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Policy makers are taking steps to invest in coal communities as the country enacts new policies to address climate change. In this analysis, we focused on the Advanced Energy Manufacturing, or 48C, tax credit. According to our analysis, 48C tax credits would result in significant benefits to West Virginia, including thousands of jobs in manufacturing and other sectors.
We worked with the Northern Brownfields Assistance Center to help attract new business, lodging, and recreational opportunities to riverfront main streets in Grafton, West Virginia and other rural communities by redeveloping industrial legacy sites.
Downstream conducted a review of short and long-term ambient air sampling studies published by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) for the Marcellus shale region during 2010 and 2018, as well as a health consultation review of the study results by the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PADOH), in cooperation with the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry (ATSDR).
This Economic Restructuring Plan evaluates the current economic climate in Richlands, explores local market data on the surrounding area, and outlines strategies that will help Richlands and its downtown create a stronger business environment, target new investment, and position itself as a destination within the greater region.
Benchmarking is the process of measuring and then comparing a building’s energy performance against itself, modeled buildings, or comparable buildings, thereby allowing building owners to identify savings. In this report, we introduce local governments to benchmarking concepts, tools, and approaches to manage expenses while detailing the local economic benefits and job creation potential of energy efficiency programs.
We explored several areas of community infrastructure that will be critical to supporting growth in the greater Thomas area and examined how brownfield redevelopment can help meet community needs. The report includes a market assessment of housing and business needs, a built environment assessment, and recommendations for the City and its partners to take to accommodate future growth while making the area an even better place to live, work, and play.
With our partners, we developed the Central Appalachian Mine Reforestation Assessment tool, which uses satellite imagery and a new mathematical model to monitor and characterize the state of reclamation and the growth of trees and other vegetation on surface coal mines in Central Appalachia from 1984 to the present.
West Virginia’s residential electricity rates more than doubled between 2005 and 2022, outpacing the increases in every other state. This report documents how regulators and utilities have doubled down on aging coal-fired power plants, regulators have approved record-high cost recovery cases filed by utilities, and utilities have used non-competitive resource procurement practices.
Based on a series of facilitated planning sessions, this strategic plan documents the Charleston Green Team’s vision, operational goals, and implementation goals as it works to increase energy efficiency and climate resilience, improve transportation connections and land use, and reduce waste. It also includes a set of prioritized projects for each goal.
We updated Ravenswood’s comprehensive plan to formulate a vision that prioritizes residential development, downtown revitalization, and quality of life improvements that celebrate Ravenswood’s river-town charm. Our action plan will help the city benefit from new developments at Ravenswood’s doorstep that bring housing, land use, and infrastructure challenges to the forefront.
In anticipation of growth in Ravenswood, West Virginia, we assessed the City’s 60-year-old zoning code to advance the growth goals of its recently updated comprehensive plan. The diagnosis report is an important first step to a streamlined and user-friendly code for developers, property owners, and residents.
Downstream Strategies created a story map to complement the study, “Economic Effects of Special Protection Stream Designations in the Pocono Mountains Region,” which quantifies the economic benefits of Exceptional Value and High Quality stream designations in the Poconos region of Pennsylvania.
We produced three linked reports that comprise a marketing plan to retain and recruit outdoor recreation and lifestyle manufacturing businesses and employees to Western Maryland: a Manufacturing Business Attraction Analysis, a Tourism Business Expansion Analysis, and a Regional Strategic Plan for Business Attraction. The “Make it. In the Mountains.” marketing plan is now being implemented
On behalf of the National Park Service, The Nature Conservancy, West Virginia Land Trust, The Conservation Fund, and other entities, our team performs Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) to ensure the appropriate due diligence steps are conducted and that landowners are protected from environmental liabilities during real property transactions.
Our feasibility study explored the viability of three farmers’ market enhancements in Fauquier County, Virginia: new traditional farmers’ markets; a year-round, in-person farmers’ market; and an online farmers’ market sales platform. We conducted market research into the dynamics of farmers’ markets via surveys of local producers and county residents and interviews with key stakeholders.
