As always, Ken Ward Jr. at the Charleston Gazette (in West Virginia) is the first to write about some great news. We reprinted part of his post below, so please read his great blog for the rest of the story.

“Breaking news: EPA issues ‘proposed determination’ to block Clean Water Act permit for the largest mountaintop removal mine in W.Va. history”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency just issued its “proposed determination” to block the Clean Water Act permit for the Spruce No. 1 Mine in Logan County, the largest mountaintop removal permit in West Virginia history.

…

As I explained in an earlier post, this EPA notice starts another long process of review and debate — including a mandatory public hearing if EPA finds a significant degree of public interest — before EPA would actually veto the permit.

Read the rest of the story on Ken’s blog, CoalTattoo.

Appalachian Voices helped release a new report by the Environmental Integrity Project and Earthjustice that identified 31 additional coal-ash contamination sites in 14 states with proven damage and pollution of groundwater, rivers, streams and/or wetlands. North Carolina leads the pack at six coal ash ponds that are leaking toxics into nearby waters. The report caused the Charlotte Observer to come out in favor of stronger state and federal standards for coal ash ponds.

The snippit below is from the Appalachian Voices’ Watauga Riverkeeper blog:

In hopes of encouraging the EPA to come out with overdue regulations on the handling of coal ash, EIP and Earth Justice with help from the Appalachian Voices Watauga Riverkeeper team released a report today illustrating the damages caused by 31 coal ash disposal sites across the country.

The report details 31 sites where major damage to surface water or groundwater has been documented. The pollution present in this waste is among the earth’s most harmful to aquatic life and humans – arsenic, lead, selenium, cadmium and other heavy metals, which cause cancer and crippling neurological damage. If these poisons can be kept out of the fish we eat, the water we drink, bathe in, and need to survive, simply through regulation, than we must take that long overdue step, not only for the sake of our public waters but for humanity’s sake as well.

Asheville Ash Pond and Nearby Homes

Coal Ash Moonscape at Belews Creek Steam Station

Read the rest of the blog post here.

This just in from the Waterkeeper Alliance:

In celebration of The Dirty Lie’s first birthday, Waterkeeper Alliance is hosting a contest to find the best short video telling the world that clean coal is nothing but a dirty lie. Be creative, we are looking for out-of-the-box submissions that showcase coal’s dirty lies and your talents! Potential topics include mountaintop removal coal mining, coal ash, or climate change.

Finalists will be featured at thedirtylie.com, gaining exposure to a global audience. The winner will be chosen by a panel of five celebrity judges, and will walk away with a cool $5,000.00.

How to Enter:

1. Post your video to your YouTube channel no later than 12 pm EST on April 30, 2010
2. Email the link to your submission and the following information to thedirtyliecontest@gmail.com by 12 pm EST on April 30, 2010.
   • Name
   • Phone number
   • Address
   • YouTube link
   • Release form
   • How you found out about The Dirty Lie Video Contest

** The contest is open to individuals only. Staff of Waterkeeper Alliance or any of their member programs are welcome to apply, but not eligible for the $5,000 grand prize.

The Appalachian Voices’ Waterkeeper Team Continues the Fight Against Water Pollution from Coal

The Appalachian Voices Watekeeper team began its journey into the dark abyss of coal ash and its toxic impact to waterways in December of 2008 when it started documenting the environmental harm caused by the TVA coal ash pond spill into the Emory River at Harriman, Tennessee. Since that time, the App Voices Waterkeeper team has released numerous reports, videos and calls to action to protect waterways from the contamination of coal ash:

• – Preliminary independent tests find high levels of toxic chemicals in Harriman TN fly ash deposits-January 1, 2009
  
• – Independent fish sampling results find high levels of toxic chemicals in Kingston, TN fly ash deposits and Emory River fish-May 18, 2009
  
• – All N.C. Coal Ash Ponds Contaminating Groundwater, Analysis Shows-October 6, 2009
  
