Mountain Top Removal

Mountain Top removal is just as it sounds, the removal of the top of a mountain to retrieve the coal under the surface.

This coal is mined by removing the top soil and placing it aside so it can be reused for reclamation later. Then they blast the rock above the coal seam and push the dirt and rock into nearby valleys in a process which is called Valley Fill. An excavator then scoops up the exposed coal and it is transported to a processing plant where it is washed and transported elsewhere. The waste water left from this process, which is called Slurry, is stored in ponds held back by man-made earthen dams.

Since Coal is usually in several seams underground this process is repeated a dozen times or more on a single mountain which can lower the mountains’ elevation by hundreds of feet in some cases. There are many downfalls to this type of mining; streams and tributaries are filled during valley fills, water supplies are compromised, wildlife habitats are destroyed and

vast acres of woodlands and mountain tops are lost in the rubble. For theses reasons this form of mining if done under a lot of scrutiny from the local residents of theses areas.

Residents of theses areas near these mines have to deal with very dusty conditions, constant earth shaking blasts, and the ultimate fear of the earthen dams, that hold back the sludge, breaking.

One of the most famous dam break was that of Buffalo Creek, WV in February of 1972 where 125 people were killed in the massive flood of coal sludge and mud that washed away and entire town in just a matter of hours. After this terrible tragedy protests began to increase rapidly to stop the mountain top mining process. After this the

Surface Mining and Reclamation Act was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter. It stated that the mine site must be reclaimed and restored to within fifty feet of its original position or used for a site of economical growth. Coal companies must now obtain permits to deposit this valley fill into streams. The federal courts have violated the Clean Water Act on four occasions by issuing such permits. In 2003 the Bush Administration appealed and overturned the courts decision since the act does not specifically define “fill material”. During that time the EPA thus changes the act to include mining debris as “fill material”.

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