OVEC's mission is to organize and maintain a diverse grassroots organization dedicated to the improvement and preservation of the environment through education, grassroots organizing and coalition building, leadership development and media outreach. We are a non-profit group.

OVEC formed in 1987. To fulfill our mission, over the years we have tackled numerous issues. To learn about some of our successes, click here (links to history section of our original website).  Our work encompasses much of West Virginia and portions of southern Ohio and eastern Kentucky.

Our current major work focuses on:

• Ending Mountaintop Removal / Valley Fill Strip Mining
• Ending water Contamination from Coal Slurry Injection and the Danger of Coal Slurry Impoundments
• Improving the Enforcement of Mining Laws
• Establishing the Clean Elections System of Campaign Financing in West Virginia

Other COAL-related issues include:

• Exposing the Dirty Facts about Coal-to-liquid
• Energy Policy
• Overweight Coal Trucks
• "Clean" Coal
• Flooding near MTR sites and Logging Operations
• Power Plants and Pollution
• Watch-dogging Government Regulatory Agencies
• Acid Mine Drainage
• Abandoned Mine Lands and Bonding Issues

Other issues:

• Alternative Energy and Sustainable Development
• Dioxin