In celebration of the Center for Appalachian Studies’ 30th anniversary and Appalshop’s 40th anniversary, the Center for Appalachian Studies at Appalachian State University will be present a number of different events this week. Our favorites are listed below. Ann Pancake is the voice behind our multi-media presentation on mountaintop removal, Appalachian Treasures. And Tom Hansell and Appalshop have been producing great documentaries about Appalachia. Check them all out!

Monday, September 14, 7:00pm
IG Greer Auditorium
Featured Speaker Ann Pancake
“Voices from Under the Mine: A Reading from the Novel: Strange as This Weather Has Been & Book Signing

Published in 2007, “Strange As This Weather Has Been” is her first novel. It features a southern West Virginia family devastated by mountaintop removal mining. Based on interviews and real events, the novel was one of KirkusReview’s Top Ten Fiction Books of 2007, won the 2007 Weatherford Award, and was a finalist for the 2008 Orion Book Award.

Wednesday September 16 7pm
Premier of Tom Hansell’s “The Electricity Fairy”
Belk Library Room 114

“They reach out and flip the switch and the light comes on. Well, there’s not a magic electricity fairy. That electricity comes from a power plant that feeds on coal.”
– Eugene Mooney, former head of the Kentucky Department for Natural Resources

The Electricity Fairy is a documentary that examines America’s national
addiction to fossil fuels through the lens of electricity. Appalshop
Filmmaker Tom Hansell follows the story of a proposed coal-fired power
plant in the mountains of southwest Virginia, connecting the local
controversy to the national debate over energy policy. Present day
documentary footage is remixed with old educational films, connecting
past policy to America’s current energy crisis.

The fine assessed to coal company for blasting a boulder into your home : $10,000
Bail assessed to tree-sitters who prevent blasting at a mountaintop removal site: $50,000
Ending mountaintop removal coal mining: PRICELESS

One of the dangers that face coalfield residents every day is what the industry calls flyrock, a term that does not provide an accurate description. Flyrock can be more accurately described as “really big boulders that can kill you.”

This picture is a example of a “flyrock” incident that occurred in Floyd County, KY, late last week. Luckily no one was home at the time of the incident. The fact that people could have been killed and that a home was severely damaged, not to mention the psychological damage done to the community, surely is worth more than $10,000. Obviously, the Division of Mine Reclamation and Enforcement in Kentucky disagreed.

This is not the only time flyrock had damaged homes; and it has even taken lives. In January 2005, a bulldozer pushed a boulder the size of a large microwave off a mountaintop removal site in Appalachia, Virginia, at 3 a.m. where it rolled right into the bedroom of Zach and Jeremy Davdison. Jeremy, the younger of the two, was unfortunate enough to have the bed next to the outside wall. That boulder crushed 3 year-old- Jeremy Davidson to death. But Zach, the older brother while physically safe will have psychological wounds that may never heal. The Washington Post article reported him saying, “When we move, I don’t want to live by a hill. I may be next.”

The A&G Coal Company, responsible for the incident, was fined even less, a paltry $5000.

However, peaceful protesters who sat in trees to prevent blasting at Massey Energy’s Edwight Surface Mine were fined $50,000 for trespass, obstruction and littering when they came down after 5 days of enduring psychological torture, verbal assault and threats from Massey employees and security.

In fact, the rough treatment of the 2 tree-sitters, as well as the contracted security themselves, was enough for Chris Carey and Patrick Murray, two of the contract security, to walk off the job. They were brave enough to share their views of the tree-sit, and their complex and subtle opinions of the power of Big Coal and the future of West Virginia. Watch the video- there’s a 10 minute version, but the one hour version is worth listening to as well.

What message are we sending to the coalfield residents of Appalachia, when coal companies literally get away with murder and destruction for a measly $10,000?

The following email was sent to the 37,000+ supporters of iLoveMountains.org. To sign up to receive free email alerts, click here.

Dear mountain lover,

We have great news!

The Obama Administration has heard you! Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency placed all 79 mountaintop removal permits they were reviewing on temporary reprieve. This represents the biggest step ever taken toward reining in the destruction of the Appalachian Mountains by mountaintop removal coal mining.

