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Mountaintop Mining Doesn't Pollute

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By BILL K. CAYLOR

Published: February 25, 2008

How do you respond to emotional statements about coal mining that overstate reality? Many statements in the Tribune's Feb. 18 editorial ("Put An End To Mountaintop Mining") were simply false.

Drinking water sources are not being polluted. Appalachian communities are not destroyed. EPA did not rewrite rules to pollute more streams.

The proposal to eliminate fills in streams would also stop highway construction, real estate development, commercial development and many farming activities.

Current surface mining in the 24 east Kentucky counties means:

• 6,055 surface miners mining 45.5 million tons of coal.

• $290,640,000 in direct wages.

• 18,000 spin-off jobs.

• $1.8 billion in gross sales of coal.

• $1.3 billion back to circulate in east Kentucky.

• $82 million in severance taxes.

Only a small percentage, 7 percent, of the Appalachian coal fields will be impacted by surface mining. Most of what you will see is untouched forests, which will remain untouched forests.

The vast majority of streams impacted by mining are dry conveyance channels flowing only during rainfall events. When fills are constructed in these streams, the stream is always reconstructed and mitigation paid. Water still flows just like it did prior to mining.

So, as all the activists who so eloquently and passionately speak of the ills of coal and mountaintop mining get up in the morning, drink their hot coffee, eat some toast, blow dry their hair while watching the morning news, attend their meetings in a room with lights and warm heat and write to their representatives on laptops and computers while calling others on their charged cell phones, please remember who provides the electricity.

It is provided by coal.

Bill K. Caylor is president of the Kentucky Coal Association.

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