Causes: Crime & Law, Legal Services

Mission: The appalachian citizens law center is a nonprofit law firm that fights for justice in the coal fields by representing miners and their families on issues of black lung and mine safety and by working with grassroots groups to protect the land and people from misuse.

Programs: Black lung representation. In 2014, aclc continued to represent many individual miners and widows on claims for benefits due to black lung disease. These cases are time-consuming and often involve questions of science and medical expert reports and depositions.

environmental protection. In 2014, aclc continued litigation challenging the army corp's of engineers issuance of general permits that routinely allow filling headwater streams with mining debris, as well as individual permits for valley fills. In addition, we represented several central appalachian individuals and families who live very close to active mines and are regularly exposed to high levels of dust, whose water supply has been lost or polluted and whose homes have been broken from nearby blasting or mining directly underneath. Aclc also works with other environmental protection organizations to stop ne large-scale surface mine permits in particularly sensitive areas.

unsafe mine conditions. In 2014, aclc represented several miners who were disciplined or terminated for reporting dangerous mine safety conditions.