Mountaintop Removal Mining Essay

7/31/2019 Mountaintop Removal Mining Essay

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Running head: MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL MINING 1

The process used in Mountaintop Removal Mining begins with deforesting the land; the timber

is then sold or burned. Once the land is cleared miners use explosives to blast away up to 400 feet of the

mountain vertically. During blasting, the explosion sometimes causes “fly rock”

(mountainjusticesummer.org , 2/27/2011 MJ Newsletter and fact sheets), this is boulders or rock that

come down the mountain slope endangering homes and lives of residents. It is estimated that the

blasting process uses an estimated 2500 tons of explosives daily, equivalent to the bomb strength of the

Hiroshima atomic bomb on a weekly basis. The overburden/spoil (soil and rock) of the mountain,

mountain ridge or hill is then placed in a valley next to the mining area. This is known as valley fill and it

is estimate that over 2000 miles of fresh water streams have been covered by mining spoil.



MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL MINING 2

Diagram of the process compliments of;

Source: Mountainjustice.org 2/27/11 p.2




Contrasting photos of a traditional mountain stream (at left) and a mountain streamdiverted into a culvert and buried by mining debris (at right) in a process known as a “valley fill.”

sources: appvoices.org/end-mountaintop-removal/ecology (conservationreports.com)

Once cleared of rock and soil a dragline digs into the rock to expose the coal. These machines

weigh in at 8 million pounds and are 20 stories high. They make it possible for coal operations to hire

fewer men. Even a small crew can take apart the mountain in less than a year working round the clock.

Once exposed huge loaders scoop up layers of coal then deposit more of the spoil into valleys.

Underground mining has its own impacts on the environment, it differs from mountaintop

removal however by leaving surface of the mountain, leaving forestry, soil, and wildlife habitat

relatively undisturbed. Streams are not covered over, and there is less chance of land or rock slides.

With undisturbed soil the chance of dangerous chemicals being released into the air and water supplies

are significantly reduced. Issues remain in MTR concerning the effects of airborne particulate, run off

from manmade ponds (aka. Slurry ponds) used to wash the coal, and spillover from the ponds that hold

as much as 306 million gallons or more of contaminated water seeping into ground water, creeks, and

streams.




Mountaintop Removal Underground Mining Shaft

Rawl, WV. Source: www.shorpy.com

Source; Appalachian Voices

www.iLoveMountains.org

When explosives are used in mountaintop mining it generates large amounts of waste that bury

the streams, and significantly affects the water quality. There is damage to ecosystems, the water is

unfit for drinking, fishing, or swimming. In a congressional report (30 U.S.C. 1201, (c) section 101) this

disturbance of land burdens, negatively affects commerce and the population of those areas by

destroying or lowering the use of the land for other purposes. This would be due to erosion, landslides,

and flash flooding. Below is a picture of the destruction of private property from flooding caused from

dangerous coal slurry ponds built in the headwaters of a water-shed.

(Courtesy of Mountain Justice.com 2011, Mingo County Flood 2004)




In 2009, Breathitt County, Kentucky; two manmade earthen coal washes (sludge ponds) broke or

overflowed. Vast swaths of current surface mining operations and poor reclamation of abandoned

mining land by at least four coal companies in Breathitt and Knot counties created more runoff than the

creeks and Kentucky River could handle. The Breathitt county flood was a personal experience for me. I

lost my home and many possessions as did hundreds of my neighbors. These ponds are laden a witch’s

brew of water with carcinogenic chemicals used in washing the coal, and coal fines( small particles)with

compounds naturally found in coal such as arsenic, and mercury. In areas where mining operations

inject coal slurry into the ground it contaminates the drinking water in wells, as well as the soil, and

natural waterways. Below the pictures of a coal wash sludge pond in West Virginia, the earthen sides

were breached spilling contaminated water into Coldwater Creek. As you can see in the photos the

damage is irreversible. In Buffalo Creek West Virginia, February 26, 1972 one of these sludge ponds

broke during heavy rain. A wall of black water -filled the valley below with over 132 million gallons of

wastewater. “125 people were killed, 1100 injured and 4000 were left homeless. Over 1000 cars and

trucks were destroyed and the disaster did 50 million dollars in damage. The coal company called it an

act of God.” (Mountainjusticesummer.org/sleps.phd 2/27/11) Pittston Coal Company ignored the

warnings that the dam was dangerous and did nothing.




Martin County Ky. Slurry Slurry Recovery Slurry Recovery

Spill into Coldwater Creek; Image Source; http://www.jackspadaro.com/professional_services.html.

