Rob Perks's Blog: Health and the Environment

Mining CEO Attacks Enviros, Wages War on Coal River Mountain

2008-11-25T16:11:22Z

Hollywood couldn't script a better corporate villain than Don Blankenship, CEO of Massey Energy, the nation's fourth largest coal company. He has built his company up largely by tearing down the mountains of his home-state of West Virginia. Under his control, Massey has become the undisputed leader in the most destructive strip mining practice on earth -- mountaintop removal -- as well as a repeat violator of federal pollution laws.

The infamous legend of Don Blankenship grew last week when he delivered a blistering speech attacking the press and environmentalists as "communists," "atheists," and "greeniacs", and comparing critics of the coal industry to Osama Bin Laden. After labeling conservation a slippery slope to socialism, The Don urged his fellow industry execs to be "bold" in challenging the enemies of coal.

As unhinged as his rant may seem, Mr. Blankenship does have reason to worry. Global warming has Americans waking up to the reality that dirty coal and other fossil fuels represent more of the problem, not the solution to the world's energy crisis. That said, the dirty energy industry has ruled the day under the Bush administration and now it's seeking huge going-away presents before the Obama administration takes over next year.

In fact, any day now the Bush EPA is expected to announce that it is officially weakening environmental protections to allow mining waste to be dumped in and along streams and rivers. This rather routine -- yet illegal -- activity is what has enabled mountaintop removal coal mining to ravage Appalachia during President Bush's tenure.

Last week Kentucky's governor joined environmentalists in denouncing EPA's proposed rule change. And earlier this week the governor of Tennessee voiced his dissent. In his letter to the agency, Gov. Phil Bredesen notes that more than 1,200 miles of streams in central Appalachia have been directly impacted by coal mining, either by being mined through or by being buried under spoiled disposal sites. He blasts the 'poor job' done by the federal Office of Surface Mining of protecting streams from the coal mining pollution. Like his counterpart in Kentucky, Gov. Bredesen argues that safeguarding his state's water quality should take precedence over relaxing environmental rules for the coal industry.

Too bad the governor of West Virginia hasn't taken a stand. That state, which markets its mountains as the major attraction, is actually ground zero for mountaintop mining. Yet Governor Joe Manchin, like his predecessors, appears content to let King Coal continue its reign no matter the cost to his constituents. Yesterday in fact, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved Massey Energy's permit to mountaintop mine Coal River Mountain, including hundreds of acres that could generate power from a proposed wind farm.

Apparently, the DEP repeatedly denied citizens' requests for public hearings related to the proposed mining. Local citizens led by Coal River Mountain Watch are again pleading with Governor Manchin to halt the operation and act on his commitment to renewable energy and to the citizens of West Virginia by rescinding the mining permits.

"Coal River Mountain has enough wind potential to provide electricity for between 100,000 and 150,000 homes, forever, while creating about 50 well-paying, permanent jobs in an area long dependent upon sparse, temporary coal mining jobs," says Rory McIlmoil of Coal River Mountain Watch. "The wind farm would generate over ten times more county revenue than the mountaintop removal operations would. This additional income would stimulate new economic development projects and the creation of new and lasting jobs for the county."

The mining that could begin on the mountain as early as today would immediately impact 24 megawatts of wind potential, and permanent jobs related to the operation of the wind farm. Research on the Coal River Wind Project confirms that wind is the better economic option for Coal River Mountain, but that depends on the mountain being left intact.

McIlmoil says that Gov. Manchin has received a petition with 10,000 signatures, over 4,000 emails and nearly 500 phone calls calling for him to stop the destruction and support wind power -- yet his silence is as deafening as the explosions which are set to detonate on the mountaintop. He also has ignored a recent opinion survey by the Civil Society Institute and Citizens Lead for Energy Action Now (CLEAN), showing that 62% of West Virginians oppose his decision against stopping Massey Energy from using mountaintop removal coal mining to level a section of Coal River Mountain that could have been used for a wind farm. Citizens had also requested a hearing on the water pollution permits for Massey's Coal River Mountain operation, but the DEP denied this request on the same day that it granted the mountaintop mining permit.

Though Massey's new permit only impacts a small area on Coal River Mountain, once the mining begins it will be more difficult to stop, and so more of the wind resource will be lost. Coal River Mountain Watch and concerned citizens plan to keep the pressure on the governor to do the right thing for the state and for local residents by preserving Coal River Mountain's wind potential.

