Another Massive Massey
Sludge Impoundment Proposed

Just what West Virginia doesnt need another coal slurry impoundment in addition to the 136 we already have, many of which already pose threats to communities and the environment.

Power Mountain Coal Co. (subsidiary of Alex Energy, i.e., Massey Energy), has proposed construction of a gargantuan coal waste impoundment (408 surface acres affecting 1,330 acres of watershed), including a tributary of the Gauley River, near Drennen in Nicholas County, WV.

This one should be a no-brainer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which issues the permits for impoundments. After all, its Massey Energy that mining company responsible for the "worst environmental disaster in the Southeastern United States" according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. We havent forgotten that 306 million gallons of lava-like coal slurry inundated streams and waterways in Kentucky and West Virginia on October 11, 2001, after part of the bottom fell out of a 72-acre coal slurry impoundment owned by Massey (Martin County Coal Co.).

Millions of dollars have already been spent trying to clean up the gray-black goo that killed all the aquatic life in the receiving streams and covered local residents' yards as much as 7 feet deep. Who knows if the streams and waterways will ever recover?

(To read about another "cover-up" see the stories about Jack Spadaro, a whistle-blower who was fired from the Mine Health Safety Administration (MSHA), when his investigation implicated not only Massey Energy but also MSHA for the disaster). Additionally, the public notice fails to mention that this area has already been heavily mined a very real concern considering that Masseys failed impoundment was built over old mine works.

West Virginia has already lost more than 1,000 miles of streams after they were buried under coal mining waste. This proposed project would impact almost 4 miles of streams permanently obliterating 3.7 miles and "temporarily" impacting another quarter of a mile.

In a world where clean, potable water is increasingly becoming an issue, in this country where drought is becoming more frequent, only a shortsighted government and the agencies that do its bidding, would allow a mining company to bury water.

Besides, streams and rivers are the lifeblood of our earth. Smothering perennial and intermittent streams disrupts the web of life in both aquatic and terrestrial systems, decreases biological diversity and increases pollution downstream. As we tear away at the strands of the web, we are endangering the human species.

The Corps public notices often use very generic descriptions that mislead the public into thinking that the Corps actually has relevant data upon which to base its determinations. In regards to threatened and endangered species at this location the notice says: "The Huntington District has consulted the most recently available information and has determined that the project is not likely to affect the continued existence of any endangered species or threatened species, or result in the destruction or adverse modification of habitat of such species" So just HOW recent is this data? Twenty years old? Ten? Who knows?

The same holds true regarding issues of cultural importance. While the Corps stated in this notice that nothing nearby has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it doesnt mean that they have actually conducted any on-site research to see what might be present in terms of Native American artifacts.

Were streams or woods in this area ever used for hunting or fishing or gathering ginseng? Arent those culturally (and economically) significant resources to West Virginians? In regards to cultural impacts, we are not convinced that any meaningful attempt has been made to determine what cultural losses will occur. People who have traditionally hunted and fished the woods and the water or gathered herbs or ginseng will no longer have access to those places because they will be gone forever. In West Virginia, disrupting activities like hunting and fishing constitutes both cultural and economic losses.

Shortly after OVEC submitted comments regarding this proposed impoundment, we learned that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommended that, for now, this permit be denied. Theyre concerned that no alternatives to filling four miles of streams have been explored, that mitigation of stream losses should be supplemented to "include actual stream and watershed improvements," and their comments further suggest that the Corps needs to apply a standard, scientifically sound and repeatable method for assessing the ecological value of headwater streams.

Hmmm Plenty of wiggle-room in their comments

Thankfully, Sen. Robert Byrd has provided funding for a much-needed project focusing on the most dangerous impoundments in West Virginia.