A lawsuit was recently settled between two environmental groups and a mining company over whether the coal company can continue the practice of filling of parts of valleys with excess rock and other material.  The mine at issue, according to government figures in the AP report, employs about 70 people.  The settlement allows the mining company to proceed with filling in a valley in exchange for planting an extra 150 acres of hardwood trees on reclaimed land at the mine and donating $50,000 to the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Foundation. 

Background

The mountaintop removal method of surface coal mining, pioneered in West Virginia, involves the blasting of the soil and rock atop a mountain to expose coal deposits below. While mining operations are ongoing, the overburden is hauled or pushed into adjacent valleys. This excavated overburden is known as "spoil." Once the coal has been extracted, efforts are made to re-contour the mountaintop by replacing the removed overburden, but stability concerns limit the amount of spoil that can be returned to the area. In its natural state, the spoil material is heavily compacted; once excavated, however, the loosening of the rock and soil and incorporation of air causes significant swelling. As a result, large quantities of the blasted material cannot be replaced, and this excess spoil ("overburden") remains in the valley, creating a "valley fill" that buries intermittent and perennial streams in the process.

 

Water that collects in the fill must be moved out to ensure the fill's continued stability. Thus, an underdrain system is constructed by placing large boulders up to and above the ordinary high-water mark of the stream. The collected water is then channeled into a treatment pond, where sediment from the runoff is allowed to settle. Sediment ponds usually are constructed in existing streambeds, using earth and rock to create an embankment. After sediments have settled out of the fill runoff, the treated water is discharged from the sediment pond back into existing streams. When practicable, a sediment pond will be constructed in the streambed immediately adjacent to the end (or "toe") of the fill. But, because West Virginia's steep, mountainous topography often prevents this kind of positioning, a short stream segment is frequently used to move runoff from the fill downstream to the sediment pond. Once a valley fill is stabilized, the embankments of the sediment pond are removed, and the ponds and the stream segments are restored to their pre-project condition.

 

Much of the impact of a valley fill project is felt by headwater streams. Headwater streams are small streams that form the origin of larger streams or rivers, and may be intermittent or ephemeral. Intermittent streams receive their flow from both surface runoff and groundwater discharge, while ephemeral streams rely on major rain or snow events for their flow. The precise role of headwater streams in overall watershed ecology is a matter of some debate…but all parties agree that these streams perform important ecological functions.

Source: Ohio Valley Envtl. Coalition v. Aracoma Coal Co., 556 F.3d 177  (4^th Cir. 2009). 

The Absolute Truths

Environmental groups appear to have been losing their battle against coal companies and this practice.  Recent cases have supported the US Army Corps’ ability to issue permits for this practice and found that the Corps is considering all the factors required by current law.  Is that why the environmental groups are claiming victory in exchange for 150 trees?

Mining groups are now concerned that the US EPA will attempt to influence the Corps’ decision making process.  The mining industry supports the Corps’ regulation of the practice.  The standards used by the EPA under the Clean Water Act would likely restrict this mining practice. 

Truth #1

In any announcement, article, press release or other communication from a mining company or other industry group, the issue will be framed in the number of jobs being preserved by the proposed mining methodology, the stream loss is minimal, and the communities are strengthened by the schools, hospitals and commerce developments created on the filled land.

Truth #2

When the environmentalists speak on this issue, the value of the extracted coal will be minimized, the practice will weaken the community and the ecological damage will be permanent.     

This issue is not going away as mining companies and environmentalists define this issue as a “way of life” matter – pitching jobs against the environment.