While being transported to church on Sunday, the female prisoner had stopped to make sure another inmate was making it out of the pod for church.  While she was restrained with handcuffs for transport, a male CO slammed her head into the wall.  She was then lifted off the ground, over the man’s head and thrown to the floor, where she was beaten some more.  The woman that was attacked was still in the Medical Ward as of 10:00 p.m.  The other prisoners have filed grievances against the CO, but have received no word of the victim’s medical condition.  They fear she may lose her baby.  At this point the prisoners of pods A-7 and A-8, Jacqueline’s pod and the victim’s pod, are refusing all contact with male COs.

We at Climate Ground Zero call for an immediate investigation by the Kanawha County Prosecutor and all other relevant governmental agencies, and for charges to be filed against not only the perpetrator, but also any other jail employees who stood by and did nothing.  The charges should also reflect that the CO not only beat an inmate, but her unborn child as well.

The protesters chained themselves to a metal barrel in front of the DEP and remained locked to the barrel for an hour and a half. They sought to condemn the DEP for sanctioning mountaintop removal mining and for failing to enforce the Clean Water Act.

Please contribute to the legal defense fund by clicking here.

See the video from the action below:

The human rights activists staged the sit-in in order to bring attention to what they believe is the DEP’s failure to enforce the Clean Water Act by permitting mountaintop removal mining in West Virginia.

Joe Hamsher and Sarah Seeds blocking the entrance to WV Department of Environmental Protection in Kanawha City.

“The DEP is taking part in sins of permission,” said Seeds. “Permitting mountaintop removal is permitting the poisoning of this bioregion.”

The protesters specifically sought to shed light on the DEP’s new permitting guidance for implementing water quality standards in the coalfields, which it announced earlier this month. The new permitting guidance, the protesters said, is meant to circumvent the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) much stricter water quality standards, thus paving the way for continued pollution of West Virginia’s waterways by coal operators.

“There is no way to operate a mountaintop removal mine without violating the Clean Water Act. Even Don Blankenship admitted that in Charleston when he debated Robert Kennedy” said West Virginia native Joe Hamsher. “The DEP ought to step up and do their job by enforcing the Clean Water Act. But instead, Randy Huffman, and his boss Joe Manchin, try to find loopholes around it.”

According to the Charleston Gazette in an article published on August 12, the DEP’s new permitting guidance is a direct response to the EPA’s decision in April to more strictly regulate the amount of chlorides, sulfides and heavy metals that coal operators are allowed to dump in West Virginia’s streams and rivers.

Upon announcing the new guidelines, DEP secretary Randy Huffman called on the EPA to give deference to its new policy. “We trust the EPA will give deference to West Virginia’s guidance document, as it was created to satisfy outlines in the Clean Water Act,” Huffman said.

On August 13, however, the EPA responded to the DEP in a public statement that reaffirmed the federal agency’s regulatory authority over the DEP and promised a review of the DEP’s new permitting guidance.

“We look forward to reviewing West Virginia’s new water quality guidance,” wrote the EPA. “In the meantime, the EPA’s guidance stands and we will continue to use it to ensure that mining permits issued in West Virginia and other Appalachian states provide the protection required under federal law.”

Meanwhile, activists with Climate Ground Zero say they will continue to do everything they can to hold accountable the government agencies that permit mountaintop removal mining.

“DEP will be held accountable for its crimes against West Virginia,” said Hamsher.

In addition to putting pressure on the DEP, Climate Ground Zero and its allies will be gathering in Washington D.C. on September 25 through September 27 for Appalachia Rising, a mass mobilization to call for an end to mountaintop removal mining and bring the issue to the national stage.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 26, 2010
Contact: Mathew Louis-Rosenberg — 304-854-7306
Email: news@climategroundzero.org
Note: www.climategroundzero.org

Grace Williams was charged with trespassing, obstruction, conspiracy and littering for supporting activists that shut down a drill rig on Coal River Mountain last November.  Williams agreed today to plead guilty to trespassing and obstruction and was sentenced to 6 months unsupervised probation with a 30 day suspended sentence and $55 in fines, with consideration for time served by Magistrate Jones. Charges against her fellow support person, Laura von Dohlen are unresolved pending appeal to the Raleigh County Circuit Court.

