“Past error is no excuse for its own perpetuation. Tragedy is a tool for the living to gain wisdom, not a guide by which to live.” – Robert Francis Kennedy

It’s been over 8 weeks since the deadly explosion at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch (UBB) mine claimed the lives of 29 American Miners in Raleigh County, West Virginia. The incident, which was our nation’s deadliest mining accident in 40 years, was unquestionably made more tragic by the fact that it was preventable. In order to ensure that no similar, preventable, coal-related tragedy occurs, it is critically important that we recognize the full breadth of the coal industry’s impact on Appalachian communities and ecology, while collectively accepting shared responsibility for addressing its transgressions. Step one, as they say, is admitting we have a problem.

Upper Big Branch

In the wake of the April 5 explosion, it became increasingly apparent that Massey Energy’s UBB was outrageously mismanaged. The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) issued the mine over 500 citations in 2009 alone (amounting to $897,325 in proposed penalties) and over 50 citations in March of 2010 alone. MSHA has pointed out that “Massey failed to address these violations over and over again.” Clearly, UBB indicates that something is amiss in the coal industry, but how far does this problem go?

Massey Energy Company

Let’s take a closer look at Massey Energy, the company (currently being investigated by the FBI) that owns UBB. NYTimes reports that in the past 10 years, there have been 52 deaths at Massey mines. In 2006, a fire at Massey’s Aracoma Alma mine killed two miners, and the company eventually paid $4.2 million in criminal fines and civil penalties. In 2009, Massey was charged with $12.9 million in proposed fines for safety violations. The company appealed 75% of the violations, and awarded its CEO, Don Blankenship, a stunning $2 million safety bonus the same year.

In 2003 Massey Energy paid Sylvester, West Virginia residents close to half a million dollars after these residents argued that coal dust from one of the company’s processing plants was impacting their health and property values. In 2004 the company paid $1.54 million to 245 residents of Mingo County, W. Va., after a jury concluded that Massey had acted “with malicious, willful, wanton, reckless or intentional disregard for plaintiffs’ rights,” when it destroyed those residents’ water wells by mining beneath their homes.

In October of 2000, a Massey owned sludge impoundment in Martin County Kentucky failed and leaked more than 300 million gallons of sludge. This sludge killed 1.6 million fish, and contaminated over 27,000 people’s water. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) called it the largest environmental catastrophe in the history of the southeastern United States.

In 2008 the EPA fined Massey $20 million for 4,500 violations of the Clean Water Act. This was the largest fine in the history of the law. Then, in 2010 four environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the company citing evidence that, unbelievably, Massey’s Clean Water Act violations had, increased in frequency since its record 2008 fine.

And let there be no mistaking, Massey is also the country’s number one producer of mountaintop removal coal, and as such, bears a large degree of responsibility for the wholesale destruction Appalachian mountains, streams and communities.

Beyond Massey
Massey is a problem for Appalachia that is hard to understate, but sadly coal industry transgressions don’t stop there. After the UBB tragedy, MSHA undertook a five day inspection blitz that targeted 57 mines notorious for safety violations. The blitz resulted in an astounding 1,339 citations. In May, Joseph Main, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health remarked, “After last month’s tragic reminder of the consequences of failing to make safety a priority, it is appalling that these operations continued to flout fundamental safety and health standards.”

Things have gotten so bad in Kentucky that earlier this year the Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment, Sierra Club, Public Justice, and Kentuckians for the Commonwealth filed a formal petition with the EPA asking the federal agency to take over administration and enforcement of the state’s National Pollution Discharge Elimination System. The group urged this was necessary because of Kentucky’s alleged “capitulation to the coal industry and its complete failure to prevent widespread contamination of state waters by pollution from coal mining operations.”

Any and all coal companies that practice mountaintop removal force Appalachian communities to contend with contaminated drinking water, powerful blasting, airborne dust, and increased flooding (among other things). After coal is extracted from an area, ancient mountains, streams, and valleys that enriched Appalachian communities for generations are reduced to barren wastelands, toxic dumps, and piles of rubble. Mountaintop removal, which occurs in KY, WV, VA and TN, is responsible for the destruction of over 500 of the most biologically diverse mountains on the planet. Around 1.2 millions acres and 2000 miles of vital headwater streams have been destroyed in central and southern Appalachia by the practice. Besides Massey, Alpha Natural Resources, Patriot Coal, Arch Coal, International Coal Group, and Consol Energy produce a heck of a lot of mountaintop removal coal.

