Name of Host Organization: Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment

City, State: Lewisburg, West Virginia

Issue area: Environmental Justice

Sponsor: Friends & Family of Philip M Stern

THE INSPIRATION

Before law school I worked with nonprofit community groups in West Virginia. While it was rewarding, I lacked tools to address complicated issues. Residents of coalfield communities complained of environmental harms affecting daily life. Near Whitesville, people spoke of having to wash their windows every day to clean off dust from coal trucks, some showed me structural damage from coal blasting, and others drank only bottled water for fear of contaminated wells. I attended law school to make a bigger difference.

My project addresses two elements of surface coal production which perpetuate poverty in the coalfields of Appalachia. First are effects on human health and safety, which make life difficult and dissuade alternative forms of development. Residents commonly endure fouled drinking water, property damage from blasting, and a threat of coal dam failure. Threatening economic viability are reclamation rules which allow mining operations to leave the land scarred and incapable of supporting future industry.