Mountaintop removal
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Mountaintop removal (MTR) is a relatively new form of coal mining that involves the mass restructuring of earth in order to reach sediment as deep as 1,000 feet below the surface. MTR requires that the targeted land be first clear-cut and then leveled by use of explosives. The debris created is typically scraped into a valley fill - a practice that has twice been ruled illegal in the United States by a federal judge in accordance with the Clean Water Act. [link]
The Process
Mountaintop removal requires that the targeted land be first clear-cut and then leveled by explosives. Then the overburden (the mountain) is pushed into a nearby valley or hollow, often choking out the mountain streams. The coal is transported to a processing plant where it is washed. The waste from this process is stored in earthen dams containing millions of gallons of slurry.Criticism
Critics contend that mountaintop removal is a disastrous practice which benefits a small number of corporations at the expense of local communities and the environment. The Economist recently labeled the coal industry "Environmental Enemy No. 1."Critics also point to the destruction of various strata of rock and the subsequent elimination of water tables. They cite that this destruction will prohibit future re-growth of forests and any type of plant life larger than grasses. The large ponds of slurry are said to leak poisoning ground water. They also point to the increased levels of heavy metals to argue that human habitation of regions that have been mined by the process of mountaintop removal will be immensely difficult. Critics state that the only way humans will be able to inhabit these regions is by having drinking water pumped in from outside of the region.
Additionally, high-profile disasters have called into question the safety of MTR. Most famously, in 1972, a slurry impoundment outside of Logan County, West Virginia burst (see Buffalo Creek flood). The resulting rush of 130 million gallons of toxic water killed 125 people and caused 50 million dollars in damages. Despite evidence of negligence, the Pittston Company, which owned the compromised dam, called the event an "Act of God".
In 2002, a 900 ft high 2,000 ft long fill in Lyburn, West Virginia burst, generating a large wave of sediment that destroyed several cars and houses. [link]
See also
External links
- [Appalachian Voices] A grassroots organization working with coalfield residents and legislators to end Mountaintop Removal. Lots of facts and resources for learning more about Mountaintop Removal
- [Mountaintop Mining & Valley Fills in Appalachia: Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Final PEIS)]
- [Kentuckians For The Commonwealth] - a grassroots activist organization that fights against Mountaintop Removal mining.
- [Economic Impact of Mountaintop Removal on Coal-mining Communities] -- an article by Kristin Johannsen
- [Mountain Justice Summer Campaign]
- [Satellite photographs of Mountaintop Removal sites in Kentucky]
- [Mountaintop Removal Mining Index]
- [Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition]
- [Mountaintop Removal Photo Gallery]
- [Friends of Coal] - Political Action Committee and advocacy group that defends the positions of the coal mining industry and argues for less government regulation; the site has no page specifically dealing with mountaintop removal
- [Kentucky Coal Education] This pro-coal website contains "Fun Stuff" for kids as well as lesson plans and other resources for teachers and the public.
- [West Virginia Coal Association] West Virginia's pro-business, pro-coal site. The Resources section is especially useful. The site contains many statistics on production and employment.
- [US Government Office of Surface Mining page on mountaintop removal]
- [The Cost of Coal], by NOW with Bill Moyers
- [West Virginia photo gallery]
- [Missing Mountains: We Went to the Mountaintop But it Wasn't There] -- 35 Kentucky writers explore mountaintop removal mining.
- [Marshall University's Center for Business and Economic Research] has conducted studies of Mountaintop Removal and Financing of Environmental Reclamation
- [Bringing Down the Mountains: the Impact of Mountaintop Removal Surface Coal Mining on Southern West Virginia Communities, 1970-2004] A Ph.D. dissertation that is the first historical treatment of mountaintop removal coal mining and its various effects on southern West Virginia communities by West Virginia University alumnus Dr. Shirley Stewart Burns.
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