Mountaintop Mining - The Facts on Mining

Dragline with reclamation in foreground -- Cyprus-Amax Coal Corporation

MOUNTAINTOP MINING is simply coal mining activities that occur at the topmost portion of a mountain. There have been various emotional statements in the press about this form of mining that are neither based on fact nor supported by the truth. This overview is an attempt to provide a viewpoint not readily portrayed in the press and to clarify many misstatements. It is important to accurately present another perspective on MOUNTAINTOP MINING so that individuals can examine for themselves the various viewpoints and arrive at their own conclusions on this mining method. Only through education with all of the facts can controversial issues be accurately studied.

SOME SIMPLE FACTS

Mountaintop mining has been practiced for over 40 years.

Surface mining methods are essentially the same as highway construction.

Truck and Loader -- Cyprus-Amax Coal Corporation

Hollow fills are areas where the rock and dirt from mining excavation is placed according to a plan designed by engineers and approved by government agencies.

The amount of actual stream loss from fills is minimal. In fact, where most hollow fills are placed, there is no actual stream.

Mining operations have helped improve habitat for wildlife in Appalachia.

Mountain Elk -- Cyprus-Amax Coal Corporation

Landowners must give their permission for mountaintop mining.

Mountaintop mining has created numerous sites for new schools, hospitals, shopping centers, parks, golf courses, housing, airports, industry, agriculture and timber.

ECONOMIC DIVERSITY IN THE COALFIELDS - The future of Appalachia has to be tied to economic diversity. A mono-industry economy is not healthy for the long-term viability of a region. Ideally, jobs that pay factory wages are the goal. Higher wages insure that every household can sustain a decent standard of living. Tourism has been touted by many as a viable alternative. An editorial by Bill Bishop with the Lexington Herald-Leader made a very eye-opening point that tourism is principally built on minimum wage jobs and that tourism alone is no bargain for a region. One major drawback facing the region is the availability of level land out of the floodplain---something people in the rest of the country take for granted. For an individual to create level land in mountainous terrain, this task is difficult and financially almost impossible. The responsible use of MOUNTAINTOP MINING creates level land, land that has the potential for many other uses.

MOUNTAINTOP MINING – MYTH VS. FACT

MYTH: "Mountaintop mining flattens the mountain."

FACT: Only the topmost portion of the mountain is mined and generally leveled for the maximum recovery of coal. Once reclaimed, it’s hard to tell that mining had ever occurred there. It still looks like a mountain. What’s left is flatter, more useful land on the top of the mountain.

MYTH: "Kentucky’s highest elevation on Black Mountain will be lowered by MOUNTAINTOP MINING."

FACT: Black Mountain is not a single mountain, but essentially stretches over many, many miles. It has been mined extensively for decades. One mining company has proposed additional surface mining on Black Mountain, however they were NOT proposing to mine the highest elevation. The proposal also included the mining of old, pre-law highwalls, essentially reclaiming an abandoned mine area.

MYTH: "That mountaintop removal was something not considered in the federal surface mining law."

FACT: MOUNTAINTOP MINING was being conducted in 1977 when the federal surface mining law was enacted. Section 515 (c) of Public Law 95-87 is the statutory provision that clearly allows MOUNTAINTOP MINING to "…remove an entire coal seam or seams running through the upper fraction of a mountain, ridge, or hill… by removing all of the overburden and creating a level plateau or a gently rolling contour with no highwalls remaining…".

MYTH: That hollow fills associated with mining eliminate streams.

FACT: Typically you think of a steam with flowing water year-round. Ninety-five percent of the "streams" that are covered with fill material (rock and sandstone) are actually intermittent or ephemeral streams---those that basically flow only in connection with a rainfall event. These streams could be characterized as "gullies" or "dry branches". A new "water course" along the top of the fill and down both sides of the face of the fill is created to replace the existing "gully" or "dry branch."

RECLAMATION EFFORTS- The coal industry does an excellent job of reclamation. The people who work for coal companies live in the same area and have a great deal of pride in their company’s reclamation efforts. One of the favorite reclamation uses today, that has been strongly encouraged by fish and wildlife governmental agencies and environmental groups, is leaving the land in a condition that will enhance use by fish and wildlife. We’ve seen a resurgence of wildlife at reclaimed mine sites across the region because of leaving open spaces, trees and shrubs that provide nourishment for wildlife and ponds that contain water year round. There is more wildlife than ever, in part because of reclaimed coal lands. It was on reclaimed land where over 150 mountain elk were released recently in Kentucky. As a practical matter, this could not have occurred other than on a reclaimed coal mine site.

Weirton, Hancock County -- West Virginia Mining & Reclamation Association

F.B.I. Complex, Harrison County -- West Virginia Mining & Reclamation Association

Click on thumbnail to see full size image.

SUMMARY- There are still many legitimate environmental issues facing Appalachia---from straight pipe discharges of sewage, to garbage collection, to the need for clean city drinking water.

MOUNTAINTOP MINING is one issue many individuals in the coal industry personally feel very strongly about. It’s simply the right thing to do---both for the environment and for the local economy. A true win-win.