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West Virginia Environmental Protection Secretary Randy Huffman's testimony in June at a congressional hearing on mountaintop removal has drawn a lot of comment, and even helped fuel a protest calling for his resignation.
It turns out that even some folks within Huffman's own agency were none too happy with his staunch defense of the coal industry before a hearing of a Senate Environment and Public Works subcommittee.
Behind the scenes, a respected biologist at the WVDEP's Division of Water and Waste Management responded with a strongly worded memo that challenged Huffman's statements and urged agency officials to make sure the secretary "will be better informed the next time he represents our agency's current state of knowledge to federal authorities and elected representatives."
There's a real management issue over at the West Virginia Dept. of Environmental Protection that Secretary Huffman did not have accurate information before his Senate testimony (and hadn't even seen the corrective memo today).
Sec. Randy Huffman is in quite a pickle now. He's either incompetent at running an agency that requires the free-flow of scientific information or he committed perjury in his Senate testimony.
It is a real embarrassment to the state of West Virginia that a major state government agency is in danger of federal takeover for mismanagement.
Ken Ward, Jr. reported the news yesterday over at Coal Tattoo. Patriot Coal Corp. is idling a large MTR site, resulting in 314 layoffs. Ken Ward, Jr. points out this is not just any mining location:
The first time I went there, it was called the Red Warrior Mine, named for the Cabin Creek community where it was located. That was 15 years ago, April 1994. Then-owner Arch Mineral Corp. was still assembling the dragline shovel it brought in from a mine in Illinois.
At nearly 2,300 acres, the Red Warrior permit was easily the biggest strip-mining permit ever issued by West Virginia regulators. In 1994, Arch renamed the operation the Samples Mine, after company Chairman Ronald Eugene Samples. Samples had been instrumental in Arch Coal buying the property from Lewisburg coal operator Lawson Hamilton in 1989.
[snip]
Since that first permit, the operating company Catenary Coal has received permits for more than 10,000 more acres in the area. Just about two weeks ago, WVDEP Secretary Randy Huffman approved the latest permit, a 276-acre one called the "N-Extension."
As much as any mining operation in Appalachia, the Samples Mine has been at the center of the debate over mountaintop removal. In large part, that's because parts of it are visible from a public road far up Cabin Creek and from Larry Gibson's family cemetery at Kayford. Photos from Larry's place have appeared in news media around the world (including the masthead of Coal Tattoo).
This closure is all about economic conditions, not environmental ones.
While coal industry supporters would probably love to jump on the Samples closure as an example of how environmentalists or the Obama administration are hampering surface mining in the country, Patriot officials did not mention in their announcement any problems the company has had getting needed permits to continue at the site. As I mentioned, the company had just received one new permit, and no permits for Samples appear on the lists of Clean Water Act authorizations that the Obama EPA wants to look at more closely.
No matter what the reason, a mass layoff of 314 employees is troubling and will be very difficult for those laid off, their families, and the communities that rely their coal mining income.
For example, the pain of commenter Brandon at Coal Tattoo is very real:
Brandon { 08.03.09 at 6:38 pm }
Well, I am jobless now. I know this website and newspaper will spin the story saying environmentalists had nothing to do with it. I beg to differ. Each time the environmentalists come up with another mineral that's not "up to standard" in the downstream water, or a new regulation, this costs the companies money. Ken, not to long ago I mentioned that the environmentalists, including you, had a big push for selenium regulation. You guys have te DEP regulating the amount so low that the streams coming off of a mine site have to have a significant lower selenium level than our drinking water, plastic bottles or tap water. So, that is another example, enviro-extremists put fish before people. These jobs that were just lost are at least $75,000/year salaries. That is someone that didn't work a lot of overtime.
I'm sure the Sierra Club, OVEC, etc. will claim victory for this shut down, but don't doubt the fight has just begun. Now, us mountaintop removal guys have time to be like the members of these extreme environmentalist groups and can go protest, have gaterings, and so forth in support of this practice of mining. I challenge anyone to find jobs that pay $24.10 an hour to guys that are 40-60 years old without a high school diploma. Further yet, what about the guys that just graduated high school, where are they going to find a job that pays this good. Oh yea, I'm pretty sure GE or any other "green companies" can't pay this, being they don't have a plant in WV. Oh well.