The release of a list of 79 permits begins a 14-day countdown in which the EPA regional offices must respond to the EPA headquarters' recommendations. While we applaud the current decision by the EPA, these permits could still be approved.

The EPA's announcement is part of a coordination procedure outlined in a "memorandum of understanding" between the Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department of Interior to deal with a backlog of permits held up by litigation over the past few years. The EPA has promised a more stringent and transparent review of all mountaintop removal valley fill permit applications, and as of today they have delivered.

The EPA is requesting public comment during these 14 days and we need to send them the message loud and clear to stand firm. No more mountains or communities should be blasted off the map.

However, the EPA is not currently set up to receive these comments, so we will be sending you an alert early next week, providing the tools you need to thank the EPA and to make sure the regional offices keep these mountains and communities safe from mountaintop removal coal mining.

In the mean time, we have set up a new page on iLoveMountains.org where you can see the location and track of the status of the permits pending before the EPA. You can view the permit map and see videos of nearby communities threatened by mountaintop removal at:

https://ilovemountains.org/epa-permit-list/

Just wanted to share the good news – we'll be back in touch next week.

Have a great weekend!

Matt Wasson
iLoveMountains.org

are here (.xls)

100% of the MTR permits (79 of 79) were kiboshed.

Why is the number of permits 79 and not 86 or 108?

Via EPA’s Q&A:

An initial list of 108 pending Clean Water Act permit applications for proposed coal mines was provided by the Corps and published at the same time as the June 11, 2009 MOU. The original group of 108 projects included 13 projects whose permit applications have subsequently been withdrawn by the mining company, 8 projects for which permit issuance was imminent and occurred prior to, or concurrent with, the publication of the list, 3 projects for which an ongoing enforcement action currently precludes a permit decision, 1 permit application not complete, 1 project for which the work does not require a permit, and 5 underground mining projects determined not appropriate for the ECP. Also, 2 additional projects were added to the original list. In summary, 31 projects were removed from the original list of 108, and 2 were added, resulting in a total of 79 projects identified as remaining on the ECP list

Says Congress Should Follow-Up By Approving Clean Water Protection Act (HR 1310)

“I fully support EPA’s decision to halt these permits and applaud the agency for recognizing the importance of protecting clean water. Clean and healthy water is a requirement for healthy people, especially growing children. Congress should follow through on this momentum and pass the Clean Water Protection Act to completely shut down the devastating practice of mountain top removal and to preserve clean water.”

Don’t miss this commentary by Sierra Club’s Bruce Nilles and Mary Anne Hitt at DailyKos.

And the National Mining Association weighs in, via Coal Tattoo

“EPA’s announcement today to halt 79 pending coal mining permits continues the moratorium on Eastern coal mining that jeopardizes the livelihoods of tens of thousands of American workers and their communities.
“By deciding to hold up for still further review coal mining permits pending in West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee, the agency damages a weak economy struggling to recover in the worst recession in post-war history. “EPA has adopted its own process and criteria for reviewing coal mine permits that is the responsibility of the Army Corp of Engineers. No one outside of EPA –not even the Corps – knows what criteria EPA has used to now find these 79 permits insufficient. Permit applicants do not know what conditions outside the bounds of the existing regulations they must meet to obtain a permit.
“In effect, EPA is imposing new regulations that have not been proposed or publicly reviewed as required by law. This action reinforces our earlier call for a transparent process that gives coal operators confidence in the regulatory process.
“We’re at a loss to understand how EPA’s moratorium on coal mining aligns with the public interest and the Administration’s attempt to restore economic growth and create high wage jobs.”

Kate Sheppard has a good piece at the Washington Independent, and Ken Ward over at Coal Tattoo breaks this down in traditional Coal Tattoo style.

Environmental Groups Cautiously Optimistic Over News

– – – – – –
CONTACT:
Dr. Matthew Wasson, Appalachian Voices – 828-262-1500
Stephanie Pistello, Appalachian Voices – 917-664-5511
– – – – – –

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced the preliminary fate of 79 valley fill permit applications associated with mountaintop removal coal mining. In a move that pleased environmentalists and coalfield residents in central and southern Appalachia, the EPA recommended that none of the 79 permits be streamlined for approval.

