Vivian Stockman, an Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition project coordinator, said, "We're extremely grateful to Senator Byrd. It is awfully nice his staff will meet with people directly impacted by mountaintop removal.
"We hope this trip will help Byrd's office understand the huge hidden costs associated with mountaintop-removal coal mining from flooding to lost communities, from lost economic potential of the mountains to the huge costs of poisoned streams and drinking water."
Stockman said no one has yet done a comprehensive study about the human, health and economic costs associated with "this extreme form of coal mining."
On Wednesday, Stockman and her colleagues will take Byrd's staff members to "see a community that is being dismantled because of mountaintop removal and to other communities to see some flood damage."
"They will be meeting with people who have generations of ties with the coal industry, but who cannot tolerate mountaintop removal."