This tool provides resource managers and the public with access to the extensive spatial data and results produced from multiple fish habitat assessments. Three main analytical tools—visualization, ranking, and futuring—are combined with intuitive basemaps and mapping features to allow users to explore the details of the fish habitat assessments and perform subsequent analyses.
The Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization (AMLER) Program was established in 2016 to return abandoned mine lands to productive use through economic and community development. In this report, we utilize economic impact models to estimate the economic benefits of AMLER projects.
We explored opportunities for expanding recreation-based tourism in the Grafton area. Our report includes a market analysis for recreation-based tourism, an assessment of Grafton’s existing tourism infrastructure, recommendations to help Grafton and Taylor County attract more visitors to its downtown, and an inventory and prioritization of brownfield properties for redevelopment.
We have helped counties, towns, and nonprofits secure a wide range of grant funding, including grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (brownfield), the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Appalachian Regional Commission (POWER and AMLER), and several private foundations. We also conduct comprehensive prospect research to identify grant programs that align best with a given project to ensure a high chance of success.
We designed an innovative stormwater feature at the Berkeley Springs Train Depot, which combined Chesapeake Bay best management practices with hügelkultur berms, a centuries-old agricultural method that facilitates the bioremediation process using mycelium.
We have assessed numerous coal combustion residual (CCR) disposal sites across the United States to document impacts on groundwater and surface water from landfills and surface impoundments. Our analyses have also reviewed implementation of the federal 2015 rule as well as the need for an updated rule to address legacy units. This updated rule was finalized in 2024.
We implemented a sampling and analysis program to evaluate environmental conditions on private properties impacted by deposition of airborne particulates from the explosive demolition of nearby industrial infrastructure.
Working with strategic partners across the region, we revitalize local economies by restoring degraded lands, diversifying economies, engaging communities, and developing renewable energy solutions.
For a six-county region in north-central West Virginia, we developed a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), a five-year economic plan to guide the growth of jobs, commerce, and community development. The CEDS is a strategy-driven plan guided by a diverse workgroup of local representatives and was established through local input, statistical analysis, and integration of economic development principles and practices.
For a variety of sectors and clients, we perform local economic impact assessments to quantify the increased output, employment, and labor income attributable to economic development projects or policies.
To help the Town of Marlinton, West Virginia enhance its standing as a gateway community to the Monongahela National Forest, our trail planning team created an action plan focusing on tourism infrastructure needs and marketing. The plan prepares the community for increased visitation and to contribute to the greater regional effort of achieving gold-level status for the Snowshoe Highlands Area Ride Center.
We worked with WV Rivers Coalition to publish a report analyzing inspection reports of the Mountain Valley Pipeline stream and wetland crossings in West Virginia. The report summarizes the findings of this analysis and the environmental effects on West Virginia streams and wetlands.
This report outlines innovative projects that would transform abandoned coal mine lands in West Virginia and nearby states into sites of sustainable community and economic development. As the technical advisor to the Reclaiming Appalachia Coalition, Downstream Strategies helped author this report.
We conducted a series of analyses of the groundwater and surface water impacts of natural gas pipelines in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, with a primary focus on erosion and sedimentation.
Many federal agencies and grant-issuing organizations require Environmental Assessments (EAs) for potential projects prior to the release of funds. We have completed EAs for a wide range of clients, including recipients of Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization (AMLER) grants.
Downstream Strategies helped remediate West Virginia properties impacted by heavy metal contamination during implementation of the Perrine DuPont settlement. Project tasks included providing technical recommendations for the design and oversight of a soil and interior dust sampling program, presenting at public meetings, and providing expert testimony in a courtroom setting.
During 2023 and 2024, Downstream Strategies, along with the WVU Land Use and Sustainable Development Law Clinic, designed and facilitated a process to deliver a comprehensive plan to continue Huntington’s success as America’s Best Community and to guide decision-making. With a robust community engagement plan, we incorporated the community’s core values, developed planning principles, and laid out an action plan to achieve Huntington’s vision for the next ten years.
This report examines implementation of the POWER Initiative, which assists communities hurt by declines in coal mining and coal-fired electricity generation. The lessons learned through this retrospective analysis can be used to guide current and future federal policymaking to revitalize the economies of coal communities.
