Mountaintop removal is devastating hundreds of square miles of Appalachia; polluting the headwaters of rivers that provide drinking water to millions of Americans; and destroying a distinctly American culture that has endured for generations.
Watch this new commercial from our friends at the http://www.ilovemountains.org and help share the dirty secret of mountaintop removal.
**commercial may not play in some browsers (like google chrome)… you’ve been warned**
I have an urgent, important, and simple request. In short, CCAN needs your vote! As you know, CCAN and our coalition partners are working to stop a $6 billion coal-fired power plant proposal just miles from the Chesapeake Bay in the Hampton Roads area. This is a must-win campaign for our climate and our region. The mining disaster in West Virginia last month was a reminder that coal is DEADLY and NOT part of our clean energy future! We have a chance to raise $5,000 for a special project we are running this summer, but we need your vote to do it.Read about the project and vote for us- http://bit.ly/CCANfund
Instructions:
Voting closes May 15th so please take a minute to vote for us – again, you can vote up to 3 times!
Want to help out even more? Spread the word by joining our facebook event.
Questions? Contact Lauren Glickman at lauren@chesapeakeclimate.org
Today, the Environmental Protection Agency issued draft rules on the federal regulation of coal combustion waste.
Crossposted from CBF’s Blog.
I recently drove down to the blackwater swamps of southern Virginia to witness a tale of two cities. Many residents of tiny, rural Dendron (population, 300) see their community’s economic salvation in the construction of a coal-fired power plant. But others are deeply worried about the health impacts of toxic mercury pollution and microscopic soot particles. Down the road from Dendron, the town of Clover, Virginia, tried a similar path to renaissance 17 years ago — and learned a sobering lesson.
I started my journey in Dendron, located about 50 miles west Norfolk, Virginia. Once the home of a booming lumber mill, today the only remaining business in town is Bailey’s Convenient Mart. The signs out front proclaim “Mountain Dew” and “God Loves You.”
“There is nothing here right now — no stores, no playgrounds, no entertainment for our kids,” said Fred Moore, a longtime area resident, as he leaned against an out-of-service pump out front of Bailey’s. “If you even want to get gas for your lawn mower, you got to go 10 miles either way. But change is coming with the power plant. This could bring in a lot of people.”
The Dendron Town Council in February approved a rezoning that will allow the construction of a 1,500 megawatt coal-fired power plant Continue reading
Today, around 4:30pm, a Raleigh County, West Virginia mine exploded killing 6 miners and leaving 20-some miners unaccounted for at Massey Energy Company’s Performance Coal Company Upper Big Branch Mine. Massey Energy Company is based in Richmond, Virginia and has operations in West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia. 
Emergency workers are on the scene.
[Updated April 6, 10:00am]
Massey Energy Company has confirmed that 25 miners have been killed and two are in the hospital. Four miners are still missing and rescue operations are ongoing, though rescue workers likely won’t be able to re-enter the mine until early evening today. According to the West Virginia Gazette, “Rescuers were pulled out of the mine early today morning because of dangerously high levels of methane, and crews were beginning the process of drilling boreholes to vent the explosive gases and make it safe for rescuers to return underground.”
“We are still in that rescue operation mode,” said Gov. Joe Manchin. “With that being said, three holes have to be drilled. The best I can tell you is that it’s going to be a very long day.”
Also according to the WV Gazette, in the past year, federal inspectors have cited Massey and fined the company more than $382,000 for repeated serious violations involving its ventilation plan and equipment at the mine run by subsidiary Performance Coal Co. The violations also cover failing to follow the plan, allowing combustible coal dust to pile up, and having improper firefighting equipment.
This disaster is the worst U.S. coal-mining disaster in a quarter century. The Coal Tattoo blog has more on the disaster and how it will affect future mining operations.
Yesterday the EPA announced that they would be placing restrictions on the damange to streams and Appalachian watershed due to mountaintop removal and other practices.
