Several hundred citizens gathered in the Charleston Civic Center Tuesday night for an EPA-sponsored public hearing on their agency’s “proposed determination” to block the Clean Water Act permit for the Spruce No. 1 surface mine.
If allowed to move forward, the Spruce No. 1 mine would be the largest in West Virginia history and cover 7 miles of streams in Logan County, near Blair. The Army Corps of Engineers approved a scaled-back version of the permit in 2007, which the EPA moved to veto last October. In March of 2010, the EPA announced a “proposed determination” to block the Clean Water Act Permit for the mine, saying it had “reason to believe that the Spruce No. 1 Mine, as currently authorized, could result in unacceptable adverse effects to fish and wildlife resources.”
Despite the deeply divided sentiments that pervaded the room, the hearing proceeded in a civil manner, with the crowd respectfully allowing each speaker their allotted two minutes.
“I heard a man speak about potable water and that’s wonderful,” said Marilyn Mullens, a Whitesville, W.Va. native and U.S. Army nurse, “I want everyone to have clean water, but we eat animals, we eat plants that have to have clean water.”
Photo by Charlie Anko
Speakers who opposed the permit included local residents, a former UMWA miner, anti-mountaintop removal activists and scientists. They argued against the permit from a wide variety of angles, pointing out the health, environmental, human and economic impacts of coal.
“I care mostly about the people of Appalachia,” said Laura Steepleton, of Climate Ground Zero. While mountain ecology is part of what catalyzed Steepleton to action, she continues to organize because of her experiences talking to Coal River Valley community members, many of whom have suffered ill-health effects and have had their home foundations crack due to nearby blasting.
Photo by Charlie Anko
The opposition was heavily weighted with coal industry higher-ups and politicians. Nick Rahall of West Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District compared fisherman whose livelihoods have been ravaged by the recent oil spill to the impact vetoing Spruce No. 1 would have on strip miners (despite the fact that fishermen livelihoods were ruined by an extractive industry). Bill Raney of the West Virginia Coal Association and Randall Maggard, a manager at Argus Energy, also spoke—emphasizing that vetoing the permit would take away jobs and create a precedent that could threaten the mining industry as a whole. No one in favor of the permit mentioned that economically mineable coal will likely be gone from southern West Virginia within the next few decades.
Strip miners and residents were among the pro-Spruce speakers, but comprised a minority. Representatives of the Logan Chamber of Commerce and the county schools, both of which receive coal severance tax dollars, spoke out in favor of the permit.
Ms Steepleton’s concern about community member’s ill health might be misguided. The study by prof. Hendryx of West Virginia University seems to be full of omissions and assumptions about coalfield residents health. He completely left out tobacco use , alcohol use , and obesity in his haste to connect coal to people’s poor health. http://www.nma.org/newsroom/press_release_detail.asp?idVar=307
There are many other places in WV and America where people use tobacco, drink and have high obesity rates. People in the coalfields have ill health effects ABOVE AND BEYOND those experienced by other economically disadvantaged, rural Americans. For example, in one neighborhood almost everyone has their gallbladders removed– I don’t think it’s because they all have the exact same habits.
Mae, On smoking alone…….BRFSS survey indicated that West Virginia has a high rate of smoking at 27.9%. One in five deaths in W V is due to smoking. Smoking rates as high as 41% among lower-socioeconomic subpopulations. And that’s JUST smoking. I think we ALL know where W V stands on obesity rates. http://www.wvdhhr.org/bph/hp2010/objective/27.htm
Yeah, and we don’t see smokers blowing up mountains, burying and poisoning waterways, & destroying communities. Smoking is banned in most public places. Some smokers still pollute others with their bad habits but it doesn’t even compare to the evasive hardship MTR imposes on other people.
There was study done that allowed for smoking, obesity, etc. I have it but it’s in the car right now. The study still shows a much higher ocurrence for many illness in communities where coal mining takes place. I will pull it out tomorrow and post a link for it. Sometimes though these studies have to be purchased. Not sure if this particular one is one of those or not. Too tired this evening.
