Re: E-M:/ Love mountains? Hate coal!

[Doug Welker <dwelker@up.net>]

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Enviro-Mich message from Doug Welker <dwelker@up.net>
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Robert-

I can think of several reasons why the issue is often more severe in 
the Appalachians:

1.        Higher rainfall.  This can result in
        a.     More flash floods, landslides, etc.
        b.     More acid drainage from waste rock and mines
2.        Higher sulfur coal in the Appalachians, resulting in 
increased water acidity
3.        Typically, steeper terrain in the Appalachians, resulting 
in more flash floods, landslides, etc.
4.       There are fewer places for Appalachian folks to live.  To 
live close to a mine, one must almost always live in a narrow 
valley.  I worked for a number of years for the West Virginia 
Geological and Economic Survey (a state agency), and pored over every 
topo map that covers the state.  In most of southwestern WV, where 
the majority of the mountaintop removal takes place in that state, 
the only reasonably flat areas (until mountaintop removal occurs!) 
are the narrow floodplains of streams.  Exposing excavated rock and 
haul roads to heavy rainfall causes excessively high stream levels, 
and damage to homes, roads, etc.  In addition, the streams are often 
so acidic that they contain no game fish, and if you try to swim in 
them your eyes sting horribly.  Whole counties are like this.  In the 
west, there are plenty of flat areas near the mines for housing, and 
there are plenty of clean streams around.

See the attached topo map of Red Jacket WV for typical SW WV 
topography.  The purple stipled pattern shows strip mines.  Note the 
ringed pattern surrounding the hill whose summit is 2031 feet in the 
western part of the map.  There is most likely valuable coal still 
left under that summit and above the uppermost strip mine.  Removing 
the "country rock" (mostly sandstone and shale) above that strip mine 
would enable them to get to that coal more easily.  Likewise, some of 
the lower coal seams (represented by lower strip mines) might be 
candidates as well.

Much of eastern KY is very similar, as well as parts of western VA 
and even SE OH, though the hills in OH is lower.  Farther north, most 
current coal mines are underground mines, which have their own 
problems (e.g., subsidence.  This damages homes and roads, and even 
caused a popular state park lake to drain into the ground near the SW 
corner of PA.  The coal company has made no effort to deal with the issue.).

`                                   -doug-


At 12:18 AM 12/1/2007, Robert Isaac wrote:
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> Enviro-Mich message from "Robert Isaac" <rjisaac@gmail.com>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>  > Is
>  > one method less destructive to the environment than another?
>
> I would classify the western strip/pit mines to be just as bad as
> blowing a hill up in the south.
>
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Doug Welker
26344 Tauriainen Road
Pelkie MI 49958
dwelker@up.net
(906) 338-2680

Never underestimate the power of human greed. 


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