Mountaintop Removal Threatens National Treasure

This Friday at 10:30 a.m. a meeting of the Fayette County Commission in West Virginia is scheduled in the Commission Chambers at the Fayette County Courthouse. At this meeting people who are concerned about the several new mining permits, proposed by Frasure Creek Mining LLC, will have an hour to voice their concerns and opinions regarding the proposed mountaintop removal (MTR) site.

There are a total of nine permits so far, three active and six proposed. If Frasure Creek Mining LLC is permitted to move forward, that would mean a total of over 3,000 acres of mountaintop removal. They have already received permits for over 1,600 acres and yes, there are houses and communities in this area.

In 2010 Frasure Creek Mining LLC was sued by four environmental groups for violations regarding their MTR in Kentucky. They were accused of committing over 20,000 water discharge violations and fraud for falsifying reports. The Energy and Environment Cabinet investigated the claims and found 2,700 violations, but termed them "transcription errors" and there was a monetary settlement reached totaling less than $700,000.

Fayette County is one of the most beautiful counties in West Virginia and visited by tourists from around the globe. From the Fayette County Comprehension Plan:

Tourism has been a significant part of the Fayette County economy for nearly 30 years. With the development of New River Gorge National River in 1978, the tourism presence and impact has grown at a rapid pace. For instance, persons taking commercial whitewater rafting trips on the New and Gauley rivers totaled approximately 71,000 in 1983. By 2000, that number had grown to 220,000. Visits to National Park Service facilities in Fayette County have gone from 774,000 in 1991 to in excess of 1.2 million in 1998.

It is also the home of the New River Gorge Bridge, which is now the third-largest arch bridge in the world. This bridge is celebrated every year with Bridge Day and draws many tourists. There are many great things to see and do here: white water rafting, kayaking, horse back riding, camping, fishing, hiking, rock climbing, and have you ever been on a zip line canopy tour? Amazing! AND how could I not mention the town of Fayetteville (which will be within four miles of the MTR if these permits are approved ) being voted one of the coolest small towns in America? The Boy Scouts of America have also decided to set up camp here in Fayette County, The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve (this is within seven miles of the proposed MTR) is under construction and will be hosting the 2013 Jamboree, which will bring people from all over the nation. The 10-day event typically attracts more than 200,000 visitors. I'm not even going to go into the jobs all this tourism creates! Isn't that The Plan? (pg.188, Chapter 7)

I don't need to tell you what MTR does to the land, water, communities, wildlife, etc. You already know... we all know.

What would you do if this was happening in your backyard?

Me? I'm going to the public meeting on Friday, and I have also created a petition at change.org to ask the Fayette County Commission, the WV DEP, the Governor and my local Congressman to please enforce the laws and limit any more MTR.

 

Comments

[lilbirdblue]

05:11 AM on 06/11/2011

I did attend the County Commission meeting and I think it went well. There were several well informed people there with hard facts and personal stories about how the mines are affecting the community. I really do think our voice was heard. Please see link: http://www.register-herald.com/todaysfrontpage/x552316281/Fayette-citizens-taking-aim-at-mountaintop-removal-mining

We just need to continue and not give up!!!

[Kevin Rayburn]

03:59 AM on 06/09/2011

blair mountain does probably need to be saved, however some strip mining if done properly and in the right place could in theory (and i mean in theory) be benefical to the communty, the reclaimation process is really not as effective as it could be but i have been on several unreclaimed sites that nature has over the years reclaimed herself and to be honest, if one didnt know they would never guess that it was once a strip job, but i have also seen coal companies run over top of land owners, in my case i own my mineral rights so they will not be removing my hill in my lifetime, but when i was a child my grandfather caught someone wildcatting on that land, that practice i havent heard of in years. personally i have had no trouble with the coal companies but the gas company is definately a differnt story, some joker told me i was trespassing on my own land, i can promise that went over real well with me.

[Pamela Ezell]

02:30 AM on 06/09/2011

Excellent blog post! I've been thinking about this so much - and thinking how I really don't know enough about the realities of mountaintop removal. Thank you for writing this - and for organizing opposition.

[dangerousdaneerfan]

11:08 PM on 06/08/2011

I have a very good friend who worked MTR jobs in Eastern Kentucky and Southern WV for the past 30 years. He has not worked in nearly 2 years due to no new permits being issued. He is 50 years old. Just WTF is he supposed to do for a job to feed his family if he is not allowed to MTR coal?

[NRGartist]

12:14 AM on 06/09/2011

There are lots of other opportunities depending on where specifically he lives. In Wyoming County, miners (many who have lost their underground jobs due to MTR) are being retrained to install and work on solar power systems. I would also say that if he works MTR he probably has the heavy equipment skills to work in a variety of construction related industries. I would have the same question to you regarding the tens of thousands of miners in southern WV who have lost their jobs and ability to feed their families due to the proliferation of MTR with it's lack of a need for workers with deep mining skills and human labor in general. This is not just an environmental issue, MTR is bad for working families in WV and does not employ the numbers of workers who need jobs in the coalfields. More MTR is not the answer to that, the return to underground mining is.

[Kevin Rayburn]

03:51 AM on 06/09/2011

there really isnt alot of oppertunities in eastern ky, you have the mines, healthcare, the county and mcdonalds. there is your 4 biggest employers. i watched the top of black mountain slowley dissapear but my ONLY real issue with this practice is the way the mining companies try to run over top of the land owners, however personally i never had any problems with mining companies but the natural gas companies, thats a different story and it did involve a shotgun in my hands at one point.

[PalinEffect]

09:41 PM on 06/08/2011

Maybe the Scouts and the tourists should all see and videotape the obliteration of the thousands of acres of mountaintops, instead of just the New River Gorge Bridge. A group merit badge in taking on immoral corporate environmental rapists, presented by Ashley Judd as a bonus.