Next month a new economic study will be released, which will show that wind development is a better land use option than mountaintop removal coal mining -- not only for Coal River Mountain, but for all areas in southern West Virginia that exhibit good wind potential.

Despite Don Blankenship's bluster, a new wind is blowing in this country; it is only a matter of time before blowing up mountains to mine dirty coal comes to an end in this country. That will be a huge step toward stopping King Coal's reign of terror on our nation's natural resources and communities.

Hey Gov. Manchin, don't you see that West Virginia is "Wild and Winderful"?

Lucky in Kentucky: State Legislators Oppose Mountaintop Mining

2008-11-19T15:41:12Z

Political momentum appears to be building against the egregious, outrageous practice of mountaintop removal mining. First of all, last month on the campaign trail President-Elect Obama expressed his concerns about this strip mining on steroids. Now comes welcome news that Kentucky legislators care more for mountains, the environment and their constituents' quality of life than the rapacious, reckless coal industry.

Yesterday Governor Steve Beshear -- joined by State Attorney General Jack Conway, Congressman Ben Chandler (Lexington) and Congressman John Yarmuth (Louisville) -- sent letters to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency formally objecting to the Bush administration's recent proposal to legalize the dumping of mountaintop mining waste near rivers and streams. This impressive collection of lawmakers called the proposed rule change a threat to the state's ability to protect its natural resources, especially water.

"Kentucky's vast water resources are critical to our health and economic development," Beshear wrote in his letter to Stephen Johnson, EPA administrator, "and I do not believe the newly proposed waivers can be effectively and uniformly applied to protect these water resources."

While noting that coal remains vital to Kentucky's economy and the country's energy needs, the governor wrote in his letter that he is "strongly committed to environmentally responsible coal mining and [therefore] cannot support rules that may be subject to arbitrary administration or enforcement."

The Bush administration's proposed rule change would weaken a 1983 federal regulation that restricts where mining waste can be dumped, a so-called "Excess Spoil minimization - Stream Buffer Zone" rule. What the Bush EPA is trying to do in its waning days is to erase that restriction, making it easier to dump waste near homes and potentially into waterways and streams.

Attorney General Conway reiterated support for coal while nevertheless insisting on the obligation to "pass along a stable environment to coming generations." Congressman Chandler applauded the governor, as well, and stated that "undermining the Stream Buffer Zone would endanger our water and threaten the health of our people and economy." Echoing that sentiment, Rep. Yarmuth insisted that industry's economic gains should not come at the expense of the health and quality of life of Kentuckians, and noted that "the damaging effects of dumping fill into our streams are evident in the water quality and environment in coal producing regions."

The people of Kentucky should be proud to have such stalwart champions for their environment. And other elected leaders should take heed that the health and safety of those whom they represent take precedence over corporate greed and polluter profits.

Face it, coal is a dirty business -- and removing mountaintops to get it, leaving behind polluted streams, poisoned communities and a leveled landscape...well, that's the dirtiest trick of all.

Bo Knows Mountaintop Mining

2008-10-29T14:39:41Z

Forgive me, but I thought it worth sharing comments posted in response to my blog yesterday about Massey Energy's role in mountaintop removal coal mining.

"Rob, I can't thank you and NRDC enough for involving yourselves in the struggle to end mountain top removal. I live underneath the horrible mountain top removal mess that Massey is making above Marsh Fork Elementary

"School in the Coal River Valley of WV. We are getting bombed every day.

"The blasting is so great that my walls shake. I can feel the floor move beneath my feet. My Labrador Retriever paces back and forth and my grand kids ask me why I can't make them stop. I am fearful of boulders and mud slides coming down the mountain and killing us. This is really bad and needs to stop. What they are doing to the environment is bad enough, but what they are doing to me, my family, and my community is terrorism. I realize this may be hard to believe to some because this is America and WV is part of these United States.

"If anyone is a Viet Nam Veteran as I am, I can best describe the blasting here as like the artillery round that hit so close to you that you wondered why you were still in one piece.

"Our state environmental agency does nothing to stop this injustice. If you call to complain they tell you the coal company has seismographs and they check them to make sure they are blasting within the approved mining plan."

