Feb. 3, 2009
West Virginia Residents Rally at Massey Energy Coal Sludge Dam
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Pettus, WV (HNN) – A December coal sludge dam disaster in Tennessee has spurred residents of West Virginia’s Coal River Valley to protest Massey Energy’s blasting preparation near a toxic coal waste sludge dam. Demonstrators will assemble Tuesday, Feb. 3 at 1 p.m. at the Marfork Coal Company gate in Pettus, W.Va., located about one hour from Charleston and one hour from Beckley, W.Va.
According to Charles Suggs, a spokesman for http://www.coalriverwind.org, citizens will “attempt” to deliver a letter demanding Massey halt surface operations at the site. The organization has asked that the WV Department of Environmental Protection suspend Massey’s surface mining permit due to coal disasters in Tennessee and reports that the DEP has not properly regulated sludge dams.
“Residents worry that blasting above underground mines next to a sludge lake may cause the sludge to break and kill thousands downstream,” Suggs said.
Massey operated the Martin County, Ky., sludge dam which released approximately 300 million gallons of coal waste that broke through into underground mines in 2000. The EPA called that the worst environmental disaster in the Southeast. Then, in December 2008, a coal ash sludge impoundment operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) failed near Harriman, Tenn. That disaster released over one billion gallons that destroyed three homes, damaged twelve more and covered 300 acres.
In November, DEP approved a revision allowing Massey to begin the mountaintop removal operation on Coal River Mountain. Despite citizens' objections, DEP denied public participation in its decision making process. Massey has begun clearing land for blasting and residents say time is short to save the mountain.
Coal River Wind supports a wind farm on the mountain which would provide Raleigh County and West Virginia with decades of clean, sustainable energy.
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West Virginia Residents Rally at Massey Energy Coal Sludge Dam
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Pettus, WV (HNN) – A December coal sludge dam disaster in Tennessee has spurred residents of West Virginia’s Coal River Valley to protest Massey Energy’s blasting preparation near a toxic coal waste sludge dam. Demonstrators will assemble Tuesday, Feb. 3 at 1 p.m. at the Marfork Coal Company gate in Pettus, W.Va., located about one hour from Charleston and one hour from Beckley, W.Va.
According to Charles Suggs, a spokesman for http://www.coalriverwind.org, citizens will “attempt” to deliver a letter demanding Massey halt surface operations at the site. The organization has asked that the WV Department of Environmental Protection suspend Massey’s surface mining permit due to coal disasters in Tennessee and reports that the DEP has not properly regulated sludge dams.
“Residents worry that blasting above underground mines next to a sludge lake may cause the sludge to break and kill thousands downstream,” Suggs said.
Massey operated the Martin County, Ky., sludge dam which released approximately 300 million gallons of coal waste that broke through into underground mines in 2000. The EPA called that the worst environmental disaster in the Southeast. Then, in December 2008, a coal ash sludge impoundment operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) failed near Harriman, Tenn. That disaster released over one billion gallons that destroyed three homes, damaged twelve more and covered 300 acres.
In November, DEP approved a revision allowing Massey to begin the mountaintop removal operation on Coal River Mountain. Despite citizens' objections, DEP denied public participation in its decision making process. Massey has begun clearing land for blasting and residents say time is short to save the mountain.
Coal River Wind supports a wind farm on the mountain which would provide Raleigh County and West Virginia with decades of clean, sustainable energy.
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