This decision is not final, but is part of a coordination procedure outlined in a June “memorandum of understanding” between the Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department of Interior to deal with a backlog of permits held up by litigation over the past few years. The EPA has promised a more stringent and transparent review of all mountaintop removal valley fill permit applications.

Willa Mays, executive director for Appalachian Voices, a regional environmental group, was delighted about the EPA’s preliminary list. “By recommending these permits not be approved, the EPA and the Army Corps has demonstrated their intention to fulfill a promise to provide science-based oversight which will limit the devastating environmental impacts of mountaintop removal mining,” Mays said. “EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Army Corps’ Assistant Secretary Jo-Ellen Darcy and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Terrence “Rock” Salt have shown exceptional leadership. This is indeed good news especially paired with the fact that 156 members of the House of Representatives are now cosponsors of the Clean Water Protection Act.”

The reaction from coalfield residents was mostly optimistic. Chuck Nelson, retired union coal miner from Glen Daniel, W.Va., and board member of the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition said, “By recommending these permits be further reviewed, the EPA is allowing at least a temporary reprieve for the people of Appalachia. It appears the EPA is starting to take the concerns of coalfield residents into account when considering these permits.”

Vernon Haltom, co-director of Coal River Mountain Watch in Raleigh County, W.Va., was excited about the announcement. “We who live with the nightmare of mountaintop removal are glad that the EPA is beginning to do its job to protect our communities,” he said. “Our life-giving water resources are priceless, and it’s refreshing to see the EPA finally prioritizing them over coal companies’ short-term profits.”

As outlined in the memorandum, EPA Regional offices will be given 14 days to review and comment on the EPA Headquarters’ recommendations, after which EPA Headquarters can finalize the list.

If the EPA Regional offices agree with the EPA Headquarters’ assessment that these permits have “substantial environmental concerns,” an “enhanced coordination” process will begin, where the EPA and the Army Corps will study each permit on a case-by-case basis. The beginning of each coordination process sets off a 60-day period during which the two agencies must resolve any permit applications. The EPA reserves the right to exercise their veto authority over any of the unresolved permits.

In the past, the EPA was primarily absent from the approval of mountaintop removal permits, allowing the Army Corps to essentially “rubber-stamp” them. “The whole permitting process had become a bit toothless,” EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson admitted in a recent interview with the Tampa Bay Press. “The Corps of Engineers understands [that] when the EPA has concerns, it’s going to raise them. We’re going to do our jobs.”

In 2002, the Bush Administration expedited the permitting process by classifying mining waste as acceptable “fill material” as defined by the Clean Water Act. Valley fills are created when toxic debris from mountaintop removal mining is dumped into valleys adjacent to the mine sites, burying headwater streams and permanently damaging the hydrology of the watershed system.

“I’m glad the EPA has admitted they have some responsibility for protecting people and nature from mountaintop removal,” said Cathie Bird of Save Our Cumberland Mountains in Tennessee. “But I worry they still don’t get it. This brutal practice kills whole communities and watersheds, and it should be banned, not one permit at a time but once and forever.”

To view the permits in map form, visit the Permit Shortlist Google Map created by Appalachian Voices at www.ilovemountains.org/epa-permit-list.

EPA HQ will withhold 79 MTR valleyfill permits, sending them back to EPA regional offices

Today, EPA announced that they will be withholding 79 mountaintop removal and valleyfill permits for further review. More info and action tools forthcoming…

EPA goes through basic questions and answers about what this means here. (.pdf)

We Will ask the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to Reject his Nomination

Next Tuesday at 2:30 the Senate Energy Committee will consider the nominiation of Joe Pizarchik to head the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement.

Appalachian Voices believes that Joseph Pizarchik is the wrong individual to direct the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE). His record in Pennsylvania gives us grave concerns about his ability and willingness to protect the communities and natural resources in the coal-bearing regions of our country. In particular, we have doubts about his ability to protect Appalachia’s dwindling water resources from mountaintop removal mining operations which are devastating our mountains and headwaters.