So, keep it up, maybe you can get more mountaintop removal sites shut down and knock families out of their jobs that won't be replaced by "green" jobs.
I did my best to respond, but really, I don't think there's any words I could offer that would be of much help to ease his pain.
Clem Guttata { 08.03.09 at 7:24 pm }
Brandon, I am very sorry for the loss of your job. It really stinks to get laid off. No doubt that is going to be a huge adjustment for you and everyone else at the site who got notice today.
It's too late for me to offer advice about saving up money for an inevitable rainy day or anything like that. All I can say is you have been very blessed to have such a high paying job-I can't think of anywhere else in the country where jobs that pay that well are commonplace for workers without a high school diploma. (That's the reality of life in today's economy and it does indeed suck. There were more jobs in this country when Pres. Bush took office then 8 years later when he left; at least today we have a President who is making job creation a priority.)
I can't help but think the people to get angry at, though, are not environmentalists. The people to angry at are company owners and Wall Street bankers who are taking home huge bonuses even as banks and corporations continue to lose money. They are the ones grabbing a bigger and bigger slice of revenues and leaving the rest of us with crumbs.
The environmentalists I talk to are actively trying to bring good jobs to Appalachia. You are right, not all those jobs are going to pay as well as coal mining sometimes has. But, as you well know, those coal mining jobs have been disappearing for several decades (even when environmental rules were pretty much ignored). The coal mining jobs are going to go away one way or another-cleaner, safer, steadier work would at least be something.
The big question is if West Virginia is going to act in time to attract any green jobs before they all go elsewhere.
Meanwhile, I sincerely hope that you and everyone else that has been working at that site get put to work as soon as possible with remaining restoration work. That's a project that would make all of us happy.
The entire Coal Tattoo post (including Ken Ward, Jr's comment on selenium) are well worth reading. Also check out an earlier (brief) announcement with an extended discussion of reclamation obligations.
Image credit: Dennis Dimick via James Bruggers - Watchdog Earth
Here's something I'd really like to know about mountaintop removal mining regulation.
Which local, state, or federal regulatory bodies are responsible for defining and enforcing rules about returning Mountaintop Removal sites to Approximate Original Contour (AOC)? What can be done to force those agencies to do their job?
A recent report details the damage from mountaintop removal. Significant damage occurs because of a lack of returning landscape close enough to the original contour. Additional damage happens because original geological structures that filter water are disrupted. Even more damage occurs when eco-systems dependent on the original contour and the geological stucture turn out to no longer be viable.
Putting aside the larger question if the land can ever be restored to original condition, it is becoming increasingly obvious that the lack of returning mountaintop removal sites as close as possible to the original contour is the starting point for major damage to fragile ecological systems that developed over thousands of years.
Everyone who lives next to or downstream from a mountaintop removal site is suffering from that damage. We all have a stake in seeing the practice ended.
In the end, despite his clean energy and green jobs initiatives for the rest of the country, President Barack Obama's recent decision to "regulate" and not abolish mountaintop removal operations will trap Appalachia in a 20th century muck of economic development.
And this is where Jimmy Carter must use his moral authority to get Obama to get right with history.
In the spring of 1977, President Carter addressed the American people in a televised speech on his proposed energy policy and his creation of the Department of Energy: "We must look back in history to understand our energy problem."
On August 3rd, 1977, surrounded in the White House Rose Garden by coalfield residents and environmentalists who had waged a ten-year campaign to abolish strip-mining, President Carter begrudgingly signed the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act as an act of political compromise. "In many ways," he told his guests at the signing, "this has been a disappointing effort." Calling it a "watered down" bill, Carter added, "I'm not completely satisfied with the legislation. I would prefer to have a stricter strip mining bill."
"The President's other main objection to the bill," wrote the New York Times, "is that it allows the mining companies to cut off the tops of Appalachian mountains to reach entire seams of coal."
Three decades later, President Carter's worst fears have been realized. And it has not happened by accident, but the blatant manipulation of federal regulations.