Tom Smyth appeared in front of Magistrate Humphreys for the first time on charges of trespassing, obstruction and conspiracy.  Smyth was arrested attempting to deliver a Citizen’s Arrest Warrant for Chris Blanchard, President of Massey Energy subsidiary Marfork Coal.  Smyth and 2 others locked down inside Marfork main office in Pettus, W.Va., demanding a halt to blasting on Coal River Mountain.  Smyth spent two weeks in jail before posting a $5,000 bond.  Raleigh County Prosecutors offered Smyth an additional 16 days in jail for a total of 30 days, which Smyth rejected.  His bench trial date has not been set.  Fellow activist Joseph Hamsher was able to plea bargain for just 8 days time served.  The third activist, Mike Roselle, is awaiting his jury trial on October 20th.

Jacqueline Quimby sends her love and support to everyone from the South Central Regional Jail where she is serving a 60-day sentence.  She is standing strong and deeply appreciates all the letters and support.  She is trying to write everyone back, but has a limited number of stamps and envelopes.  You can send stamped envelopes in with your letters and it will be easier for her to get back to you!  Right now, all letters, cards and photos are making it through the mail just fine.  MAKE SURE you provide your full name and return address.  Mail has often been returned with out it. Books are making it through, but only if they are ordered directly from publisher and sent to her jail address.

Jacqueline urges everyone to keep fighting for the land and the people.  She is due to be released in early October.

Jacqueline called this morning and said that she greatly appreciates all of the letters sent, so keep sending them. She also wanted you all to know that she does not yet have stamps or envelopes, so to be aware that she might not be able to reply to all your letters for a while. In addition, letters without a full name on the return address (ex: S. Paperclip instead of Suzy Paperclip) will not go through to her. A few letters have already been returned for this reason.

Although color photos and colored pens/marker/crayons are not allowed through, some have gotten to her, so feel free to attempt to send these. She’d definitely appreciate more photos, word puzzles, and drawings.

Please keep sending your love to her, your letters will keep her going strong through the sentence.

After serving two days in South Central Regional Jail after the action and relocating from New Orleans, Jacqueline began volunteering with the Sludge Safety Project.

Jacqueline currently organizes full time in Bias’ Branch, a community in Boone County whose residents are working to address contaminated water and the resulting health effects. She also continues to fight mountaintop removal on several fronts, including work with organizations like Climate Ground Zero, Mountain Justice, and Coal River Mountain Watch.

Jacqueline was the only person in the road blockade action who refused the plea agreement, instead choosing to take her case to jury trial. On April 22nd, Jacqueline was sentenced to sixty days in jail for trespass, obstruction and conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor by Magistrate Tim Halloran. This is almost triple the length of any other sentence given in the Climate Ground Zero campaign thus far, and is incomparable to what the activists who took the plea agreement received–two years probation, a thirty day suspended sentence, court costs, and no fines. The discrepancy in sentencing between those who took the plea bargain and Jacqueline suggests that she was penalized for choosing to exercise her right to a trial by jury.

The decision to go to jury trial, however, is one that Quimby does not regret.

“I knew going into this action that I would take the case to trial.  Choosing to challenge the power of the coal companies in this state would not simply end with an arrest and perhaps a few fines,” she says, “Taking a stand against mountain top removal meant challenging the systems that support it, and that includes the West Virginia judicial system.”

“The destruction of the mountains for the greed of the coal companies is the biggest crime in town and if it takes going to jail for sixty days to raise hell over this blatant act of violence against our collective and individual futures, so be it,” Quimby continues. She encourages friends and allies to keep fighting hard to end mountaintop removal mining and the poisoning of Appalachia’s air and water.

Jacqueline would love letters sent to South Central Regional, so write to her about how you’re doing, the work you do and what is happening in the movement.

Activists approach the dragline on the Twilight strip mine complex, June 18, 2009.

