Coal Company Depredations Endanger WV Family Cemeteries, Part Two

In part one of his letter, which appeared in the December, 2009 issue of Winds of Change, Dustin White explained that he is a life-long resident of West Virginia. His family has long ties with the coal industry and recently has been working to protect their Boone County family cemeteries from mountaintop removal coal mining. Following are more excerpts from Whites letter:

Often, when a community tries to stand up to, or is just in the way of these coal companies, their resistance is met with bullying or threats. Many are afraid to speak out for fear of retaliation by the companies.

Sometimes, entire communities are forced to relocate. Those who do not willingly move or refuse to be bought out find themselves victims of threats or sometimes feel alone in the struggle, abandoned by their fearful neighbors. Many people have had their tires slashed, homes shot up, and lives threatened.

When it comes to the mighty coal companies many people know nothing but fear. This is clearly a form of domestic terrorism. Coal companies have become land barons telling people how to live. They tell us to like it, "or else," and "if you dont like it, move."

The Hobet mountaintop removal mine in Lincoln County.

Its understandable that many in my state are afraid to speak out on this issue. What happened to the Appalachian spirit that stood up to the British during the Revolution when they told us move, "or else?"

Members of my family have been threatened and cursed when they try to speak out against what is happening to our family cemetery. We have been called everything from "ignorant holler trash" to other vulgarities that I wish not to repeat. We need to remind these companies that coal miners are not the only ones living in this state. We are people with a Constitutional right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. They rob us of these rights as they rape the land. Its time we stand up, not as environmentalists or victims, but as Mountaineers. The bullying must stop.

So, too, must the poisoning of our water stop. Many miles of our headwaters streams have already been sacrificed under "valley fills" for the greed of coal companies. Downstream heavy metals pollute the water. Coal slurry, toxic coal waste, is another major problem, as is it injected underground to eventually poison water wells, or it is stored in dangerous dams.

For example, in 1972 along Buffalo Creek in Logan County, coal slurry dams burst after days of heavy rainfall. The resulting flood killed 125 people, some also members of my family, and injured thousands more. The coal company and the governor declared the disaster an "act of God."

Politicians dismiss the dangers and ignore our concerns, such as blasting dust from mountaintop removal.

Please, understand I do not wish to be an enemy of coal. To say I was against coal altogether would be a direct insult to my heritage. Coal is an important part of West Virginias history and economy.

However, mountaintop removal must end. I believe mining should be done the traditional way of deep mining. It provides more job opportunities and does not drastically change the geography of my state.

In closing, I am reminded of a passage from the Book of Matthew in the Bible. I believe it can be applied to the current situation: