Reporting on Coal River Mountain Rally

Written by Cynthia Wildfire.

Protesters on both sides of the Coal River Mountain issue turned out in front of the WV Department of Environmental Protection offices in Charleston Dec. 7. The protest, organized by state environmental groups, coincided with the start of Copenhagen talks on climate change. Around 300 community members turned out to protest blasting on Coal River Mountain, with about 200 counter-protesters showing up, most in reflective mining stripes. As we arrived, the police, who occupied the middle of the parking lot, bisecting the two groups, quickly ushered people to their respective sides. The pro-coal counter-protesters held signs with slogans expressing anger at "treehuggers" and Rep. Nick J. Rahall, who made a statement supportive of the EPA several weeks ago. In addition to the pro-coal advocates shouting slogans such as "Go back home" and "Coal! Coal!" several coal trucks circled the block with horns blaring in an effort to drown out the environmental speakers.


A long list of community members and activists spoke out against the blasting taking place on Coal River Mountain, with the event headlined by final speaker Robert Kennedy, Jr. Some speakers were very focused on Coal River Mountain, while others veered into general opposition to mountaintop removal mining. Within the crowd, there was some excitement about the recent statements Senator Byrd made regarding the future of coal in West Virginia. A couple of speakers directed comments to the WV DEP, asking them to "do their jobs" and enforce the Clean Water Act regulations more stringently, which could result in permits being revoked for the Coal River Mountain mine site. About half of the speakers expressed disappointment regarding WV DEP's management of permits and instead advocated for the US EPA to take over in West Virginia.


Many rally speakers expressed concern that the blasting on Coal River Mountain is taking place less than 200 feet away from the nearly-9-billion-gallon Brushy Fork slurry impoundment. Rally participants and local residents worry that blasting could cause instability in the impoundment, which has been cited for structural problems. Anger from the rally participants was largely directed at Massey Coal, rather than at the industry as a whole, with several retired miners speaking out about the jobs lost through de-unionization and mechanization. Chuck Nelson, a retired miner now working with the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, responded to signs condemning President Obama and the EPA: "It's not Obama giving instructions to the EPA - it's us. They are listening to us!" Coalfield resident and Goldman Environmental Prize winner Maria Gunnoe referenced the pro-coal chant "Go Home" by expressing her belief that "Anybody that's here to destroy our mountains is an outsider." She also pointed out the dangers of water quality destruction, both from valley fills and from a potential leak or failure in the coal slurry impoundment, stating, "A paycheck's not important when you don't have water for your children."


Many attendees had signs with the slogan "Save Coal River Mountain" written across an image of a windmill, referencing research that showed the mountain would be an excellent location for a wind farm. Speakers suggested that a wind farm would offer sustainable jobs and energy, in contrast to coal, which they claimed could be mined out within the next generation. Jobs were a key phrase from both sides, with rally speakers asking for sustainable, green jobs, and economic diversification, and coal advocates carrying signs noting their dependence on coal jobs.

Robert Kennedy Jr. ended the rally with a detailed speech that covered various areas of interest, focusing on mountaintop removal in general. He spoke in detail about the externalities of coal, both from mining and burning it, which he said explain why a state with such rich natural resources remains so poor. West Virginia coal provides cheap energy, but the costs of respiratory disease, heavy metal contaminated water, neurological effects during fetal development, and environmental destruction are left out of the sticker price. He repeated a conversation he had had with his father about surface mining in Appalachia in the 1960s, quoting "They're not just destroying the environment. They are also permanently impoverishing these communities," an idea that he linked to Massey's anti-union stance. He suggested that the idea of a tradeoff between the environment and the economy is shortsighted, saying "A good environmental policy is identical to good economic policy" and that environmentally destructive practices like mountaintop removal give only the "illusion of a prosperous economy." Like many previous speakers, Kennedy spoke out against the WV political establishment and the state DEP. Kennedy's speech, as well as the reading of a note from Kathy Mattea, a speech by Rev. Jim Lewis, and Judy Bonds' speech, is available on The Head On Radio Network. Other news articles on the rally are available at the Huffington Post, WOWK TV, Commondreams.org, and the Charleston Gazette.