Valley Fills

WHERE THE MOUNTAINS MEET THE VALLEYS Fill in Progress

In pursuit of the easiest and cheapest way to recover the maximum amount of coal from a seam, Mountaintop Removal Mining simply removes the top of a mountain, thereby exposing the entire seam, or even multiple seams. But the problem is what to do with the excess rock and dirt - it's a burden to the operation as long as it's in the way of coal removal. So all the overburden or "spoil" (everything that is not coal) is dumped into adjacent valleys, creating Valley Fills.

Many people have questions about the construction methods used for these Valley Fills and whether they will remain stable over a long period of time. No significant studies or research have been done. Federal regulations require this spoil to be compacted in four-foot horizontal lifts with proper drainage built in to ensure maximum stability and control erosion. However, the same regulations also list an alternate method, called "gravity placement." [see 30 CFR 816]. Gravity placement translates into dumping the spoil over the edge, as the second photo illustrates.

Many of the valleys contain streams or headwaters of streams, which are then buried forever under rock and dirt Valley Fills reaching heights of 600 feet and stretching over a mile long. West Virginia law requires mining permit applications to show that there is no other alternative than to cover the streams, and to calculate the acreage of water resources lost or impacted. Coal companies are then required to compensate for this loss and are given three choices:

Construct a lake, reservoir, or some type of wetlands

Perform stream habitat improvement on another stream
(done at a rate of 2:1 to acreage destroyed or impacted)

Pay money

Coal companies invariably take choice #3. The amount of money is currently $225,000 per acre of stream damage, but that payment doesn't start until over 480 acres are impacted. Anything under 480 requires no compensation. This acreage threshold level was half that amount in 1997, and the "Stream Mitigation Bill" was a hot topic in the 1998 WV Legislative session. Even though the doubling of the acreage threshold will provide rich benefits to the coal industry, it still complained that the $225,000 fee was a "hardship." The bill passed both houses by a large majority.

The Stream Mitigation Bill was opposed by both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Office of Surface Mining. But the bill was pushed hard by coal company lobbyists and got a nod from both the director of the West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection and the Governor (both of whom were formerly employed in the coal industry). The EPA strongly urged the Governor to veto the bill and threatened to closely scrutinize every upcoming mountaintop mining removal permit application. The Governor, determined not to let federal officials interfere with the affairs of his state, signed the bill into law on April 8, 1998.
Completed Valley Fill

If a coal company wants to mine or disturb any land within 100 feet of a perennial or intermittent stream, the West Virginia Code of State Regulations requires the company to show that its operations will not violate state or federal water quality standards. If a company is planning to divert a stream, either temporarily or permanently, it must also show the standards will be maintained. If a permit cannot show this, it must be denied. [see WV CSR 38-2-5 or 30 CFR 816.57]. Many people, including EPA officials, believe that completely covering a stream or significant portion of its headwaters directly violates both state and federal water quality standards.

With the relaxed standards now in place, Mountaintop Mining will surely continue at its already frightening pace. And with more mining will come more and more Valley Fills, altering forever the green rolling hills of West Virginia.