From the EPA’s press release:
To protect water quality, EPA has identified a range of conductivity (a measure of the level of salt in the water) of 300 to 500 microSiemens per centimeter. The maximum benchmark conductivity of 500 microSiemens per centimeter is a measure of salinity that is roughly five times above normal levels. The conductivity levels identified in the clarifying guidance are intended to protect 95 percent of aquatic life and fresh water streams in central Appalachia.
“The people of Appalachia shouldn’t have to choose between a clean, healthy environment in which to raise their families and the jobs they need to support them. That’s why EPA is providing even greater clarity on the direction the agency is taking to confront pollution from mountain top removal,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “We will continue to work with all stakeholders to find a way forward that follows the science and the law. Getting this right is important to Americans who rely on affordable coal to power homes and businesses, as well as coal communities that count on jobs and a livable environment, both during mining and after coal companies move to other sites.”
This is not a ban on Mountain Top Removal, but would, to my understanding, restrict mountaintop removal coal mining severely.
“Minimizing the number of valley fills is a very, very key factor,” Jackson said. “You’re talking about no, or very few, valley fills that are going to meet this standard.”
Full audio of the briefing can be heard on Coal Tattoo which has a more in depth analysis.
More information can be found on by Jeff Biggers (author and presenter at CCAN’s Artist for the Climate) here and from our coalition partner Appalachian Voices here.
Imagine hearing this question Continue reading
Cross-posted from it’s getting hot in here
In an attempt to further pressure EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to enforce the Clean Water Act and halt mountaintop removal coal mining (MTR), activists early this morning erected two 20-foot-tall, purple tripod structures in front of the agency’s headquarters. A pair of activists perched at the top of the tripods have strung a 25-foot sign in front of the EPA’s door that reads, “EPA: pledge to end mountaintop removal in 2010.” Six people are locked to the tripods and say they won’t leave unless Administrator Jackson commits to a flyover visit of the Appalachian Mountains and MTR sites, which she has never done before.
This is the latest in a series of actions and activities aimed at pressuring the EPA to take more decisive action on mountaintop removal coal mining. Today’s tactic is modeled on the multi-day tree-sits that have been happening in West Virginia to protect mountains from coal companies’ imminent blasting. Called the worst of the worst strip mining, the practice blows the tops off of whole mountains to scoop out the small seams of coal that lie beneath.
“We’re losing our way of life and our culture,” said Chuck Nelson, who worked as a coal miner in West Virginia for three decades and came to DC to support today’s protest. “Mountaintop removal should be banned today. The practice means total devastation for communities, the hardwood forests, the ecosystems, and the headwaters. Why should our communities sacrifice everything we have?”
Last Thursday, I joined hundreds of Virginians in support of SB 564, the Stream Saver Bill. The bill was introduced by state Senator Patsy Ticer and would ban dumping waste from surface mining into streams. 1,900 miles of streams in Appalachia have been buried or degraded by this practice, impacting clean water supplies for residents of southwest Virginia.
Snowbound students at George Mason University collected over 80 photo petitions in support of the bill and on the same day, 800 people rallied at the Kentucky General Assembly for “I Love Mountains Day” in support of a similar bill, according to the Kentucky Herald-Ledger.
A planned rally was cut short in order to allow supporters to get in line for the special hearing held by the Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources committee. Due to turnout, I sat in an overflow room. Hundreds had come to speak for and against the measure. Matt Wasson with Appalachian Voices presented on the environmental and economic destruction that mountain top removal leaves in its wake. During the 45 minutes each side had for public comments, residents of southwest Virginia spoke passionately about their concern for their family and friends’ health and for the mountains.
Many opponents to the bill spoke about their concern for job loss in the already struggling area. A legitimate concern yet coal mining employment in the United States has plummeted over the past century. Currently there are only about 4,797 coal mining jobs in the Commonwealth, 1,433 of them surface mining jobs. Coal is an important part of the economy in southwest Virginia but it’s also keeping diversified economic opportunities from investing in the area, such as tourism.
“The mountains that have been lost can never be brought back,” stated Wasson. “The streams will be polluted for a long time.”
