(Now say that five times fast…we don’t get to say it that often! Masseyoperationstwicecitedformuddingandfloodslides!)
Coal operations managed by Massey Energy and International Coal Group (ICG) are being blamed for mudslides this week as the mid-Atlantic states face torrential rains.
Near Ethel, WV, State Rt. 17 was blocked completely… and the WV Department of Environmental protection is citing Massey Energy operative “Aracoma Coal.”
WSAZ, News Channel 3, has the video…
Christina Smith tells her horrifying story, “The whole trailer started shaking! You should have heard it! The whole hillside hit the road!”
Whole trees were ripped from the bank behind her house, tearing through the garden, rosebushes, and yard of Mrs. Smith. She was lucky enough to escape.
In Mingo County, another Massey operative – Delbarton Mining – was again cited and ordered to stop work that caused a blackwater spill at Pigeon Creek, further discoloring the creek.
IGC, at fault for a sediment pond overflow into the Birch River, was ordered to stop work in Nicholas County.
Before the washout occurred, crews were nearing completion of reclaiming a valley fill between Boggs and Big Ditch Lake.
Lalena Price, spokesperson with the Department of Environmental Protection, says an imminent harm cessation order has been issued to IGC.
Rain over the mid-Atlantic states is expected to continue due to Atlantic moisture being swept inland by a disturbance that has swirled from the Bahamas into Florida and Georgia plus a stalled front over the Appalachians.
Unfortunately, the weather is being much more unpredictable than the ever negligent coal-companies of Appalachia. Whats it gonna take?
JW RandolphRaised on the banks of the Tennessee River, JW's work to create progress in his home state and throughout Appalachia has been featured on the Rachel Maddow Show, The Daily Kos and Grist. He served first as Appalachian Voices’ Legislative Associate and then Tennessee director until leaving to pursue a career in medicine in 2012.
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