Watcher, I think you’re making the point too narrowly. No one would disagree that too many West Virginians have other bad health habits, but how can anyone argue that MTR isn’t bad for them? The elimination of entire mountains, valleys and waterways, the poisons that flow downstream, the concentration of poverty in coal counties, the disruption such destruction causes. Turning huge tracts of a beautiful state into a wasteland, for what? The 6,000 people it employs out of 1.8 million? The coal operators are literrally destroying the entire region for profits. Is it worth that to you?
My husband who is a very quiet soft spoken man said to me after the EPA hearing….”when the people were speaking out for MTR I could picture in my mind a huge vision of Don Blankenship standing above them pulling the puppet strings”….he said the newspaper should have made that their cartoon for the day. And it’s so true. These coal companies go to these little towns and buy these people a few pizza’s and pump them up about how much they care about them and their families and it’s such horse shit. They don’t care about you people or your families. If they cared they would follow the EPA rules for clean water so that your grandchildren won’t be born with extra appendages and two eyes on the sides of their heads like the fish they are finding in the streams and they would follow the safety rules to protect their workers instead of when being issued citations by MSHA delaying having to do anything to correct the problem by objecting to the citation or instead of paying the fine and continuing with business as usual.
I am so thankful that I went to the EPA hearing!!!!!!!! Seen some really weirdo’s that night but nonetheless, thankful I went to show my support!
Weirdo’s ……like the lady that was “pro coal” and said, “I swam in those black waters and there ain’t nuthin wrong with me”….?????? I think I even saw the EPA mediator fellow just about choke on his water…..OMG…I was so glad I went too….it was hilarious. How about the poor fellow in the Red’s hat…..yeah, I’m not even sure what side he was on but I’m guessing it was an MTR fellow….oh wait and the one with the accent that tried to play it off like he is a native WV because we all know how the pro coal people don’t like those “outsiders” trying to tell us what to do…..yep, it was an amusing evening. And what is it with a lot of miners wives…..I’m thinking maybe they should put down those Ho-Ho’s and Ding Dongs and take a more proactive stance when it comes to their health. I mean we already have to worry about poison water and air why add obesity to the list….?????
In all honesty I feel like everyone had valid points to a degree, however I wish they would realize that the EPA is not an Economic Protection Agency.
The black water lady…was that you Raychel?
No MountainWitch, I was the lady and I mean LADY that sat next to the guys from the Coal Association! I think the we are above you all to make the stupid statements like you just made my friend, I am a lady and I do not carry myself in the manner that you all do! Better watch MountainWitch, I proved you wrong on your statement about underground mining and showed you just exactly what could happen! But I guess you are too stupid to see that aren’t you! You have a wonderful night MountainWitch, just realize that those childish statements only show just exactly what kind of people you really are!
Em, Making fun of someone is just a poor example of how you all were raised. I laugh each and everytime I read something by you because it just shows how washed up you really are.
Making fun of people and laothing people what else you going to add to the list.
Making fun of someones way of life meaning how they talk is just so childish I mean are you that sad of a person?
At least I knew to take a bath and wash my hair before I came to the meeting and put clothes on that weren’t from back in the day. Why you guys even had Medusa speak on behalf of you guys! LOLOLOLOLOLOL I was afraid to go get in my jeep after the meeting with the likes of that running around!
You guys just keep getting better and better…..WOW what a laugh I just had! I think I will go to bed now, I better get these giggles out before I go to bed, I don’t want to wake my husband up!
You cannot allow for every factor in a study. The most you can hope is to eliminate as many outside influences as possible. I think the biggest thing is when you are looking at scientific studies is to see who paid for the study and for what purpose the study was done….i.e., was the study independent and done to try and achieve an answer to a question for the sake of helping people or was the study paid for by an organization that has a lot to lose if the answers don’t show what they want it to show. As Hendryx states, he was not paid by any environmental group or entity hoping to gain monetarily from it. Come on people use your noodle.
http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2010/05/21/coal-industry-tries-to-take-on-wvu-researcher-but-national-mining-association-stumbles-and-pulls-internet-attacks-on-hendryx-health-studies/
“The National Mining Association went a step further, hiring Yale’s Jonathan Borak to take a closer look at the Hendryx studies.”