The man who posted these comments is Bo Webb -- a veteran, citizen, father and genuine hero in Appalachia. For years he has been leading the fight to protect his daughter and her classmates at Marsh Fork Elementary from a Massey mountaintop mining operation that directly threatens the health and safety of the school children.

Learn more and consider supporting Bo's Pennies of Promise crusade.

Thank you, Bo!!

Poll: Majority of Americans Oppose Mountaintop Mining

2008-10-24T15:01:06Z

A majority of Americans (85%) oppose mountaintop removal mining, according to a new nationwide poll. Perhaps not surprising but very encouraging.

Of course, residents of Appalachia have long opposed this practice of blowing off the tops of mountains to get at thin coal seams, and then dumping the mining waste into the valleys below.

The survey, commissioned by Sierra Club, Earthjustice, and the Appalachian Center for the Economy and Environment, also shows overwhelming opposition to the Bush administration's changes to the stream buffer zone rule, which would make it legal for mining companies to bury valley streams with rock, rubble and dirt leftover from the blasting.

Besides public opinion, consider this other good news which shows that coal's future as a fossil fuel to be burned for electricity is limited.

-- Solar power plants and other renewable energy sources are real, competitive threats to the coal industry.

-- South Africa, which has had the world's largest continuously operating coal-to-liquids plant, is now planning to shut it down.

-- Germany has abandoned the coal-to-liquid fuel technology it pioneered, opting instead to focus on solar power plants.

-- Simultaneously, the worldwide solar cell industry is growing 35 percent a year, with China spending $3 billion a year.

-- California is looking into on-demand solar plants that he said could produce electricity that is price-competitive with coal-fired power plants.

All of the above has Big Coal worried, according to this recent AP story, under the ridiculous headline "Green power a threat to W.Va. coal".

The facts above are courtesy of Allan Tweddle, a consultant and a member of the West Virginia Public Energy Authority. Mr Tweddle delivered that supposedly ominous news to a stunned audience at the second West Virginia Coal Forum, held in Morgantown last week. (Fun meeting!)

Randy Huffman, head of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, reportedly said afterwards: "If you're selling a product and that product becomes obsolete, then you're out of business. Energy will not be obsolete. Coal may become obsolete, but energy won't."

I can hardly wait.

Witness Mountaintop Mining

2008-10-22T15:24:37Z

Yesterday I blogged about the Bush administration's new effort to weaken laws so coal companies can dump mining waste into America's rivers and streams. I posted a photo I took of a mountaintop mine. As one person commented, "More people need to see pictures like these to realize what is going on...It's just shocking!"

Good idea.

So here are some of the other photos I took last month while touring mining operations in West Virginia. I flew with Southwings over massive mining sites just outside of Charleston. The images tell the story.

It's not like this is the only mine we saw. Far from it. In all directions, as far as the eye can see, there are these sprawling open wounds scattered across the mountain range. Some extend more than 10 square miles. The scale of devastation is truly epic.

As we flew closer to the sites, the precision of the mining is impressive. What once was a thick-forested mountaintop is now a barren landscape. All vegetation has been meticulously scraped using explosives and huge earth-moving machines. Not a blade of grass is left on the table-top worksite; the topsoil is gone, exposing the bedrock on the ledges.

Lest anyone think that this wasteland is located in remote places, consider these next images. This particular Massey Energy coal mining operation, in West Virginia's Raleigh County, covers nearly 2,000 acres . At the bottom of the first photo below, just a couple hundred feet downstream from the plant's coal silo , is Marsh Fork Elementary School.

The kids at Marsh Fork not only have to contend with air pollution from the coal dust, but they also attend school in a danger zone just below one of the largest coal slurry ponds in the world. Yes, that black liquid in the photo below is the giganitic Shumate coal impoundment, filled with toxic water left over after the coal impurities are 'settled out'. The 'cleaned' coal is then transported down to the silo, before being loaded on to rail cars.

How would you like it if your child attended school practically at the foot of a leaking earthen dam that holds back billions of gallons of toxic coal sludge, at a strip mine where blasting happens all day?

On this trip I also met with local allies -- the Alliance for Appalachia and Coal River Mountain Watch -- to learn more about the problem. We drove up to Larry Gibson's property on Kayford Mountain, which is completely surrounded by mountaintop mining. Larry, bless his soul, has steadfastly refused to sell his family's land to mining companies -- and he graciously opens up his property to those who want to see firsthand what mountaintop mining is doing to his homeland.

