Twitter
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Delicious
Digg
Newsvine
Google
Yahoo
TechnoratiAn End To Mountaintop Removal Mining?
ABINGDON, Va. - Mountaintop removal could be ended by as early as next year, said a leader in an environmental group working to halt the destructive mining practices.
"Now there is an increasingly powerful and vocal national movement to stop mountaintop removal," said Matt Wasson, an ecologist and director of programs for Appalachian Voices. "I'm saying we're going to have it stopped by the end of next year ... the end of 2009."
"Mountaintop removal" is, to some, a controversial term. It refers to the blasting away of mountain ridges to get to the coal underneath, a process that evolved with technological advancements over the decades from traditional contour mining.
What makes this type of mining cost-effective is a valley-fill permit, which allows the overburden - dirt and rock removed to expose the coal - to be dumped into adjacent valleys.
The practice has been criticized as degrading to the environment and hazardous to nearby residents, who must endure the noise, dust and danger of blasting on the mountains above their homes, as well as flooding when stream courses are changed.
"Mountaintop removal mining is a national disgrace," said Aaron Isherwood, staff attorney for the Sierra Club. "If the American people knew what was happening in Appalachia, I feel certain that they would demand an end to this practice."
Coal producers argue that their industry is one of the nation's most regulated - and as long as they follow regulations, they should be allowed to extract the fuel that fires half of the nation's electricity generation.
Wasson pins his hopes on two distinct possibilities - a pending U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on a West Virginia court case and the election of a new U.S. president who will take office in January.
Other activists agree that both have the potential to put a stop to the issuance of new permits for mountaintop removal mining.
"I think if we get a new president, It'll be stopped, and I guess we're going to get a new president by next year," said Joe Lovett, director of the Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment.
Legal ramifications
With a long list of plaintiffs and defendants, the West Virginia lawsuit seeks to put a stop to valley-fill permits, which are issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Central to the issue is the question of whether the discard from mining should be considered waste under the 1977 Clean Water Act, which limits the release of pollutants into streams.
"I don't know what will happen in the future," Lovett said. "I can tell you we haven't had any significant permits issued since March 2007 because the court found that the federal government was illegally issuing permits at that time."
When a federal court in West Virginia issued an order rescinding permits in question, the permits were sent back to the Corps. The Corps of Engineers contested the ruling in the Richmond appellate court. The case also includes an issue related to sediment discharge.
Lovett said three different decisions on valley fills have been overturned by the 4th Circuit since 2000, "but we're much more optimistic this time."
He said if the appeals court upholds the decision, the federal government, which he said loosened its regulations during the current administration, would have to completely change its permitting processes.
"How can they approve the filling of hundreds and a couple thousand miles of mountain streams in this region and say that's not significantly degrading the water?" Lovett said. "All I can say is the Corps hasn't been doing its job up until now."
He said in addition to the West Virginia case, which will also affect Virginia, legal action also is under way in Kentucky, and the proposed Ison Rock Ridge mining permit in Wise County, Va., is being watched closely as it moves through the regulatory process, as is the court ruling expected soon in a lawsuit over logging on the site.
Andrew Ames, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice's Environment and Natural Resources Division, said the four permits remanded back to the Corps were not stopped; they were just sent back for review.
"I wouldn't be able to comment on what we think the 4th Circuit's going to rule, but that appeal and those four individual permits do not affect the Army Corps' ability to issue further individual permits, and they have been doing that," Ames said. "The plaintiffs again have filed suit over those, and that is still in litigation."
Surface mining's future
Mark Taylor, chief of the energy resource section in the regulatory branch for the Corps, said several valley-fill projects have been authorized by his Huntington, W.Va., district since the West Virginia ruling.
"Have we issued any coal mining permits since the ruling? Yes, we have. Do we feel it complies with the judge's ruling? Yes, we do," Taylor said. "In the regulatory department, we follow the rules and regulations as passed on to us by Congress and ... the judges. ... Whatever they decide is what we will do. We are neither for projects nor against projects."
David Spears, policy manager for the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, said even a ruling from the 4th Circuit favorable to the plaintiffs would not stop all surface mining here.
"They would still be able to do traditional surface mining, which is what we call contour surface mining, where they mine around the mountains and reclaim the land when they're done," Spears said. "They put the material back up into the mined area."