Recreation and tourism investments in Central West Virginia have centered around the establishment of the Elk River Trail System. To maximize its economic development power, communities must implement intentional strategies to accommodate an increased number of visitors. This report identifies strategies that would cost just over $4 million, but that could result in $250 million in new sales activity over the next 15 years in four Elk River Trail Towns.
We provided technical assistance to community groups in Kentucky as part of the Reclaiming Appalachia Mini-Grant Program. Community priorities range from securing clean drinking water to diversifying local economies that have historically depended almost solely on coal mining. We are creating renderings for these projects and estimating their local economic benefits to lay the groundwork for successful grant proposals.
We work at the forefront of regional trail network development in West Virginia. Since 2019, we have partnered with Friends of the Cheat to spearhead efforts to develop the Mountaineer Trail Network and its governing body, the Mountaineer Trail Network Recreation Authority, from a concept into reality.
We performed economic impact analyses for the closure of coal ash sites in Kentucky and Ohio. Our results were included in a broader report documenting how cleaning up coal ash sites can create jobs and improve the environment.
We have provided private, commercial, and municipal clients with West Virginia Licensed Remediation Specialist (LRS) services under the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s risk-based Voluntary Remediation Program. This work has included risk assessments, site characterizations, environmental sampling, remedial action work planning, and site closures.
This report helps Smithers and Montgomery prepare to take advantage of new market opportunities in the outdoor economy. We identified businesses, services, and other amenities that will be needed to attract trail visitors to Montgomery and Smithers and offered guidance on jumpstarting the creation of targeted tourism-sector businesses. The report features detailed startup scenarios for two business opportunities, as well as a detailed checklist to guide local leaders in launching their nascent tourism economy.
We have assisted many West Virginia municipalities with source water protection and planning, including small communities and larger cities such as Wheeling and Morgantown. We worked extensively with Morgantown Utility Board on their source water protection and planning initiatives since 2014.
We conducted a feasibility study, developed the business plan, secured grant funding, and implemented the Sprouting Farms project. Sprouting Farms Appalachian Croft and Training Center is a nonprofit farm and education and resource center located in Summers County, West Virginia. It is dedicated to supporting new farmers, modeling sustainable production techniques, and providing shared resources and educational opportunities.
At numerous sites across West Virginia, our team has designed and installed stream and wetland restoration projects using principles of natural stream design and wetland science. Our projects have restored miles of streams, improved instream and riparian habitat, reconnected floodplains, and improved opportunities for fishing, hiking, hunting, and wildlife viewing.
We performed research and analysis to estimate future drinking water and wastewater/stormwater capital and operations and maintenance needs and spending. We then calculated spending gaps for the nation’s water infrastructure and, with our partners, estimated the economic impacts should the federal government fail to reinvest in key infrastructure projects.
Downstream Strategies helped the City of Thomas, West Virginia secure Brownfields Assessment and Cleanup grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. We then worked with partners to perform a dozen Phase I Environmental Site Assessments and four Phase II Environmental Site Assessments to allow for the redevelopment of properties with known or potential contamination.
We highlighted opportunities and marketing strategies to help Richwood capitalize on mountain bike tourism. The report included a profile of the mountain bike user group; an overview of existing trail resources in Richwood, nearby mountain biking destinations, and upcoming opportunities to expand mountain biking in the region; recommendations to help business owners market to mountain bikers; and examples of other rural communities that have used mountain biking to spur local economic development.
Our team supported a local community organization by developing a water quantity and quality monitoring program to establish pre-mining conditions and to help document long-term trends in a karst region of West Virginia.
Only a handful of West Virginia cities and counties have adopted and enforce the most recent energy codes, which reduce energy use with requirements related to heating and air conditioning systems, ventilation, insulation, windows, and lighting. In this report, we document how energy codes promote good building practices, safeguard the health of occupants and buildings, and can save West Virginians thousands of dollars.
In this report, we compare the current trajectory of West Virginia’s electric utilities—estimated to maintain 84% coal-fired generation in 2035—against an alternative future that includes more energy efficiency, solar energy, and wind energy. We document several of the benefits that a diversified energy portfolio would bring to ratepayers, workers, and the West Virginia economy.