Check out some of the press they’ve gotten
“Since April 5, when the Massey-owned Upper Big Branch mine exploded, killing 29 workers inside, Patriot’s 11 underground coal mines in Appalachia have racked up roughly 350 safety violations, according to a review of federal records by TWI. The violations include scores of citations indicating problems with ventilation systems and the accumulation of combustible materials — the very conditions thought to have caused the deadly blast at the UBB project.” – The Washington Independent

“Environmental groups have been fighting the Spruce Mine since 1998, when it was proposed as a 3,113-acre mine that would bury more than 10 miles of streams in the Pigeonroost Hollow area near Blair. Arch Coal had proposed it as a continuation of its Dal-Tex mountaintop removal operation.” – The Charleston Gazette

“Roughly four years after a methane explosion led to the deaths of 12 coal miners at the International Coal Group‘s Sago Mine in Upshur County, not all the regulatory reforms suggested in the wake of the tragedy have been put into effect.” – The State Journal

“Two West Virginia environmental groups say they will sue Consol Energy because of its continuing “harmful pollution” in Dunkard Creek, where a massive fish kill occurred last September.” – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Recognizing the Impact
So, apparently coal companies besides Massey are having a negative impact on Appalachia. But how much of an impact?

Well, according to 2009′s Hendryx study, coal mining costs Appalachia $42 billion every year as a result of negative health impacts and loss of life. A 2010 paper published in the journal Science and entitled “Mountaintop Mining Consequences” found that “The scientific evidence of the severe environmental and human impacts from mountaintop removal is strong and irrefutable. Its impacts are pervasive and long lasting and there is no evidence that any mitigation practices successfully reverse the damage it causes.” Considering these findings, is it any wonder that year after year, Gallup-Healthways’ Well-Being Index ranks the states of Kentucky and West Virginia second to last and dead last respectively?

Accepting Responsibility

“Few tragedies can be more extensive than the stunting of life, few injustices deeper than the denial of an opportunity to strive or even to hope, by a limit imposed from without, but falsely identified as lying within.” – Stephen Jay Gould

The fact is Americans across the country contribute to coal industry injustices in Appalachia. Coal-fired power plants from coast to coast either purchase mountaintop removal coal directly, or purchase coal from companies connected to the devastating practice. (Click Here to See if Your Zip Code is Connected)

Leaders of nine large investor groups heavily invested in Massey Energy recently called for the resignation of three Massey directors following the disaster at Upper Big Branch. Who are these investors? The California State Teachers’ Retirement System, the North Carolina Retirement System, the Office of Connecticut State Treasurer, the Illinois State Board of Investment, the Maryland State Pension and Retirement System, the New York State Controller, the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, the Oregon State Treasury, and the Pennsylvania Treasury collectively own 1.4 million shares of Massey Energy valued at over $64 million.

As long as we demand “cheap” fossil fuels, mining companies will continue to have incentives for prioritizing production over worker safety and over the health of Appalachian communities and ecology. It’s easy to think of the problems associated with coal mining as distinctly Appalachian problems, but responsibility for the coal mining industry’s impact extends beyond the region. It extends, beyond Massey, beyond the entire coal industry, and beyond even the agencies that regulate coal mining. Truly, the responsibilty for these problems is shared by all who use electricity in this country.

Moving Forward
We in America owe Appalachia serious investments in just and sustainable jobs. The region has long contributed to the American workforce, and the industrial might of our country has been fueled by the tremendous efforts of the Appalachian people.
Diversification of the area’s economy will give men and women employment opportunities beyond those offered by dangerous, destructive, law evading, companies such as Massey. One way we can immediately take a step in the right direction is by getting our Representatives and Senators behind the Rural Energy Savings Program Act (HR 4785). Click here to learn more.

In order to prevent another coal-related tragedy Appalachian miners need enforced safety regulations, and Appalachian communities and ecologies need an end to mountaintop removal. The region needs these things immediately. Please join us in supporting Congressman Rahall for his efforts to improve miner safety, and in asking Congress to support two bipartisan bills aimed at sharply curtailing mountaintop removal: the Clean Water Protection Act (HR 1310) in the House and the Appalachia Restoration Act (S 696) in the Senate.

Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship remained cool and unapologetic over his company’s role in the Upper Big Branch disaster during last week’s Senate hearing on mine safety. Legislators in the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services grilled Blankenship over his company’s safety record, as they attempted to determine what must be done to improve mine safety and enforcement following the worst mining accident in 40 years.

According to Blankenship, the 23 fatalities at Massey mines in the 10 years prior to Upper Big Branch were “about average.” “Massey does not place profits over safety,” he emphasized. “We never have and we never will. Period. From the day I became a member of Massey’s leadership team 20 years ago, I have made safety the number one priority.”