With Mr. Pizarchik as legal council to Pennsylvania’s mining program, and then Director of the Bureau of Mining and Reclamation in the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP), citizens have suffered from a bureaucratic indifference toward meeting the purposes of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA).

Three foundational purposes behind the passage of SMCRA in 1977 were to “establish a nationwide program to protect society and the environment from the adverse effects of surface coal mining operations” to “assure the rights of landowners” and “protect the environment.”

Mr. Pizarchik has exhibited a bureaucratic indifference which has led to this distortion of the original intent of the law.

1. A 2007 independent review of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s own monitoring data has revealed that 10 of 15 mine sites where coal ash has been “beneficially used” are contaminating surface and groundwater.

2. In a consensus report, National Research Council scientists concluded that Mr. Pizarchik’s program of alleged “beneficial use” of coal ash in mines did not use safeguards needed for this practice.

3. A federal court ruled Mr. Pizarchik’s bonding program failed SMCRA’s bonding requirements to prevent water pollution.

4. Mr. Pizarchik attempted to prevent citizens from obtaining probative information under the Freedom of Information Act.

5. Mr. Pizarchik was involved in amending regulations under Pennsylvania’s Coal Refuse Disposal Control Act to allow variances to fill valleys with coal processing waste which have obliterated dozens of miles of Pennsylvania streams

6. Mr. Pizarchik’s long wall mining policy has devastated homes, destroyed streams and water supplies and violated the rights of landowners.

For the reasons stated above, we respectfully ask that the OSMRE be led by someone who will break the mold of indifference to landowner rights and environmental damage and “protect society and the environment from the adverse effects of surface coal mining operations.” Mr. Pizarchik is not the appropriate choice for the position, and we ask the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources to reject his nomination.

This in from Climate Ground Zero

Early this morning 81 year old Roland Micklem, a former United States Army Paratrooper and Christian advocate for the mountains led a blockade of Massey Energy’s Regional head quarters.

Roland, along with James McGuinness 53, Fred Williamson 75 and Joseph Hamsher 22, have courageously placed themselves in the middle of a road blocking all traffic seeking to enter Massey Energy regional headquarters in Boone County West Virginia.

The protesters are demanding that Massey Energy, a notorious mountaintop removal coal company, pay damages and health care costs for Appalachian citizens living within a one mile radius of Massey mountaintop removal sites, and that the Federal Government act immediately to end mountaintop removal. The men also demand that a full investigation is conducted into Massey Energy’s business, labor, and environmental practices.

“I am exercising a spiritual obligation as a steward of Creation. It was not God’s intent that these mountains be destroyed to enhance the wealth of a few individuals,” said Roland Micklem, 81. “This should not be solely a young person’s campaign. Now that they have provided the example and inspiration, we seniors need to make a statement with our own actions and share the risks that are part of this ongoing effort to stop the obliteration of West Virginia’s mountains.”

The blockade is taking place right after the Massey Energy sponsored “ Friends of America” rally, where Ted Nugent, Sean Hannity and Massey CEO Don Blankenship, painted climate change as a myth, blamed “environmental extremists” for regional job loss and called for a conservative extremist movement. Sean Hannity even took a shot at Van Jones, the former “green jobs handy man” within the Obama Administration. Jones, who before his resignation due to a vicious smear campaign, was actively working to diversify the Appalachian mono-economy, and bring alternative economic opportunity to the impoverished region.

These concerned citizens, the true “Friends of America” are dedicated to non-violent action that they hope will ultimately end mountaintop removal, and stop multi-national out of state corporations like Massey Energy from destroying the Appalachian economy, environment and culture.

For updates, please visit Climate Ground Zero

From Ken Ward Jr. and his Coal Tattoo blog:

Late last week — just before the Labor Day holiday — the Obama administration EPA issued a mountaintop removal bombshell: A major letter that blasts a whole host of problems with the largest strip-mining permit ever issued in the state of West Virginia.

