Mountaintop Removal Mining
- How does MTR affect communities in Appalachia?
The close proximity to the explosions used in MTR has caused structural damage, as well as being disruptive to daily life. Nearby water sources become contaminated, making it undrinkable for its residents. The sludge reservoirs present the most serious threat to residents, posing the possibility of breaching the toxic sludge into communities and tributaries. Consequently, the adverse effects of MTR, have caused home values in the region to drop by as much as 90 percent.- MTR also has harsh economic impacts for the people of Appalachia. MTR reduces the need for human labor in coal mining, so while mining production has increased 32 percent over the past decade the number of mining jobs has decreased by 29 percent. The Sierra Club reports that in 1940, West Virginia had about 130,000 mining jobs, while in 2007 there were only 17,000. Not only is MTR incredibly destructive to the environment, it also keeps people in living in poverty in one of the most impoverished regions in the U.S. Appalachia remains one of the poorest areas in the United States, despite the immense amounts of wealth being extracted from the region.
- How does MTR affect the environment?
- One of the greatest threats MTR poses to the environment is its effects on existing biodiversity in the region. MTR is rapidly decreasing biodiversity in one of the most biologically diverse areas in the United States. Whole habits and ecosystems are destroyed in the process of MTR because of dumping debris. Dumping pollutes many creatures’ habits, both on land and in the water, making it difficult for all nearby ecosystems to survive.
- Over 1,200 miles of streams have been buried because of dumping practices related to MTR. Because of policies adopted late in the Bush administration, mining waste is currently considered legal “fill matter.” This loophole allows coal companies to dump more mining waste and continue their environmentally destructive practices. The EPA is considering reversing this policy with the Clean Water Act Rule. This would remove mining waste from the legal “fill matter” category, limiting coal companies’ ability to practice MTR.
- Dumping mining waste in streams pollutes the waters, having adverse effects on the creatures living in the waters and the humans living nearby. Polluted waters can cause extinctions or endangerments of species. Additionally, communities rely upon the waterways as a source for drinking and bathing, but dumping makes it an unsuitable source for either.
- Additionally, MTR is responsible for massive deforestation in Appalachia. Prior to the explosions, all vegetation on the mountaintops needs to be removed. Because mining companies operate under the price fluctuations of coal, mountaintops are cleared quickly; often, there is not enough time to cut the trees down for use as commercial lumber so are simply burnt to the ground. After MTR is completed, little efforts are made at reclamation, in part because of a lack of enforcement of regulations.
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