The Threat
Mountaintop removal is a relatively new type of coal mining that began in Appalachia in the 1970s as an extension of conventional strip mining techniques. Primarily, mountaintop removal is occurring in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee. Coal companies in Appalachia are increasingly using this method because it allows for almost complete recovery of coal seams while reducing the number of workers required to a fraction of what conventional methods require.
Mountaintop Removal mining is a bad choice for West Virginia for many reasons. Economically, it employs fewer workers than underground mining, requires the state and companies to pay for incredibly expensive land reclamation, and even after this expensive process the land leftover is often unstable for economic development and unsuitable for wildlife or forest land. In fact, counties where Mountaintop Removal mining occurs are some of the poorest counties in America.
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Coal River Mountain is one of the last mountains left intact in the Coal River Valley. It is a beautiful mountain that has provided for residents of the Coal River Valley for generations. However, Massey Energy has plans to change that. There are currently 4 permits to strip mine over 6000 acres of the mountain. That’s close to 10 square miles. Two of the permits have been approved by the Department of Environmental Protection, one is in the process, and the last permit hasn’t been applied for yet, but maps of it have been included in the other permit applications. Combined, the mine site will be at the heads of Rock Creek, Horse Creek, Dry Creek, Workman’s Branch and surround Sycamore Creek, what is commonly considered the most pristine stream in the area. (see the permit map to the left)
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These mines aren’t like the mines we’re used to thinking about with hardworking men and women going underground to retrieve the coal. Newer methods of mining involve blasting up to 800 vertical feet of mountain apart with millions of tons of explosives and dumping the loose rock into the adjacent valley creating a valley fill. It requires dangerous, long hours and employs fewer miners. These valley fills cover up headwater streams, a major source of drinking water in the United State. The chemicals in the loose rock, previously locked underground, are leached into water systems,and can create a toxic environment for local residents and wildlife. This picture is of an enormous valley fill near Coal River Mountain.
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After mining, most native plants will not grow on the land. Some of the most diverse and productive forest in the world will be permanently turned into rubble and weeds. The company has no plans for economic development of Coal River Mountain after they have mined it. According the the Surface Mine Law, a coal company is supposed to remove and store the fertile topsoil and replace it on the post mined land. However, a loophole in the law allows for a “topsoil substitute” to be used. this is usually rock exposed during the blasting process. This rocky land does not support substantial plant growth and will therefore be home to little more than snakes and exotic species of grasses, a drastic difference from the pre-mining state of the most biodiverse temperate forest in the world. The picture to the left was provided as an ideal version of a mountain being reclaimed into forest land.
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To the right is Coal River Mountain intact as it is today, as viewed from the edge of an 11,000 acre strip mine nearby (Kayford Mountain). Coal River Mountain stands as the last intact mountain within a 50 square-mile area in the northwest corner of Raleigh County, WV. To learn more about work to help local communities organize around the effects of Mountaintop Removal Mining, visit www.crmw.net
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