Economy
Coal industry employment has sharply decreased as a result of mechanization involved with mountaintop removal coal mining.
Coal producing counties are among the poorest in the nation. McDowell County, West Virginia, has produced more coal than any other county in the U.S., yet suffers from a 37.7% poverty rate. If mountaintop removal mining were good for a region’s economy, southern West Virginia would be one of the richest regions in the U.S.
Environment
Topsoil and trees absorb rainfall and protect valley communities from flooding. Mountaintop removal sites are barren and result in water rushing into valleys. Twice in a ten-month period during 2001-2002, McDowell County, WV, was designated a federal disaster area due to flooding. Thousands of residents were left homeless and damages were estimated at over $95 million. Coal companies called the flooding “an Act of God.”
On October 11, 2000, an earthen impoundment near Inez, Kentucky containing 250 million gallons of coal mining wastewater failed, spilling the contaminated water into the valley below. The spill was 20 times greater than the amount of oil lost by the Exxon Valdez in the nation’s worst oil tanker spill. All aquatic life was wiped out in more than 100 miles of Kentucky streams.
Aerial surveys show that mountaintop removal mines have leveled anywhere from 15 to 25 percent of the mountains in southern West Virginia, creating grasslands where forested peaks used to be. Many experts believe this land will never support the hardwood forests that are native to Appalachia. We are, in essence, conducting a massive experiment with the mountains of southern Appalachia.
Communities
Coal companies are allowed to mine up to 300 feet from homes. This is dangerous for families and damaging to homes and property values.
Mountaintop removal mines regularly set off blasts with 10 to 100 times the force of the Oklahoma City bombing. These blasts shake and crack homes, destroy wells, and roll huge rocks into yards and public roads. In some areas, blasting makes it too dangerous for people to work in their yard or for children to wait outside for the school bus.
Property values plummet for communities near mountaintop removal mining sites, leaving life-long residents few options other than selling to coal companies or living with blasting that occurs at all hours of the day and night. In the town of Blair, WV, the coal company purchased property for a pittance from homeowners, then forced them to sign a contract stating they would never move back to the area or publicly denounce the coal company.
Toxins from coal impoundments leech into the soil and groundwater in coalfield communities. These toxins are in the air and water and accumulate in the food chain. The mercury created from mining and burning coal is known to cause permanent neurological damage in children. The air pollution that results is also tied to unusually high rates of asthma in children throughout East Tennessee.
As a result of our nation’s demand for cheap, low-sulfur coal --- the kind found in Appalachia --- residents in small, mountain communities are losing their way of life. In KY and WV, many small towns have virtually ceased to exist as citizens are forced to abandon their family lands due to intense pollution, flooding, loss of drinkable water, and the danger of living in the vicinity of blasting.
Adapted from a fact sheet provided by Appalachian Voices, 703 West King Street, Suite 105, Boone, NC 28607 www.appvoices.org