Our Stories

The Latest by Neil Gormley

Senior Attorney

After serving in the Peace Corps in El Salvador and now working in the Washington, D.C. office, Neil Gormley is dedicated to representing vulnerable communities who can’t escape the horrors of dirty fossil fuels.

Sunrise in the Great Smokey Mountains, Tennessee.
October 27, 2015

Obama’s Last Chance to Save the Appalachian Mountains?

By Neil Gormley  /  Washington, D.C. Office

The Stream Protection Rule will decide how much we protect mountains and streams from mountaintop removal mining.

The Evergreen Community Power Plant (located at bottom center in the above image) is a small power plant that emits toxic chemicals, including lead and mercury. But the nearby community may not even know it's there because the facility avoids public discl
September 3, 2014

Right to Know Reader: Cancer-Causing Power Plants Might Be Closer Than You Think

By Neil Gormley  /  Washington, D.C. Office

Congress long ago recognized that we must deal with the cumulative risk from smaller polluters. In 1990, Congress passed amendments to the Clean Air Act directing EPA to reduce the cancer risk from these sources by at least 75 percent. Since the announcement of this goal, the EPA hasn’t done so well, and a recently released regulation demonstrates why.

January 24, 2014

Victory in Leeco Mines Case

By Neil Gormley  /  Policy and Legislation Team

Appeals court rejects company’s request for premature mining

Satellite imagery of the massive Hobet mine, taken in 2013.
January 3, 2013

The Poverty of Mountaintop Removal Mining

By Neil Gormley  /  Policy and Legislation Team & Washington, D.C. Office

Associate Attorney Neil Gormley took a trip to West Virginia to visit partners and clients and to see the effects of mountaintop removal mining first-hand. As he explains, his visit prompted questions about the relationship between this destructive practice and regional poverty.