May 24, 2009
Seventy Five Protest in Coal River Valley
At Least 11 Arrests on Coal River Valley as Actions Against Mountaintop Removal and Coal Sludge Dams Continue
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Update: 17:23 - Nine protesters are still in custody. Two are being held for the action at the Brushy Fork dam, seven for the line crossing at Pettus. Police have informed jail support that bail will be set at $2,000 each- $18,000 needs to be raised in total. Please consider donating to our Paypal account as well as re-posting this elsewhere!
11:16 - The two who floated the banner on Brushy Fork toxic lake have been charged with misdemeanor trespass and littering with bail set at $2,000 each. Eight of the folks on Kayford are in police custody, and a photojournalist has been released.
***
Coal River Valley, WV (HNN) — More than seventy-five residents of the Coal River Valley and members of a coalition that includes Mountain Justice and Climate Ground Zero picketed the entrance to Massey Energy's Marfork mining complex at noon Saturday, May 23, 2009. Seven people were arrested. The actions were in protest of the company's plans to blast 100 feet away from the Brushy Fork coal sludge impoundment.
The demonstration began with a prayer and sermon by Bob “Sage” Russo of Christians for the Mountains. Referencing the Sermon on the Mount, he called upon citizens to be stewards of the Earth and to move towards sustainable, stable jobs.
Protestors stood in front of the gates of the mine facility with signs including “7 billion spilled, 998 killed.”
“Passersby on Route 3 were overwhelming supportive with honks, waves, and thumbs up signs,” Rock Creek (Raleigh County) resident Julia Sendor said.
During the protest, seven people approached the entrance to the dam facility and the Whitesville detachment of the West Virginia State Police asked them to leave. When the seven refused, the State Police arrested them. Dispatchers say the activists were sent to the Southern Regional Jail near Beckley, but that information has not been confirmed. Bail was reportedly set at $2,000 per person.
After the arrests, former U.S. Congressman Ken Hechler, a longtime opponent of strip mining, gave a speech. He underscored the responsibility of citizens to safeguard their freedoms and stand up for their rights.
The protest came just hours after activists carried out two non-violent direct actions to protest mountaintop removal and coal sludge impoundments.
This morning, at the Marfork facility, two people wearing hazmat suits and respirators were arrested after boating onto the Brushy Fork impoundment and floating a banner that read, “No More Toxic Sludge.” State Police charged the activists with littering and misdemeanor trespass and transported them to the Southern Regional Jail. Their bail has been set at $2,000.
At another action, six activists hung a “Never Again” banner and chained themselves to a massive dump truck on a Patriot Coal-owned mountaintop removal mine on Kayford Mountain. State Police arrived on site to find three people chained to the main axle of the truck and three others chained outside the truck’s cab. The police removed the six activists, who, along with two others supporting them, were transported to the Madison County Courthouse, where they were reportedly processed and released.
The toxic lake at Brushy Fork dam sits atop a honeycomb of abandoned underground mines. Massey Energy’s own filings with the state Department of Environmental Protection project a minimum death toll of 998 should the seven-billion-gallon dam break. Floodwaters would reach 38.78 feet in height in the town of Peytona, 26.61 miles downstream, within three hours and fifteen minutes of breakage.
“I fear for my friends and all the people living below this coal sludge dam,” said Gary Anderson, who lives on the mountain near the site. “Blasting beside the dam, over underground mines, could decimate the valley for miles. The ‘experts’ said that the Buffalo Creek sludge dam was safe, but it failed. They said that the TVA sludge dam was safe, but it failed. Massey is setting up an even greater catastrophe here.”
EARLIER STORY
11 Removed During Raleigh County, W.Va. Protests of Coal Sludge Dams and Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining; More Protestors Expected This Afternoon
Coal River Valley, WV (HNN) — On Saturday morning, May 23, 2009, eleven activists in two civil disobedience actions were removed by state police. As part of the continuing campaign to end mountaintop removal, six people locked themselves to mining equipment on a Patriot Coal-owned mountaintop removal mine on Kayford Mountain and another group floated a 20-by-60-foot banner on the surface of Massey Energy’s Brushy Fork coal slurry impoundment near Pettus, W.Va. The activists are part of a coalition that includes Mountain Justice, Climate Ground Zero and concerned individuals.
At noon today, more protesters are expected to converge at the gate to the Brushy Fork dam with hundreds of pairs of shoes to represent the number of immediate deaths should the dam fail.
“The toxic lake at Brushy Fork dam sits atop a honeycomb of abandoned underground mines,”said Chuck Nelson, from Raleigh County, W.Va. “Massey wants to blast within 100 feet of that dam. The company’s own filings with the state Department of Environmental Protection project a minimum death toll of 998 should the seven-billion-gallon dam break. EPA should override the DEP and revoke this blasting permit for the safety of the community.” Nelson did not participate in the civil disobedience actions this morning, but is expected to speak at the Brushy Fork gate this afternoon.