Barbara Altizer, executive director of the Eastern Coal Council, said if surface mining were stopped, the effect would be catastrophic for the region.
"It would be devastating, and not just to Southwest Virginia counties. It would impact Washington County, it would impact the Tri-Cities area. The coal dollar flows in lots of directions," she said. "There's so many things that coal is used for."
She said coal has helped the entire nation to grow and prosper, and, along with providing relatively inexpensive energy, it could be the key to future energy independence with the help of technology.
She said the extraction of coal by surface mining also has tangible local benefits.
"When you live in a mountainous region, sometimes you appreciate the flat land," she said. "We've got airports. We've got housing developments. We've got shopping centers [because of land flattened by mining]."
Jim Norvelle, spokesman for Dominion Virginia Power, which is building a new coal-fired power plant in Wise County, said he would not speculate on the future of valley-fill permits. But, he said, the plant will be able to use a wide variety of fuels.
"One of the reasons we pushed so hard for circulating fluidized bed clean-coal technology for this power station is its ability to burn a wide variety of fuels," Norvelle said. "We will be able to design our fuel plan around a wide range of coal, waste coal and biomass, and can make adjustments as the market for those fuels changes."
Activists say that while opposition to mountaintop removal is reaching critical mass, it will ultimately take action by a new administration in Washington to clarify Clean Water Act regulations to define mine spoil as waste or prohibit mountaintop removal outright.
"The next administration could clarify the federal regulations and make it clear that mountaintop removal mining was never foreseen when the surface mining
laws were passed and is not permitted under those laws," Lovett said.
"We can fight with agencies all we want, but it's going to take some will in Washington to get things done."
©2008 Media General Communications Holdings, LLC
13 Comments so far
Show AllYup, Obama is a big supporter of the longwall miming in his home state of Illinois - which gives government grants to the companies for the purchase of mining equipment. Talk about corporate welfare! While not as visually arresting as MTR, the surface subsidence from these longwall mines under the flat terrain are turning many thousands of acres of the most fertile farmland on earth into unfarmable swamp.
By golly brother the author doesn't read the Bible the real rule book fer Amerca or he would remember about the mountain tops being levelled/removed and the valleys filled in or words to that affect. Lets face it the mining companies are doing God's work and therefore Amerca's. Relax and give thank you live in such a god fearing freedom loving peaceful country. Ah think the Sierra Club is the last stronghold for the old commies of the last century.
First of all, on the claims of Barbara Altizer, spokeshuman for the Coal Ass'n: the coal industry is not doing any place any economic favors. A few years ago I did a little research project: looking up which counties in PA, WV, KY and VA had produced the most coal to date. Then, which counties in the same states were the poorest (by per capita income and unemployment rate). The two were not quite a perfect correlation, but damn close.
And as to the generous contribution of flat land in a state that has very little of it, first of all only a tiny percentage of the land ravaged by mountaintop removal has been used for any kind of economic development--most of it is seeded with non-native grasses, sprayed with powerful fertilizers, and they call it done. There have been a few cases of buildings on this land--a prison, a high school--but they don't tell you about the problems resulting from using "reclaimed" land that wasn't properly prepared for a construction site. Like when the gym at that high school broke off from the main building and they had to use the Jaws of Life to get the kids out.
But I would disagree with some other comments, too, starting with the claim that "a new president" will end MTR. I'm afraid Joe Lovett is whistlin' in the dark, here. Obama has been a coal man from the start and surely so is McCain. The only difference is that McCain is more pronuke and pro-oil, while Obama is more pro-renewables--important issues to be sure, but no difference on coal.
Then there's the long comment about Jesse Johnson which implies he's about to become Governor of WV--in fact, Manchin is fairly popular and will surely be re-elected. He is a coal whore, as is Byrd and Rockefeller, and our three Reps in Congress, Democrats Rahall and Mollohan and Republican Capito. Byrd has been quite good about standing up to Bush on Constitutional questions and steadfastly opposing the war on Iraq--but when King Coal struts in, every WV politician reflexively bends over and lifts his skirt.
Debra's story gives hope to those of us who want the collective intelligence of our country to steward our resources. That can't be done without effective leadership; leadership that genuinely reflects this desire.