• – Kingston Coal Plant Released 2.6 Million Pounds of Arsenic, Nine Other Pollutants into the Emory River in 2008-More than the Entire Water Pollution Output of All Other US Power Plants-December 8, 2009
  
• – Environmental Groups Ask EPA Enforcement Program to Increase State Oversight and Step Up Enforcement Against Coal Waste Impoundments

The hard work and relentless advocacy of our organization and our partners to ensure clean water and healthy fisheries is yielding results. Recently, NC announced it was requiring Duke Energy and Progress Energy to implement additional monitoring of heavy metals at is coal ash ponds in NC. The news was covered on WFAE and the Institute for Southern Studies: “North Carolina orders utilities to test groundwater near coal ash ponds.”

In the year since the App Voices Waterkeeper Team launched its assault on water pollution from dirty coal ash, our work has been reported by 60 Minutes, National Public Radio, New York Times, The Nation, the Associated Press, Reuters, the Institute for Southern Studies, the Charlotte Observer, the News & Record and many more.

We could not do this work without the generous support of our members, they make it possible for us to continue the all out assault on Dirty Coal’s contamination of water! Look for some exciting new information from us on Ash Wednesday (February 17, 2010)! In the meantime, here are some of our coal ash videos from last year:

Tags: appalachian voices, coal ash, fish, heavy metals, kingston coal ash spill, riverkeeper, selenium, tva, water pollution

Here are two articles about the recent adoption of “non-mandatory” mandatory changes to Kentucky surface mine regulations.

We’ll believe this changes surface mining practices when we see it!

https://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100107/GREEN/1070356/1008/NEWS01/Kentucky+adopts+tougher+surface-mining+guidelines
Kentucky has issued tougher guidelines for surface coal mines that officials say will protect streams and lead to faster and better reclamation of hillsides and mountains.
Advertisement

The guidelines, hammered out over the past year by federal and state regulatory officials, environmentalists and coal-industry representatives, call on coal operators to place more “spoil” material disrupted by mining — such as dirt and rock — back on the mine sites, instead of dumping it into valleys and stream beds. They are already in effect.

Though the guidelines aren’t mandatory, mine operators are expected to follow them because the state and federal agencies that issue permits for surface mining are part of the agreement and will base their permit decisions on it, said Linda Potter a spokeswoman for the state Department of Natural Resources.

….

https://www.kentucky.com/latest_news/story/1086985.html

The state is encouraging coal companies to use the new guidelines, but it’s not mandatory. However, federal agencies that have authority over some aspects of permit applications are requiring the use of the new practices, so as a practical matter, coal companies will use them, FitzGerald said.

And here is the response from Kentuckians for the Commonwealth:

https://www.kftc.org/blog/archive/2010/01/08/fill-minimization-will-it-happen

There is an important new protocol now in place for lessening the amount of toxic mining wastes dumped into streams. If enforced, it could help reduce significantly the destruction of our waterways. That is a good thing,

Titled the “fill placement optimization process” the document establishes a protocol (it reads largely like an engineering paper) for determining the amount of mining waste and where it should end up — first on the site being mined, then on adjacent abandoned mines and possibly in upper valley elevations (above stream level). It potentially diverts mining wastes from streams but does not ban dumping into streams. Basically, it establishes a possible protocol for enforcing existing law.

Download the Fill Placement Minimization Process document.

Download the state’s Reclamation Advisory Memorandum.

That’s the rub: state officials could (and should!) have been enforcing these laws all along had they chosen to do so. And the industry could have been obeying these laws. Instead, state officials have routinely granted waivers of the stream buffer zone (165 waivers out of a total of 251 new permits issued in 2005 and 2006) and reclamation laws. There is no evidence that they will not continue to do so, and this “new” policy — which the state is “encouraging” coal companies to follow — means nothing if the state and federal agencies are not going to require it. There are still plenty of loopholes.

That’s why the Stream Saver Bill and the Clean Water Protection Act are still needed. Coal companies should be prevented by law from filling our streams with their toxic wastes, not just “encouraged” to do so.

