By Austin Wells, Danielle Clevenger, and Travious Miller

THE DISASTROUS EFFECTS OF MOUNTAIN TOP MINING

Why? Where? And How?• Mountain top mining is taking place at the Appalachian mountains in southern West Virginia, southwestern Virginia, eastern Kentucky, and eastern Tennessee.

• Companies are blasting and destroying these Appalachian mountains in order to obtain the coal that these mountains hide.

• Companies first clear the location that they are mining of all topsoil and vegetation including plants and trees.

• These companies then use explosives to blast through the mountain to get deep beneath its surface to reach the coal.

• They then use huge machines to remove all the waste and all the debris that was created due to the blasting.

• They then dump the waste into nearby valleys.

Mining of the Appalachian mountains

Forests• A lot of forests that border the Appalachian mountains are destroyed by this process of mining.

• These forests are some of the most diverse forests and contain unique wildlife and plant life that can only be found in these forests.

• Once these forests are cleared the wood isn’t even used as a resource for wood or paper, but instead burned or dumped as waste, because companies are responding to short-term fluctuations in the price of coal.

• Reclamation efforts are required by law, but most companies get a waiver from state agencies with the idea That economic development will occur on the land, but less than 3 percent of that land is actually used for economic purposes.

Before After

Streams• Streams that run through the valleys or forests are buried by rubble and poisoned by heavy metals from the mountain.

• Communities near these mining sites experience water that has concentrations of iron and manganese that surpass water guidelines.

• Streams also get buried by the waste and rubble that is dumped into nearby valleys that is created after they blast the mountain to get to the coal.

• more than 2,000 miles of vital Appalachian headwater streams are buried by valley fills and many more are poisoned.

Appalachian’s stream Before and AfterBefore After

Biodiversity• According to the World Wildlife

Fund, Appalachia contains “one of the most diverse assemblages of plants and animals found in the world’s temperate deciduous forests.

• Bird species that rely on mature forest habitats are numerous in Appalachia. According to the American Bird Conservancy, the Kentucky warbler, Worm-eating warbler, Wood thrush, Louisiana waterthrush, and Cerulean warbler are all impacted by mountaintop removal operations. Appalachia’s mixed hardwood cove forests and shaded streams are key to the survival of this species — but this habitat is rapidly disappearing.

• A 2014 study released by the U.S. Geological Survey demonstrates that fish populations downstream of mountaintop removal mining operations were reduced by two-thirds between 1999 and 2011.

• The devastating impacts of mountaintop removal on other aquatic species on the lower tier of the food chain further threaten the rich biodiversity of Central Appalachia.

• Native salamander populations surrounding mountaintop removal valley fills also have been found either completely absent or significantly reduced in number, sometimes even replaced by reptiles on reclaimed mine sites. This displacement reflects the area’s transition from a lush habitat to a dry environment uninhabitable by amphibians due to mountaintop removal.

Biodiversity

Valleys•Waste material that is produced from the mining operations have to go somewhere so companies dump this waste into nearby valleys. •This process of filling valleys with waste is called valley fills•These valleys that contain beautiful streams and beautiful scenery get destroyed because these companies feel the need for coal is greater than the need for mountains and valleys.

Loophole•You would think that these companies are violating some sort of law or Act that prevents them from violating these natural landmarks, and there was called the Clean Water Act. But in 2002 the bush administration added section 404 to the Clean Water Act that is basically a loophole allowing these companies to dump their waste into nearby valleys.•Section 404 of the Clean Water Act states “The Secretary may issue permits, after notice and opportunity for public hearings for the discharge of dredged or fill material into the navigable waters at specified disposal sites. Not later than the fifteenth day after the date an applicant submits all the information required to complete an application for a permit under this subsection, the

Secretary shall publish the notice required by this subsection.” Which allows companies to dispose of their waste as long as they have a permit to do so.

What Should Be done?•I think the EPA should reverse section 404 in the Clean Water Act to stop these companies from mining mountains such as The Appalachian mountains.

•The only way to end the negative effects of this kind of mining is to stop it completely. There can be no compromising because If we meet half way harmful effects will still occur and the only way to make the surrounding environment of these mining sites healthy again is to stop these operations and to start re-growing the forests, emptying up the valleys, and unburying and un-poisoning the streams.

•If the EPA reverses section 404 of the Clean Water Act then these companies can no longer put the waste wherever they want to because it will be illegal causing them to be fined a large amount of money or jail time if they disobey the Act.

Conclusion•Mountain top mining has disastrous effects on the environment that surrounds the mining area.

•Forests are plowed through leaving no trace of trees, plant life, and taking away the homes of wild life.

•Streams are buried by rubble and poisoned by numerous heavy metals.

•Appalachia’s unique biodiversity is negatively affected by the mining of its mountains and unique birds, fish, native salamanders, and other aquatic species are also negatively affected.

•Beautiful valleys that surround these mining sites are filled to the top with waste and debris.

•All of these awful things that happen due to the mining of mountains is legal because of one loophole in the Clean Water Act introduced by the Bush administration in 2002.

•The EPA should reverse section 404 of the Clean Water Act that allows companies to dump their waste from their mining operations wherever they want to, stopping these mining operations and saving the environment.