Scary Times in Appalachia: NWP21 Hearings Get Rough

[Carrie Traud]

Last night, the Army Corps of Engineers held three of six hearings on the possible suspension of the Nationwide Permit 21 (NWP21) in Pikeville, KY, Charleston, WV and Knoxville, TN. NWP21 is a blanket permit used for valley fills - in other words, coal companies do not need to apply for an individual permit when they want to blow up a mountain and bury a stream. This also means that there is no public comment period for affected residents to speak out on said permits. As part of the Obama Administration's scrutiny of mountaintop removal, they are considering revoking NWP21 and making each mine site get an individual permit. Makes sense for something as egregious and enormous as MTR, right?

I attended the hearing in Pikeville, which is at the heart of the Kentucky coalfields. It was an extremely intense experience. Waiting in line to get in surrounded by literally thousands of pro-coal miners and families was nerve-wracking, though there were no problems that I am aware of, beyond some quietly muttered "#$*@ treehugger"-type comments. The hearing itself was totally one-sided. The coal companies bused in miners from all around the region, telling their employees that they had to be there. The first hour of the hearing was taken up with local politicians - including judges - and the Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky rhapsodizing about how wonderful mountaintop removal is for Kentucky's economy. Often cited was the wonderful developments that have been built on "reclaimed" MTR sites... but no mention of the 95% of those sites that remain barren. The Lt. Governor, Dan Mongiardo, even said we should stop calling it mountaintop removal and instead call it "mountaintop development!" There was also the expected party line of "if you take away this permit, you'll take away our jobs!" This despite the fact that MTR uses far fewer miners than underground mining.

After a few hours of the pro-coal pep rally, some brave pro-mountain members of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth got up to speak. The first speaker was immediately drowned out by boos and heckling, and a miner had to take the microphone and remind the crowd to be respectful and let people speak. The heckling died down some, and the amazing speakers stood their ground and spoke passionately of the importance of clean water, the mountains, and the preservation of Appalachian heritage. As the hearing dragged on, the crowd was almost nonexistent, many of the miners leaving, possibly to continue their shifts at the mine sites. But all in all, the hearing in Kentucky went relatively smoothly.

Not so in West Virginia. Reports from Charleston tell of crushing mobs threatening pro-mountain activists. One man (Adam Pauley, the shirtless wonder from Kayford Mountain, as a matter of fact) threatened to kill a young woman and her mother. Many activists were denied entry, told to leave "for their own safety" even though they had a right to speak at the hearing. Inside, things were no better. When activists got up to speak, they were drowned out by screams from the pro-coal crowd. The Army Corps did nothing to quiet them down, and didn't give the speakers opportunity to finish their statements. When they tried to leave, they were followed out by coal thugs screaming threats. You can see video of the crushing crowd here.

Appeals to the police fell on deaf ears. Endangered activists were told, "You knew what you were getting yourself into" and "you're on your own." Where is the protection for people who are only trying to participate in a public hearing? What happened to the right of free speech? This kind of terroristic threatening is unacceptable and illegal, and if state and local enforcement agencies are going to ignore it, then the FBI needs to get involved.

The pro-coal crowd yelled loudly about their right to work, but what about the coalfield citizens' right to clean water? What about the activists' right to speak freely without threat of violence or intimidation? Why are we allowing this to happen in America?

[Jen Filiault]

Wow. I wish I could say that this sort of behavior was shocking, but it seems as though it is just par for the course. To me, it seems as though the higher-ups in the coal industry have gotten their employees so riled up and fearful of change that these people are basically advocating against their own health and community.

Bravo to the activists that had the courage to stand up and speak on behalf of the safety of their communities and future generations! Without people like them, we will not be able to achieve the shift in energy that this country needs.

[Larry Notes]

Coal may need replaced, but we need to come up with the replacement first. This will never work unless green power is up and running, 24/7. In WV that will be a very long time. Maybe Pickens will put up the wind farms here. Until the systems are up and running, we must use coal.

[Carrie Traud]

Nobody's saying we need to shut all mines down right this minute. The hearing was about whether or not a blanket permit could be used for valley fills. It wouldn't even stop mountaintop removal (which can and must be stopped immediately), it would just make coal companies apply for individual permits.

We definitely do need to develop our renewable resources more, but we can make huge gains in energy conservation with energy efficiency right now, with off-the-shelf technology. That would reduce our reliance on coal and save consumers money.

Larry Notes said:

Coal may need replaced, but we need to come up with the replacement first. This will never work unless green power is up and running, 24/7. In WV that will be a very long time. Maybe Pickens will put up the wind farms here. Until the systems are up and running, we must use coal.

[Patsy Tomlin]

West Virginia is loaded with many natural resources. Water power, solar power & wind power.