Appalachian Communities Health Emergency Act (or the ACHE Act) - Fall

Advisor: Kathleen Callahan 

This project analyzes the scientific and public health foundations of the Appalachian Communities Health Emergency (ACHE) Act, which proposes a moratorium on new mountaintop removal mining permits pending a comprehensive federal health assessment. Mountaintop removal mining—prevalent in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee—uses explosives to expose coal seams, generating particulate matter, heavy metals, and chemical contaminants through blasting, valley fills, and slurry disposal. While environmental degradation from this practice has long been documented, recent epidemiological research suggests elevated rates of cancer, respiratory illness, and cardiovascular disease in surrounding communities. The Act seeks to determine whether a definitive causal relationship exists between mining exposure and adverse health outcomes, controlling for confounding socioeconomic variables such as poverty and limited healthcare access.

The team’s implementation design proposes a National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)-led health risk assessment supported by continuous environmental monitoring and a structured performance management system. The program includes organizational design, staffing, timeline, and a projected first-year cost of approximately $17 million. Success indicators include baseline health data collection, contaminant monitoring, exposure pathway analysis, and long-term epidemiological tracking. The report concludes that the ACHE Act is grounded in precautionary public health science and would strengthen regulatory accountability under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. However, political resistance and economic dependence on coal mining present implementation challenges. If executed rigorously, the Act could clarify the public health implications of mountaintop removal and inform future federal land-use and environmental health policy.

Learn more about the MPA-ESP Workshop in Applied Earth Systems Management.