I am thrilled to see the above description of Jesse Johnson's campaign. Real hope for real leadership! The great folks of West Virginia have a real opportunity there. And the rest of our environmentally and economically beleaguered country will benefit from their prudent choice at the ballot box!
http://jesse4wvgov.org
Sign of the times
West Virginia stands on the precipice of the environmental battle in 2008 and this is no ordinary year in the Wild and Wonderful Mountain State. Coal production, according to a West Virginia University study, contributes to significant health problems in the communities near where coal is mined. Burning coal in West Virginia is at the center of the global warming debate, where instead of developing efficiencies, such as being called for by third party candidates, the state continues to give massive subsidies to the industry with little or no regulation. John Amos Power Plant in WV is in the top ten of the worst polluters in the country.
Coal production is certainly on the rise and while Mountain Top Removal (MTR) represents only 15 % of the mine activity and MTR mines employ only a fraction of the workers at underground mines, however MTR dominates the debate about natural resource extraction, specifically in Appalachia. At the state Democratic Convention in Charleston, the party narrowly defeated a measure calling for the abolition of MTR in WV. In a state where Mountaineers are always free, disillusioned voters can backfire on a party and change the political landscape for ever.
This year the Governor's Race pits a media blacklisted candidate from the West Virginia Mountain Party against the two super powers of mindless obfuscation. Jesse Johnson, film maker and actor, is no stranger to the battle of politics. Johnson ran as the Mountain Party Candidate for Governor in 2004 and as the Mountain Party Candidate against Senator Byrd in 2006.
This year, Jesse Johnson made state history by being the first West Virginian to run for the office of President of the United States. His Green Party nomination bid helped define MTR as the signature issue in the battle against global warming in 2008. On his return to West Virginia he finds the state has lost $643 million dollars gambling on the stock market, the state has lost $2.4 billion dollars by not enforcing the Clean Water Act for the past 5 years and consumers are facing gruesome utility price hikes frequently approved by the Public Service Commission.
The Governor's race in West by God Virginia looks to be the contested race of the year. This one may dwarf the president's race in the importance of determining if our democracy can still function.
On the Right, you have the Democrat Incumbent Governor Joe Manchin, in a historically Democratic controlled state, confronted with a citizenry who voted for Hillary, not the presumptive Obama. Not only did WV Hillary supporters vow to vote for McCain, Manchin supported Obama. And if sexist racist dogma isn't enough to bust his bubble, Governor Manchin is suffering from crisis after crisis, largely due to his Chief Executive Officer Management style. Once elected Governor, Manchin privatized the state workers' compensation system, a warning sign to all working people, Manchin declared himself king of every agency and lately his daughter claimed she deserved an MBA from the state signature university WVU and Manchin's handpicked University President made it so.
No stranger to vindictive politics Manchin lost to the Democrat candidate for Governor Charlotte Pritt in 1996. Manchin then threw the state democratic political machine not for the democrat woman, but instead for the Republican Cecil Underwood, who would go on to win that election. Manchin then developed steam as the Secretary of State, elected in 2000. Manchin's notable achievements include the heroic effort to put his name on every pencil that was distributed to every public school student in the state. Today the former criminal governor, republican Arch (wants) Moore, said he remains close friends with the Manchin Family. Manchin's Charleston WV campaign HQ is next door to Moore's daughters campaign HQ [Rep Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV) ] .
In the middle of the road is republican candidate former state Senator Russ Weeks. Mr. Weeks is finding difficulty garnishing support, largely because Manchin is so much like a republican, it is a surprise the state republican party isn't funding Manchin's campaign. Weeks even voted to give Manchin executive power that boggles the mind. Weak knee legislatures being part of the problem; this candidate doesn't stand much of a chance, except the current governor is so corrupted.
It looks like the race for Governor in West Virginia is between the Republican Russ Weeks and Mountain Party Candidate Jesse Johnson.
On the issues Johnson is the top dog for a progressive shift to environmental responsibility. He acknowledges as long as coal is mined it has to be done safely AND responsibly. It creates jobs and every citizen should benefit from the extraction of the state's natural resources. And West Virginia is blessed with abundant natural resources.
Johnson has fought with working people all across West Virginia and across this nation to help make our lives better. He is the only candidate in the West Virginia Governors Race who recognizes the importance social and economic justice. Johnson believes in life time education for all state residents, primary health security with access to health care and social services, pension safeguards with cost of living increases and home land security that protects the people. Johnsons citizen dividend plan is a far cry better than the current governors plan to fire and starve workers, cheating them out of health care after being injured on the job.
