Press Room
The Appalachia Restoration Act Press Release – 03/26/2009
Thursday, March 26th, 2009
U.S. SENATORS CARDIN, ALEXANDER INTRODUCE BILL TO PROTECT STREAMS FROM MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL COAL MINING WASTE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
—————–
Contact:
Lenny Kohm, Campaign Director, Appalachian Voices, 828-262-1500 / lenny@appvoices.org
Jamie Goodman, Communications Coordinator, Appalachian Voices, 828-262-1500 / jamie@appvoices.org
—————–
Two U.S. senators from coal-producing states introduced bipartisan legislation yesterday that would protect Appalachia from mountaintop removal coal mining.
The Appalachia Restoration Act (S 696), introduced by Senators Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN), would amend the Clean Water Act to prevent the dumping of toxic mining waste from mountaintop removal coal mining into headwater streams and rivers.
“My goal is to put a stop to one of the most destructive mining practices that has already destroyed some of America’s most beautiful and ecologically significant regions,” said Senator Cardin, Chairman of the Water and Wildlife Subcommittee of the Committee on Environment and Public Works. “This legislation will put a stop to the smothering of our nation’s streams and water systems and will restore the Clean Water Act to its original intent.”
Mountaintop removal coal mining is an extreme form of surface mining where explosives are used to blast up to 1000 feet of mountaintop in order to reach thin seams of coal. The remaining rubble, or overburden-which contains toxic heavy metals-is dumped into adjacent valleys, contaminating headwater streams where drinking water supplies originate for millions of Americans. More than 1200 miles of streams and over 500 mountains in the central and southern Appalachians have been devastated due to mountaintop removal.
“It is not necessary to destroy our mountaintops in order to have enough coal,” said Senator Alexander. “Millions of tourists spend tens of millions of dollars in Tennessee every year to enjoy the natural beauty of our mountains-a beauty that, for me, and I believe for most Tennesseans, makes us proud to live [there].”
The bill is a companion to the Clean Water Protection Act (HR 1310) currently in the U.S. House of Representatives. The House bill was introduced March 4th by Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) along with Congressmen Dave Reichert (R-WA) and John Yarmuth (D-KY), and currently has 134 bipartisan cosponsors.
A number of recent studies, such as one by the Appalachian Regional Commission, report on the tremendous potential for employment growth with green jobs, while employment in coal has been on a downward trajectory for decades. In West Virginia alone, coal mining once provided over 120,000 jobs, but that number has dropped to less than 20,000. Even traditional underground mining provides far more jobs than mountaintop removal coal mining.
“This is not an either/or choice, it’s about saving the environment and creating new jobs,” said Dr. Matthew Wasson, Director of Programs at the environmental non-profit group Appalachian Voices. “Mountaintop removal does the same thing to our economy that it does to our mountains. Ending mountaintop removal will allow sustainable, long term economic growth to flourish in Appalachia.”
According to U.S. Census Bureau data, counties with a high concentration of mountaintop removal mines are some of the most impoverished in the United States.
###
For text of the bill, please visit http://ilovemountains.org/ftp/lobbying/ara/AppalachianRestorationAct.pdf
For photographs or video b-roll of mountaintop removal coal mining, please contact Jamie Goodman at 828-262-1500 or jamie@appvoices.org
