U.S. court overturns ban on West Virginia surface mining - Reuters

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

U.S. court overturns ban on West Virginia surface mining
Fri Feb 13, 2009 4:27pm EST

By Steve James

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. Court of Appeals on
Friday overturned a lower court ruling that had
banned surface, or mountaintop, mining in West
Virginia, according to court documents.

The ruling was hailed by the coal mining companies
who have turned to mountaintop mining as an
economical alternative to traditional underground
mines in Appalachia where production is declining.

The environmentalists who brought the original case
said they would assess their next legal move, but
vowed to fight on against the mining method which
basically slices the top off hills and mountains.

-snip-

The 4th Circuit judges in Richmond, Virginia,
reversed a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge
Robert Chambers, who had found that the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers had not fully evaluated the
potential environmental damage before approving
permits for mountaintop mining for four mines
operated by subsidiaries of Massey.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE51C65820090213

[leftyclimber]

1. AUGH!!!!! What is WRONG with these people?

:banghead:

[Captain Hilts]

4. Is this good or bad for your dissertation?

[leftyclimber]

5. Neither. It just pisses me off.

I swear to God these people think West Virginia is America's garbage dump. :grr:

[Captain Hilts]

6. VA, PA and MI are importing the country's garbage!

Driving I-95 in Northern VA, it's tons and tons of garbage trucks from up north.

[leftyclimber]

7. One of our counties is forced to take medical waste from NY

because not doing so would violate the interstate commerce clause.

I think the people who want to dump their crap in someone else's state should have to move to said state and live next door to whatever is being dumped.

[Captain Hilts]

8. Remember the fight between RudyG and Jim Gilmore on how it was VA's duty to take NYC's garbage?

Ugly. In the summer, some of those trucks stink!

[leftyclimber]

9. Yup.

All I can figure is that there are a bunch of poopyheads in the world....

[Captain Hilts]

2. Boy, am I pissed!

[CBR]

3. This is sick...

as a native of West Virginia, it is so agonizing to see Big Coal continue its grip on the state: the people and the ecosystem.

[WVRICK13]

10. As A West Virginian

I am appalled. At least there isn't any coal in my area of the state but I can only imagine the vast ecological wasteland the rest of the state will become with this ruling. I have always said Louisiana sends their politicians to West Virginia to learn corruption. West Virginia is the United States third world nation. The mining and chemical industry rapes our land, our rivers and our people while the politicians get wealthy. To even talk against mining in this state is treasonous and can get you fired and cut out of any opportunities in business or government jobs.

The Charleston Gazette ran an article the other week telling about the life of a retired chemical engineer from a large company based near Charleston. It was so pro-company that it was bizarre. Then they showed a picture of the mans family when they were young and the caption said his daughter died at 14 from cancer and her brother died at 22 from cancer. Call me suspicious, but do you think the chemicals he had on his clothing and in his body may have had something to do with such early deaths from cancer? Yet the paper treated it like a touching human interest story. I was saddened that this poor man is old and alone and that the very company who may be responsible for his being alone was made to be some grand savior by employing him.

[CBR]

11. Bluefield, WV native here...

It is interesting that you write about WV as third world state in the US. I have written numerous papers on the internal colonization of WV and my Master's paper on the community organizing efforts around MTR.

[foxfeet]

12. I grew up in Mason County

and while we were spared the worst of the coal mining pollution, there are still some groundwater issues from down-drift from industry in Parkersburg, not to mention the local chemical companies. This ruling is sickening and I will do what I can to help in the ongoing fight. The recent debacle involving the WV Supreme Court and the oh-so-cozy relationship between the coal industry and at least one of the justices is instructive of WV politics.
:grr:

[WVRICK13]

13. We Have A Lot In Common

My Masters is in Applied Social Research. Maybe we look at things a bit differently than other people because of our education. Just like the third world, there are some who see evident truths and the poor and uneducated defend the overlords because they put food on the table. It is hard to rebel when the people you need to rebel against are sending you a pay check, no matter how small.

I remember when I was teaching at WVU and attended an education conference. The State Superintendent of Education, Hank Marockey (sp) stated we should stop sending West Virginia students to college and prepare them for blue collar jobs to attract industry. Being me, I asked him publicly which company was bribing him to provide human fodder for their abuse. Naturally, we went to an immediate bathroom break. When he returned I asked the question again and he left the stage. Funny, he went to prison for corporate brides a short time later as a result of a background check when he applied for a similar position in Nevada.

West Virginians are decent hard working people who have had such a long history of abuse they are not even aware the rest of the country does not operate this way. They are totally brainwashed. I run a large non-profit and clients coming in for food and shelter had Bush bumper stickers on their cars in 2004 and McCain stickers during the last election. They are convinced to vote against their own best interests by their employers.