Environmental justice and coal mining in Appalachia
[1] In the late 1990s, several Appalachian women, including Julia Bonds, began to speak out against MTR and its effects on the people and environment of mining communities.
The blasting of mountaintops has polluted stream and water supplies have been contaminated by toxic waste from coal processing called slurry ponds.
[8] Although Appalachia has played a large role in contributing to the coal supply of the United States, the communities surrounding such mining practices have suffered immensely.
[16] This practice was used on a small scale in the 1970s, and became heavily used in the 1990s because of the increased demand for high-grade low-sulfur coal following passage of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.
Once this rock has been disturbed, swelling will take place; the spoil will expand by fifteen to twenty five percent, due to air incorporation and voids.
[11] Sixty-three percent of stream beds near coalfields within the Appalachia mountains have been identified as "impaired" due to high toxic chemical and metal contamination.
[8] In a comparative analysis of health-related quality of residences in counties with and without coal mining Appalachia "reported significantly fewer healthy days for both physical and mental health".
[9] The same study highlights strong correlations between heavy coal mining counties and a greater risk of depression and severe psychological distress.
[1] In addition, studies from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health have concluded a high "relationship between surface coal mining jobs and the prevalence of pneumoconiosis".
Coal surface mining has heavily altered the hydrological cycle and landscape of the Appalachia causing environmental degradation and contributing to ecosystem damages beyond repair.
[24] In addition, it has led to the clearance of over 1 million acres of forests and contributed to the degradation or permanent loss of over 12000 miles of streams crucial to the Appalachia watershed from 1985- 2001.
Pericak et al. stated, “The net weathering reactions generate alkaline mine drainage which is characterized by elevated ion concentrations of sulfate (SO42-), calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+), bicarbonate (HCO3-), and a suite of other elements including major aquatic pollutants like selenium (Se)”.
[26] Mountaintop removal, or MTR, is a type of surface mining that has played a major role in negatively impacting the Appalachian environment.
[25][28] The Environmental Protection Agency approximates that between 1985 and 2001, over 700 miles worth of streams in the Appalachians were covered by these "valley fills" due to mountaintop removal coal mining.
Anejia et al. found that, “...coal trucks frequently travel through communities located in steeply sided valleys, or hollows, where homes are situated very close to the narrow roads.
[31] However, work done by Black and Sanders shows that between 1970 and 1980 the increase in coal production substantially boosted the pay of low skilled workers in Appalachia and likely caused a decrease in income inequality.
[1][33] More specifically, in Hendryx and Zullig's comparative analysis of Appalachia counties, those with coal mining had greater economic disparities and more poverty than those without industry.
[25] A 2017 study found that neighborhoods closest to coal impoundments are "slightly more likely to have higher rates of poverty and unemployment, even after controlling for rurality, mining-related variables, and spatial dependence".
[37] On April 5, 2010, there was an explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine in Raleigh County, West Virginia, owned by Massey Energy.
In 2015 professor Nicole Fabricant wrote, "Because Massey Energy cut corners on safety regulations—in this case, failing to provide appropriate ventilation for methane—the company essentially created the tragedy of Upper Big Branch.
The factors contributed to this disaster were stated as, "They did not want to comply with the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act... And because of the lack of due diligence, that’s what happened at No.
In the view of legal scholar Jedediah Purdy, the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act improved the quality of air and water for much of America, but created "sacrificial zones" in America, including coal mining communities in Appalachia, that hid the environmental effects of industry and agriculture from people in the suburbs while increasing exposure to danger for people who lived near sites of pollution.
[42] The Black Lung Benefits program details the extent to which coal miners have their medical coverage compensated by the federal government.
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.
In the work, “To Live Here, You Have to Fight: How Women Led Appalachian Movements for Social Justice” author Jessica Wilkerson stated, “...Nunn vowed to use his power to bring an end to the Appalachian Volunteers in Kentucky…”[49] Legislation that was passed by Congress allowed governors to decide the requirements that made an organization a Community Action Agency, which was an important designation to have in order to qualify for governmental funding.
[51] These groups organized in opposition to the disproportionate threat mountain communities faced from health hazards like acid mine drainage.
[52] Save Our Cumberland Mountains (SOCM, pronounced "sock 'em") was founded when thirteen residents of the Tennessee coalfields petitioned their state government to make coal landholders pay a fair share of taxes.
SOCM later grew into one of the most significant community organizations in the region and went on to lead a major legislative campaign against employers who replaced their permanent employees with long-term temporary workers.
He highlights the importance of regional organizations like the Highlander Research and Education Center that "seek to bring together diverse communities to share their knowledge about the inner dynamics of environmental justice issues".
[56] The first MJ meeting took place in Knoxville, Tennessee and included activists from Coal River Mountain Watch (CRMW), the Sierra Club, Appalachian Voices, and Katuah Earth First (KEF!).