The floating banner unfurled this morning atop Brushy Fork read, “West Virginia Says No More Toxic Sludge.”
“If the dam fails, 7.2 billion gallons of toxic coal slurry will flood to 38 feet deep, 26 miles down the Marsh Fork of the Coal River, from Pettus, past Whitesville,” Mike Roselle of Climate Ground Zero said. “These coal companies, the land companies and their corrupt politicians are destroying the headwater streams that supply drinking water to millions of Americans downstream.”
In the Kayford action, independent photojournalist and Rock Creek, W.Va. resident Antrim Caskey was removed by police from the direct action site. She previously had been cited three times for trespassing while embedded with Climate Ground Zero.
“About 12,000-acres of Kayford Mountain has been destroyed by mountaintop removal coal mining,” said Maria Gunnoe, Boone County resident and winner of the 2009 Goldman Environmental Prize. “Not another family should be forced to move because a coal company is going to blow up the mountain above them, then bury and poison their streams.” Gunnoe did not participate in the civil disobedience actions.
The people who locked down on Kayford Mountain unveiled a banner reading, “Never Again.”
“The regulatory agencies that are supposed to be the people's watchdogs are acting instead as the industry's guard dogs,” said Willie Dodson of Mountain Justice, one of the Kayford protesters. “Neither Governor Manchin, the DEP, President Obama, nor the EPA are enforcing the law, so we have no choice but to come out here and do it ourselves.”
On Feb 3, five people chained themselves to mining equipment and eight others were cited for trespassing while attempting to deliver a letter to Massey Energy insisting that the company cease all mountaintop removal operations on Coal River Mountain. Since then, four related actions have occurred in the Coal River Valley.
“We are forced to take action today because we have exhausted our legislative and litigatory options,” activist Charles Suggs of Raleigh County said. “We have walked the halls and pounded the doors of our state and national capitols, asked the DEP to complete studies, met with the EPA, filed lawsuits, and what happens? Our West Virginia legislature passes bills to let the destruction continue, and opposes bills that would stop poisoning our water and bring permanent, sustainable economic development to the state.”
NOTE: Massey's filing with the WVDEP that indicate sludge depth and distance are available upon request.
Video, still images and breaking news will be posted continually to www.mountainjustice.org.
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Seventy Five Protest in Coal River Valley
At Least 11 Arrests on Coal River Valley as Actions Against Mountaintop Removal and Coal Sludge Dams Continue
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Update: 17:23 - Nine protesters are still in custody. Two are being held for the action at the Brushy Fork dam, seven for the line crossing at Pettus. Police have informed jail support that bail will be set at $2,000 each- $18,000 needs to be raised in total. Please consider donating to our Paypal account as well as re-posting this elsewhere!
11:16 - The two who floated the banner on Brushy Fork toxic lake have been charged with misdemeanor trespass and littering with bail set at $2,000 each. Eight of the folks on Kayford are in police custody, and a photojournalist has been released.
***
Coal River Valley, WV (HNN) — More than seventy-five residents of the Coal River Valley and members of a coalition that includes Mountain Justice and Climate Ground Zero picketed the entrance to Massey Energy's Marfork mining complex at noon Saturday, May 23, 2009. Seven people were arrested. The actions were in protest of the company's plans to blast 100 feet away from the Brushy Fork coal sludge impoundment.
The demonstration began with a prayer and sermon by Bob “Sage” Russo of Christians for the Mountains. Referencing the Sermon on the Mount, he called upon citizens to be stewards of the Earth and to move towards sustainable, stable jobs.
Protestors stood in front of the gates of the mine facility with signs including “7 billion spilled, 998 killed.”
“Passersby on Route 3 were overwhelming supportive with honks, waves, and thumbs up signs,” Rock Creek (Raleigh County) resident Julia Sendor said.
During the protest, seven people approached the entrance to the dam facility and the Whitesville detachment of the West Virginia State Police asked them to leave. When the seven refused, the State Police arrested them. Dispatchers say the activists were sent to the Southern Regional Jail near Beckley, but that information has not been confirmed. Bail was reportedly set at $2,000 per person.
After the arrests, former U.S. Congressman Ken Hechler, a longtime opponent of strip mining, gave a speech. He underscored the responsibility of citizens to safeguard their freedoms and stand up for their rights.
The protest came just hours after activists carried out two non-violent direct actions to protest mountaintop removal and coal sludge impoundments.
This morning, at the Marfork facility, two people wearing hazmat suits and respirators were arrested after boating onto the Brushy Fork impoundment and floating a banner that read, “No More Toxic Sludge.” State Police charged the activists with littering and misdemeanor trespass and transported them to the Southern Regional Jail. Their bail has been set at $2,000.
