This is regarding “Mining mountaintops; Appalachian coal mines” (Environmental Battlegrounds, Dec. 19). The article gave your readers a very misleading and superficial impression as to both current policy and natural conditions in coal country. The article suggests coal-mining practices in West Virginia violated federal laws because of a lower court ruling. Actually that ruling was overturned on appeal, a fact you seemingly dismiss although it refutes your indictment.
The policy you fault that confirmed long-standing practices for the use of mining fill material was in fact developed under the Clinton administration, not the Bush administration.
Your description of the impact of surface mining on the landscape is scarcely more credible. West Virginia is the third most forested state, with only 22 of 55 counties supporting any surface mining. Of the state’s 15 million acres, 2 million are set aside from any development whatsoever–a higher overall percentage than in Illinois.
As for appearances of surface mining, the practice of mountaintop mining peaked in the ’90s, a decade in which state tourism climbed by about 30 percent. Fayette County, the heart of the tourism industry beloved of whitewater rafters and hikers, produces 4 million tons of coal annually. One reason is that mining sites are reclaimed, and therefore leave only temporary marks on the land.
Assuming tourists aren’t attracted to mountaintop mining, they must be attracted to West Virginia’s natural beauty which, like coal, is a resource it has in abundance.
