Fw: CHRISTINE JOHNES - Strip Mining Legislation

November 13, 1999

- Christine Johnes

Kitty ; Andrew ; Alfred Griffith ; Andrea Emily Baer ; anna calhoun ; cheryl the mighty ; Dian Hardy ; Dr. Jai Maharaj ; International CollegeActionNet ; Kari Johns ; Lisa Wood ; Mike ; Name Unknown ; Name Unknown ; Paul Rance ; Paula Sherrod

Thursday, November 04, 1999 9:17 PM

Strip Mining Legislation

No Mt. Top Removal

Dear (Recipient's name and title), I urge you to veto any legislation passed by Congress and oppose any proposal from within your administration to weaken existing laws and regulations governing strip mining. The 1977 Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) and its associated regulations struck a reasonable compromise to allow large- scale transformation of natural resources in Appalachia only when there was the most immediate and real economic benefit, as a post- mining land use, for the community. Even then, the Act sought to assure that the disturbance was as small as possible. Over the past decade, however, the state of West Virginia has engaged in a massive program thwarting this congressional purpose by allowing coal operators to blast off mountaintops and dispose of huge waste piles in valleys, with enormous negative effects on stream ecology. Last week's decision by a District Court judge forces mountaintop coal mining practices to comply with the SMCRA. Now, however, several members of the West Virginia congressional delegation are threatening to attach to a spending bill a rider allowing disposal of mountaintop removal waste in valleys. And the Director of the Office of Surface Mining has been quoted as saying the stream buffer zone rule needs to be reconsidered. Mountaintop removal permanently degrades mountain soils. Dumping the fill permanently destroys waterways so that they cannot support the rich flora and fauna that make this region unique. While Americans all too often look to foreign nations as being responsible for conserving the diversity of life on Earth, we also have a duty to protect what is rare and special here at home. Please hold firm on surface mining reclamation requirements. Sincerely, insert name address and country

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