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Moving mountains: the effects of mountaintop removal on the Appalachians |
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Monday, 28 April 2008 |
by MEGAN NAYLOR
Intern News Reporter
The future of the Appalachian Mountains may be threatened and desecrated in the name of profit, said Lenny Kohm, campaign director of Appalachian Voices.
Appalachian Voices is “a non-profit organization and newspaper that is dedicated to preserve and protect the ecological and cultural integrity of the central and southern Appalachians,” Kohm said.
Mining companies seeking to further their coal profits are removing mountain ranges in search of coal seams.
“If
major action isn’t taken soon to stop the mining it will be too late
for the animals who find their homes lying on the mining war path,”
Kohm said.
This mining practice has many names, but is most often called “mountaintop removal” or “valley fill coal mining.”
“[Mountaintop removal] usually starts with a team of large bulldozers
leveling off the top of the mountains,” Kohm said. “…Then all of the
trees are clear-cut, core samples are taken to tell where the seams of
coal are, 30-inch diameter holes are drilled and packed with strong
explosives, and the top is literally blown off.”
Following the removal, bulldozers continue the job.
“After the top of the mountain is blown off, the bulldozers push the
rubble into the valleys, covering streambeds and anything in its path,”
he said.
A Web site dedicated to educating people about mountaintop removal,
ilovemountains.org offers an explanation to why mountaintop removal is
a growing trend.
Coal companies are using the mountaintop removal method progressively
because it enables them to recover the majority of coal seams while
cutting labor costs, since considerably fewer workers are needed for
the process, according to ilovemountains.org.
Mountaintop removal does not just affect the environment, but affects
the lives of families directly involved within the rubble, Co-Director
of Coal River Watch, Judy Bonds said.
Also, frequent floods plague the regions where mountaintop removal is
happening, leaving many dead and thousands without homes, Kohm said.
“As an environmentally concerned student at Appalachian, I believe it
is important for all students to be informed about mountaintop removal
and the awful consequences,” sophomore communication major Whitney L.
J. Armstrong said.
“…It seems that this reality is so far away,” Armstrong said. “It’s
actually happening a lot closer then we even know, and the mountains I
look at on the way to class everyday may end up being destroyed, if we
don’t stop this.”
Selected organizations, like Coal River Watch and Appalachian Voices are fighting to help others and the environment.
“Coal River Watch is an organization that is one of the few, if not the
only, organization that is actually located on the frontline of the
mining battle in West Virginia,” Bonds said.
“Our organization uses several techniques to battle mountaintop
removal, including having litigation with various environmental groups,
Appalachian Voices being one of them, giving people the tools they need
to have a voice and fight for the land that they have grown up on and
love,” Bonds said.
Coal River Watch also has other services.
“We also monitor the water and the amount of pollutants it contains and
educate people on how to call in water violations, as well as
violations that occur to their homes from the blasting,” said Bonds.
Further hope exists in the form of a congressional bill, The Clean Water Protection Act, Kohms said.
This bill pushes for there to be an amendment to the original Clean Water Act that was passed in 1970.
“The new bill if enacted would state that all rubble from mountain top
removal is waste, not fill, and will permanently be considered as such,
making it illegal for them to dump the rubble into the valleys,” said
Kohm.
The bill is still in progress.
“At the moment, the bill is in the House of Representatives. It was
initially introduced in the 107 Congress, and is currently in its
fourth year,” Kohm said. “Lots of progress has been made, and there are
124 co-sponsors in the act. The bill was introduced by Frank Pallone, a
democrat from New Jersey, and Christopher Shays.”
For more information about mountaintop removal, visit ilovemountains.org.
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