Testimony of
Mr.
Kevin Richardson
Just
Within Reach Foundation
Senate
Committee on Environment and Public Works
Mr. Chairman,
Honorable Committee members, guests… I’m here today to talk about the
systematic destruction of one of the most beautiful, productive and historic
regions of our country – my home state of Kentucky, the mountains of West
Virginia and Tennessee, and the other areas of Appalachia where the practice of
mountaintop coal mining has taken over.
In the midst of their
giant lakes of coal sludge that sometimes burst without warning, their constant
dynamiting that shakes homes from their foundations, their transformation of
forested mountain ranges into flat, gravel-covered moonscapes, and their
contamination of well water and aquifers, coal companies engage in the practice
of “valley fill” – our reason for being here today.
For years, the Corps
of Engineers has routinely issued permits to coal companies in the Southeast
and Appalachia, allowing them to fill valleys and waterways with “overburden”
from their mountaintop-removal coal extraction operations. Overburden, along with coal sludge, are the
byproducts of extracting and washing coal, before shipping it to electric
generating plants around the country.
EPA officials, residents living in the shadows of the mines and citizen
groups have questioned the validity and legality of the Corp’s decision to
issue such permits -- permits for an activity that dumps mining waste into the
region’s streams, rivers and valleys.
Hundreds of millions of tons of industrial mining byproduct are pushed
into the valleys surrounding coal extraction sites, to date, burying over 1,500
miles of headwater streams in West Virginia and my home state. Valley fills destroy the spawning grounds
that support our recreational fishing industry, they contaminate our drinking
water and they trash our thriving tourist industry that relies on the natural
beauty of our area.
In April, a Federal
District Court judge finally brought some needed attention to this issue by
ruling that the Corps’ practice of issuing valley fill permits violates
Congress’ intent in the Clean Water Act and its restrictions on using waterways
for industrial waste disposal. The
Administration’s recent attempt to circumvent the Clean Water Act by rewriting
the rules to define coal extraction waste as “fill” is a nice gesture to their
friends in the industry. But it clearly
exceeds the Administration’s legal authority granted under the Act. Such a
gesture cannot alter the meaning of the LAW.
I urge you to make this clear to the President and his agencies.
The bottom line is
that we have an industry that has thrived, not from honest business practices
in a free market, but from passing its real costs to the people of Appalachia
and the rest of the United States… with subsidies in the form of illegal
permits from the Corps of Engineers and other agencies that are supposed to
protect us. Ending the practice of
valley fills and making coal companies manage their industrial waste like any
other industry is not about hugging trees and worshipping mountains. It’s about making coal compete for our
energy dollar on an equal playing field with natural gas, hydroelectric, solar
and wind. It’s about recognizing that
WE own the streams and rivers of this country and that WE own the fish and
other resources in those waterways. Destroying the rivers, the fisheries, the
forests and the mountains through irresponsible coal extraction, as well as the
coal-produced acid rain deposition in your home state, Mr. Chairman, is no
different than kicking down the doors of our homes and walking out with an
armful of our valuables – theft is theft.
I am not a scientist,
but I do know what I’ve seen on flights over the coalfields. The historic resources that sustained Daniel
Boone, the original Cherokees and generations of mountain people are being
converted on a mammoth scale into flat, lifeless plateaus. The first time I flew over the area at 5,000
feet, I thought I would see a few scarred peaks. Instead, I saw the entire horizon filled with mountains with
their tops blown off, huge lakes of toxic sludge and piles of waste filling
every valley around the mines.
I came here today to
bring attention to an Administration policy and a Corps of Engineers practice
on valley fills that is completely misguided and gives no consideration to the
lives of generations to come. When I
move back home to raise a family on my farm in Kentucky, I want my kids to be
able to fish and swim in the same places I grew up. I ask you, our leaders, to look beyond the political clout of the
coal lobby and do what’s right for the forgotten Appalachian region.
In closing, I would
like to personally invite each of you to take a flight with me over the
coalfields and see firsthand how our future is being robbed.
Mr. Chairman, I thank you for your invitation to speak before the committee and your willingness to bring this difficult issue to light.