Stop Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining in VA. Support SB 564.
This is what mountaintop removal coal mining looks like in Virginia. Yes, Virginia!
This photo and the photos featured in the below video depict the practice of mountaintop removal coal mining right here in Virginia.
Mountaintop removal coal mining is destroying the water quality, forests, cherished scenic vistas, quality of life, and economic viability of southwest Virginia. Mountaintops and ridges are blasted apart with explosives and the resulting waste material is dumped into nearby valleys (in what industry calls valley fills), permanently burying headwater streams, disrupting natural stream flows and poisoning waterways for miles downstream.
Senate bill 564, the “Stream Saver Bill”, prohibits the filling of streams with mining waste which will curtail the practice of mountaintop removal and preserve the integrity of our waterways.
SB 564 was introduced by Senator Patsy Ticer. It has recently picked up 5 more co-patrons, including Senators Whipple, Howell, Northam and Marsden. If you have a minute please call today at (800) 889-0229 and ask your Senator to co-patron this important bill!
Over 156,000 acres of Appalachian temperate hardwood forest have been destroyed by mining in Virginia, resulting in 67 leveled Virginia mountains. The EPA has also documented 151 miles of Virginia streams as buried or mined as of its most recent assessment in 2001.
Mountaintop removal and valley fills severely impact human communities. Residents who live near mountaintop removal mining operations in Appalachia must endure frequent blasting, poisoned drinking water, and increased flooding. The mountains and creeks destroyed by the practice – where residents have hunted, fished, hiked and swum for generations – are integral to the area’s way of life and cultural heritage.
Research shows that coalfield residents suffer from substantially higher occurrences of health problems such as heart, lung and kidney disease, and premature death. The health of southwest Virginia’s streams is essential to local residents’ domestic use, industrial and agricultural use, recreation and tourism.
These practices cause major harm to wildlife and the natural world as well. Burying headwater streams, according to the EPA’s study on mountaintop removal (2003), causes loss of streams, changes in water chemistry and temperature, increased sediment, and loss of nutrient sources essential for downstream water quality and aquatic life. Studies show that severe deformities in fish result from excessive levels of selenium, one of dozens of heavy metals leached into streams from valley fills. Insect life essential to the downstream food web has been found to be entirely absent from some streams below valley fills.
Click here to download (pdf), print and save our “one-pager” on SB 564.
Make a donation to the Virginia Chapter Sierra Club today!
