Just Think - News Archive

In spite of impassioned comments at public meetings from those who have been adversely affected by the process of mountaintop removal, the Bush administration has remained steadfast in its commitment to the energy industry by changing one of the provisions of the Clean Water Act of 1977. The administration's rule change redefines the meaning of the word "fill" to exclude debris from mountain-top. The administration maintains that such material is not waste and therefore, should be excluded. The Clean Water Act prohibits the depositing of fill onto waterways.

Special Report
Almost level: Appalachia's anguished cries against mountain-top removal
By Al Vick
Online Journal Contributing Writer

March 10, 2004—During the early-morning hours of July 19, 2002, an intense thunderstorm struck the tiny community of Winding Shoals Hollow, in Logan County, West Virginia. The storm, during a three-hour period, produced a total rainfall of over three inches which fell relentlessly upon the Appalachian landscape. Suddenly, rain-saturated chunks of giant-valley fill at Bandmill Coal Corporation, a subsidiary of Massey Energy, broke away from the fill and crashed into one of the company's sediment ponds below.

The falling debris quickly filled the sediment pond causing it to overflow sending a tidal wave of contaminated, sediment-laden water running through the community. Two homes were completely destroyed, 10 others damaged, and eight to 10 vehicles were swept downstream. Some area residents reported barely escaping with their lives.

Coal companies in West Virginia are required by law to keep such sediment ponds cleaned out. The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) had recently written up Massey Energy for failing to perform such maintenance on their Bandmill pond in a timely manner. The DEP could have shut down shut down that company's operations completely, but failed to do so.

In early May of the same year, severe flooding hit parts of southwest Virginia, eastern Kentucky, and southern West Virginia for the second time in 10 months. On May 7, it was reported that some 500 people in one community were stranded and trapped because debris from the adjoining mountains had fallen down onto roads, making them impassable to even four-wheel drive vehicles. Some of these same residents were without food for several days until travel once again became possible.

In the area around Coalwood and Caretta, West Virginia, houses which had been built on the sides of mountains were destroyed or damaged. Unrestricted logging, often for the benefit of coal companies, had taken place on many of these hills. Pine trees, which had been felled in swaths so that coveted hardwoods could be reached, were washed downhill with rocks and boulders; these plummeting into the mountainside homes. Members of one family escaped the flooding and falling debris only to lose their lives when mud and muck tumbled onto the road they were traveling on, burying them in their pickup truck. In the same area, 11 of 15 schools were left unsuitable for use by the flooding and one community's entire downtown area was declared to be "destroyed;" all of this in McDowell County, the poorest of West Virginia's counties.

Ask just about any resident of these above mentioned Appalachian communities why they think flooding and its subsequent devastation is on the increase in their area, and they will most likely place the blame on a coal-mining process known as mountain-top removal. On their website, Appalachian Voices, an organization dedicated to protecting and restoring the ecological, economic and cultural heritage of the southern Appalachians, discusses mountain top removal (MTR)this way:

"One of the greatest environmental and human rights catastrophes in American history is underway just southwest of our nation's capital. In the coalfields of Appalachia, individuals, families, and entire communities are being driven off their land by flooding, landslides, and blasting resulting from mountaintop removal coal mining."

Mountain top removal coal mining is a relatively new type of mining which begins with the clear cutting of native hardwood forests. Then dynamite is used to blast away 800-1000 feet of mountaintop in order that the coal underneath can be reached. After the blasting has been completed the debris is bulldozed into nearby valleys, often burying pristine streams and waterways forever. One area resident, in a telephone interview, discussed a nearby stream which had been completely buried under a new mountain of debris which now stretches for 10 miles. In West Virginia alone, some 1,000 miles of valley streams have been buried under the rubble caused by mountaintop removal. Included in this rubble are concentrations of heavy metals and other toxins such as mercury; by-products of the coal-extraction process. Many of these streams run toward, and eventually feed into larger bodies of water such as the Ohio River, which serves as a drinking water supply for countless city dwellers in that region.

Residents in communities adjacent to these mining sites are forced to contend with continual blasting from these mining operations. The blasting is allowed to take place to within 300 feet of resident's homes. Further, many such operations are allowed to blast 24 hours a day. People living close to MTR operations are exposed to air pollution from dust and debris, and the continual threat of floods which have left hundreds dead and thousands homeless. Often, area homes are pelted with rock which is projected away from neighboring blasting sites and for their own safety, children often are not allowed to play outside. In these economically-depressed Appalachian communities, homes are often the only asset the people have. Yet mining operations have damaged many homes beyond repair and decreased property values up to 90 percent.

The process of removing the tops of mountains, one aspect of that which is called surface mining, has only been in existence for the past 25 years or so. In that short time however, it has quickly grown into one of the preferred methods of extraction for coal companies. By the year 2000, surface mining had grown to the point at which it was providing 65 percent of total coal production in the United States. In West Virginia surface-mined coal now exceeds one-third of the total produced by that state; up from only 10 percent 30 years ago.

Surface and MTR mining have become popular with coal-extraction and energy companies for a couple of reasons, one of these being that it is less labor intensive. But with fewer area residents being employed in the coal-mining industry, severe economic consequences have often been the result as the central and southern Appalachians have depended economically upon the coal industry for well over 100 years.

Perhaps nothing has been more instrumental in bringing about the move to surface mining than the development of new technology which is capable of dismantling mountains, carving valleys, and creating new landforms at a rate which once took Mother Nature thousands of years to bring about. One such technological innovation is a machine called the dragline. These monsters average 10 stories in height. Each is equipped with a giant scoop capable of holding some 53 cubic yards of earth at a time. The largest-known dragline in operation has been affectionately named Big John by industry proponents. This particular machine stands 20 stories tall and is capable of tearing up and holding 130 tons of material in a single scoop. With such tools of the trade, it is easy to understand just how the coal-mining industry has been able to cause such environmental devastation, with such a human cost, in so short a period of time.

