Coal River Mountain Watch

Campaigns

• Demand justice for West Virginians whose water has been poisoned

  Over 300,000 West Virginians’ water was poisoned with chemicals from the coal industry -- and now hundreds of people are sick. Water isn’t only being poisoned by these chemicals; there is a long history of water in West Virginia being poisoned by the coal industry; mountaintop removal has destroyed thousands of pristine streams, and there are dozens of toxic slurry dams across the state. West Virginia’s DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) has been captured by the coal industry, and can’t be trusted to ensure safe, clean, drinking water. We need OSM to step-in, terminate West Virginia’s ineffective mining enforcement program, and set-up a program that protects our water. Water in West Virginia is being poisoned every day, and another tragic spill like this could happen at any moment. The CARE Campaign, founded by concerned West Virginians, is petitioning the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement to terminate West Virginia’s mining enforcement program and implement a program that is accountable to the people of West Virginia. Demand President Obama’s OSM step-in and stand with West Virginians. "Exposure to the slurry of water and other chemicals formed after coal is washed would be more dangerous to human health than exposure to MCMH—and there have been numerous coal slurry floods and spills in West Virginia and U.S. history. That slurry is made far more toxic by the heavy metals and other dangerous elements leached from the coal itself. " - Scientific American (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-dangerous-is-the-chemical-spilled-in-west-virginia&page=2)

  32,707 of 35,000 Signatures

  Created by Joe Solomon
• Terminate a 2,000-acre mountaintop removal permit

  Mountaintop removal coal mining is linked to several public health impacts, including elevated rates of cancer, heart disease, birth defects, and other deadly illnesses. A huge 2,000-acre mountaintop removal permit on Coal River Mountain in West Virginia, issued in 2008, should have terminated in 2011 in accordance with federal and state law for not starting within three years. Instead, the WV Dept. of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) retroactively extended the permit. Now, after years of litigation by Coal River Mountain Watch, the new Cabinet Secretary of the WVDEP has the permit back on his desk with the opportunity to correct his predecessor's mistakes and declare the Eagle #2 permit terminated.

  1,097 of 2,000 Signatures

  Created by Debbie Jarrell
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  Stop poisoning our community

  Contura Energy subsidiary Republic Energy has applied for another mountaintop removal permit on Coal River Mountain: 1,085 acres (1.7 square miles) adjacent to their existing 6,555 acres (10.2 square miles) of mountaintop removal and toxic waste sludge dams. This process involves blasting the mountain with ammonium nitrate and fuel oil, releasing clouds of dust, mostly carcinogenic silica, into the communities below. With some neighborhoods enduring the daily equivalent of 20 Tomahawk missiles (which the West Virginia Dept. of Environmental Protection calls a "small blast") and dozens of scientific studies documenting the significant health impacts, coal companies dismiss residents' concerns. In response to Coal River Mountain Watch's objection to this permit, the $2-billion coal company Contura Energy states that they are "required to comply with WVDEP's air quality rules related to controlling fugitive particulate matter." However, we have aerial footage from Nov. 13, 2020, showing their massive dust cloud from an existing site filling the valley below, obscuring the homes in the neighborhood, and traveling more than two miles downwind. This new permit is right above another nearby neighborhood and comes within 300 feet of some homes. Other hazards of mountaintop removal include structural damage to homes from blasting, pollution of streams from runoff, and increased risk of flooding. West Virginia Dept. of Environmental Protection has the duty and obligation to provide and maintain a healthful environment. To approve this permit, subjecting neighboring residents to carcinogenic dust clouds during a deadly pandemic, is to abdicate this responsibility. WVDEP must do the right thing and deny permit S301419 proposed by Contura Energy subsidiary Republic Energy.

  413 of 500 Signatures

  Created by Debbie Jarrell
• Don't renew an invalid mountaintop removal permit

  Alpha Natural Resources' subsidiary Republic Energy has applied for renewal of the 2,040-acre (3+ square miles) "Eagle 2" mountaintop removal coal mine, part of over 10 square miles of destruction on Coal River Mountain. Mountaintop removal blasts fine and ultrafine silica dust and other pollutants into the air, creating a public health threat for nearby residents. At this location, it destroys habitat for the endangered Indiana bat and the threatened northern long-eared bat. WVDEP has failed to take effective action for this company's failure to meet legal requirements at this site and history of violations at neighboring sites.

  586 of 600 Signatures

  Created by Debbie Jarrell