And given the Science journal study cited in our January 7 blog post, an outright prohibition of mountaintop removal and valley fills is the only real guarantee that our streams (and land and forests and people) will be protected and preserved.

We applaud the efforts of Tom FitzGerald and the Kentucky Resources Council to move the enforcement agencies a step closer to real enforcement of the law. Now it is up to enforcement officials to prove there will be action behind these words. Kentucky Resources Council to move the enforcement agencies a step closer to real enforcement of the law. Now it is up to enforcement officials to prove there will be action behind these words.

Mountaintop removal coal mine in Floyd or Magoffin County Kentucky by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, on Flickr

This just in from the the great clean water advocates:

We are excited to announce that the Forum on the Future of Energy, where Waterkeeper Alliance President Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. will debate Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship, will be an online, interactive event.

Find out the latest news about the January 21, 2010 event and how you can participate by following us on Twitter and The Dirty Lie fan page on Facebook.

The University of Charleston will also be taking questions for the debaters in advance of the event – you can submit your questions to the University.

Thank you for your continued support of Waterkeeper Alliance and The Dirty Lie.

Sincerely,

Scott Edwards
Director of Advocacy
Waterkeeper Alliance

This just in from the Alliance for Appalachia Blog:

The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) is charged with enforcing the law on mountaintop removal. Unfortunately, decades of rollbacks and giving in to coal industry corruption have left coalfield communities virtually undefended. Exceptions to the surface mine law have become the rule, and problems with dust, blasting, toxic water and giant wastelands remaining unreclaimed are impacting the lives of thousands across the coalfields.

The OSMRE is asking for advice on how to enforce the law – and we need you to offer it. (link to website) Comments are due by January 19th – please click here to send in sample comments or offer your own. Many of you have had personal experiences with the OSMRE – and we encourage you to write about them.

When the OSMRE doesn’t hear from citizens, they assume you have nothing to say – please let them know we are paying attention and we expect the laws to be enforced.

Thanks for your help!

The following email was sent to the 39,000+ supporters of iLoveMountains.org. To sign up to receive free email alerts, click here.

You can see more photos from 2009
in our Flickr album.

Can you come to Washington, D.C., March 6-10 for our 5th Annual End Mountaintop Removal Week — and help make 2010 the year that we put an end to mountaintop removal coal mining?

Click here for more information and to sign up.

In 2010, we have a real opportunity to pass the Clean Water Protection Act (H.R. 1310) and the Appalachia Restoration Act (S. 696) — bills that would significantly advance our goal of ending mountaintop removal coal mining.

But for these bills to pass, Congress needs to hear from ordinary citizens like you — and that’s what the Week in Washington is all about.

Last year’s Week in Washington was a tremendous success. More than 150 people from over 20 states came to Washington, holding more than 150 meetings with Congressional offices.

The result? We now have a record 160 co-sponsors in the House and 10 co-sponsors in the Senate.

Can you join us this year in Washington? You’ll get to meet and work with other passionate Appalachian activists from around the country; learn to engage decision-makers and others in your community about the issue; and meet face to face with legislators to help inspire and educate them to end mountaintop removal coal mining in 2010.

Full and partial scholarships are available on a needs-basis. To learn more and register for the Week in Washington, click here:

https://www.ilovemountains.org/wiw

If you can’t make it to Washington, please mark your calendars for Tuesday, March 9 — that’s the day we’ll be holding a national call-in day that you can participate in from anywhere.

Please also consider sponsoring a participant by donating here.

We hope to see you in Washington!

Matt Wasson
iLoveMountains.org

The following email was sent to the 39,000+ supporters of iLoveMountains.org. To sign up to receive free email alerts, click here.

Dear Friend of the Mountains,

Dumping mine waste into a valley fill on Kayford Mountain, WV

When the Bush Administration proposed gutting the “Stream Buffer Zone Rule” — a regulation that has prevented surface mining within 100 feet of our nation’s streams for decades — people like you responded in force. More than 75,000 comments were submitted to the Bush Administration, asking that the regulation be left intact.

The Bush administration overrode public opinion, however, and gutted the rule anyway — handing a parting gift to Big Coal before it left office.

