The Charleston Gazette and all of the environmental zealots are wrong about valley fills in West Virginia. While most West Virginians feel this coal mining (specifically surface mining) issue does not relate to them individually, it is simply not true. This issue affects all West Virginians, not just those directly employed by coal.

I am a Registered Professional Engineer (in the states of West Virginia, Virginia, and Kentucky) with 20 years experience in designing, constructing, and maintaining valley fills. During this period, I have designed and constructed literally dozens of these fills, none of which have had any adverse effects to the environment. I am a native West Virginian, raised and educated in West Virginia, both of which I am proud. I spent the first 18 ½ years of my coal mining experience in West Virginia; the last 1 ½ years of my experience in the neighboring states. I accepted a transfer to the neighboring states at the request of my employer; I was not forced to move due to unemployment.

I now live in the Tri-City area of Tennessee. My only contact with the Gazette is currently via the Internet. At the beginning, the series on mountaintop removal mining, while about half accurate as per the Gazette’s usual style, was amusing. However, once the US Environmental Protection Agency and all of the usual rabid environmental groups got involved and the pending lawsuit was filed, the amusement faded. I am never surprised at the sensationalistic reporting tactics of the Charleston Gazette, but I must admit that it took 20 years (and this issue) to spur me to write the newspaper.

In 1977, Public Law 95-87 (Surface Mine Control and Reclamation Act) was passed, thus changing forever the law of the land with regard to surface mining. No longer could coal operators leave highwalls or just push mine spoil (excess dirt and rock) over the hill to pollute the streams. All material would have to be stabilized on the mine bench to eliminate remaining highwalls, with excess spoil placed in "valley fills", adjacent hollows to the mining operation. As the more economical coal seams were mined over the past 20 years, larger equipment was employed to mine lesser (economical) seams. Thus, these valley fills have become larger and larger structures over time, some now holding 50 million cubic yards of excess mine spoil.

The environmentalists charge that "these huge valley fills pollute and destroy miles of streams in West Virginia and they must be stopped". What they fail to tell the citizens is that these structures are rarely located in "wet" streambeds, but rather in "dry"streambeds. Any West Virginian who has walked through the woods and crossed a hollow without getting his feet wet has seen a "dry" hollow. Additionally, where "wet" streams are in fact encountered, a "mitigation" fee of $225,000 per acre is assessed by the State. While this fee is nothing more than governmental extortion, it was reluctantly accepted by the coal operators. Imagine how a citizen would feel (as a homeowner) if he were assessed an additional $10,000 "fee" by the State for digging a basement for his new home (over and above his land and construction costs).

Now the issue has come full circle. The environmental zealots, along with the EPA, have decided that extortion of the companies is not enough. They want to outlaw valley fills altogether. The EPA went so far as to say "The company needs to explore other mining methods, such as deep mining, to mine their coal". This was their official comment on the permit to a company whose capital investment at that operation is well over $100 million in surface mining equipment. No consideration was made for the company’s current investment or miner safety (due to close proximity of the coal seams to be mined). No sound engineering justification was given (as is normal with EPA’s lawyers).

Mining by the method of mountaintop removal does, in fact, disturb large areas at any single time. This disturbance is necessitated by using the large equipment required to economically mine the coal. However, this disturbance is short-lived. Generally, areas are disturbed for less than one year, and all drainage from the site is controlled during and after vegetation is replaced.

Regraded areas are used for all types of industrial development after mining is completed. If you have shopped or played golf in Central or Southern West Virginia, you have probably visited a reclaimed surface mine without realizing that’s where you were. Schools and airports have been constructed on reclaimed sites in several instances.

One would think that the operations under attack are pattern violators who the State would be better without. However, the operations under attack represent some of the largest, most stable employers of the State in the past 20 years. At least three of the operations are considered among the finest in the country, having won numerous State and Federal reclamation and wildlife awards. Each have won the State’s prestigious Callaghan Award, symbolic as the best coal operation in the State for that year. Are these the kind of people we want to lose?

Should this lawsuit be upheld, the regulatory changes mandated by the suit will effectively stop more than half of the coal production in the state of West Virginia. Simply put, about $300 million to $400 million in annual tax revenues will be lost forever to the State, without hope for replacement.

How will this affect the citizens of West Virginia? Who do you think will replace the lost revenues? Has State Government ever gone through re-engineering (down-sized) similar to Corporate America? The answer is no, and they won’t this time either. I suppose, that for about an extra $200 to $ 300 per year from every West Virginian, you will receive the "privilege" to remain a citizen of the State. This will be the cost to maintain current governmental services.

Do the citizens of West Virginia honestly believe that the USEPA and these environmental zealots have their best interests in mind? Haven’t we had enough of people who come in to "save us from ourselves"? The EPA only has their agenda in mind. Anyone who can no longer go to the "Mom and Pop" service station they frequented in the past knows that the EPA doesn’t care about the individuals. Once they have successfully doubled your taxes, how will you survive?

I consider myself an environmentalist. It has been proven to me that coal mining and environmental responsibility can exist together. As previously mentioned, these reclaimed areas are used for numerous industries after mining is completed. While there are good and bad in all industries, I challenge any person (citizen, EPA, environmental zealot) to prove that surface mine reclamation is not light years better than before the passage of PL 95-87. This comes from hard work and innovation. However, hard work and innovation cannot overcome simple mathematics. With no where to place excess mine spoil, all surface mining will stop, and all tax revenues, company payrolls and employment, and all dependent industries will stop as well. Remember, that for every direct coal dollar spent in West Virginia, about 5 dollars in support industries is generated.

I have no use for the environmental zealots, the radical environmental groups who "know what’s best for us", as if we don’t. To me they are no more than "poverty pimps", those who choose to replace excellent paying jobs with minimum wage jobs in the tourist and related industries. These people choose only to criticize everything without knowledge or supporting data; never to seek a workable solution to any problem. I have yet to find a problem to which there is not a workable solution, assuming all parties are willing to negotiate.

When West Virginians experienced 20 percent unemployment in the 1980's and many of its young people left the State, the catch phrase was " Will the last person out please turn out the lights?". Simply put, assuming nothing is done to change this dangerous path, there will be no lights to turn off this time.

William M. (Mike) Rowlands, P.E.
228 Chickasaw Circle
Church Hill, Tennessee 37642
Daytime: (540) 383-4455
E-mail: mrowlands@intermediatn.net