The West Virginia Highlands Conservancy and the other plaintiffs, along with the state and federal agencies that are parties to this suit, have worked long and hard this summer to reach an agreement with the coal industry to settle this matter so that permits can be issued, mining can resume and continue and miners can work with minimum disruption. But by his remarks almost immediately after the settlement was announced, Mr. Raney has indicated that the lawsuit is only a minor nuisance to coal companies, and that the coal industry apparently does not see the settlement agreement outline as serious after all.

Raney, President of the West Virginia Coal Association, said that the settlement, if approved by federal Judge Charles Haden, will deal mostly with permit paperwork, and not with on-the-ground environmental impacts. But whether Mr. Raney denies environmental problems associated with mining or not, this lawsuit is about on-the-ground environmental impacts. It's not just about some coal company lawyers making it look good on paper.

Mr. Raney's comments are indicative of a long standing and continuing coal industry mind set that says, in effect, to the public and to regulatory agencies "We are coal, you can do what you want on paper; but we will continue to do as we damn well please with your hills and hollows".

Someone, the state and federal regulatory agencies, the politicians, the courts, or someone needs to tell the coal industry that it is not God.

Even the governor now admits that permitting and mining aren't taking place as they should be. But the coal industry's insolent attitude is reflected by Raney's language that no matter what, mining will be done however the companies want, regardless of the environmental consequences, regardless of the law and regardless of any agreement.

The Conservancy contends that the settlement agreement issues relating to protection and restoration of water supplies, requiring that post mining land use be actually obtainable, returning surfaced mined lands to an agreed original contour formula, performing contemporaneous reclamation, furnishing infrastructure for post-mining land use, permit oversight advisory committees recommendations, the state's employment of a new mining or civil engineer and a biologist to enforce approximate original contour and post mining land use rules, and other settlement agreement provisions should result on-the ground environmental impacts. For Mr. Raney to say these agreement issues won't make a difference at mining sites is to say that coal companies just don't give a damn about the land, about the people and about what they've told the court they've agreed to.