Threats to end surface mining in SW Virginia are real
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Threats to end surface mining in SW Virginia are...
Environmentalists are closer than ever to halting surface mining projects in Wise County, Va. Surface mining adds up to a third of the area's coal production, which is the major economic industry....
Dana Wachter/11 Connects
Environmentalists are scared every mountain in SW Virginia will be flat like this one. Surface mining proponents are scared for their industry.
Wise Co., Va.—This is the second of two parts of an 11 Connects/Bristol Herald Courier joint investigation into the two sides of the Southwest Virginia surface mining (or mountaintop mining, or strip mining) debate.
Environmentalists have fought for years for stricter regulations, but surface mining adds up to a third of Southwest Virginia’s coal mining industry, which is the major force behind Wise County, Va.‘s economy.
Efforts to stop mining permits are progressing more than ever, and this could have an incredible affect on this lucrative business.
Southern Appalachian Mountain Steward (SAMS)‘s vice president, Kathy Selvage, broods over the impact surface mining has had on her local environment. Thinking of an image on Google Earth, she says, “it looks like a war zone. It looks like a war on our water, a war on our air, a war on our forest, a war on our mountains.“
This year, the war between environmentalists and coal companies escalates, as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under the Obama Administration, has taken on a more active role in the mining permit process.
At this point, the EPA has suspended 79 mining permits for further review.
“We have a long way to go,“ says SAMS member, Judy Needham, “but I feel we are making progress, at least Ison Rock Ridge doesn’t have a permit. It’s been over 2 years.“
Coal companies also need valley fill permits, to be able to mine and dump their waste, before they can mine. The Army Corp of Engineers is deciding whether to eliminate “Nationwide 21” permits, which would make getting a valley fill permit extremely difficult. This would delay companies from getting valley fill permits, and may ultimately prevent them altogether.
That’s a good thing for Appalachia residents like Dorothy Taulbee, who has experienced the negative affects of blasting, and dust, and trucks. Taulbee saw what happened when the mountains above her home were stripped.
“I was pushed out of my home because of coal they wanted,“ Taulbee said.
But those in favor of surface mining say the county depends on that coal, and the jobs it brings.
“If we have a 30% drop in production of coal, which is anticipated if the stripping does stop,“ says Robby Robbins, the chairman of Wise County’s Board of Supervisors, “that’s going to affect 30% of the people involved in mining Wise County.“
Bill Bledsoe, president of the Virginia Mining Association, Inc., believes Appalachia mining in particular is being targeted.
“Many think that is only because the Appalachian mountains, and mountain top removal in particular, is the, I think it’s been called, the low hanging fruit,“ says Bledsoe. “It’s the easiest to stop.“
This may be a win for environmentalists, but coal companies, and local government officials are nervous that this may be the beginning of the end for the industry, and Southwest Virginia’s economy.
Click on the icon above for a video report.
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Reader Reactions
“I’ve never posted that I support Mt top mining.“
That’s true. You have never advocated MTR that I know of.
Now, do you advocate slowly, methodically phasing out coal for a cleaner, renewable energy source as long as it doesn’t cost jobs or otherwise place unnecessary burden upon the industry’s workers?
Specifically I mean retraining coal workers in the new technology for a smooth transition to new jobs.
I’ve never posted that I support Mt top mining.
But I do support Strip Mining and coal in total- very strongly!
There is no need to omit the misuse of funds by politicians, that’s a given. And is quite apparent to see by just looking at Wise County. The demise of Wise County is greed, people and their homes don’t matter. I can remember back when the coal boon was on in Pound, all these fancy cars and trucks people had, but they were filing bankruptcy. Of course I was in high school and never thought that much about it. Then they would be starting a new coal business and I thought it was strange but figured that’s just how capitalism works… These coal companies were filing bankruptcy so there was no one to be held culpable for the environmental damage. My facts about Wise County coal going to China comes from community meetings and by talking with various people at different venues. I am not throwing sound bites, I am telling facts. Mountaintop Removal has to be benched !
http://www.wisecountyissues.com/?p=138
By the way The End War will be over water, not fossil fuels. The Big Sandy River Watershed is full of toxic metals, that’s wrong !
I said- everyone was greedy- the employees were paid well when the Wstmd mines closed. I didn’t say they weren’t well entitled to a good wage, now did I?
EVERYONE was fighting over the same dollar when coal prices were in the tank at the time.
FACE ALL THE FACTS.
“Also, much of the demise of coal in the county, particularly Appalachia, was due to the UMWAs greed”
The Union is the workers who put their life on the line to make the rich man richer. Damn right he should get paid well, and that is not greed!
