Day 5 Morning

Day 5 morning was very eye-opening. I have been seeing so much of the negatives about surface mining (contour and mountain top removal or strip mining). We visited Coal-Mac, Inc. which is owned by Arch Coal. The company employs 295 people and has $225 million in capital investment. 3.5 million tons of coal are produced annually. The company has 33 million recoverable tons, which is enough work for 10-15 more years. 11,800 acres are permitted and $23 million has been posted for reclamation. The company has a total payroll of $23 million. Those are just some numbers to familiarize with the company. More importantly for those living in West Virginia, Coal-Mac, Inc. has won numerous awards for their work in safety and reclamation. The surface mine has also reached 3 million man hours without lost time from injury. When driving through the mining areas, we immediately saw the signs stressing safety and then the beauty! The reclaimed areas were amazing. They looked nothing like the devastation people see on television and come to think about in association with surface mining. The areas did not look like they had been touched after about 5 or 6 years - there were various trees, other plants, animals, and insects. In fact, the insects were so thick when we got out of the van that I got a mosquito bite within about 2 minutes and tons of little brown insects were crawling all over my body. I think the bugs weren't used to a lot of humans! Oh, and the grasshoppers were everywhere! I also learned that valley fill does not mean they fill in the valley. It is put on the sides of the mountains to build up the mountains, many times. Another neat opportunity is when the top of the mountain is left flat and cattle farms can be built on it. That has already been done once, and we saw it from a distance. It seemed like everything had been thorougly thought through and the EPA and DEP keeps close watch over all plans. The thing I always think about was addressed - what happens to all the slurry (the dirty water after cleaning coal)? Our guide explained the slurry is moved to high ground, the water evaporates, the slurry becomes hard and compacted, and is eventually covered with at least 3 feet of dirt to reclaim the land. We did not have the opportunity to take pictures, but I really learned so many impressive things about surface mining. It CAN be done in a great way that is helpful for all parties involved. There is so much hope for the future of our land.