"What's my connection?" is a project of iLoveMountains.org, an online resource and action center produced by a collaboration of local, state, and regional organizations across Appalachia that are working together to end mountaintop removal and create a prosperous future for the region. In addition, a number of regional and national partner organizations have provided crucial support in the release and promotion of "What's My Connection." Collaborators on "What's My Connection" include:

The "What's My Connection?" feature was built from a variety of data sources that were compiled by Appalachian Voices between September and November of 2007. Connection results are based on all coal purchases by coal-based electricity providers between 2002 and 2006.

Specific sources of data for the "What's My Connection?" feature are listed below.

1. Coal purchases by individual coal-fired power plants:

   • Monthly FERC-423 forms that regulated utilities are required to supply to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, obtained from the Energy Information Administration in October, 2007.

   • Monthly EIA-423 forms that non-regulated electricity providers are required to supply to the Energy Information Administration, also obtained from the Energy Information Administration in October, 2007.

   • Gaps and errors in the database of EIA-423 and FERC-423 data were corrected by interns and staff at Appalachian Voices and with the help of outside consultants.

2. Location, ownership, and power control areas of coal-fired power plants:

   • The eGRID2006 Version 2.1 database obtained from the Environmental Protection Agency in April, 2007.

3. Location and ownership of coal mines:

   • Database of all US coal mines supplied to Appalachian Voices by the Mine Safety and Health Administration in September, 2007.

4. Association of zip codes with electric service providers:

   • Zip code-based database of utility boundaries purchased from InteliMap, inc. by Appalachian Voices in October, 2007.

5. Latitude and longitude of zip code centroid locations:

   • ZIPList5 Geocode table obtained from www.zipinfo.com in October, 2007.

6. Determination of mine types (i.e., mountaintop removal mines):

   • Comprehensive map of Appalachian mountaintop removal mine sites based on satellite imagery from 1976, 1985, 1995 and 2005, produced by Skytruth for Appalachian Voices in October, 2007. Landsat satellite images were purchased from the US Geologic Survey (USGS), and 1:100,000 scale digital elevation models of pre-1976 terrain were also provided by the USGS. Click here to see the detailed methodology of this study.