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CHARLESTON, WV - Responding to national pressure over the treatment of tree sitters on Coal River Mountain, West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin asked Climate Ground Zero for an emergency meeting. This morning Roland Micklem, 81, and other group members told the Governor that the civil-disobedience campaign won't stop until mountaintop removal does. They reminded the governor that the campaign is strictly non-violent, and asked the governor to protect activists from threats of violence by Massey Energy and other coal companies.
"The governor attempted to steer the conversation away from the more massive crime of MTR," said Micklem. "We are here to oppose mountaintop removal mining, which is a crime. Massey Energy has committed any number of illegalities. We will continue non-violent civil disobedience in order to stop it."
Today is the eighth day that Eric Blevins, 28, and Amber Nitchman, 19, continue to peacefully occupy trees to prevent blasting near Massey Energy's Bee Tree strip mine on Coal River Mountain. They are preventing Massey from blasting near a sludge dam that endangers downstream communities.
The sitters have faced constant harassment from Massey Security in the form of air horns, bright lights and violent threats. The meeting resulted in a temporary moratorium on the use of the air horns and flood lights, but the sitters remain worried about the possibility of other, more dangerous, methods of harassment.
Governor Manchin recently came out against violence between the opponents and proponents of mountaintop removal mining after a meeting with coalfield residents about the effects of that type of mining.
In response to news of the harassment, hundreds of people from all over the country called Massey Energy, and then Governor Manchin to express their displeasure with his continued support of mountaintop removal mining, and to pressure him to stop the auditory abuse of the tree sitters. "The massive call-ins to the Governor and Massey Energy this week came from all over the country; mountaintop removal is a national issue with national consequences - the coal companies cannot continue to treat central Appalachia like their own personal playground," said David Aaron Smith, one of the sitters who had to come down Monday.
Today Manchin stated: "Even if we disagree, I believe we can walk away respecting each other but everyone-including activists and property owners-must do so within the letter of the law." Activists acknowledge that they are taking part in civil disobedience in response to legal violations committed by mining companies. In the debate with Robert Kennedy Jr last week, Massey CEO Don Blankenship said "I doubt it's possible [to do mountaintop removal] without having a single violation at a single time."
Federal mine safety officials are looking into a comment by one of its Kentucky-based inspectors on the social networking site, Facebook, that proclaimed, "Hang a tree-hugger today."
[...]
David Cooper, an activist who opposes mountaintop removal coal mining, circulated via email the comment by Terry Phillips, who Louviere identified as a mine inspector based in Pikeville, on the Facebook page for the pro-coal Federation for American Coal, Energy and Security. Both that page, and a copy of Phillip's public page on Facebook, were published on this environmental website.
A man who identified himself as Phillips returned my call and said he was sorry. "I was kidding around," Phillips said. "It's caused me a lot of problems. I wished I had never done it."
Will Vicki Smith of the AP still try to pretend that the nutty rhetoric is coming equally from both sides?
Since their first night in the trees Massey has been harassing the sitters using sleep deprivation tactics; this is harming the hearing of both the security and the sitters. Security personnel are perpetually shining bright lights and employing the noise-making machines. A few hours ago Eric Blevins took action by calling the state police and reporting a noise violation. Quite soon after he called the noise machines turned off but they have since been turned back on. In a similar vein of harassment, Massey security has tied a rope to a smaller tree next to Amber's platform. They are pulling and releasing the rope so that the sapling smacks the bottom of her platform, hoping that she will feel unsafe and come down.
- Governor Manchin will meet with Bo Webb and other coalfields residents today.
- The stenographer of the week award goes to Bill Archer of The Bluefield Daily Telegraph for covering FACES of Coal.
- Big Laurel Coal is cited for ignoring dangers that contributed to a Virginia mine electrician's death.
-and Friends of Coal: The coloring book. really.
First off, here's all the important logistical details:
WHAT: The University of Charleston will present a public conversation between Waterkeeper Alliance President and environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Massey Energy Chairman and CEO Don Blankenship titled the Forum on the Future of Energy. The event will advance the national discussion about U.S. energy policy and its impact on jobs, the environment, the economy, and national security.
WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010, at 6:15 pm
WHO: Don Blankenship - Chairman and CEO, Massey Energy Co.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. - President, Waterkeeper Alliance
Dr. Edwin H. Welch - President, University of Charleston, event moderator
WHERE: University of Charleston's Geary Auditorium; live remote broadcast in Eddie King Gymnasium
If you want to attend in person, the tickets for the auditorium are "sold out" (they were never available for sale to the public), but free admission is available for the remote broadcast in the Eddie King Gymnasium.
The Forum has generated considerable interest and demand for tickets has exceeded the auditorium capacity. Event organizers will distribute tickets in advance, and no additional seats will be available. For all others, the forum will be broadcast live in Eddie King Gymnasium on the university's campus.
To accommodate television coverage, the University of Charleston requests that the audience be seated prior to 6:15 p.m. Those holding tickets will be seated in their respective sections, on a first-come, first-served basis, with early arrivals seated at the front. Doors will open at 5:00 p.m. and entry into the event will be through the Keenan lot entrance of Riggleman Hall only.
All interested parties are invited to submit questions for the participants in advance. Dr. Welch, as moderator, will ask the participants a balance of representative, challenging questions chosen from those submitted.
There's a lot of national interest in the debate and the fact that it is happening at all is significant. It is one more sign that folks are starting to take planning for West Virginia's post-carbon future a little more seriously.
New Report Warns of Decline of Central Appalachian Coal Argues for New Focus on Economic Diversification and Renewable Energy for the Region
MORGANTOWN, WV - As the legislative season begins across Central Appalachia, a new report by Downstream Strategies details future challenges to coal production in the region and argues that policy-makers should strongly support renewable energy and the development of new economic opportunities for coal-producing areas.
"Coal has contributed significantly to local and state economies in Central Appalachia, but production has fallen substantially over the last 12 years as other coal basins and sources of fuel have become more competitive," said lead author Rory McIlmoil. "This trend is expected to continue as mining costs increase due to the depletion of the lowest cost coal reserves, and as new environmental regulations are implemented. As this happens, local and state economies will need new sources of jobs and revenue to replace coal mining jobs and taxes."
According to the report, Central Appalachian coal production is projected to fall by nearly 50% within the next ten years. Central Appalachia includes the coal-producing counties in southern West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, southwest Virginia, and eastern Tennessee
The report points to renewable energy and energy efficiency as two sectors where new jobs and tax revenues can be created, as the region has a wealth of clean energy resources. The report concludes that losses related to the decline of the coal industry can be recaptured by gains from wind, solar, low-impact hydro, and sustainable biomass production, and from a strong focus on energy efficiency improvements.
To support the diversification of the regional energy economy, the report outlines a series of policy instruments, including requiring each state to provide 25% of their energy from renewable sources; the provision of grants, tax credits, clean energy bonds, or low-interest loans to support renewable energy development and manufacturing; the implementation and strengthening of net metering laws; and the development of workforce programs aimed at providing the skills and knowledge required for renewable energy industries. The study also argues for strong incentives for local ownership of energy development, to help maximize the local economic benefits of renewable energy projects.
"Given that coal production is projected to decline significantly in the coming decades, diversification of Central Appalachian economies is now more critical than ever," said co-author Evan Hansen, President of Downstream Strategies. "State leaders should use this legislative session to increase support for new economic development across the region, especially in the rural areas set to be the most impacted by a sharp decline in the region's coal economy."
In December 2009, West Virginia Senator Robert C. Byrd stated, "West Virginians can choose to anticipate change and adapt to it, or resist and be overrun by it. The time has arrived for the people of the Mountain State to think long and hard about which course they want to choose."
According to McIlmoil, "The same is true for all of Central Appalachia, and we hope this report helps policy-makers understand the changes that are coming so that they can support new industries. The renewable energy sector offers one of the greatest opportunities for economic development."
Downstream Strategies is an environmental consulting company in Morgantown, West Virginia, with program areas in environmental policy, environmental science, and geographic information systems. The company provides science, research, and tools to organizations, businesses, and agencies. It offers clients an alternative to mainstream environmental consulting by combining sound interdisciplinary skills with a core belief in the importance of protecting the environment and linking economic development with natural resource stewardship.
It's a new year, the holidays are over and the coal barons and their allies have launched a new offensive of misinformation.
Citizen activists and environmentalists achieved true momentum in 2009, and the coal companies see a threat to their goal of continuing to treat West Virginia like a third world country.