Rock Creek, W. Va. — Massey Energy has filed a politically motivated civil suit, also known as a Strategic Lawsuit against Public Participation (SLAPP) suit, against fourteen activists arrested last year in relation to a protest on a mountaintop removal mining site. The suit seems to be part of a larger strategy on the part of the mining company to intimidate and silence critics of the company’s safety record and controversial mining practices, particularly mountaintop removal coal mining.

Since the spring of 2008, Massey has filed at least four SLAPP suits against activists in West Virginia working to end mountaintop removal, none of which have yet been resolved. Commonly used to exhaust critics by burdening them with the cost of a massive legal defense, SLAPP suits have been banned by at least 26 states and one territory has protections against SLAPP suits. West Virginia does not have a ban, but its courts have adopted some protections against them (1).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Massey Energy Files ’SLAPP’ Lawsuit against Environmental Activists

Company Responsible for Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster Actively Seeking to Silence Local Critics

July 29, 2010

CONTACTS:  Larry Hildes, (360) 715-9788

Rock Creek, W. Va. — Massey Energy has filed a politically motivated civil suit, also known as a Strategic Lawsuit against Public Participation (SLAPP) suit, against fourteen activists arrested last year in relation to a protest on a mountaintop removal mining site. The suit seems to be part of a larger strategy on the part of the mining company to intimidate and silence critics of the company’s safety record and controversial mining practices, particularly mountaintop removal coal mining.

Since the spring of 2008, Massey has filed at least four SLAPP suits against activists in West Virginia working to end mountaintop removal, none of which have yet been resolved. Commonly used to exhaust critics by burdening them with the cost of a massive legal defense, SLAPP suits have been banned by at least 26 states and one territory has protections against SLAPP suits. West Virginia does not have a ban, but its courts have adopted some protections against them (1).

“We think that Massey should have higher priorities than suing environmental activists who object to an extremely disastrous mining policy,” said Larry Hildes, an attorney representing the 14 activists. “With a record like theirs, they need to be focusing on measures to help local communities impacted by their mining and working to prevent future disasters in their mines.”

Massey Energy is already publicly notorious due to their history of safety violations and damage to local communities. In April 2010, Massey’s Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal, W.Va., suffered a preventable disaster that took the lives of 29 miners and was widely covered by the press. Thousands more safety violations have been reported in Massey mines throughout West Virginia and Kentucky since the Upper Big Branch disaster. Massey also continues to be one of the leading proponents of controversial mountaintop removal mining practices. Above ground, over 500 mountains, 2,000 miles of rivers and streams and over a million acres of forest have been decimated by mountaintop mining operations. Finally, Appalachian communities near Massey mountaintop removal operations are harmed through coal dust, regular blasting, dirty water and coal waste.

“Not only is Massey destroying Appalachia’s mountains and water, and criminally neglecting the safety of their own workers, but they are also using their vast legal and financial resources to sue environmentalists instead of cleaning up their mess,” said Charles Suggs, a resident of Rock Creek, W.Va., and one of the climbers on the dragline. “This SLAPP suit is intended to intimidate and silence their critics so that Massey won’t have to actually make right the damage they’ve done.”

On June 18, 2009, in Twilight, W.Va., the 14 activists named in the lawsuit risked their safety to stop massive, 20-story earth-destroying piece of mining equipment known as a ‘dragline.’ Their action was intended to protect the families whose lives are harmed every day by this destructive mining practice. Massey now seeks $350,000 in damages for loss of coal production on that day. All fourteen activists had their criminal charges resolved in a W. Va. court in September, 2009.

1. Harris v. Adkins, 432 S.E.2d 549 (1993)

- 30 -

Beckley, WV - The Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) held an open house at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center today to collect public comments in order to develop a more thorough Stream Protection Rule. The OSM will hold a total of nine open houses throughout the country, the last one set for July 29^th. Those who are unable to attend the open houses may submit their comments via email, postal mail, or hand delivery before July 30^th (see below for details).

The open house featured court reporters collecting oral comments, 11 poster boards detailing various aspects of the proposed stream law, and a comment sheet to be filled out and turned in at the registration table. Besides the circle of OSM officials in the center of the room, the half a dozen police officers standing at the front, and the court reporters at their desks in the corners, the room was largely unpopulated.