What would a visit look like? Here's his suggestion:
"I am not here as a public official," Carter said in his Nobel lecture in 2002, "but as a citizen of a troubled world who finds hope in a growing consensus that the generally accepted goals of society are peace, freedom, human rights, environmental quality, the alleviation of suffering, and the rule of law."
In the name of peace, human rights, environmental quality, the alleviation of suffering, and the rule of law, coalfield residents desperately need Carter to make a visit to a mountaintop removal site and intervene as a special emissary to bring an end to the crime of mountaintop removal and draw up a roadmap for economic revival through green jobs and clean energy initiatives.
August 3rd, the anniversary of the Surface Mining Act, would be a good day to announce his first visit.
Carter helped negotiate an enduring peace along the Israel - Egypt border. We could use some of that magic for a lasting peace in mountains and hollers of West Virginia.
Since West Virginia is allowing its mountains to be destroyed, it is no longer possible for us to claim the nickname "The Mountain State." Nor is it possible to root for athletic teams called the "West Virginia Mountaineers." Therefore a contest is announced to select new nicknames for our state and our athletic teams.
A winning nickname will be selected in each of the following categories:
1. STATE NICKNAME: West Virginia, the ___________ State.
2. ATHLETIC TEAMS: The West Virginia ___________. (Or "Let's go, ___.")
The winner in each category will receive $100.00
Only submissions that include a West Virginia address will be accepted. Submissions should include name and address/phone number so if you win, prizes can be awarded. Your name and winning entry will be publicized. (Addresses will not be made public.)
Contest judges will be writers Denise Giardina, Arla Ralston, and the Rev. Jim Lewis.
King Coal still has an iron grip on West Virginia political and regulatory power. Signs of tangible change remain hopeful, yet distant. For every West Virginian protesting King Coal, there is another burying their head in coal ash.
The science also shows, though, that mountaintop removal is a very destructive practice. Forests are mowed down. Hilltops are blown up. Miles and miles of streams are buried. EPA reports and independent studies show there's just no denying the damage.
Will mountaintop removal eventually be banned? Perhaps. But even if that happens, it probably won't occur overnight. And in the meantime, where is the real plan for green jobs for the coalfields? Who among the leaders of environmental groups, labor and business are really even sitting down and trying to start such a plan?
Maybe West Virginia's political leadership wants this to be fought out in the streets - or, rather, along narrow, two-lane roads that wind through Boone, Logan and Raleigh counties. Given that the issue has been on the front burner for more than a decade, with little movement toward resolution, it's probably understandable that both sides have reached this point.
Woe unto us if West Virginians are left to settle these matters with our own blood, sweat and tears. Despite Gov. Manchin saying this week, "this country was built on protests... I like protests," we can only hope that's not a total abdication of political leadership.
The Devil We Know
Public opinion in West Virginia is against mountain top removal. I think even most people who mine coal know that mountain top removal is a horrible way to make a living. It is a Faustian bargain.
What we need are viable economic alternatives for the individuals, families, and communities dependent on mountain top removal operations. When safer, more sustainable, employers offer jobs in the coal fields there will be thousands and thousands of applicants.
The problem is, until those alternatives arrive, there is a stronger and stronger commitment to the only economic security many West Virginians have ever known. Until something changes, each side will just be yelling louder at each other.
The Change We Need
The reason I'm writing this post this morning is bloggers all across the country are joining the call for President Obama to visit a mountain top removal site. (See also: Jeff Biggers).
I want Obama to come visit when the time is right--when he can help deliver the change that West Virginia and the rest of Appalachia needs.
The most positive force President Obama can deliver to reassure everyone who lives in Appalachia we will not be forgotten in the post-carbon economy.
What Appalachia is still waiting for, after the record stimulus bill and the impeding ACES 2009 bill, is for new jobs in the coal fields. A few less layoffs in the south, restarting some steel mill lines in the north, those are both nice but are not the change we need. What we really need are new major employers to build a vibrant diversified economy.
The Appalachian Vitalization and Empowerment Authority
We've mentioned several times on this blog the need for targeted investment in Appalachia--we already suffer the most to deliver cheap coal to the rest of the country. We are going to suffer even more in the transition to a new energy economy. The people of Appalachia deserve better.