As part of their effort to regain ground in 2010, Massey Energy has started running a series of new attack ads on TV that flash Al Gore's image at you and demonize environmentalists as "tree-hugging extremists," though Kevin Grandia at Huffington Post made short work of their misleading claims that Massey is "fighting hard for Appalachian jobs:"
It is a strange world indeed when standing up for "what's right" means cutting employee wages, stuffing the CEO's coffers with more cash and dumping toxic pollution into freshwater streams.
Meanwhile, Massey CEO Don Blankenship has decided to quit whining on Twitter about how the Gazette won't turn its opinion page over to him and sent in a response to a critical letter by Tom Burger. He's probably a bit peeved about having to follow a set of rules this time, though.
Groups Put Massey on Notice for Over 12,000 Clean Water Violations Company Has Pattern of Illegal Pollution
January 11, 2010
Charleston, WV: A coalition of groups, including the Sierra Club, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Coal River Mountain Watch, and the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy took action today to hold coal giant Massey Energy accountable for over 12,000 violations of the Clean Water Act and surface mining laws associated with their mining operations in West Virginia. Massey continues to illegally dump pollution into Appalachian waterways despite a massive $20 million fine already placed on the company for thousands of previous violations.
"Massey has operated outside the law for far too long. There is a history here, not only of Massey ignoring the law, but of state officials ignoring Massey's violations," said Judy Bonds of Coal River Mountain Watch. "Massey needs to be held accountable for these very real crimes against the people of Appalachia."
Massey has a long history of environmental and social irresponsibility-including one of the largest slurry spills ever to take place in the United States and a $1.5 million fine from the Mine Safety and Health Administration. In 2008 the company was fined $20 million for Clean Water Act violations, similar to those cited by the coalition, after the federal government documented over 4,600 cases of pollution being illegally dumped into local waters by Massey and its subsidiaries. Incredibly, Massey's violations have increased in frequency since its settlement with the federal government.
"Massey seems to think that poisoning water by consistently ignoring laws is an acceptable business practice. The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection seems to agree, as they continue to allow these violations. We are forced to do the agencies job, to hold Massey accountable," said Diane Bady of the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition.
"Massey has both a legal and moral obligation to protect streams and drinking water supplies in the communities where it operates," said Jim Sconyers of the Sierra Club's West Virginia Chapter. "Their permits are not just pieces of paper - they are solemn commitments to protect the waters and people of West Virginia. Unfortunately the company has shown time and again that it is unwilling to take its obligations seriously."
Massey and its subsidiaries operate dozens of mountaintop removal and other large-scale surface mines in Appalachia, using some of the most environmentally devastating types of mining, flattening the landscape and burying miles of streams. Close to 2,000 miles of streams have already been lost and new proposed mountaintop removal permits could destroy more than 60,000 acres of the remaining forest.
The evidence is now crystal clear. The leadership of West Virginia needs to put the citizens of West Virginia--its people--ahead of corporate profits. Today we should all be calling for West Virginia political leadership to rally together to plan for an orderly end to mountaintop mining.
What we learned
This is a watershed moment in the history of mountaintop removal mining.
The science team entered the project with no preconceived notion about how effective mountain top removal mitigation might be or how damaging MTR is. After this study the interdisciplinary team of 11 scientists reached this conclusion (summarized by McClatchy):
The consequences of this mining in eastern Kentucky, West Virginia and southwestern Virginia are ""pervasive and irreversible," the article finds. Companies are required by law to take steps to reduce the damages, but their efforts don’t compensate for lost streams nor do they prevent lasting water pollution, it says.
The article is a summary of recent scientific studies of the consequences of blasting the tops off mountains to obtain coal and dumping the excess rock into streams in valleys. The authors also studied new water-quality data from West Virginia streams and found that mining polluted them, reducing their biological health and diversity.
Surprisingly little attention has been paid to this growing scientific evidence of the damages, they wrote, adding: "Regulators should no longer ignore rigorous science."
New permits shouldn’t be granted, they argued, "unless new methods can be subjected to rigorous peer review and shown to remedy these problems."
In the Kinkaid interview one of the scientists said it'll take 10,000 years for mountain top removal sites to return to pre-mining condition.
Another scientist said that residents living near mining operations should consider moving to protect their health.
Another said that no known restoration/mitigation plans could work--even if you could restore water flows and vegetation mixes (something we have no idea yet how to do), there are still major down stream chemical pollution problems.