The “EPA released their final guidance on Appalachian surface mining, designed to

ensure more consistent, effective, and timely review of surface coal mining permits under the

Clean Water Act and other statutes.” (EPA Newsroom, 2011 Release, 7/21/2011, EPA Issues

Final Guidance to Protect Water Quality in Appalachia)

Wildlife habitats have been destroyed in areas of MTR. The removal of immense

amounts of neighboring forests has ruined key nesting habitat for neo-tropical bird populations

in mining areas and throughout the northeastern U.S. The central Appalachian region where this

mining occurs includes southwest Virginia, West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, Ohio, and

northeastern Tennessee; it is considered the heart of one of the most diverse regions in the

U.S. This area of temperate deciduous forest has some of the most diverse collections of plants

and animals. Species of birds that depend on mature forest habitats which are abundant in

Appalachia. Kentucky Warblers, wood thrush, and many other species are all impacted by

mountain removal mining. The mixed hardwood cove forests of this region and the shaded

streams are necessary to the survival of these species, their habitat is rapidly vanishing. Some

of the older species of plant life have been in these forests for thousands of years and once

http://www.jackspadaro.com/professional_services.html






removed they are gone forever. Trees such as black walnut, white oak, Plants such as Golden

Seal and Ginseng are lost in the vast areas of mines.

The potential hazard from coal dust comes from both mining and processing. When you

crush or pulverize coal it releases particulates in the air. Impacts to humans include

cardiovascular, lung disease, and possibly cancer. This is determined by observation studies of

general population in mining communities. Studies that were done as recently as 2011 also

showed increased cardiovascular disease, and more frequent birth defects. Adults hospitalized

for chronic pulmonary problems and hypertension, have increased and are believed to be

directly related to contact with streams and exposure to airborne toxins and dust. A 2011 study

on birth defects showed that there are higher birth defects, such as circulatory/respiratory,

musculoskeletal, central nervous system, gastrointestinal, and urogenital in mining areas when

compared to the non-mining communities. Because of this latest study suggests that the air and

water contamination may be cumulative. Another 2011 study showed reports of cancer were

twice as high in the mining environment and the study showed it could not be explained by

smoking, age, sex, occupational exposure, or family history of cancer.

The Congress set regulations governing the reclamation of mined land on August 3,

1977. Small revisions have been made since that time by sitting presidents however the

Congress in there guidelines gave what they called “reasonable regulation of surface mining

operations by the States and by the Federal Government in accordance with the requirements

of this Act is an appropriate and necessary means to minimize so far as practicable the adverse

social, economic, and environmental effects of such mining operations” (Section 101, paragraph

e, Congressional Findings report, 30 U.S.C. 1201).

Although the Environmental Protection Agency works with the mining companies, gives them

guidelines to follow, and mitigates with them on problems reported to them they have no legal




way to enforce anything concerning the mining process or the reclamation of the land. When

reclamation is deemed by the mining company to be better left as a flat, seeded area that would

take years to grow grass if at all in the acidic soil they apply and are given a waiver that deems

the area commercial, suitable for business.

The pictures below are considered as reclaimed land suitable for use, you decide.

Source; Webecoist.montastic.com Source; EPA.gov

Source; Ohvec.Org

For a more typical picture of the reclaiming of land there is a film that PBS aired called “Razing

Appalachia” it will dispel any of the myths that mining companies return the mountainsides to

their original beauty.

In Kentucky the number of mining jobs fell with the introduction of mountaintop removal

mining from 47,190 to 17,959, a 60% decrease from 1990-1997. State level taxes have been

lost because of the job loss as well. The mining industry brought the state 528 million dollars in




2006 through taxes, direct and indirect employment. For the privilege of hosting the coal

industry it cost the state 648 million dollars and that did not include the costs of dealing with the

poisoning of rivers from mining slurry, or from damage to individual properties, or the cost of

healthcare for the population sickened by side effects of mountaintop removal.

Conclusion

Coal is an inexpensive way to generate electricity. Researching the process of

mountaintop removal to get to that coal we have seen a cost far greater than the price of the

electricity. The evidence of the impact on health, water, wildlife, and deciduous forests reach

much farther than just mining areas. I live in Kentucky, two mountaintop removal operations

less than four miles from my home. Troublesome Creek is below several mining operations in

two counties, across the road it runs past my house. Polluted from the mining, this creek feeds

the Kentucky River moves on to the Ohio River, and last but much larger empties into the

Mississippi River. Contaminates are carried through the water system, it affects plant life, fish,

our drinking water, and soil. The damage of mountaintop mining affects all of us. Are we going

to follow the bureaucrats and mine owner’s way of dealing with this and ignore it? Can we afford

to let the next generation worry about it?

Mountaintop Removal Mining Essay

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