At another action, six activists hung a “Never Again” banner and chained themselves to a massive dump truck on a Patriot Coal-owned mountaintop removal mine on Kayford Mountain. State Police arrived on site to find three people chained to the main axle of the truck and three others chained outside the truck’s cab. The police removed the six activists, who, along with two others supporting them, were transported to the Madison County Courthouse, where they were reportedly processed and released.
The toxic lake at Brushy Fork dam sits atop a honeycomb of abandoned underground mines. Massey Energy’s own filings with the state Department of Environmental Protection project a minimum death toll of 998 should the seven-billion-gallon dam break. Floodwaters would reach 38.78 feet in height in the town of Peytona, 26.61 miles downstream, within three hours and fifteen minutes of breakage.
“I fear for my friends and all the people living below this coal sludge dam,” said Gary Anderson, who lives on the mountain near the site. “Blasting beside the dam, over underground mines, could decimate the valley for miles. The ‘experts’ said that the Buffalo Creek sludge dam was safe, but it failed. They said that the TVA sludge dam was safe, but it failed. Massey is setting up an even greater catastrophe here.”
EARLIER STORY
11 Removed During Raleigh County, W.Va. Protests of Coal Sludge Dams and Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining; More Protestors Expected This Afternoon
Coal River Valley, WV (HNN) — On Saturday morning, May 23, 2009, eleven activists in two civil disobedience actions were removed by state police. As part of the continuing campaign to end mountaintop removal, six people locked themselves to mining equipment on a Patriot Coal-owned mountaintop removal mine on Kayford Mountain and another group floated a 20-by-60-foot banner on the surface of Massey Energy’s Brushy Fork coal slurry impoundment near Pettus, W.Va. The activists are part of a coalition that includes Mountain Justice, Climate Ground Zero and concerned individuals.
At noon today, more protesters are expected to converge at the gate to the Brushy Fork dam with hundreds of pairs of shoes to represent the number of immediate deaths should the dam fail.
“The toxic lake at Brushy Fork dam sits atop a honeycomb of abandoned underground mines,”said Chuck Nelson, from Raleigh County, W.Va. “Massey wants to blast within 100 feet of that dam. The company’s own filings with the state Department of Environmental Protection project a minimum death toll of 998 should the seven-billion-gallon dam break. EPA should override the DEP and revoke this blasting permit for the safety of the community.” Nelson did not participate in the civil disobedience actions this morning, but is expected to speak at the Brushy Fork gate this afternoon.
The floating banner unfurled this morning atop Brushy Fork read, “West Virginia Says No More Toxic Sludge.”
“If the dam fails, 7.2 billion gallons of toxic coal slurry will flood to 38 feet deep, 26 miles down the Marsh Fork of the Coal River, from Pettus, past Whitesville,” Mike Roselle of Climate Ground Zero said. “These coal companies, the land companies and their corrupt politicians are destroying the headwater streams that supply drinking water to millions of Americans downstream.”
In the Kayford action, independent photojournalist and Rock Creek, W.Va. resident Antrim Caskey was removed by police from the direct action site. She previously had been cited three times for trespassing while embedded with Climate Ground Zero.
“About 12,000-acres of Kayford Mountain has been destroyed by mountaintop removal coal mining,” said Maria Gunnoe, Boone County resident and winner of the 2009 Goldman Environmental Prize. “Not another family should be forced to move because a coal company is going to blow up the mountain above them, then bury and poison their streams.” Gunnoe did not participate in the civil disobedience actions.
The people who locked down on Kayford Mountain unveiled a banner reading, “Never Again.”
“The regulatory agencies that are supposed to be the people's watchdogs are acting instead as the industry's guard dogs,” said Willie Dodson of Mountain Justice, one of the Kayford protesters. “Neither Governor Manchin, the DEP, President Obama, nor the EPA are enforcing the law, so we have no choice but to come out here and do it ourselves.”
On Feb 3, five people chained themselves to mining equipment and eight others were cited for trespassing while attempting to deliver a letter to Massey Energy insisting that the company cease all mountaintop removal operations on Coal River Mountain. Since then, four related actions have occurred in the Coal River Valley.
“We are forced to take action today because we have exhausted our legislative and litigatory options,” activist Charles Suggs of Raleigh County said. “We have walked the halls and pounded the doors of our state and national capitols, asked the DEP to complete studies, met with the EPA, filed lawsuits, and what happens? Our West Virginia legislature passes bills to let the destruction continue, and opposes bills that would stop poisoning our water and bring permanent, sustainable economic development to the state.”
NOTE: Massey's filing with the WVDEP that indicate sludge depth and distance are available upon request.
Video, still images and breaking news will be posted continually to www.mountainjustice.org.
Share This Story:
Make HNN Your Homepage (IE Users Only)