Another scientist points out that the chemical pollution problems (e.g., selenium) are not just trace amounts that could theoretically be a problem, they've already shown up in concentrations higher up in the food chain. Animals are showing up with selenium poisoning and there are no health advisories for residents in West Virginia not to eat fish from streams below certain mines out of concern of selenium exposure.
What happens next?
The most comprehensive study ever on MTR coal mining appears in arguably the most prestigious scientific journal it could appear in. It confirms what coal mining community members have been saying all along: we're dying out here.
The scientists agree: they have called for a halt to mountain top removal mining because of public health hazards.
The most responsible thing for West Virginia leaders to do today is rally together on behalf of all citizens of West Virginia--develop a plan for phasing out all existing Mountain Top Removal coal mining.
- U.S. mining deaths hit a record low in 2009, thanks to stricter safety regulations.
Don Nehlen and Friends of Coal's "Be more like China" plan foiled?
- Got a question for one of the participants in the upcoming Kennedy-Blankenship debate? Go here to submit it.
- The four Climate Ground Zero activists arrested last week have been freed.
"It was a trumped up charge by Walker Cat," said James McGuinness, " who we were told by correctional officers has just been sold to an out of state company. At this point it is not about jobs..."
"To me, it was quite amazing. It was the first time that he had been at all critical of the coal industry," said Ken Hechler, a veteran West Virginia Democratic officeholder who served as congressman from 1959 to 1977. "It was truly unexpected."
- West Virginia Coal Association head Bill Raney took issue with Byrd's condemnation of industry fear-mongering. To prove his point, he began ranting about a "full-scale attack" from the EPA and "the persistent attempts of extremists."
- Vicki Smith, writing for the AP, reports on the escalation of intimidation and heated rhetoric in the debate. (While she mostly notes incidents from the coal barons' side, the piece follows typical AP "balance for the sake of balance" style by insinuating that both sides are equally at fault.)
- Meanwhile, rightwing fanboy Don Surber, who has zero background in science, is still desperately insisting that global warming doesn't exist if it actually snows in December.
-Ken Ward Jr. reports Friends of Coal are calling for their followers to defend a one-sided industry-designed "Coal in the Classroom" program for public schools. One has to wonder where Delegate Daryl Cowles (R-Morgan) and his legendary concern about politics in the classroom is on this issue.
- And Bobby Nelson had a great show on MTR and coal industry reaction to Senator Byrd (followed by a spirited debate with Republican Delegate Kelli Sobonya.)
Don't get me wrong. Senator Byrd's statement has the ring of truth, and I do believe that he truly cares about West Virginia. But the real truth behind his above statement that "Major coal-fired power plants and coal operators operating in West Virginia have wisely already embraced this reality" is at the link he provided:
The Mountaineer plant emits about 9 million tons of CO2 a year. The project will capture more than 100,000 tons of CO2 a year, or about 1.5 percent of the plant's total.
I had to read it twice to make sure I that got it. They're only capturing a lousy 1.5 percent. At that rate I'd have been too embarrassed to even mentioned it, because the same article also reveals
The company has applied for more than $300 million in federal stimulus funds to install a commercial-scale carbon dioxide capture and storage system. The total cost is estimated at more than $600 million.
In other words, they got Senator Byrd to brag about their little shill operation. Notice that in the same article AEP President Morris salivates over landing future juicy rate increases. Has the last six months with coal-financed "Democrats" really got Senator Byrd taking the bait? Because the rest of us have long been bleeding from the hook and gagging on the line. Don't be surprised when more and more real Democrats start spitting the sinker right back at those coal fired cadre of "Democrats".
What I'm getting at here is that spending stimulus money for coal-fired projects does absolutely nothing to mitigate the pollution right here where coal is being mined, puts only a few West Virginians to work during a brief construction phase, and gobbles up stimulus money which could be better spent at other far more productive "green" projects.
So the question at this point would be, why is a cadre of "coal state Democrats" spending so much of my favorite Senator's precious time helping coal operators become even more of a corporate welfare dynasty than it already is?
"Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Indiana and, at No. 50, West Virginia. All suffer from a mix of toxic waste, lots of pollution and consumption and no clear plans to do anything about it. Expect them to remain that way."
Hmm. That was back in '07. What have our coalfield Democrats done to change that problem? Or perhaps they don't see it as a problem. many of us do..
Just today President Obama hosted a national jobs forum. Vice President Biden recently said "Recovery Through Retrofit is a blueprint that will create good green jobs - jobs that can't be outsourced, and jobs that will be the cornerstones of a 21st-Century economy."
