Five protesters with the environmental group Rainforest Action Network are currently occupying the lobby of the Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Washington, D.C., in protest of what they say is a betrayal of a promise made by the agency earlier this year.
On April 1, 2010, the EPA publicly announced stricter Clean Water Act rules intended to drastically limit valley fills, a process by which coal companies dispose of toxic waste from mountaintop removal mines by dumping it into streams and valleys.
Less than two months later, the EPA shocked mountaintop removal opponents by recommending approval of a permit for the Pine Creek Surface Mine in Logan County, W.V. The mine will level 760 acres of forest, fill three valleys and destroy more than two miles of streams.
During the April 1 announcement, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson was clear on the intended result of the new rules. She said, "You’re talking about no or very few valley fills that are going to be able to meet standards like this."
The protesters who are engaged in the sit-in have a recording of her words. They are playing them over an amplifier along with West Virginia’s adopted state song, John Denver’s "Take Me Home, Country Roads."
One activist climbed on top of the main entrance to the building carrying a large, drinking glass-shaped sign that reads, "Blowing up mountains for coal contaminates Appalachian water."
The group says the purpose of the protest is to demand an end to the practice of mountaintop removal coal mining.
"We’re sitting down inside the EPA to demand the EPA stand up to protect Appalachia's precious drinking water, historic mountains and public health from the devastation of mountaintop removal," said the Rainforest Action Network's Scott Parkin, who is taking part in the protest. "At issue here is not whether mountaintop removal mining is bad for the environment or human health, because we know it is and the EPA has said it is. At issue is whether President Obama's EPA will do something about it."
Coal River Mountain is an ancient Appalachian cradle of rolling ridges and nestled hollows, which provide refuge to a variety of delicate wildlife species and a home to a uniquely American mountain culture. But just beneath the surface lays something that calls into question the mountain’s very survival: $4.3 billion worth of coal. Massey Energy holds permits to clear-cut 6,450 acres of hardwood forest on the mountain and to detonate thousands of tons of explosives. The blasts will topple debris into nine miles of streams below, destroying not just the mountain, but also the land and the way of life of those who live there. The people of Raleigh County, West Virginia are the ones who will suffer from the loss of their mountain to strip mining.
The Coal War is the story of a symbol and a struggle: one mountain destined to be destroyed by the coal industry and a courageous effort to bring renewable energy to the heartland of America.
A Thousand Little Cuts
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Coal River Mountain is an ancient Appalachian cradle of rolling ridges and nestled hollows, which provide refuge to a variety of delicate wildlife species and a home to a uniquely American mountain culture. But just beneath the surface lays something that calls into question the mountain’s very survival: $4.3 billion worth of coal. Massey Energy holds permits to clear-cut 6,450 acres of hardwood forest on the mountain and to detonate thousands of tons of explosives. The blasts will topple debris into nine miles of streams below, destroying not just the mountain, but also the land and the way of life of those who live there. The people of Raleigh County, West Virginia are the ones who will suffer from the loss of their mountain to strip mining.
The Coal War is the story of a symbol and a struggle: one mountain destined to be destroyed by the coal industry and a courageous effort to bring renewable energy to the heartland of America.
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