The following is a press advisory from the Wise Energy for Virginia coalition, of which Appalachian Voices is a member.

Citizens rally to stop a Virginia mountain from being blown up for coal
Virginians call on EPA, White House to end mountaintop removal coal mining

Who: Concerned residents from Wise County in far Southwest Virginia, some of whom live at the base of Ison Rock Ridge, Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition, Greater Washington Interfaith Power and Light, Earthjustice, D.C. area citizens.

Where: EPA Headquarters, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, D.C.

When: Wednesday Nov.16, 12 – 1 p.m.

For more information: Visit wiseenergyforviginia.org/virginiarising

On Wednesday Nov. 16, citizens from the coalfields of Virginia are traveling to Washington, D.C. to rally at the EPA headquarters to call on the agency to deny a mountaintop removal coal mining permit for an iconic Virginia mountain.

The event, called Virginia Rising: The Rally to Keep Ison Rock Ridge Standing, is focused on a pending surface coal mining permit to destroy Ison Rock Ridge, a mountain in Wise County, Va.. Wise County residents and members of the Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, the Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition, and several other groups are calling on the EPA and the White House to block the Ison Rock permit and protect the five surrounding communities of over 2,000 residents.

Mountaintop removal coal mining has permanently destroyed nearly 70 mountains in Virginia alone and more than 500 mountains across Appalachia. Recent studies have linked mountaintop removal to increased cancer rates and birth defects in Appalachian communities. The state of Virginia has granted A&G Coal company permission to strip mine 1,200 acres of Ison Rock Ridge and bury three miles of streams in the process. The EPA is currently considering approval.