Citizens Outraged by the Flood Devastation They’ve Endured
!Environmentalists and Citizens Call for Stronger Enforcement of Mountaintop Removal and Logging
July 13, 2001: With devastating flooding in southern West Virginia, citizen-action organizations and environmental groups today renewed their criticism of mountaintop removal coal mining, valley fills and deforestation in that part of the state. They called for stronger enforcement of such operations to protect human life and property, as well as for stronger regulations to prevent future disasters. Citizens and environmentalists have contended for years that, as larger and larger areas of the state are clear-cut and strip mined, there is a greater potential for flooding of homes and communities downstream of these operations. They also pointed to logging operations associated with mine-site preparation as probable factors in the record levels of flooding.
"In our area over the past year, we’ve had four 100-year floods," said Julia Bonds of Coal River Mountain Watch, based in Whitesville. "I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the places hit hardest by recent flooding are directly downstream of some of the state’s biggest strip mines. Residents who used to be reluctant to talk about these issues are now outraged enough to speak up."
The environmental and citizen-action groups contend that state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the federal Office of Surface Mining need to protect West Virginians first.
"People’s lives have been turned completely upside down in the last few days. This isn’t just an environmental issue. It’s a people and a safety issue," Bonds said.
As part of a lawsuit settlement over mountaintop removal, state and federal agencies are preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the environmental and community effects of flattening hundreds of thousands of acres of mountains, filling hundreds of miles of streams, and deforesting hundreds of thousands of acres of woodlands.
Earlier this week, the Charleston Gazette reported that draft documents of the EIS show that valley fills increase storm runoff by up to 13 percent.
"Flooding always has been one of our major concerns in evaluating the impacts of mountaintop removal," said Cindy Rank of the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy. "These mines are covering bigger and bigger areas of the state, and there’s so much disturbed land that there’s a greater possibility that drainage controls will fail. The recent flooding should serve as a wake-up call that we need a thorough and impartial EIS, as well as a thorough review of regulations meant to control runoff from these huge mines."
A DEP inventory shows that over 1,000 miles of West Virginia streams have been buried by valley fills. Former state forestry chief William Maxey estimated that West Virginia has lost 300,000 acres of hardwood forest to mountaintop removal. Experts estimate that it will take centuries for native hardwood forests to grow back on these mine sites.
"The apologists for Big Coal and Big Timber are falling over themselves to blame this latest disaster solely on God or natural causes," said Vivian Stockman, outreach coordinator for the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition. "Granted, there was a lot of rain in a short time. But why are we seeing so-called 100-year floods every few months? Scientists say it’s because of human-induced global climate change, caused in large part by the burning of fossil fuels like coal.
"DEP Secretary Michael Callaghan’s public assertion that some mines stopped the flooding is frightening," Stockman continued. "Sure, we expect that kind of public relations spin from West Virginia Coal Association president Bill Raney, but Callaghan is supposed to be in charge of protecting the public and the environment from the excesses of Raney’s industry. Hasn’t Callaghan had Environmental Science 101? My textbook says, ‘Forests absorb, hold, and slowly release water, reducing erosion and flooding and allowing more water to seep into underground pools and springs.’ Bare soil and rocky, hydro-seeded wastelands do not hold back hard rains."
In recent news reports, DEP mining inspectors have stated that sediment and slurry ponds and valley fills are not built to withstand the quantity of rain that southern West Virginia witnessed this past weekend. Environmental organizations and citizen groups contend that they should be.
Nathan Fetty of the West Virginia Rivers Coalition pointed out that DEP inspectors and local residents have seen more flooding problems in areas downstream of large strip mines. "Given that DEP has issued over a dozen cessation orders to mine operators because of flooding from this past weekend, it’s even harder to imagine that valley fills and sediment ponds are designed with the public’s safety in mind," Fetty said.
"DEP inspectors readily acknowledge that mountaintop removal has contributed to flooding. Local residents directly downstream of the mines have had some of the biggest flooding headaches. We’re long overdue in reigning in these extractive industries. Individual residents and community safety should be the primary concerns when mountaintop removal operations are given permits," Fetty said.