The rich M.F.s are the ones capitalizing on mountain topping because it uses less men and is cheaper. This is all good and fine if they didn’t ruin our only resource (mountains and scenery) after the coal is mined out. (don’t give me that crap about flat usable land, mountain topping has created more flat land than we could ever use already).
Mullins-
Why is it you so conveniently omit the misuse of funds by your politicians in Wise County over the past several decades.
I remember when Wise had only one road in- one out.
Also, much of the demise of coal in the county, particularly Appalachia, was due to the UMWA greed that was also coupled with the greed of the politicians. Remember Westmoreland’s bankruptcy? There was nothing but greed on eveyones part- The Co., the UMWA, the workforce, the politicians, and the Government -everyone !
And, in case you didn’t know it- China is NOT the major consumer of coal from Wise County, nor SW Virginia.
So, stop throwing your sound bites around just to create a perception without telling all the facts.
History is present.
Wise County is thirty years behind the rest of the world. Just take a drive down main street Pound or main street Appalachia and see the progress and prosperity thanks to mountaintop removal, the coal is gone in Pound, so are jobs. Our watersheds, lakes, rivers are poison, toxic and sewers full of e-coli, our wildlife is dying of cancer, we are eating fish and fowl swimming and drinking from a septic tank. We should be recycling more newspaper, bags and cardboard for toilet paper to make jobs and have something to wipe our @$$ with. We need coal for now, but it’s three decades past it’s importance in other places in the world. Wise County coal goes to China to power their Empire, the schools in Wise County are so old and outdated they can’t even power up an overhead projector. The trade off is, we loose our rich environment, our heritage, our land, air and water but we can go to walmart and buy cheap toxic crap for Christmas for our kids, we can buy tainted toothpaste, dog food, drywall and now tires all made in China with Wise County coal where 350 million year old Appalachian Mountains were bombed, blasted and bulldozed. I am not sure we can stand much more of the progress and prosperity of mountaintop removal. ( note I did NOT say coal, or coal mining jobs ). There is enough ‘flat’ land in Wise County to build 2 cities the size of Roanoke. Why not start building solar micro grids and make new jobs. Can you imagine how many jobs could be created if we require the panels be built locally or at least in America, all jobs be offered first to residents of Wise County, and expand from Pound to Norton to Appalachia, back over to Wise, Pound and Clintwood. We also need to see if hemp will grow on these ‘flat’ lands, we would never have to import another barrel of oil from those who hate us so much.
http://www.wisecountyissues.com/?p=138
WOW !!
A tree hugger that isn’t a tree hugger.
That’s unique.
What a silly comparison.
That bumper sticker you saw was probably the one on my father’s truck. But there are two things you should know before you compare logging and mining.
My father believes in harvesting, not just logging. He can return to an area where he has logged 15-20 years later and log it again. He does not harvest trees under a certain size, he goes out of his way to save them. He does not believe in totally destroying an area to log it. There are places that have been logged by my father and uncles that were logged by them many years ago and by my grandfather 50 years ago. My children can walk among the trees today where my ancestors logged. Can you say that about the coal mines?
Another thing is that the loggers I know have encouraged their children and grandchildren to find other fields. 3 of my fathers 4 grandchildren have college degrees because of his encouragement. The biggest fight my father and my son ever had was when my son wanted to become a logger. Dad says it’s dying field and will be more difficult to work at in the future. HE can see the writing on the wall.
There will be new jobs in new fields if you open your eyes and look to the future. The attitude of some people about coal reminds me of what I have read at the turn of the last century in the battle between horses and cars. Stable owners and buggy makers fought like crazy to preserve their industries. The smart ones converted their stables to garages, learned a new trade and survived.
Those straight up and down mountains mean a lot to a lot of us. The valleys that are destroyed usually have a stream in them that is destroyed along with the fish and animals that use the mountains for home and the stream for water. What about the health of the people who have to breath the dust in the air?
Like it or not, there is alternate energy coming down the road. Encourage your children to travel that road rather than destroying what God gave us to take care of.
boy yall just dont see the number of jobs that will be lost. and from the way you talk none of those jobs will be yours. i am reminded of a bumper sticker i saw once concerning the logging industry. “if you dont support logging try wiping your @$$ with plastic”. coal keeps the lights on and how many of you wouldnt have your precious internet if it werent for the coal generated power? i for one dont see anything wrong with strip mining. i mean what good is a bunch of straight up and down mountains that you cant build anything on? i just dont want to see anymore jobs lost here than what already are. i dont mean to offend anyone but this is the way i feel about it and im not sorry for it.
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