Democrats are weak in the national polls for failing to take on executive excess. Former Senator Weeks voted for and like Governor Manchin, they represent more of the same failed state of corporate excess and the purchase of government by special interests.
Contributors to the party tent now affixed to the WV Governor's Mansion include beneficiaries of the Governor's policies. King Coal got a sweet return on their investment, while Manchin's Department of Environmental Protection failed to enforce the Clean Water Act for 5 years. Manchin's daughters pharmaceutical company got a good return on their investment, even if their employee didn't get an MBA, Manchin still instructed the industry be free from financial disclosure for payola to doctors, driving up the cost of medicine to consumers all across the mountain state.
Yes, 2008 is a landmark election year, and no state has quite the race West Virginia has for Governor. Let us pray that democracy is alive and well in the Great state of West By God Virginia. Our Mountains and our democracy depend on it.
Help fight corruption and big money in politics today. Do what you can to help Jesse Johnson defeat King Coal and Big Pharma. http://jesse4wvgov.org/
"We are neither for projects nor against projects"
This statement from the US Army Corps of Engineers illustrates the danger in building/fueling giant institutional machines. They suck people up into them and evolve agendas of their own.
As part of the larger imperial machine, the US Army Corps of Engineers not only issued permits to destroy Appalachia, but also failed to shore up the New Orleans levees before they were overtaken by Hurricane Katrina's swells, and deployed quickie unfolding river bridges to span the Tigris and Euphrates and concrete walls to seal off the neighborhoods of Baghdad.
The USACE was not for or against those projects either. Only imperial machines build neighborhood and border walls. Machines that employ human beings, and makes machines out of them too. Their bones change from calcium to calcium-uranium alloys and their brains go binary.
Jefferson knew the danger of standing armies and and corporations so he wanted to make them temporary, like copyrights used to be (as per the US Constitution). He also preferred not to have any banks or political parties. His reason was that these institutions grow to become giant machines with agendas of their own that conflict with and ultimately extinguish the public interests.
"It would be devastating, and not just to Southwest Virginia counties. It would impact Washington County, it would impact the Tri-Cities area. The coal dollar flows in lots of directions," she said. "There's so many things that coal is used for."
Utter nonsense!
The money from all those tons of coal - particularly from surface mining which produces few new jobs, almost entirely follows the coal trains out of the region. It is classic economic plunder. Look at the economic statistics for Wise County VA or Harlan County KY, and see for yourself.
And to correct something implied in this article, only a small percentage of total US coal production comes from MTR methods - even in the Appalachians. In the Appalachians, underground mining is the biggest producer of coal, followed by contour strip/auger/highwall mining. MTR is a distant third. It could be banned tomorrow and the coal companies would switch to less destructive mining methods and still do very well.
"The coal dollar flows in lots of directions"
Yeah... it's all about money isn't it. Money money money. As if it's the MOST important thing in the world. Makes me sick.
The thing about Mountaintop removal mining is that mountains DON'T GROW BACK! Once you blow up the mountain, it's gone forever... hardly a renewable resource.
ask Cathy O'Brien about 'the little bird'
the highest ranking White House Whistle Blower ever.
An End To Mountaintop Removal Mining?
____________________________________
I assumed that this article might disclose that we have reached Peak Mountaintop, and that mountaintop removal mining would end because there are, or soon will be, no more mountaintops left-- just stumps.
Intrigued by the headline, I was disappointed by the body of this article.
Until we switch to renewal energy, there is no way the courts or coal-supporting Obama will stop mountain top removal.
The Green Party supports an end to carbon based fuel dependency. If we continue to vote for the lesser evil, we'll continue to get more and more evil. Remember that Robert Byrd is a Democrat.
One of the reasons we are getting ourselves into such a bind is that the Limits are erodible, and MTR is a great example. When the liquid petroleum became short, we just started eating the mountains in the Southeast and Boreal Forest in Alberta with plans to begin eating the mountains in the West.
www.StudentsForTheEarth.org
Thanks for the update. I've lived in three of WV's adjoining states all my life, and remember the excitement of the Charlotte Pritt campaign. her loss to Underwood set WV on it's current course. The coal fields have a good labor-left base, but the more populous Ohio basin and eastern panhandle will be tough for Jesse Johnson.