In The News

The act - S. 1111 - was introduced in Senate on 30 March by Senators Shelley Moore Capito, ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, Tom Carper and Sheldon Whitehouse, with co-sponsors including John Barrasso, Cory Booker, Mike Crapo, Lindsey Graham, Martin Heinrich, Mark Kelly and Jim Risch. The act would empower the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to lead in international forums to develop regulations for advanced nuclear reactors, as well as... Read More

The Biden administration is proposing to tighten standards for pollution coming from coal-fired power plants. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Tuesday that it is proposing to strengthen restrictions under the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for the first time in more than a decade.  The agency said it will update limits for pollutants, including lead, nickel and arsenic, by 67 percent for all coal power plants. Exposure to these substances raises the risk of... Read More

The EPA proposed a new rule today seeking to tighten regulations on coal-fired power plants and mercury pollution, building on the Biden administration's effort to crack down on pollution from industry, power generation, and other sectors. EPA described the proposed rulemaking as the most significant update to date to the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) since its introduction in 2012. The proposed rule seeks a further 67% emissions reduction limit for “filterable particulate... Read More

Biden administration officials are ramping up regulations on coal, seeking stronger limits on mercury and other toxic air pollutants from power plants as part of a wider attempt to crackdown on pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. On Wednesday, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed the most stringent update on limits to mercury from smokestacks since the Obama administration first issued Mercury and Air Toxics Standards in 2012. The agency said it expects it will reduce by more than... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency is tightening rules that limit emissions of mercury and other harmful pollutants from coal-fired power plants, updating standards imposed more than a decade ago. The rules proposed Wednesday would lower emissions of mercury and other toxic pollutants that can harm brain development of young children and contribute to heart attacks and other health problems in adults. The move follows a legal finding by EPA in February that regulating... Read More

BLUEFIELD — When state lawmakers eliminated funding in 2017 for the King Coal Highway Authority and its executive director, some in the region worried that there would be no one to actively promote and facilitate the construction of the long-delayed Interstate 73 corridor in southern West Virginia. Today, as construction on a $58 million contract connecting the King Coal Highway with Airport Road inches closer toward completion, no additional state or federal funding is in place to ensure... Read More

A bipartisan bill in the U.S. Senate, led by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., would push forward the use of nuclear energy. Called the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act of 2023, the bill would, among other things, develop and deploy new nuclear technologies and preserve existing nuclear energy. “America can and should be a leader when it comes to deploying nuclear energy technologies, and this bipartisan legislation puts us on a path... Read More

HUNTINGTON — A new welcome center for Huntington is being developed after federal funding was secured by U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., both members of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Manchin and Capito secured $1.75 million to build the new Appalachian Heartland Welcome Center at the interchange of Interstate 64 and W.Va. 152 at Exit 8 in Huntington. Jennifer Dooley, spokesperson for the West Virginia Department of Transportation’s Public... Read More

HINTON, W.Va. (WVDN) – Community members, senators, city officials and more gathered at 105 Grace Street in Hinton to celebrate the groundbreaking for the Batteau Beach at Hinton Landing project. Two U.S. senators, Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin, both of whom supported this project, were present. Not long ago, the city of Hinton announced that Manchin had aided officials in securing $500,000 through Congressionally Directed Spending. These funds were earmarked for the Hinton... Read More

HINTON, W.Va. — Hinton Mayor Jack Scott gets a gleam in his eye when he starts talking about the prospects for his small town’s riverfront. Hinton sits on the New River only a short distance from the Bluestone Dam. The town’s proximity to the New, Greenbrier, and Bluestone Rivers along with Bluestone Lake makes it an ideal draw for what Scott calls a “natural water park.” “We want to promote kayaking and access to the river. We’ll have a bathhouse and... Read More

SANDSTONE, W.Va. — When the idea of creating a National Park in West Virginia in the New River Gorge was first floated, there was considerable pushback from West Virginia hunters. Hunting is not allowed as an activity on any designated National Park. U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito who spearheaded the idea heard the message loud and clear, particularly at a public hearing at Tamarack. “We had public hearings and we heard everybody and the hunting community came out forcefully,... Read More

GHENT, WV (WVNS) — United States Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) introduced the One Stop For Small Business Licensing Act last week. According to Capito, this bill is designed to require the US Small Business Administration to create a centralized website that includes necessary licensing such as federal, state and local licensing, as well as business permit information that is needed to open small businesses. It’s supposed to help make it easier for... Read More

MORGANTOWN — In 2022, the state Legislature lifted the ban on construction of nuclear power plants. Part of the motivation was finding ways to repurpose coal-fired plants that have been or will be shuttered — to keep the power flowing and keep people working. Now, that idea is working its way through the U.S. Senate. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito and two Democratic colleagues are leading a bipartisan group to advance the ADVANCE Act: Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear... Read More

SANDSTONE — The Conservation Fund and the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) Monday announced the addition of 963 acres to the preserve portion of New River Gorge National Park and Preserve near Sandstone. The added acreage, which is poised to significantly increase the amount of public land available for hunting and outdoor recreation activities while yielding a variety of other public benefits, is in an area commonly known as Irish Mountain. According to a press release from The... Read More

Meadow Bridge — Overlooking the New River in Raleigh County, Irish Mountain was an outdoor playground for years for James Word and his family. Word’s father and one of his uncles went in together to purchase 963 acres of property on the mountain in the 1970s. Growing up, Word and his cousin hunted deer and grouse in the dense forest and fished the plentiful waters. “My parents and an uncle bought the property. They were going to split it up and sell it, but they just never... Read More

Meadow Bridge — Overlooking the New River in Raleigh County, Irish Mountain was an outdoor playground for years for James Word and his family. Word’s father and one of his uncles went in together to purchase 963 acres of property on the mountain in the 1970s. Growing up, Word and his cousin hunted deer and grouse in the dense forest and fished the plentiful waters. “My parents and an uncle bought the property. They were going to split it up and sell it, but they just never... Read More

CAPITO AND CARPER LEAD NEW BIPARTISAN NUCLEAR BILL: A bipartisan group of senators announced a new bill this morning that would facilitate more U.S. nuclear energy diplomacy around the world and seek to cut down on regulatory hurdles at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that slow the licensing of new reactors. The bill, led by Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, Tom Carper, and Sheldon Whitehouse, would establish a joint initiative involving the Commerce Department and Energy... Read More

Appalachia’s ever-present and ever-evolving opioid epidemic has a new cutting agent on the block: xylazine, a sedative medication meant for veterinary use, that is now being mixed into illicit supplies of opioids and fentanyl. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration recently issued an alert warning of a “sharp increase in the trafficking of fentanyl mixed with xylazine,” which is also known as “tranq” or “tranq dope.” In January of this... Read More

CHARLESTON, W.Va — Charleston Mayor Amy Goodwin told WCHS’s 580 Live Monday morning that planning is still underway for a major infrastructure project that will transform the city. The Charleston Capital Connector Project will convert a 3.5 mile stretch of the Kanawha Boulevard along the riverfront, and better connect Greenbrier Street to the community. Goodwin joined U.S Senators Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito over a year ago to announce the $1.75 million RAISE... Read More

The revised definition of the Waters of the United States rule took effect on March 20. These include all waters which are subject to the ebb and flow of the tide. But some say this new revision has flaws and is not good for the development of farmlands and private lands. "It pulls a whole lot of private land under the jurisdiction of the federal regulator,” West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said. Capito was involved in the vote to overturn WOTUS and said those problems start with... Read More