EPA experts have concluded that the mine, as currently designed and permitted, would violate the federal Clean Water Act. They’ve urged the Army Corps of Engineers to suspend, revoke or modify the permit. In response, Corps lawyers have asked U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers for a 30-day stay in legal proceedings over this permit, to give Corps staffers time to re-examine the project.

read the entire post on Coal Tattoo

For Immediate Release: August 27th, 2009

Contacts: Adam Wells, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, 276.523.4380, 804 240 4372

Oliver Bernstein, Sierra Club, 512.477.2152

Temporary Reprieve for Virginia Residents, Mountains

Amid Growing Community and Environmental Concerns, DMME to Request More Information on Ison Rock Ridge While Scrutiny on Federal Level Continues.

Big Stone Gap, Virginia – The Virginia Department of Mines Minerals and Energy (DMME) issued a letter late Wednesday once again requesting more information from A&G Coal Company on their controversial Ison Rock Ridge mountaintop removal mine proposed for Wise County, Virginia. The move is a reprieve for the communities, mountains and streams nearby.

Among the concerns outlined in the letter were questions about how the mine plans to proceed in the absence of a required approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and about how the mine will deal with the proposed discharge of pollutants into already polluted streams.

Despite overwhelming local opposition, a growing national movement opposing mountaintop removal mining, and heightened scrutiny from the Obama Administration, A&G has continued to seek to destroy Ison Rock Ridge via mountaintop removal coal mining. The permit, if approved, would decimate over 1200 acres of lush Appalachian hardwood forest and imperil hundreds of people living directly adjacent to the permit boundary.

Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards (SAMS) along with the Sierra Club have been fighting the permit application for more than two years. “This is encouraging,” said SAMS board member and retired underground miner Bob Mullins, whose back yard abuts the permit boundary. “People living in the shadow of this mine understand just how dangerous things could get. My whole community’s future is at stake here.”

DMME’s action yesterday is further indication that the mine application is in an excessively dangerous and irresponsible location. In addition to being literally in the backyards of residents, the proposed mine would also drain waste-water into the already impaired Callahan Creek. DMME had most recently requested more information from the permit applicant in a letter dated May 8, 2009. The permit application is currently on its ninth revision.

“This is a welcome temporary reprieve for the people of Wise County, but the threat of this enormous mine requires permanent protection for the communities, streams and mountains,” said Pete Ramey, President of SAMS.

###

Building on Jeff Biggers’ message
…

Happy labor day everyone. This day carries special significance in Appalachia, particularly for our coal miners. We look at it with special attention today as, Don Blankenship, Ted Nugent, Sean Hannity and several far-right extremists are holding a protest – opposite the actual UMWA labor rally – meant to whip up the fervor against those of us working to address climate change and mountaintop removal. They are holding the “rally” because, in Don Blankenship’s words:

If big biz and gov’t are working against American workers, who will support them?

Despite the fact that they are working to draw attendance away from the labor rally, this event is titled the “Friends of America” rally, and it is being hosted by a swath of sordid characters with extremist union-busting pasts, and a history of inciting violence against those they disagree with.

For instance, on his website, Sean Hannity asked Which Type of Revolution Would you Prefer?
The choices?
a) military coup
b) armed rebellion
c) war for secession

You know what is missing? D) “democratic elections.” Hannity and those like him refuse to recognize the legitimate elections which have taken place over last 4 years. His extremist views are unpopular and can not command a majority of American voters. So his only choice is to offer his viewers violent alternatives.

Ted Nugent has a long and equally sordid history, recently telling the now-President of the United States to “Suck on His Machine Guns.” Hannity defended this statement on his television show.

Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship is equally notorious, telling an ABC reporter who was attempting to report on Blankenship’s dealings with a WV Supreme Court justice in the French Riviera:

If you’re going to start taking pictures of me, you’re liable to get shot.

Not to mention that Massey pulled in $20 million of profits last quarter while making huge layoffs and being fined millions for clean water act violations.

So, today they gather to incite fervor and hatred of those of us who are working to protect our climate, protect our mountains, and protect and promote Appalachian jobs. For those who are not familiar with the history of violence against those working for progress in the coal mines, I suggest you read about the Appalachian mine wars or the Battle of Blair Mountain. The threat of violence is not an idle one in Appalachia to this very day. In a now famous instance, a supposed coal-miner invaded a July 4th picnic on Kayford Mountain this year and threatened to kill a father and his child by slitting his throat.

