Judge Tells Big Coal: Stop Burying Appalachian Streams
Residents successfully stop plans to bury streams, destroy homes in West VirginiaHuntington, WV – A federal judge on October 11 put a hold on coal company plans to permanently bury Appalachian streams and threaten homes and neighborhoods in West Virginia by granting a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against a mountaintop removal mine. Coal River Mountain Watch, the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, and West Virginia Highlands Conservancy challenged the permit on the heels of a major court victory earlier this year against this destructive mining practice.
In ruling that the mining cannot go forward at this time, federal district Judge Robert C. Chambers noted that the environmental groups "made a strong showing that the permits issued by the Corps are arbitrary and capricious, contrary to law, and contrary to the economic and environmental balance struck by Congress in the passage of the relevant environmental statutes."
The proposed valley fills at the Callisto Mine in Boone County, West Virginia, would have permanently destroyed 5,750 feet of streams and tributaries of Roach Branch, Dry Branch and Lem White Branch of Pond Fork in Boone County. These streams eventually flow into the Little Coal River. The order, issued by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, halts the mining company’s plan to begin new valley fill activities at the site until the Court can rule on the groups’ challenge to the Callisto permit.
"The judge just gave hope to other affected residents that live in communities near this type of destructive illegal mining," said Judy Bonds of Coal River Mountain Watch. "We have hope now that coal companies will no longer be allowed to mine coal in our homes."
If the Callisto valley fill had been allowed to proceed, it would have permanently threatened the town of Bim with flooding and catastrophic failure, as well as polluting the stream. It would have provided only temporary employment (12-18 months) to approximately two percent of Magnum’s workforce.
Bim resident Dorsey Green, whose home in the Dry Branch Hollow is closest to the proposed valley fill, was relieved by the judge’s decision.
"I am so thankful for this ruling. I've been a coal miner my whole life and this valley fill would have destroyed my homeplace and everything I have worked for," Green said. "I have spent many sleepless nights thinking about the terrible representation we as a community get from our regulatory agencies. This ruling will restore my sleep --and my retirement years."
On March 23, the same groups, represented by Earthjustice, the Appalachian Center for the Economy & the Environment and now Public Justice, won a victory in the same case, when the Court rescinded four similar valley fill permits. The Court ruled that the permits violated the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. In particular, the Court found that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers granted the permits without adequately considering the environmental effects of the fills, and without providing any scientific support for the Corps’ claim that stream damage from the valley fills could be offset through "stream creation." Judge Chambers suspended portions of that ruling when it was determined that the damage had already been done in three of the valley fills. The Callisto ruling, however, applies to a stream that had not yet been filled.
As part of the same case, on June 13 Judge Chambers also ruled that sediment ponds violate the Clean Water Act. In his 26-page decision, he stated, “has no authority under the Clean Water Act to permit the discharge of pollutants into these stream segments,” including the portion of the stream between the base of the valley fill and the sediment pond. Clean water proponents consider the practice to be taking clean water from citizens and handing it to the industry as a waste dump.
Since the October ruling, key witness and member of both CRMW and OVEC Maria Gunnoe has faced ongoing harassment. With threats to her life and home, she has had to step up security measures, but she is determined to stand her ground to protect her home and her community.