Now, we urgently need the Obama administration to reverse this rule and protect our nation’s streams from being buried by mining waste from mountaintop removal coal mining.

Unfortunately, the Office of Surface Mining, Reclaimation, and Enforcement has proposed waiting until 2011 to begin making changes to the Stream Buffer Zone Rule.

Waiting an entire year is unacceptable — we are losing streams in Appalachia every day. Waiting another year means that many more miles of Appalachian streams — the headwaters of streams that provide the drinking water supplies of many eastern cities — will be forever buried.

The Office of Surface Mining, Reclaimation, and Enforcement is accepting comments until December 30th on its proposal to delay addressing Stream Buffer Zone Rule changes for another year. Can you take just a moment today, and tell them that waiting a year is unacceptable?

Click here to submit your comments today.

Please let the OSMRE know that we need to end the dumping of mountaintop removal waste into Appalachian streams immediately.

Thank you for taking action.

Matt Wasson
iLoveMountains.org

PS Please help gather the resources we need for the battles ahead by making a special year end contribution today: https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1741/t/6886/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=1807

The following email was sent to the 39,000+ supporters of iLoveMountains.org. To sign up to receive free email alerts, click here.

Dear Friend of the Mountains,

As the Associated Press recently observed, “environmental activists gained more momentum this year than in the past decade against the destructive, uniquely Appalachian form of strip mining known as mountaintop removal.”

That momentum has been the result of your efforts.

Every time we’ve asked, you and nearly 40,000 people like you who love mountains have taken action — spreading the word among friends, speaking up to Congress, sending in comments to regulatory agencies, and making sure the world knows that the days of destroying mountains for cheap coal are numbered.

Yet the push back from Big Coal is gaining strength — and the final showdown to end mountaintop removal coal mining may arrive in 2010.

Can you help us prepare for what will surely be a critical year by making a contribution to iLoveMountains today?

Click here to make a contribution.

In the past year, your support has made a tremendous difference:

1. In Congress, we’ve gained a record 161 Co-Sponsors for the Clean Water Protection Act — and a companion bill, the Appalachian Restoration Act, was introduced for the first time ever in the United States Senate, which currently has 10 co-sponsors.
2. In an historic turnaround, Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) “spoke the truth” and warned the coal industry that “the practice of mountaintop removal mining has a diminishing constituency in Washington.”
3. The EPA recommended that 79 proposed valley fill permits not be issued as written, while the Office of Surface Mining proposed overturning the Bush-era stream buffer zone rule, which made it easier for big coal to dump mining waste into thousands of miles of streams.
4. The importance of fight to save Coal River Mountain spread from living rooms across America to the Climate Summit in Copenhagan, becoming a symbol of the choice America faces between a clean energy future and the pollution of past sources of power.

All of this happened because people like you have sent more than 100,000 letters to Congress, the Senate, and Executive agencies… because hundreds of ordinary citizens have traveled to Washington or visited with their representatives during in-district visits… because more than 2,000 bloggers have joined our “Blogger’s Challenge” and spread the word about mountaintop removal…. and because you’e helped spread the word to family and friends, growing our movement to nearly 40,000 people who are committed to taking action online.

Can you help us increase that momentum by making a contribution today? Any amount you can afford to give — whether $25, $100, or $500 — goes directly to supporting our campaign to end mountaintop removal, and gives us the critical resources we’ll need in 2010:

Click here to contribute today.

Thank you for doing everything you can to help end mountaintop removal coal mining.

Matt Wasson
iLoveMountains.org

PS. Want to be among the activists who join us for the 5th Annual End Mountaintop Removal Week in Washington, coming up March 6-10th, 2010? Save the date and learn more by clicking here.

The following email was sent to the 39,000+ supporters of iLoveMountains.org. To sign up to receive free email alerts, click here.

Today, the confluence between mountaintop removal coal mining and climate change is front and center on the streets of Charleston, West Virginia and on stage at the “COP15″ United Nations Climate Summit in Copenhagen.