In the Bush administration there was no movement in targeted investment. Thankfully, the Obama administration is pushing policies regarding post-mining land use. Unfortunately, here in West Virginia, our state leadership is failing to pick up the baton.
My dream is for President Obama to come to West Virginia to announce the formation of an Appalachian Vitalization and Empowerment Authority (AVEA). I'd picture him sharing the stage with Govs. of W.Va. and KY, Sens. Byrd and Rockefeller, to announce:
* an end to any new mountain top removal mining,
* no new valley fills at existing MTR sites
* strict enforcement of safety and environment regulations for auger and underground mining
* rebuilding Marsh Fork Elementary school in a safe location
* a public-private partnership to develop wind power atop Coal River Mountain, underground mining below, and regional economic development (update: a potential model) * the appointment of an Appalachian job czar to direct stimulus and ACES jobs to the Appalachian region
* a comprehensive program for post-mining land clean-up and reclamation (a la Superfund)
This is one way forward with a win-win for West Virginia and a model for the rest of Appalachia. Not only would these programs put thousands (and thousands!) of West Virginians to work but also West Virginian natives would return to the state to work.
does not ban other methods of coal mining, but instead would prevent this particular type of coal mining.
Earlier this year, chairman of the Environment and Public Works Water and Wildlife Subcommittee Senator Ben Cardin (D-Maryland), introduced the AppalachiaRestoration Act [S.696} with this statememnt
"Mountaintop mining is one of the most destructive practices that already has destroyed some of America's most beautiful and ecologically significant regions,"
Senator Cardin has scheduled an open committee hearing for S. 696 on Thursday, June 25, so a call to your Congrescritter's offices would help rid us of this scourge on the State and citizens of West Virginia. Senator Cardin is also quoted as having said
"We must put an end to this mining method that has buried more than a thousand miles of streams."
According to the State Journal, Senator Rockefeller apparently doesn't understand that surface mining has not only been destructive to our ecology, it has been thoroughly devastating to our economy, actually robbing West Virginia of jobs.
Rebecca Gale, press secretary for Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said in a news release the senator is reviewing the legislation to make sure it doesn't threaten surface mining jobs in the state.
"Senator Rockefeller is committed to finding ways to minimize any environmental impacts from surface mining and he believes we must do this in a way that protects jobs and our local economies ... ," Gale said
There are numerous social, moral, and environmental arguments against Mountaintop Removal coal mining (MTR). In this diary, I lay out the economic arguments against MTR.
Jobs, jobs, jobs
The very first argument you will hear in favor of Mountaintop Removal coal mining is "jobs, jobs, and jobs." Before I dispatch of that argument, let's get some facts out on the table, just how many jobs are we talking about?
Back in 1940, West Virginia had its peak employment of 130,457 coal miners (source). In 2006, there were less than 20,000. All mining jobs--Oil and Gas Extraction, Other Mining, and Mining Support Jobs--total 3.34% of 2006 estimated employment in West Virginia.
Industry (April 2009 % of WVa workforce employed) - Government (18.8%)
- Educational and Health Services (14.9%)
- Retail Trade (10.8%)
- Leisure and Hospitality (8.9%)
-Unemployed (7.9%) - Professional and Business Services (7.4%)
- Other Services (7.0%)
- Manufacturing (6.5%)
- Construction (4.3%)
-Mining and Logging (3.6%) - Financial Activities (3.6%)
- Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities (3.4%)
- Wholesale Trade (2.9%)
- Information (1.3%)
Employment in the extraction industries--oil, gas, and coal plus logging and direct support jobs--added up to 3.6% of the estimated employment in April 2009 in West Virginia. In other words, there were twice as many people unemployed in West Virginia last month as there were employed in all extraction industry jobs.
Many coal mining jobs pay well. But, the industry is highly cyclical, with periods of boom and bust (heavy overtime followed by layoffs) quite frequent. Also, it it is a dangerous job with a history of neglect of on-the-job employee safety and neglect of long-term employee health.
