In lawsuits targeting the coal operator Arch, residents contend that mining activity has disrupted their lives and emitted a gas that threatens their safety and the planet.
West Virginia is at an impasse over how much to run some of its largest coal-fired power plants, with implications for carbon emissions and the future of coal in the eastern United States.
West Virginia regulators accuse American Electric Power of driving up costs with skimpy use of its coal plants. Others say the high costs of those aging plants are a growing burden to citizens in one of the nation's poorest states.
The move to exclude financial institutions from state business is part of a growing effort by Republican officials to shut out companies that are backing away from fossil fuels.
