Impacted Communities (top)
Communities across Appalachia have been negatively impacted or limited by the coal industry. Mountain top removal is a particular issue deserving close attention for its lasting impact on the environment.
iLoveMountains.org and
Appalachian Voices are two excellent resources that go into detail of the process and impacts this practice has and keep up-to-date information in ways to get involved. Another group is the
Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards who are working in Southwest Virginia to stop surface coal mining, improving quality of life, and rebuild sustainable communities.
One community that has been working for viable alternatives is at Coal River Mountain in West Virginia. A study was commissioned by
Coal River Mountain Watch that showed it was economically viable to have a
wind farm on their mountain instead of having the destructive practice of mountain top removal. They lost the battle and the mountain is being destroyed, but they are marching on. Another group of citizens have been working for community-based, diversified and appropriate economic development that sustains both culture and environment of the mountains by hosting a series of
Appalachian Community Economic Conferences.
The Appalachian region has a
high cancer rate, most likely due to exposure to the toxicities of coal. The analogy I personally like best is to imagine the Appalachian Mountains holding a giant Britta® Water filter that has cleansed the environment over eons, holding heavy metals, carbon and other elements within it. Our society found out this filter, coal, is a great resource for electricity if we burn it. Every step we take from extracting, transporting, processing, burning and
storing wastes is an opportunity for the toxic substances to concentrate in the environment, exposing the environment and local communities. Due to amendments of the
Clean Air Act, the coal is now washed (processed) with water to clean it enough to meet federal requirements and the resulting wastes are stored in
enormous containment ponds which have been known to fail, as with the
recent TVA disaster. This ‘sludge’ also leaches into local groundwater in areas where communities are dependent on well water.
Union History (top)
Coal country has a long history of
conflict and tragedy. The late 1800s saw a steep rise in the coal industry and in response to poor wages and working conditions, workers began to unionize and the
United Mine Workers of American (UMWA) was formed in 1890. Coal companies kept close control of their workers by using company script as a form of payment which could only be used in mining stores and workers lived in company housing. As the unions grew stronger, coal companies hired guards who harassed union members and eventually kicked them out of company housing. In response they built tent camps nearby. Eventually in the early 1900s fighting broke out and escalated into a
full-out war with the two sides shooting and even bombing each other. This was only quelled when federal troops came in along with an air squadron. Union members lost the battle.
As the coal industry grew with mechanization and the process of strip mining and in the late 1900s mountain top removal, the amount of miners dwindled from
hundreds of thousands to mere tens of thousands across Appalachia. This, along with the lack of economic opportunity, considerably weakened the power of the union more where now they are practically
ineffective against the industry.
Coal Disasters (top)
Over the last century, tens of thousands of miners have died in the coal industry and many more have succumbed to related ailments such as
black lung or
various cancers. Mining accidents continue to take dozens of lives in the United States every year, most recently with
29 miners who lost their lives at the Upper Big Branch South Mine in West Virginia in April of 2010.
In 1972 an
impoundment dam failed and released a 30-foot high wall of coal sludge down Buffalo Creek Hollow in West Virginia. Out of a community of 5,000, 125 were killed, over 1,000 were injured and over 4,000 were left homeless. In 2000, another sludge storage dam failed in Kentucky through an abandoned mine and released
306 million gallons of sludge down local tributaries in a spill 30 times bigger than the Exxon Valdez disaster. In 2004 in Wise County, Virginia, a 1,000 pound boulder was dislodged from the top of a mountain top removal mine and landed on a home below,
killing 3-year-old Jeremy Davis while he slept in his bed.
On December 22, 2008 a
dike failed holding coal wastes failed in Kingston, Tennessee and released 1.1 billion gallons of sludge into local streams, 100 times larger than the Exxon Valdez disaster. Cleanup costs are estimated to be over $1 billion and will last many years.
Recent & Current Issues (top)
After an extensive campaign, the Wise County Coal-Fired Power Plant was approved in 2008 and is now being built by
Dominion Power. In 2009 a Richmond Circuit Court Judge
ruled against one of the air permits given by the state Air Pollution Control Board for not giving a firm limit on mercury emissions. Today,
another coal power station is proposed in Surry, Virginia. If built, it will be the largest facility in the state.
In Giles County, Virginia, American Electric Power is
dumping coal fly-ash as a fill for commercial development within the 100 year flood plain of the New River without a bottom liner.
Concerned Citizens of Giles County have been fighting against the fill and have a lot of
good videos covering their work.
After a six-year fight, Marsh Fork Elementary School —
located in the shadow of a coal silo and an enormous impoundment dam— received enough funding through donations
to relocate. In Wise County, the school system has been forced to
consolidate their schools in the area due to declining enrollment and lack of funding.
With public opinion for mountain top removal growing more negative, new EPA regulations looming and with recent coal disasters, West Virginian representatives are beginning to
speak up about changing times. Senator Robert Byrd, a long-time leading coal advocate, made a speech entitled “
Coal Must Embrace the Future” in which he says “The greatest threats to the future of coal do not come from possible constraints on mountaintop removal mining or other environmental regulations, but rather from rigid mindsets, depleting coal reserves, and the declining demand for coal as more power plants begin shifting to biomass and natural gas as a way to reduce emissions.”
Activism (top)
There are many ways to become active and be trained to become an efficient organizer. Some people are home-grown like
Larry Gibson who
stand up for what they believe is right. Others who come out to regional or statewide conferences hosted by citizens or groups like
Mountain Justice, or national conferences like Power Shift hosted by
Energy Action Coalition, find themselves empowered to make a difference in their community. Take a hold of opportunities that come your way to become educated and engaged with this movement. We are all part of this process moving toward a sustainable future and you can decide to make a lasting impact.
