocates spoke out this week in support of new silica dust exposure standards at a public hearing held in Beckley.

Sam Petsonk, a labor and employment law attorney, said miners inhale fine silica dust when cutting into rock, and noted he has represented miners in their 30s and 40s with advanced black lung disease and progressive massive fibrosis.

He contended the condition has become more common over the past few decades, largely due to lack of worker protections, and added while the new standards are an improvement, there is little oversight or enforcement written into the proposed rule.

"Although this rule purports to lower the exposure limit, it does not require coal mine operators to conduct routine sampling, and it does not set forth any monetary penalty for violating the dust limit," Petsonk outlined. "It also does not require miners to be removed from dusty areas."

The proposed rule would require operators to limit miners' exposure to respirable crystalline silica to levels at or below 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air for a full eight-hour shift exposure. Anyone can submit public comments online at the federal rule making portal, through Sept. 11.

Gary Hairston, president of the National Black Lung Association, said he hopes the rule will lead to further protections for miners.

"We've been trying for years to try to get something done, but it always depends who's in office," Hairston acknowledged. "I believe if we don't get nothing done within the next two years, then we may get nothing done."

Willie Dodson, central Appalachian field coordinator for the group Appalachian Voices, argued without strict enforcement of the rule, miners will be forced to work in high dust areas and told to wear respirators, contributing to more cases of black lung.

"It's unfair to put the onus on individual workers, and respirators just won't work," Dodson asserted. "Any miner will tell you that it's not practical to wear respirators in the mines and get your job done."

Research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows modern-day coal miners are at greater risk of respiratory disease than their predecessors, likely driven by the silica coal mine dust inhalation.

Sometimes called the original "ecosystem engineers," beavers and the techniques they use are guiding conservationists in New Mexico to protect scarce water resources.

Defenders of Wildlife is working with a team to install human-made "beaver dam analogs" along two tributaries of the Upper Rio Grande.

Peggy Darr, New Mexico representative for the advocacy group, said like beaver dams, analogs cause water to pond, allowing surrounding soils to soak up moisture during high flows, which restores habitat and encourages beavers to move in.

"The reason that we want to have as many beavers as the systems can hold is because they help keep rivers running year-round, they help to mitigate fire hazards, they help make water cleaner, they also help to reduce damage from flash flooding," Darr outlined.

A recent survey by the group showed a much higher concentration of beaver dams in the northern part of New Mexico, highlighting a need for targeted conservation in less populated regions.

In the Southwest, many perennial rivers now run dry during parts of the year, discouraging the growth of trees, providing a food source for beavers and the wood they use to build their dams. Darr noted the restoration work includes community and tribal outreach about the importance of a nonlethal beaver/human coexistence.

"If you rip out a beaver dam, beavers can rebuild it overnight sometimes, so you'll spend the rest of your life ripping out beaver dams," Darr pointed out. "And if you kill the beavers, it's like putting up a vacancy sign for another beaver pair, and eventually other beavers will move in."

Massive eradication of beavers began in the 1800s, leading to river and stream degradation in New Mexico and across the nation, often made worse by climate change. Darr emphasized conservation tools and public awareness can be beneficial.

"Beavers do millions of dollars of work for free," Darr stressed. "Beaver coexistence and beaver restoration, and just beavers in general, have become high priority for conservation, especially across the West."

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, or CAFOs, are banned from the Buffalo National River watershed.

That's after the Arkansas Legislative Council issued a moratorium, outlawing large-scale swine operations on land surrounding the river.

Gordon Watkins, president of the Buffalo River Watershed Alliance, said it's good news for them - but he said he's concerned about other bodies of water around the state that don't have the same protection.

"We've got lots of high-quality recreational streams in the state that deserve to be protected, but our by-laws restrict us to working within the Buffalo River Watershed," said Watkins. "While we would support changes to the regulation, we can't legally take up the leadership role."

Members of the alliance had been fighting for the moratorium since 2013 when C&H Hog Farm opened in the watershed.

Legislators recently passed Act 921, which allows farms to operate anywhere in the state. The Buffalo River is exempt from the legislation.

C&H Hog Farm shut down in 2020, after pressure from environmentalists who said waste from the operation was contaminating surrounding land and water.

Watkins said changes to state rules, such as not contacting local leaders when a company submits an application for a liquid animal waste permit, could impact other rivers and streams.

"Other places in the state are not going to have public notice," said Watkins, "and they're not going to have access to critical information to be able to see if a facility is being built next to them or to see if it's operating properly over time. So, those are our big concerns."

He urged Arkansans to monitor the actions of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Environmental Quality.

"Be vigilant, pay attention and push for better transparency," said Watkins. "To push the ag department to at least put up a listserv. If they had a listserv where people could sign up for it and they could be guaranteed that they would receive a notice every time an application came up. "

The Arkansas Farm Bureau and the Arkansas Cattlemen's Association argue the moratoriums are government overreach.





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As outdoor recreation picks up for summer, a clean-water advocacy group reminds people that some fish around Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River are not safe to eat due to high levels of pollutants.

The "do not eat" advisory spans about a mile from the dam upriver to Ruckle Creek.

The area was used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for chemical storage and waste disposal for decades, starting in the 1930s.

As a result, resident fish there contain some of the highest levels of the cancer-causing chemicals known as PCBs in the country.

Kate Murphy, senior community organizer with Columbia Riverkeeper, said the Army Corps of Engineers hasn't prioritized the cleanup.

"It's taken a lot of outside pressure," said Murphy, "from the Confederated Bands and Tribes of Yakama Nation and other tribes, as well as environmental groups like Columbia Riverkeeper, to get this site listed as a Superfund site."

Murphy explains migratory fish - like salmon, steelhead, and shad - are still safe to eat from the area because they're not feeding in the polluted water all year.

The species that are not safe to eat include carp, bass, sturgeon and several others. Murphy said the Oregon Health Authority website has more details.

Part of the problem, said Murphy, is that there isn't enough data yet to know how to make a thorough cleanup.

She said now that the area has been designated a Superfund site, the Environmental Protection Agency will oversee the Army Corps' efforts.

"We are pushing for a thorough investigation of the nature and extent of the contamination," said Murphy, "to make sure that it's done right and that people then can feel confident fishing and recreating in this area."

Murphy said it is important that the agencies involved know people care about the issue.

She added there is a petition -- online at ColumbiaRiverKeeper.org -- they can sign to demand a swift and thorough cleanup of the site.

"People really deserve clean water and healthy fish that they can safely feed to their families," said Murphy. "And the toxic legacy at Bonneville Dam must be addressed."