Cecil E. Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers of America contested Blankenship’s claims. “I can’t come up with another coal company that’s had 23 miners in 10 years die,” he testified. “This isn’t average. This is deplorable.”

“This is the worst fatality rate in the industry either way you look at it, either before the explosion or after the explosion,” Roberts said.

West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd was similarly unconvinced. “I cannot fathom how an American business could practice such disgraceful health and safety policies while simultaneously boasting about its commitment to the safety of its workers,” the senator stated. “This is a clear record of blatant disregard for the welfare and safety of Massey miners. Shame.”

Frustration was also directed at the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) – the federal agency that enforces safety in mines. The agency’s resources are useless, Senator Byrd argued, if MSHA is not “demanding safety in the mines.”

Click here to watch the full hearing

For most people a 6 a.m. ride to Raleigh in a rental van is not something worth smiling about, but last week it was a task that 14 other lobbyists and I from around the High Country took on willingly, knowing it would be an important catalyst for change.

We traveled to meet with House Representatives to explain the importance of wind for our environment, economy and future of Western North Carolina and I was excited to be a part of the push–the push being for the House to sit on Senate bill 1068 in the short session and work towards a more fair and comprehensive bill in the longer session.

We rose to the challenge, aware that the only way to move into a sustainable future is to ensure the voice of the people desiring change be heard.

As many snuggled down in the van to rest before our day began, my mind wandered to questions of what involvement with this issue meant and what would come of it.

The potential for wind is clear if you have hiked in Boone on a windy day, but S1068 would limit turbines in North Carolina to below 100 ft, essentially creating a de facto ban on any feasible commercial scale wind project.

Without understanding the scale needed to produce high energy output, it is hard to grasp why 100 ft would be limiting, but to put it in perspective Boone’s very own Broyhill wind turbine is 115 ft to the hub and 66 ft in blade diameter and turbines capable of large energy output typically range from 164ft to over 262 ft.

Due to location, the Broyhill turbine is a class 2 wind site, meaning its ability to generate wind is greatly limited and will produce power for approximately 15 homes. Broyhill turbine was erected to set an example and be a beacon of hope for sustainability and is doing just that.

In a recent poll conducted by Appalachian State Appropriate Technology graduate Marcus Taylor, over 85% of people noted that they hope to see wind turbine development grow in the mountains.

If passed by the House S1068 would not allow a turbine the size of Broyhill to exist much less permit wind farms to be built that can power entire communities.

By bringing together both sides of the political spectrum, we aim to establish responsible clean energy options, dismantling our dependence on extraction of limited resources by destructive means such as mountaintop removal.

Pursuing wind will move us into an era where innovation and environmental conscious are present while simultaneously creating green jobs and lowering reliance on foreign resources.

Upon arrival we were ushered to meet with Representative Cullie Tarleton who as a member of both the Energy and Energy Efficiency Committee and the Natural Resources Committee has the chance to vote twice on whether S1068 passes in the house. As advocates of wind we were there to clarify why the bill as is means devastation for wind development and why the House needs to pass a more reasonable bill concerning turbine height and placement.

We asked Tarleton not to make a move on the S1068 during short session, allowing us the opportunity to work towards a better bill. He raised questions of placement and environmental impact and we explained that those present, including members of Appalachian Voices and Appalachian Initiative for Renewable Energy held environmental responsibility as a top priority and that our reason for lobbying for wind was to protect our environment not to harm it.

It is important to note that in any large scale construction project will have some environment impact, but doing extensive research to negate those impacts is something we take very seriously.

Agreeing to wait to delve further into S1068 Tarleton thanked us for coming and standing up for what we believe.

The rest of the day followed a similar path.

Meetings were held with republicans and democrats alike and the answer echoing through the halls that day seemed clear;
“We hear what you’re saying, we are motivated by your education on the issue and your passion and we plan to hold off in the short session and take another look at it in the long session when we have more time to do this issue the justice it deserves.”

We arrived with sleepy smiles and left with the same. Street lights illuminated our way as we walked back to the bus, ready for the day they would be powered by turbines spinning in the breeze.

“Reclaimed” Portions of Black Mountain in Wise County, VA.

Undeterred by the concerns of local communities, peer reviewed scientists, and the federal government, the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME) recently announced approval of a vast 1,230 acre surface coal mine permit for A&G Coal’s Ison Rock Ridge Mine in Wise County, Virginia.