Mountaintop Removal and WVa Jobs
Mountaintop Removal coal mining is only one type of coal mining in West Virginia. Much of the coal mined in West Virginia is extracted in underground mines. Mine owners and operators prefer MTR mines because they are less costly to operate. With current technology, MTR mining is the lowest cost option for extracting small seams of coal. (Note: lowest cost in this context refers only to the actual costs paid by mine operators, not the total costs to society.)
Underground mining requires more employees per ton of coal mined. Right now demand for coal is relatively low. It is projected to remain low for the foreseeable future. Domestic demand is down, coal exports are down and nearby steel plant closings don't help any, either.
In this economy, Mountaintop Removal mining and underground mines are competing with one another to provide supply to meet limited demand. Mine owners and operators are closing down operations, starting with their highest cost mines, typically, underground mines.
The best way to keep underground miners employed is to stop Mountaintop Removal mining.
If all new Mountaintop Removal mining is stopped, it will force mining companies to keep their underground mines open longer and to keep looking for more coal they can mine underground. Underground mines use more miners per ton of coal, that means more total WVa coal mining jobs.
Mountaintop Removal and Economic Development
The second argument you may here in favor of Mountaintop Removal coal mining is that the coal fields of West Virginia lack flat land and MTR provides valuable opportunities for land development.
There are two major flaws with this argument.
First, by some estimates, "of the mountains flattened less than 5% have any economic development." In the region around Southern West Virginia, the total may be less than 1%. Existing regulations are poorly enforced. (Decades have passed and there is still not legal definition for original contour.)
If Mountaintop Removal was going to be a great engine of economic development for the coal fields, it would have happened by now. Instead, we find there is a high correlation between areas with high levels of MTR mining, unhappiness, and low economic performance.
Second, there is a fundamental incompatibility between Mountaintop Removal coal mining and other economic development.
It's not too hard to figure out why. If you owned a coal mine and were thinking about expanding operations, would you want to compete for land and workers with higher-paying industries? Of course not.
Coal companies put the best interests of their owners (and shareholders) first and foremost. The best thing for a coal company is to operate in a poor region of the country with little competing economic development. Coal companies want land as cheap as possible, regulation as lax as possible, and employees as dependent as possible.
People aren't trapped in carbon-extraction industries by some law of nature. They're trapped by policy and intent. Areas that are centered on extraction industries are far more likely to be poor exactly because of the nature of these industries. These are very top heavy businesses that leave behind environmental damage, little to no infrastructure improvements, and a populace whose jobs skills are not easily transported to another industry. Over the last thirty years, voters in these areas often support conservative politicians because they see these politicians as protective of their jobs. To support these industries, conservative politicians remove regulation that would improve environmental remediation, reduce taxes that would benefit communities, and drive out unions that would protect worker's rights. The result builds a cycle that's more difficult to stop than a two-pack a day smoking habit.
Areas dependent on extraction industry might as well be mining poverty.
The way forward
Some day, perhaps as soon as a decade or two, West Virginia will run out of viable coal deposits. No doubt our economy is dependent in the short-term on coal mining jobs and coal mining revenue. We are not, however, dependent on Mountaintop Removal. A ban on MTR will generate economic benefits for West Virginia.
Today was a beautiful day in the mountains of southern West Virginia. I had the pleasure of attending the fifth annual Earth Day Festival held at the Folk Life Center near Pipestem State Park in Summers County. You can get an idea of what was taking place by visiting the EarthdayWV website by clicking here.
A high point for me was participating as a member of a panel with folks from the Coal River Mountain Watch, the Bluestone Conservatory and others talking about the serious problems arising from mountaintop removal in our water supply. We had a nice crowd that was there to celebrate the earth, express themselves about the environment and to listen to some great music. You can learn more about Coal River Mountain Watch by clicking here, and the Bluestone Conservatory by clicking here.
A paid employee of Al Gore's Repower America was in the audience. She is now working full time in West Virginia representing that organization.
The best part for me was meeting new friends and becoming reacquainted with old friends from the 2008 campaign including Jim McNeely who was a candidate for the state Senate in the last election.
The music started out with a girl band from Stages Music Studio in Princeton. A picture of this amazing group can be seen below.