Here is a mountain steadily being removed -- chunk by chunk -- right before our eyes, to access the thin coal seams below. Larry points out that his ridgetop used to be the lowest peak, but now looks down at the former mountaintops eaten away by the dozers.

The main emotion is shock, followed by outrage. It's one thing to see the scope of mountaintop mining from the air, however. Getting an up-close view at ground-level is even more heartbreaking. It's like staring into the abyss, gazing at the depths of Hell.

The dump truck below is larger than you can imagine. The tires are more than twice as tall as the average person. The bed can scoop up two house-sized loads of rock and rubble, which of course gets dumped down the side of the mountain into the valley below.

The debris buries headwater streams, disrupting the water table, drying up wells and poisoning water supplies for the communities located in those valleys. Without tree cover and vegetation, rain can't be absorbed and flitered -- so typical storms become squalls that cause flash flooding in the narrow valleys, wreaking havoc on people's property and threatening lives.

The new rules recently proposed by the Interior Department would legalize the so-called valley fills that come with mountaintop mining. Take a moment to submit your public comments against this practice.

After 8 long years of rampant destruction, mountaintop removal coal mining must be ended. With a new administration coming in, the fight is more urgent than ever.

I hope the photos I've shared move you to get engaged in the effort to stop mountaintop removal coal mining. You can also view videos of America's most endangered mountains here.

(Photo credit: Rob Perks)

Bush Admin Loves Coal Mining, Hates Mountains

2008-10-21T21:45:45Z

The moonscape below is a former fully-functioning ecosystem -- now devoid of forests, wildlife, wetlands and waterways that are characteristic of a mountain.

This is so-called mountaintop removal coal mining -- the most destructive strip mining practice on earth -- which is ravaging Appalachia. To date, coal companies have leveled nearly 500 mountaintops throughout the region. They have the Bush administration to thank for that.

Here is an excellent New York Times editorial, and a Washington Post story about the issue.

This environmental tragedy is a national travesty, although most people outside West Virginia don't even know that mountaintop mining is happening. This has to change, especially since the Interior Department last week proposed relaxing rules to permit the dumping of mining waste in the valleys, burying the rivers and streams below.

The sad fact is that mining companies routinely do this without fear of enforcement from state and federal environmental agencies. But now the Bush administration wants to legalize this appalling activity as a parting gift to its Big Coal benefactors.

The proposed rule would rewrite a regulation enacted 25 years ago that bars mining companies from dumping tons of rock, debris and other waste within 100 feet of any intermittent or perennial stream if the disposal affects water quality or quantity. Despite the 100-foot buffer requirement, over a thousand miles of streams have already been polluted or buried due to lax enforcement over the past eight years.

Obviously, the Bush administration wants to codify this illegal activity before a new administration takes office. The public has 30 days to comment before the rule is finalized.

NRDC is committed to fighting mountaintop removal. You can help by submitting your comments.

CNN Covers Mountaintop Mining

2008-10-08T16:30:42Z

Three cheers for our friends at Coal River Mountain Watch for their continued persistence in fighting Massey Energy Company's efforts to gain approval from federal and state authorities so they can blast the mountain into oblivion to mine coal.

A better alternative has been proposed to save the mountain while generating the same amount of electricity from wind power.

Score one for the mountain lovers over the mountain killers for getting CNN to cover the saga. Here is a link to the video of the story, and a link to the transcript.

You can help by urging Congress to support legislation to end mountaintop removal mining.

King Coal by any other name.

2008-05-15T16:38:39Z

It looks like changing your name is the new trend in the coal industry. A few weeks ago I wrote about ABEC (American’s for Balanced Energy Choices) changing their name to ACCCE (American Coalition for Clean Coal Energy), and if you thought that was a mouthful wait until you read this. Today comes news that ABECC (Americans for Burning Every Chunk of Coal), whom I wrote about last month has changed their name to ACCCCCCC (Americans Cashing Checks from Coal Companies 'Cause Coal is Cool), whew!

Look, the coal industry can come up with benign sounding names for anything. What they call surface mining is really Mountain Top Removal. What they call overburden is really the tops of mountains. When they dump rock, waste and debris into valleys they call it fill. Their so-called sludge ponds are actually cesspools containing millions, and sometimes billions of gallons of toxic mining pollution.

So don’t let the name change fool ya’. King Coal by any other name, is really just the same.