In Charleston, activists from around the region are gathering in front of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection headquarters to demand an end to blasting at Coal River Mountain — ground zero in the fight against mountaintop removal coal mining.

And in Copenhagen, Google is unveiling a new layer in Google Earth that dramatically illustrates the choice to be made at Coal River Mountain — a choice between a clean energy future and the increased threat of climate change.

Click here to watch the YouTube video that Google will be showing at Copenhagen:

As Lorelei Scarbro, who lives in Rock Creek, West Virginia, at the foot of Coal River Mountain, says in the video, Coal River Mountain represents a crossroads in our future.

Massey Energy plans to mine more than 6000 acres of mountaintop at Coal River Mountain, which would destroy the opportunity to build a 320 megawatt wind farm on the ridges of Coal River Mountain.

Instead of 320 megawatts of clean energy that would power more than 70,000 homes indefinitely, Massey’s plans would release 134 million tons of C02 — the equivalent of putting 1.5 million more cars on the road for 17 years.

That’s what makes Coal River Mountain a “cauldron of Climate Change,” in Lorelei’s words. That’s why Google is showing millions of Google Earth users and the delegates in Copenhagen what’s at stake at Coal River Mountain, and why people from around the region are gathering today in Charleston.

Can you stand with the activists in Charleston and the delegates in Copenhagen today by taking two simple actions?

1. Watch the Coal River Mountain Video and forward it to your friends and family. Ask them to join you in stopping mountaintop removal coal mining by signing up at iLoveMountains.org.

2. Email your Senators and tell them to pass the Appalachian Restoration Act. If Congress is serious about addressing climate change, we need this bill to dramatically reduce mountaintop removal coal mining, which is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.

Thank you for taking a moment today to help secure a clean energy future for all of us.

Matt Wasson
iLoveMountains.org

The following email was sent to the 38,000+ supporters of iLoveMountains.org. To sign up to receive free email alerts, click here.

We’re hearing some promising news coming out of Coal River Mountain.

According to The Charleston Gazette, the EPA is taking a closer look at Massey Energy’s mountaintop removal project at Coal River Mountain strip mine, and questioning whether Massey Energy should have obtained a “dredge and fill” permit under the Clean Water Act.

We’re glad the EPA may be tightening its oversight of Coal River Mountain — but we need to stop mountaintop removal coal mining altogether, and not just tighten oversight on a case by case basis.

Our latest America’s Most Endangered Mountain video illustrates why.

In southwest Virginia, the communities of Appalachia and Andover are threatened by a proposed mountaintop removal project on Ison Rock Ridge.

As Pete Ramey of Wise County, VA says, “It only take one push of a plunger to blow a mountain away and destroy a whole community.”

Watch the video here:
https://www.ilovemountains.org/endangered/

The stories of people like Pete Ramey, Maude Jervis and Angie Honeycutt — all of whom appear in our latest America’s Most Endangered Mountains video — are what keep us committed day in and day out to ending mountaintop removal coal mining.

And here’s something simple that you can do today to help us garner the resources we need to end the travesties unfolding today at Coal River Mountain, Ison Rock Ridge and dozens of other places throughout Appalachia.

Chase Community Giving is holding a contest that allows Facebook users to vote for the non-profit organization of their choice — and we’re in the running. 100 finalists will receive $25,000; the Top 5 winners receive $100,000, and the organization with the most votes receives $1,000,000!

If you’re on Facebook, simply click here to cast your vote for Appalachian Voices in order to support iLoveMountains.org (a joint project between the Alliance for Appalachia and Appalachian Voices):

https://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/41514

(Note that you must allow the application to access your profile to cast your vote.)

JP Morgan Chase remains one of the biggest funders of mountaintop removal coal mining. Wouldn’t it be great if we were to use their own money to stop the destruction of Appalachia?

Please take a moment to vote for Appalachian Voices today, and forward the Ison Rock Ridge video to your family and friends.

From all of us at iLoveMountains, Appalachian Voices, and the Alliance for Appalachia — have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Matt Wasson
iLoveMountains.org