Environmental issues in Appalachia
[1] Besides coal mining and natural gas extraction, Appalachia faces other environmental issues, including deforestation, soil erosion, climate change, and water scarcity.
The steep slopes and heavy rainfall in Appalachia make it susceptible to soil erosion, which can be worsened by land use changes like logging and mining, leading to sedimentation in rivers and streams.
There is an urgent need for public health policy in the area to regulate the impacts of coal mining on the spread of black lung disease.
Environmental activism has tended to be a divisive issue because of the dependence of the regional economy on extractive industries, including coal mining.
[6] The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter, after being vetoed twice by Gerald Ford.
Though this bill was not passed, provisions establishing a process to reclaim abandoned strip mines and allowing citizens to sue regulatory agencies became parts of SMCRA.
[9] After SMCRA was passed, the coal industry immediately challenged it as exceeding the limits of Congressional leglative power under the Commerce Clause.
Organizations such as The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE), member companies of the National Mining Association, the United States Chamber of Commerce, as well as anonymous donor political action committees (PACs) spent millions of dollars to promote this message through print, radio and television advertisements.
They further argued that the regulations would increase the costs of disposing of mining wastes, destroy tens of thousands of jobs, and threaten the "way of life" of coalfield families.
Several categories of federal regulations are at issue:[12] A study conducted by the Great Lakes Energy Institute has found that fracking has driven the decline in coal production in the United States.
Professor Mingguo Hong has said that while the EPA rules may have an impact, the data shows that the regulations have not been the driving force behind the decline of coal production.
[16] After the 1990 Amendments to the Clean Air Act established a trading and quota system for sulfur dioxide emissions, coal-burning plants began to demand more low-sulfur coal.
[15] The Charleston Daily Mail reported that MTR has buried 2,000 miles of streams in Appalachia, has contaminated water supplies, and endangered the health of Appalachian communities.
[17] Under federal law, mountaintop removal is only allowed if mine operators planned to build schools, shopping centers, factories or public parks on the flattened land.
A spokeswoman for the National Mining Association has said "these reclamation activities have provided much needed level land above the flood plain for construction of schools, government offices, medical facilities, airports, shopping centers and housing developments.
"[19] Joe Lovett is the founder of the Appalachia Center for the Economy and Environment[14] and an attorney who has filed a federal lawsuit against the West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection for issuing mountaintop removal permits without the required post-mining land use plans.
Lovett has said the "coal companies are simply taking off mountaintops and dumping them into West Virginia's streams, harming the communities and the environment in the process.
[21] Researchers who have studied the disproportionate rates of cancer in this region have found that there are many contributing factors including poverty and poor health habits.
A U.S. Geological Survey found high levels of the carcinogens aluminum and silica in air samples from MTR regions in Appalachia.
The researchers also found traces of chromium, sulfate, selenium and magnesium in the air.These components of granite rock may elevate the risk of cancer through respiratory damage.
[4] As non-renewable energy resources become more scarce, advances in fracking technology have allowed access to natural gas reserves accumulated in shale formations.
[31] Timber harvesting decreased in the mid twentieth century resulting in significant regrowth of forest, steadily increasing in density and maturity until today.
[1] The origins of an environmental justice movement in Appalachia began with primarily women resisting the practice because of health risks in their communities.
[42] Direct action techniques saw a resurgence beginning in what was labeled "Mountain Justice Summer" in 2005 and succeeded in bringing the issue to international attention.
Though much of the focus on environmental justice has been placed in urban areas[41] this lens has also been applied to the Appalachian region, which has long been associated with poverty in the general American public.
Kentucky activist Joe Begley characterized the injustice in the region in a 1999 interview saying, "People here live on top of a gold mine, and they're starving to death.
This relates both to the disproportionate level of chronic health issues in regions where it is present and thousands of lost jobs resulting from the less labor intensive nature of the practice.
[44] To achieve environmental justice, individuals must have the right to a clean and healthy environment, as well as the ability to participate in decisions that impact their surroundings.