All in all the day provided a great start to spring in southern West Virginia.
The EPA visited the Coal River Valley to meet with the coal industry yesterday morning when activists from Climate Ground Zero unveiled a large banner that said "EPA stop MTR" at Massey Energy's Edwight mountaintop removal mine. Five people were arrested and work ceased on the site for the day as Massey searched fruitlessly for additional protesters. The banner was up for two hours was visible from the highway.
You can find a full report from activist on the scene at Climate Ground Zero (including a picture of the banner).
Ken Ward, Jr. has more details on the legal fights around protests, including the implications of two journalists being arrested in: Protests against Massey continue ...
Some don't like me re-branding the estate tax as the Paris Hilton Tax. [The DHinMI parallel--"I didn't' read it but I will respond"] I did not like Frank Lutz and Company re-branding it as the Death Tax. Now we have another re-branding. Ken Ward points this out in the Saturday WaPo article [sorry, blond_moment, visited the relatives for Easter, hard to boycott]. I was asked about this topic, and if the word smiths are in action, it must mean that the majority doesn't like the idea of removing mountains.
But I was disappointed that David fell into the same trap as The Associated Press (both its local bureau here in Charleston and folks in Washington and elsewhere in AP), in adopting the industry’s term “mountaintop mining,” which is a phrase made up by the coal industry (and some friends in regulatory agencies) to avoid the more nasty-sounding “mountaintop removal.” This term “mountaintop mining,” is not mentioned in the federal strip mining law or its regulations. It’s unfortunate that it’s catching on with the media.
Mountain. Top. Removal.
Anybody up for checking tags where it may count? It is not what you say, it is what they hear.
If we want to maximize coal mining jobs in West Virginia, it's time to put an indefinite moratorium on any new mountain top removal mining. Gov. Manchin could do this with the stroke of a pen--after 30 years of mountain top mining, approximate original contour still remains undefined. It is time for Gov. Manchin to correct this. Until existing mountain top removal mining is well regulated we should not allow any expansion of mountain top removal mining.
Patriot Coal says it's cutting another 2 million tons of southern West Virginia production due to weak market conditions.
St. Louis-based Patriot says it's idling two contract mines that produce metallurgical coal at its Wells complex.
[snip]
Patriot says its also going to take Saturdays off at its Hobet surface mine complex, which produces coal for electric utilities. Additionally, Patriot says it's delaying the start of production from its new, two-mine Blue Creek complex.
CEO Rick Whiting says the cuts announced late last week eliminate 2009 production that hasn't been sold yet.
The global economic downturn is only part of the story. Long term demand for West Virginia coal may never recover. States to our east are investing heavily in both greener sources of electricity and demand reduction.
Save Coal Mining Jobs
How can a moratorium on mountain top mining in West Virginia save coal mining jobs?
Simple. Coal companies are cutting production. What production are they going to cut first? The highest cost production.Mountain top removal mining employs less people, costs coal companies less, and does more environmental damage than underground mining.
Who do you think deserves the money more, coal company owners and executives or underground coal miners? For the foreseeable future, we're going to need coal. As long as we do, I think we should encourage mining that employs the most West Virginia miners, don't you?
The way forward
Gov. Manchin can save West Virginia coal mining jobs by placing a moratorium on mountain top removal mining. West Virginians deserve full enforcement of existing laws. No more mountain top removal mining should occur until approximate original contour is defined and enforced.
This is the right way forward for coal mining jobs and the right way forward for West Virginia.
Mike Roselle and James McGuinness shut down massey Energy on Cherry Pond mountain in southern West Virginia, February 25, 2009. photograph (c) antrim caskey, 2009
News from Mike Roselle's Facebook feed last hour.
A warrant was issued for me by the Raleigh County Court this morning. My personal bond has been revoked and I will be taken into custody tomorrow morning and brought before the Magistrate. Not sure if I will be released afterward.
If you want to help Mike Roselle and his cause--civil disobedience to stop Mountain Top Removal--here's how:
We have a legal defense fund set up on http://climategroundzero.org with PayPal. We have several pending case in both criminal and civil court so we will need some funds, although our lawyers are working pro bono.
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