Key elements of the rule that are being considered include: the definition of “material damage to the hydrologic balance outside the permit area”; the inclusion of fills in the restrictions of mining activities near streams; the limitation of variances; the prohibition of mountain-top removal mining; monitoring requirements; the reforestation of abandoned mines; coordination between regulatory organizations; and the definition of a stream.

While the posters touted large friendly pictures, the explanations seemed to include an unnecessary amount of regulatory lingo for a comment session open to the general public.

Court Reporters Meet with Citizen

Send your comments to the OSM by July 30^th:

Email: Send to sra-eis@osmre.gov with the Docket Number OSM-EIS-35 in the subject line of your message.

Postal mail, hand delivery, or courier: Include the Docket Number OSM-EIS-35 at the top of your message and send to:

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
Administrative Record
Room 252–SIB
1951 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20240

“In 2008, the Beehive Design Collective allied with Appalachian grassroots organizers fighting Mountain Top Removal Coal Mining, a practice which blasts mountains into moonscapes to fuel the ever-growing global demand for electricity. Our team of volunteer artists and educators have put countless hours into designing “The True Cost of Coal,” a visually stunning graphic multi-tool for activists and ordinary folks seeking real solutions.

We are all impacted by coal, and we all play a part in the system that demands coal as fuel. The Beehive’s True Cost of Coal Campaign is helping more people understand the real impacts of our national energy choices, so we can build a sustainable future.”

Pick up a copy from the Hive’s awesome webstore or from them while they’re on tour.

Appalachia Rising: Voices from the Mountains

September 25-26, Washington DC

Appalachia Rising: Voices from the Mountains is a conference held in Washington DC on September 25-26, 2010 calling for the abolition of mountaintop removal and surface mining in Appalachia. It is a time for the national movement against strip mining to assemble and grow through a weekend of strategizing, workshops,  learning, and cultural events. We envision a vibrant weekend during which thousands will learn about the challenges Appalachia faces and ways to build a movement to end the destruction and plant the seeds of a sustainable and prosperous Appalachia.

This inset of the Beehive Collective's True Cost of Coal poster models organizing for a sustainable future in Appalachia.

Give us your input!

We have created a template for our weekend gathering, Voices of the Mountains, and are looking for you to fill in the details.

Here is a rough outline:

Friday will be a day for us to get settled in and register. Our evening program will be comprised of dinner, speakers, and entertainment.

Saturday will be a day of movement building and visioning. We want to take advantage of the fact that so many intelligent and hardworking activists and allies will be in the same place. We are hoping to use our time together on Saturday to have strategy breakouts in which people working on interconnected issues will have the opportunity share work and ideas, and move forward together.

If you are interested in facilitating a workshop/discussion or have ideas and recommendations, please fill out this workshop form.

Sunday will be a day of workshops and trainings. For those interested in participating in the day of action, Sunday will be the day to prepare. For those interested in attending workshops and continuing to put some brain power behind this movement, Sunday will also be the day for you. We want to ask you if the programming for Sunday should be general education workshops, or workshops put on by larger environmental and climate movement organizations, like Greenpeace and Sierra Club.

This is the process:
Respond to the below questions before Tuesday, August 3. You can email them to voicesfromthemtns@gmail.com.
On _____, we will email out a summary of your ideas, and you’ll have another week to respond to those ideas.
The brainstorming period ends on ______. At that point, the day of agenda working group will convene to combine the material you provided into one cohesive agenda.
If you know people who don’t do email and are invested in this work, please include them by asking these questions in person or on the phone and report back.

For guidance, take a look at the vision statement.
What do you hope to get out of Voices for the Mountains?
What topics would you like to see discussed on Saturday?
What workshops would you like to attend on Sunday? Who could lead them?
What could make this weekend especially unique and worthwhile?
Would you like to lead a strategizing session or workshop? If so, about what?

If you are interested in joining the programming team, please contact voicesfromthemtns@gmail.com