“The only comment that I might make for the record is that this report was paid for by the mining industry, which has an obvious financial bias in the outcome of the report. I on the other hand, received no financial consideration from any environmental or advocacy group for the research studies cited in the NMA report. The NMA report has not been subject to peer review, unlike my studies. The NMA report is basically worthless. If they want to challenge the findings, there should be independent, peer-reviewed research not paid for by the industry showing that mining environments are healthy. The NMA report provides no such evidence.”-Hendryx
“Our review illuminates a number of methodological concerns in the Hendryx research, but is not able to determine the magnitude of the resulting study bias. Further analysis, including data excluded in the Hendryx studies, would be necessary to estimate the actual magnitude and direction of such bias and to determine whether his findings are replicable.” – Borak
Well look whose been reading on the net today and scanning the newspapers!
I asked a question Raychel. How is that poking fun? How is poking fun at people’s personal hygiene & their way of life classify them as being a ‘lady”? I never once made fun of people’s way of life at that hearing. I sat beside a few “gentlemen” that make sexually derogatory comments about a woman’s physical appearance. I ended up having some civil conversation with one of them.
I don’t care if you think it’s disrespectful that I think Massey was responsible for their negligence. Our great Senator Byrd appears to agree with me. Their history is of their own making. Whether they find a way to get out of this or not they are well known for their shady business practices ,corporate greed and making safety their last priority.
You should really know somebody before you make judgments. I could go on to tell you what I think MTR and what it’s doing to our miners and my history with the mining industry but I will save it for the people that matters.
PS. Maybe you should read the paper, the unbiased scientific studies done about MTR & the rest of the “mumbo jumbo” so you can really educate yourself on what’s going on so you won’t look like you are just shooting off at the mouth on the internet for nothing more than argument purposes.
Well MountainWitch, I am just glad that I can do my part to help our men and women keep a job, which if you don’t agree with me that’s fine, I don’t lose any sleep over your words of what ignorance. Seems I struck a nerve with you didn’t I?
As far as Robert Bryd, he is to the point where he needs to really step down and give his job to someone who knows what they are saying, it’s a sad thing when a hearing goes on, he sits there asleep half way through it.
As far as someone agreeing, well Gov. Manchin must know alittle he seems to be on the same page as we are. One comment as yours deserves another.
I am not here to agrue if you knew any better I am just here to help Progress Miner, Watcher and the others that stand in here with me. My words aren’t hateful nor anyother but I guess seeing as how you see it, they might be, but that’s alright, sometimes when people are proven wrong or get alittle taste of their own medicine, it hurts! It seems your the one shooting off the mouth with your cursing and other words of “in one ear and out the other”.
And obviously I matter, otherwise I wouldn’t be here today, if I didn’t matter I think I would have been taken out of here a long time ago!
And too MountainWitch I did not point my comment towards you about “making fun”, if you would READ more clearly you would have seen that.
Yeah that Senator Byrd is someone to agree with, one minute CGZ hates him, the next they love him. If people knew what he did in his early days…..
Raychel:
You couldn’t resist wasting your time could you?LOL
Ah I just had to come back and let you guys know I was heading to Kelly Mountain to let my son watch the dozers and dump trucks for the day….I figured you would miss me MountainWitch so I wanted to come back and say have a wonderful day!
It seems that strip mine pit lakes have some of the best bass fishing around. The author of the post says…”Strip mine areas have become de facto wildlife oases amid highly agricultural lands and are cherished by nature lovers “. I wonder if these fish have extra eyes as em claims? http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/bassmaster/fishingtips/news/story?page=b_bt_Mining_mother_lode
Watcher that is a very interesting article. So is strip mining the same as mountain top removal? Also, I’m curious are these “lakes” created by fresh water filling holes left by the strip mining? Seems to me that “strip mining” is not quite the same but honestly I’m not sure as I could not find anything to explain the difference in terms. I’m open to being educated.
Watcher, I had a foreman that was from MO. but worked in the IL. coal basin. He said he met the star from the show green acres, because he was against mining there. They showed him where the land that was mined produced 3:1 ratio of crop, compared to before it was mined and was a farm. You know I hear the argument that the land doesn’t produce as much, etc, Well for one, it is usually reclaimed for economic develepment, and two, if they know that for a fact, then why is it when Mountain Justice was at our mine nearly a year ago, roughly 5 of them didn’t know rattlesnakes were common in this region? So, hmmm. just some food for thought. Have a good day.