Senator Byrd obviously understands that coal operators and coal-fired power plants will never voluntarily help West Virginia move towards energy independence. Simply because it is against their corporate interest to do so. Instead, they're compelled by their nature to see to it that nothing will replace coal. So they will always lobby to gobble up all of the state and federal subsidies, while playing like they're earnest in helping to develop a replacement.
It goes without saying that large corporations will always make as much money as possible, and they'll always try to do it as efficiently as they can. Since their biggest obstacle lies in leveraging political leaders to mitigate environmental regulations, and judicial leaders to ignore laws, no sense of civic duty ever completely halts the corporate machine's never ending grind towards capital. But it is up to our justice system, our regulators, and our political leaders to keep them from killing people. Which is exactly what they're doing, make no mistake.
So I applaud Senator Byrd's effort to give public notice that we should all demand truth and justice from our system.
He's lived here long enough to have witnessed West Virginia slide from a rich, diversified economy with a broad manufacturing base towards what essentially looks more and more like a mono-economy. During that same period, West Virginia's political system has devolved from what was basically a plutocracy into a well-greased dystopian coalocracy.
For example, prior to the last election, the coal industry spent $35 million in a campaign outreach effort in primary and caucus states to rally public support for coal-fired electricity. On top of that, the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity lobbyists spent a whoppin' $10,465,276. source.
Now, suddenly, my Senator informs me that he just spent six months listening to coal state Democrats tell him that the only way to "progress" is to go backwards. So forgive me if I'm skeptical about anything any member of either party tries to sell when it comes to justifying the giveaway of millions to help the coal industry continue to poison my water, screw up my roads, and underfund my kid's education.
Senator Byrd didn't have to be a "treehugger" to have noticed the dire cost of coal pollution here. But he stopped shot of mentioning that cleaning up the hundreds of toxic coal slurry impoundments strewn across WV offers great potential for shovel-ready jobs. Yett it's pretty obvious what's going on when none of the coal-fired "Democrats" ever publicly mentions how "green" it is to retrofit the infrastructures of each of their communities by using stimulus funds for remediation.
Now I don't mind that stimulus funds are now being used to supply water to coalfield communities whose aquifer has been poisoned by coal industry, although it is sort of suspicious when the Governor's website hides it. No, my tax dollars are fine helping those folks out, even though it was Manchin's DEP that let Massey get by with killing their aquifer in the first place. But it gets pretty hard to swallow that Federal Coal, one of three companies responsible for screwing up Boone County's well water, is now blocking the right-of-way for that water project. Could that be an attempt to stall whilst forcing a settlement in the ongoing lawsuit. Yet apparently one coal-state Democrat in particular (Governor Joe Manhin) in particular isn't willing to persuade the coal slurry impoundment operator that what Federal Coal operates qualifies as a fullout toxic dump site.
Speaking of infrastructure, according to the WV Department of Commerce, WV exports more (coal fired) electricity than any other state. Why isn't the state rolling in cash? Why have we cut back on state highway workers? Why are our coalpatch public school districts always those seized by the state -due to lack of funding? Before you ask what does education have to do with the coal industry being unwilling to embrace the future, you need to understand that far too many of our political leaders mistakenly believe that coal is our most precious natural resource otherwise West Virginia wouldn't be ranked dead last in educational services for our students.
It's only a few short days before we need you to stand with us to save Coal River Mountain. Please come and join hundreds of Coal River Valley residents and their allies, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from the Waterkeeper Alliance.
Join us on Dec. 7 at 2:00 p.m. at the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) headquarters in Charleston, WV.
We need your help to save Coal River Mountain and protect the people of Coal River Valley, a critical step in ending mountaintop removal coal mining and putting the country on a path to a clean energy future.
Two weeks ago, four courageous activists from Climate Ground Zero locked themselves to a drilling rig on Coal River Mountain to stop the blasting. Now, hundreds of concerned citizens are set to rally at the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on Monday, December 7th to call for the end to the mountaintop removal coal mining on Coal River Mountain. The site of a proposed wind farm and approximately 200 feet from the largest coal sludge dam in the country, Coal River Mountain is becoming a line in the sand for residents, environmentalists and prominent figures, like Robert Kennedy, Jr., who are demanding an end to the destructive mining practice.
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