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West Virginians Are On the Hook to Pay DOE for Short-Sighted Projects with Big Health Impacts
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Following two postponements, the West Virginia Department of Commerce has informed Sierra Club’s West Virginia Chapter that there are “no non-exempt records” responsive to the Club’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request pertaining to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) plans to loan local utilities $1.44 billion to fund refurbishment projects at six unnamed West Virginia coal-fired power plants.
The DOE and Governor Patrick Morrisey first announced the $1.44 billion in coal refurbishment projects as part of a larger $4.2 billion suite of fossil-fuel expansions in November 2025. The projects are intended to extend the lives of the six coal plants up to 20 years. However, regardless of how long the coal plants manage to continue operating, payments on the low-interest DOE loans will be passed on to West Virginians’ electric bills for decades.
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According to the West Virginia Department of Commerce, “certain public records within the scope” of the Sierra Club’s FOIA request are, “exempt from disclosure.” In the January FOIA filing, Sierra Club requested a detailed list of the six plants set to receive loans, as well as information on the cost and the specific upgrades proposed at each plant.
In addition to funding the projects, West Virginians will also shoulder the public health impacts. According to a Sierra Club study, West Virginia’s in-state coal plants currently account for hundreds of expensive hospital visits and 20 West Virginian deaths annually. West Virginia’s coal plants also account for 335 out-of-state deaths annually.
“West Virginians are being kept in the dark,” said Bill Price, Sierra Club West Virginia Chapter Chair. “Our local state agencies, tasked with serving the public interest, are expecting the public to repay billions of dollars in loans — blindfolded. No honest lender operates this way. No reasonable borrower would accept it. So why ask us to go along with the Governor’s deal without any details? In this time of increasing energy costs and high bills, people need to know where their money is going. We will continue to seek the answers and transparency West Virginians deserve.”
“West Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act states quite clearly, ‘The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments of government they have created.’ Before the State loads down West Virginia citizens with over a billion dollars in loans, they should at least tell us what this is for, what we have to pay back, and who profits from these loans,” added Jim Kotcon, Conservation Chair for Sierra Club West Virginia.
About the Sierra Club
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The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person’s right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.
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CHELYAN, W.Va. — A West Virginia Turnpike worker was injured Saturday after falling out of a tollbooth that was hit by a truck.
State police said it happened Saturday morning at about 9:16 when a truck carrying steel I beams, driven by Cameron Huntington, 28, of Colorado hit a southbound tollbooth near Chelyan.
John Terry, 61, of Gallagher, was working the tollbooth and fell out the window after contact from an I beam caused the booth to rock.
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The tollbooth fell to the right striking a vehicle in the next lane.
Troopers said there were no serious injuries.
Huntington was ticketed for failure to maintain control of his truck.
PENNSBORO, W.Va (WDTV) – Racing enthusiasts around the state had the chance to see vintage race cars and motorcycles at the annual West Virginia Racing Heritage Festival Saturday.
The festival teaches attendants about West Virginia’s history in dirt track racing with both cars and motorcycles.
The festival was held at Pennsboro Speedway, which opened in 1887 and hosted some of the nation’s top racing talent on its tracks.
“We’ve got so many national champions here,” WV Racing Heritage Festival President Ashley Ness said. “This racetrack has seen all these national champions. We’ve had the best in the United States, including Australia and New Zealand, come here and race at Pennsboro Speedway. It’s time to get them all back again.”
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Racing legends who come from the Mountain State attended the festival to speak about their experience on the tracks.
One panel included six women who competed in flat-track motorcycle racing at a time when it was mostly dominated by men.
“We have six of the lady flat-track racers that were pioneers in the 60s and 70s,” Ness said. “It’s so important to get this documented, and that’s what the Heritage Festival is all about, documenting the history of dirt track racing, whether it be motorcycles or race cars.”
Vintage cars and motorcycles also got back in action with a parade lap on the tracks of Pennsboro Speedway.
The festival began in 2015 and will continue next year on June 5.
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Editor’s note: The video for this story will be added once it airs. Please check back for the updated video.
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