ACTION
Tell the Forest Service: Don’t let the coal industry roll over a national forest
The Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia is a national treasure. “The Mon” boasts some of the continent’s southernmost cranberry bogs and red spruce forests, as well as numerous rare species and headwater streams. These headwaters form the Potomac and Ohio rivers and provide drinking water for about 31 million people.
Congress has prohibited coal mining activity in national forests, with very few exceptions. But now, the Forest Service is disregarding the rules and allowing the coal industry to roll over the Mon.
Last year, South Fork Coal Company went bankrupt and idled its 3,600-acre mining complex on the North and South Forks of Cherry River in Greenbrier County. That complex included a haul road through the Mon that regulators allowed to operate unlawfully. Now, two new coal companies — Clearco and Aurevo — are trying to take over this mining complex and resume operations within and adjacent to the national forest.
Alarmingly, the Forest Service is preparing to grant a special use permit that would allow Clearco to haul coal through the Mon. This would increase coal dust, traffic and sedimentation of waterways on and near these pristine public lands. Additionally, this proposal would close a portion of Forest Road 249, making adjacent national forest land inaccessible to the public.
This mining complex has a long history of releasing heavy metals and sediment into waterways vital to wildlife, such as the endangered candy darter and the highly prized native brook trout.
Tell the Forest Service: Don’t close off the Mon!
PETITION
To: Cynthia Sandeno, Forest Supervisor for the Monongahela National Forest; Amy Albright, Permit Administrator
From: [Your Petition Signers]
Ms. Sandeno and Ms. Albright,
I am writing to urge you to deny the application by Clearco Processing Corporation for a Special Use Permit that would authorize industrial/commercial use of the forest, including the hauling of coal and coal-mining equipment, on Forest Roads 223 and 249. I am particularly alarmed that the proposed permit would close a portion of Forest Road 249 and make hundreds of acres of adjacent national forest land inaccessible to the public. I am also concerned that the resumption of coal-industry use of these roads will cause increased sedimentation in the North and South Forks of the Cherry River and the Greenbrier River.
The South Fork Cherry and its tributaries are home to the endangered candy darter, as well as native brook trout. Unfortunately, years of coal mining and coal hauling in the watershed have already contributed to sedimentation and the accumulation of heavy metals such as selenium in these waterways. Sedimentation embeds the cobble bottoms of Appalachian streams, which provide essential habitat for candy darter, trout, and other aquatic species. Elevated selenium can cause deformities and impair reproductive processes in fish.
The Monongahela National Forest is a treasure for local residents and visitors alike. Its unique spruce forest ecosystem provides exceptional opportunities for hiking, camping, birding, hunting, and other recreational activities. It would be a serious loss to those who enjoy this area if portions of the national forest were made inaccessible to the public for the benefit of a private coal company.
Facilitating the transportation of coal and mining supplies is not the Forest Service’s responsibility. Its responsibility is to protect and manage national forest lands in the broad public interest. The Forest Service should not prioritize private coal mining operations where doing so compromises public access or threatens sensitive ecological resources.