West Virginia’s Coal River is listed as the sixth Most Endangered River in America, according to American Rivers, a national river conservation organization.

Organizations who nominated the Coal River for this designation are: West Virginia Rivers Coalition, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Coal River Mountain Watch, Trapp Hill Watershed Association, Horse Creek Community Association, and Coal River Watershed Preservation Association.

Mountaintop removal coal mining lops off the tops of mountains to reach thin seams of coal. Millions of tons of waste material -- leftover earth and rock -- are dumped into headwater stream valleys, creating "valley fills."

This is destroying the Coal River.

"This is a bittersweet announcement to make," said Nathan Fetty, program associate for the West Virginia Rivers Coalition, and writer of the nomination. "In the Coal River watershed, at least 220 miles of streams have been buried under millions of tons of waste from valley fills. Today, segments of the Coal River, which used to run twelve feet deep, are now at depths which even canoes cannot navigate." Sediment from mountaintop removal mining and the associated deforestation is filling in the river, altering it and the habitat and water quality it provides.

"The Coal River has lost a multitude of headwater streams to valley fills associated with large scale strip mining, and it is targeted to lose many more," said Cindy Rank, mining chair for the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy. "In March, there were an additional 30 or more fills in the Coal River basin included in mine plans for a dozen new permits that are already in the pipeline awaiting approval."

In October 1999, US Chief District Judge Charles Haden II ruled that perennial and intermittent streams could not be filled with mining waste, consistent with the Clean Water Act and the Surface Mine Control and Reclamation Act. These federal laws were written to protect our nation’s waterways and to responsibly guide surface mining. According to Judge Haden’s ruling, the West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection (DEP) was granting permits that did not conform to these federal regulations.

"Simply, if coal was mined according to the law, much senseless destruction of West Virginia’s exceptional rivers and streams would end," said Jeremy P. Muller, executive director of the West Virginia Rivers Coalition.

Efforts are either on-going, or have been attempted, to alter the law so that mountaintop removal coal mining can continue to be permitted as before. An end-of-session legislative rider by the West Virginia congressional delegation did not pass in November of 1999. Currently, the Clinton/Gore administration has instructed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) to re-define what constitutes fill material. This would legalize the disposal of mining waste in our rivers and streams, and would gut the Clean Water Act, setting water quality degradation precedents for the entire nation.

"We are very concerned about the Clinton/Gore administration’s efforts to change the definition of fill material, due to its impact on West Virginia’s rivers and streams, and the country as a whole," said Muller.

Clean water is our greatest and most precious natural resource," said Judy Bonds, community outreach coordinator for Coal River Mountain Watch. "If we do not act now to stop the destruction of our waterways, our children will pay dearly."

Another serious threat to protections from mountaintop removal is an appeal of the Haden ruling by DEP, pending in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. It is expected to be heard later this year.

As part of the settlement of a federal lawsuit, state and federal regulatory agencies must develop an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for mountaintop removal and valley fills. The EIS is intended to evaluate the effects of mountaintop removal on rivers and streams, mountains and forests, and West Virginians and their commu- nities. A draft EIS will go out for public comment this summer.

"West Virginians need to call on the appropriate regulatory agencies, like DEP, EPA, and the Army Corps, to develop an EIS that protects people and our rivers and mountains from this destruction," said Fetty. "The fate of the Coal River and hundreds of rivers and streams affected by valley fills hangs in the balance of a couple of crucial decisions to be made in the upcoming months."

"There are a lot of things in this life we can live without, but water is not one of them," said Bonds.

The Coal Rivers ranking as the sixth most endangered river in America this year is the sixth consecutive year that West Virginia has had a river listed on the American Rivers report.

"This designation brings even more national attention to the damage valley fills are doing to our rivers and streams," said Fetty. "But it’s disheartening to have the Coal named an endangered river two years in a row."

The Coal River was listed as the country’s ninth most endangered river in 1999. The Cheat River was listed in 1995 and 1996 for acid mine drainage, and the Potomac River was listed in 1997 and 1998 due to pollution from factory poultry farms.

"It is unfortunate that West Virginia has another river in peril, but thinking positively, this recognition of the Coal River’s current condition is a step towards protecting it," said Muller.

In a separate report released earlier this year by U.S. Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG), West Virginia’s Ohio and Kanawha rivers were recently ranked 4th and 15th respectively in America for the amount of toxic materials released into them.

This message is delivered by West Virginia Rivers Coalition, seeking the conservation and restoration of West Virginia’s exceptional rivers and streams. For more information, visit us on the Web at www.wvrivers.org or call 304-637-7201.