This is crushing news for the communities and ecology of southwestern Virginia, as according to Mike Abbott, spokesman for the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, “all that’s needed now for mining to begin is for A&G Coal to submit its bond and fees to DMME.” Less than a quarter of the site can be mined at this point, though, as A&G still requires a 404 permit from the Army Corps of Engineers.

Threatened communities are numerous. Portions of the mining permit extend within the town of Appalachia. The massive operation will condemn tourism in nearby Derby. Andover, Osaka, and Inman also face significant risk. Inman, in particular, faces immediate risk; the community sits directly below the site area DMME has deemed mineable.

Considering the history between the town of Inman and A&G, the issuance of DMME’s permit is additionally unjust. In 2004, A&G operations caused a boulder to tumble from another nearby mine site into Inman, killing three-year-old Jeremy Davidson in his bed.

The surface mine also constitutes a serious threat to the area’s environment. As noted previously, the operation would destroy over 1,200 acres. In addition, it would fill three miles of streams within the Powell River watershed with over 11 million cubic yards of mining waste. Area streams are already significantly impacted by surface mining; the DMME itself has recorded conductivity readings at Looney Creek and Callahan Creek that are nearly 60% higher than new rules outlined by the Obama Administration.

Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, a Wise County community organization, has been fighting A&G’s permit for three years. Sam Broach, president of SAMS explains: “They’re not looking out for the safety of the people and environment, and they’re going to blast this mountain despite the federal rules. Basically, we’re going to keep up the fight. We’re not quitting here. They only care about the bottom dollar, and we care about the future of our community.”

Update!

Following the Virginia DMME’s announcement, the Environmental Protection Agency sent a letter to the department noting “the NPDES permit cannot be issued until EPA withdraws its objection.” The NPDES Clean Water Act discharge permit referred to in this letter would be required for any mining to occur on the site.

HUGE news. Don Blankenship will testify before Congress next week alongside UMWA President Cecil Roberts, whose impassioned testimony drew quite a reaction a few weeks ago before the Senate HELP Committee. (.pdf)

Senator Byrd has accused Massey of “scoffing and laughing at” repeated MSHA violations at the Upper Big Branch mine prior to the disaster that killed 29 men.

The hearing will seek to address funding issues in regards to mining safety. Appalachian Voices and the iLoveMountains.org community is asking Congress to provide safe mines and safe communities in the coalfields by improving mine safety and ending mountaintop removal. Join 3000 people who have signed our letter to Congressman Rahall here.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Robert Byrd (D-WV), the senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies, announced today that the panel will hold a hearing to discuss the need to provide additional federal funding for mine safety. The hearing will be held Thursday, May 20 at 2:00 PM in room 106 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The hearing will also be webcast at http://appropriations.senate.gov/.

“The entire nation mourned the recent loss of 29 miners at the Upper Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia. As Chairman of the HELP Committee, I am examining possible legislation that would make a number of policy changes in the area of mine safety. But additional Federal appropriations are also needed to help prevent similar disasters, particularly when it comes to reducing the backlog of appeals at the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission,” said Harkin. “Senator Byrd requested this important hearing and I am happy to examine this critical area.”

“I would like to thank Chairman Harkin, a fellow son of a coal miner, for agreeing to hold this very important hearing at my request,” added Byrd. “This is a good beginning to a process that I hope will lead to substantial and long-overdue changes. We must examine the level of resources allocated to our mine regulatory agencies to ensure that, in this day and age, tragedies like the one at Upper Big Branch mine are prevented in the future.”

The witness list as it currently stands follows:

Panel I
The Honorable Joseph A. Main, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health, U. S. Department of Labor, Washington, D.C.
The Honorable M. Patricia Smith, Solicitor of Labor , U. S. Department of Labor, Washington, D.C.
John Howard, M.D., Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
Mary Lu Jordan, Chairman, Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, Washington, D.C.

Panel II
Don L. Blankenship, Chairman and CEO, Massey Energy Company, Richmond, Virginia
Cecil Roberts, International President, United Mine Workers of America, Fairfax, Virginia

Students at the University of North Carolina won a commitment from campus administrators to phase out the use of coal to generate power at the Chapel Hill campus by 2020. The student-led Coal-Free UNC campaign also pushed administrators to end the use of mountain-top removal coal as quickly as possible.

UNC’s campus is currently powered by a coal-fired co-generation plant, which efficiently heats and powers the university’s infrastructure. Last fall, after being approached by the Coal-Free UNC student group, school Chancellor Holden Thorpe appointed an Environmental Policy Task Force to find an alternative to coal-fired power.

There are coal cars pulling up on rail up to the plant and that’s not particularly good symbolism for a university that teaches people about climate change and the frontiers of energy research.

-UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp

Though the task force puts the coal deadline at May 1, 2020, an aspirational date of 2015 has been set as well.

Appalachian Voices’ Matt Wasson, who testified before the Energy Task Force on April 14th, clarified that the university was purchasing coal from mountaintop removal mines in Virginia, despite a claim on the university’s website to the contrary. Wasson declined to criticize the University for “unwittingly” using mountaintop removal coal and attributed the misunderstanding to the changing definition of the practice.

“Industry and state regulators have been running from the term ‘mountaintop removal’ in recent years,” said Wasson, “Defining mountaintop removal is a moving target.”

But Wasson also left no doubt about the University’s connections to mountaintop removal, using Google Earth to show task force members images of widespread destruction caused by the specific mines with which UNC currently has contracts.

Wasson also told the task force that eliminating the use of coal by 2015 was both reasonable and prudent.

“North Carolina’s utilities pay more for coal than any other utilities in the country, and that price is only going to go up as Central Appalachian coal supplies dwindle and environmentally devastating giveaways by the Bush Administration to the coal industry are reversed,” said Wasson. “Getting out ahead of these trends and moving to biomass or natural gas in the near-term would be a prudent move for the university.”

The next mission for the task force and student environmental groups is to decide on an alternative fuel for the plant and to find ways to reduce energy demand and increase efficiency on campus.

Bipartisan support is growing around legislation that would conserve energy, save Americans money on their power bills, and create tens of thousands of domestic jobs.

The Rural Energy Savings Program Act (H.R. 4785) would provide electric cooperatives with $4.9 billion in loan authority through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service. Electric cooperatives would offer this money as low-interest micro-loans to residential and small business customers who undertake energy-saving retrofit and structural improvements. Examples of energy-saving improvements include sealing, heating, insulation, heat pump, HVAC system, boiler, and roof improvements. A typical loan would be in the range of $1,500 to $7,000.

The act was introduced by southern state Congressmen James Clyburn (D-SC), Ed Whitfield (R-KY), Tom Perriello (D-VA), and John Spratt (D-SC). It’s currently sitting in the House Committee on Agriculture and has gained the support of 42 cosponsors (as of May 12).

Because efficiency products are primarily manufactured in the United States, and installation work requires local labor, the bill is expected to significantly bolster American manufacturing and construction industries.

Loans will be payed back within a 10 year period as customers pay an extra charge on their utility bills. Most, if not all, of this charge will be made up in the savings a customer receives from having made energy-saving improvements. Once the loan is repaid, customers will continue to enjoy savings on their energy bills.

Representative Tom Perriello, a co-sponsor of RESPA, notes an additional benefit:

Co-op service areas are typically among the most coal dependent in the country, and as a result energy savings in co-op areas will have a disproportionately significant reduction in carbon pollution while saving money and creating jobs.

The Congressman adds:

It’s great to see that the parties can come together on something that isn’t really bi-partisan as much as it’s post partisan. It just makes sense and it’s the right thing to do and I’m proud to be a part of it.

We’re proud of you too, Mr. Perriello, along with each of the other Congressmen who took part in introducing this important legislation. : )

Charlottesville, Va. based rock and roots band Trees on Fire has announced the donation of 5 percent of sales from their new album, Organica, to Appalachian Voices. The new release is the quintet’s first full-length album, and went on sale Tuesday, May 4.

“We are excited that Trees on Fire has chosen to use the power of their music to raise awareness about mountaintop removal coal mining, and to support the work of Appalachian Voices in that mission,” said Willa Mays, Executive Director of Appalachian Voices.

Trees on Fire, voted “Greenest Regional Band” by Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine, has raised awareness and funds for a number of organizations in their four years of existence. Their choice to support Appalachian Voices resulted from the band’s belief that ending mountaintop removal mining and preventing the construction of new coal-fired power plants are steps toward the goal of producing energy without damaging the environment.

“We are musicians, not environmentalists, so we are proud to partner with an organization like Appalachian Voices,” said Paul Rosner, drummer and vocalist for Trees on Fire. “They understand what it takes to fight mountaintop removal mining, a practice we hope is abolished for its blind destructiveness.”

Recorded in Virginia and Louisiana and produced by Rob Evans, Eric Heigle and Trees on Fire, Organica takes listeners from the heights of the ancient Blue Ridge Mountains to the buzzing swamps and bayous of the bottom-land, connecting the dots between rock, dance, roots and pop music.

Another portion of the album sales will go to benefit the Atchafalaya Basinkeeper, located in southern Louisiana.

For more information, visit appalachianvoices.org/trees-on-fire/.