Julia Bonds, the 2003 winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize succinctly describes the conditions under which many residents living in the shadow of MTR must live. In an interview with Chris Foreman, of the Astbula Star Beacon, she points out that some families sleep in full clothing because of the flooding which occurs during some heavy rains on some blocked waterways. "We have a saying in West Virginia," Bonds added, "Instead of 'almost heaven' its 'almost level.'"

In the same interview, Lenny Kohm, Conservation Director for Appalachian Voices indicated that some 400,000 acres of mountains in West Virginia alone have been flattened. Kohn went on to express his opinion that MTR is almost on a level with terrorism, given the way it places people in danger. The same process for coal extraction is now practiced in several other states as well. This includes parts of southeastern Ohio, western Virginia, eastern Kentucky, east Tennessee and western parts of North Carolina.

The price being paid in environmental desecration and human suffering caused by MTR is bad enough, but even these tragedies of themselves do not tell the entire story. According to area residents and court records, these same coal companies are constantly engaged in some very unscrupulous land grabs. This seems to be the case, not only to feed their own greed, but the American people's constant thirst for more energy as well. The method used by the coal companies to acquire more land for their ever-expanding operations is through a legal process known as "partition sales". A case currently before the West Virginia Supreme Court demonstrates just how unscrupulous land-holding companies, often subsidiaries of the coal producers, are able to force area residents off their own land for the benefit of those practicing mountain-top removal.

Leon and Lucille Miller are long-time residents of Lincoln County, West Virginia; near the community of Julian. Their homestead is situated in an especially beautiful part of that state's Appalachian landscape. Lucille's family has had ownership of this 75-acre tract of land for over 100 years. Arch Coal, Inc., with an eye toward expanding it's Hobet 21 MTR mine near Julian, has decided to move its operation farther west into Lincoln County.

Representatives from Ark Land Company, a subsidiary of Arch Coal, approached family members with an offer to buy the land. While other members of Lucille Miller's family decided to sell their shares of the 75 acre tract, Lucille and her husband Leon decided to hold on to their share, upon which the old family homestead still stands, and which they still maintain and visit on weekends. Under West Virginia law, and perhaps that in other states as well, the court is able to intervene when various shareholders of commonly held land are not able to agree upon what to do with it.

Once the Millers decided not to sell their portion of the family estate, lawyers for Ark Land Company filed suit against them in Lincoln County Circuit Court. Last summer, Circuit Judge J.M. Hoke ordered the sale of the Miller's land, and it was auctioned off to Arch Coal on the front steps of the Lincoln County Courthouse. The Millers have now appealed their case to the West Virginia Supreme Court. If they lose, Arch Coal will give them some $9,000 less than they are currently offering. Still, the Millers remain firm in their resolve to see the case through. "It's not about money," Leon Miller stated in an interview. He is adamant in his feelings that it isn't right that the coal companies can "force it to a public sale" if they can acquire even one share of commonly held land.

The Miller's family attorney, John Barrett, in an interview with the Charleston Gazette, published on September 8 of last year, expressed his opinion on partition sales this way: "Lawyers and real estate traders are stripping Americans of their ancestral land today simply by following the law . . . It is done through a court procedure that is intended to solve land disputes but is being used to pry land from people who do not want to sell." The Miller's case is expected to be heard by mid-April of this year.

In spite of impassioned comments at public meetings from those who have been adversely affected by the process of mountaintop removal, the Bush administration has remained steadfast in its commitment to the energy industry by changing one of the provisions of the Clean Water Act of 1977. The administration's rule change redefines the meaning of the word "fill" to exclude debris from mountain-top. The administration maintains that such material is not waste and therefore, should be excluded. The Clean Water Act prohibits the depositing of fill onto waterways.

To those living in the shadow of mountaintop removal operations the situation seems bleak. Still, there is some movement underway by various groups of people who intend to correct the situation. Recently, the National Campaign to End Mountain Top Removal put on a presentation of a video entitled Appalachian Treasures in Cleveland, Ohio. At the end of the showing, many attendees to that event called their congressional representative, Stephanie Tobbs-Jones to voice their concerns over the environmental and human rights travesty happening in Appalachia under the guise of energy production. Because of their concerns, Representative Jones decided to co-sponsor a piece of legislation, originally introduced by Representatives Frank Pallone of New Jersey and Christopher Shays of Connecticut, which will make its way through the House Of Representatives. The Clean Water Protection Act (H.R. 738), if passed, would make the practice of mountaintop removal illegal by clarifying the Clean Water Act of 1977 and thus nullifying the Bush administration's recent move to the contrary.

The collective voice of those in Appalachia crying out under the consequences of mountaintop removal are being heard by some in America. But if this gross injustice to our fellow Americans and the ecosystems which support them is ever to end, more caring people need to involve themselves in the struggle. A good start could be made by writing to one's congressmen and women asking them to support The Clean Water Protection Act. But in reality, we need to go even further than that. We must somehow, as a nation, come to grips with our enormous collective appetite for energy consumption. Somehow, we need to begin discerning between our energy wants and needs. It is only then that we will have the desire to develop more sustainable modes of energy use and production. If we fail in this task, the experiences of those suffering in central and southern Appalachia today, will surely become more widespread with the passage of time and will become the common experience of many more of us in the years ahead, as the drive for more energy continues to devour the very life-support systems and cultures which sustain us.