A letter printed just last week in the WV Register Herald called out two local women by name, saying:

Honestly, you threaten my livelihood or the well-being of my family I might attack you too.

One of the women has already been assaulted while protesting the destruction of her home. Their tactics are disgusting.

But why do they have to resort to such tactics? Why aren’t they using empirical data and sound science to back up their assertion that treehuggers are taking their jobs? Because people like Don Blankenship know that position is indefensible. I’d like to take a few minutes to refute their premise, and make a few suggestions on how we can promote jobs in Appalachia.

Lets start with a simple statement. The coal industry is killing Appalachian jobs.

Lets look at historical coal employment in the state of West Virginia.

According to the WV Department of Mine Safety, Health, and Training, the peak employment in West Virginia mines was 130,457 workers in the year 1940. The latest employment data for a full year shows just 21,190 miners for 2008 (equal to the year 1897). Generally about 5-6,000 of those are surface miners in West Virginia although the numbers for May 2009 show a drop in surface employment to just 3,457 in WV. For the curious, KY numbers are similar.

The coal companies have made a career out of union-busting and cutting jobs. Mountaintop removal is used specifically because it takes the miner out of the mine, and lowers overhead costs for coal companies. This has resulted in 115,000 fewer mining jobs in West Virginia alone. Less than 15% of surface miners in WV are unionized. For all underground and surface miners in WV, just about 1/4 are unionized. The numbers for Kentucky are even worse.

As outlined by Dr. Hendryx of WVU, the counties with the highest amount of mining are the counties with the highest unemployment, highest poverty, highest mortality, and lowest life expectancy.

The Hendryx study found that coal-mining’s costs outweigh the benefits to Appalachia by $42 billion per year. Mining areas fared significantly worse across all socioeconomic and mortality indicators compared with non-mining areas of Appalachia and/or the nation. These conditions worsened as levels of mining increased. Hendryx also notes that as strip-mining increases and underground mining decreases, areas with heavy mining have the highest unemployment rates in the region, contrary to common perception that mining means jobs.

So, the question becomes: How do we honor and promote jobs and economic development for coal miners and citizens in Appalachia.

My recommendations:
1) Stop mountaintop removal and return to traditional deep-mining, which keeps our mountains intact and employs more workers underground and off-site.
Not only is stopping mountaintop removal likely to inspire more economic diversification in Appalachia, but simply putting miners back to work underground will do more than enough to offset mountaintop removal jobs. What industry is going to want to move into an area where foundations are cracking from unstable ground and the water is completely ruined?

2) Invest heavily in energy efficiency.
An Appalachian Regional Commission study shows that investing in energy efficiency would bring 15,000 jobs a year to the Appalachian region. That is more workers per year than currently work on mountaintop removal sites total.

3) Invest in green jobs and renewable energy.
Coal River Mountain Wind is one of many instances where we can create more jobs and more energy from renewable sources than coal. Small-scale locally-owned wind farms could provide even greater economic benefit to the Appalachian region than utility scale wind.

4) Reclaim the mess made by mountaintop removal
Turn that bulldozer around and start rebuilding what has been lost. It will take decades, at least, to clean up the mess that has been made in Appalachia from mountaintop removal. But it must be done if we are to restore our home and bring long-lasting economic prosperity to the Appalachian region.

5) Honor the American miner
People across America fail to recognize the contributions that coal miners have made to our nation, to the labor movement, to our military, and to our industry. I agree with Jeff Goodell that there should be a monument to coal in every city and town in the United States. Coal has helped America achieve industrial and military greatness and has powered our successes in the 20th century. But we now know that Appalachian coal supplies are dwindling, and that coal mining as we know it destroys our mountains, streams, communities, and our very climate. We have got to provide new economic opportunities beyond coal-mining in Appalachia if we are to preserve our heritage and culture, and if we are to allow our children a safe and whole place to grow up. But we must recognize the value of what coal-miners have fought and died for over the last several centuries if we are to carry their legacy into our changing world here in the 21st century.