Tell the DEP Not to Renew the Camp Branch Permit

Camp Branch is a major surface mine permit that will heavily impact the Blair Mountain battlefield as well as devastate the integrity of a nearby watershed, the Dingess Run. The Camp Branch Permit is now up for its five-year review for renewal. It is our chance to send comments to the Department of Environmental Protection telling them they need to seriously study the impacts and costs of renewing the permit.
The Comment period ends November 17th with a public hearing at the Logan High School Theater at 6:00 pm. Come if you are able!

This permit intrudes into the Beech Creek area of the battlefield, a very significant portion of the battlefield that has evidence of intense fighting and complex defensive positions. In addition, if the Camp Branch surface mine is allowed to continue, the battlefield will be cut in two running north-south, which would be highly detrimental to our attempts to make the battlefield into a National Park.

In regards to environmental concerns, this particular permit has already had numerous safety and environmental violations. The Dingess Run watershed, where the Camp Branch mine is situated, has been permitted or is already being mined in 25 percent of the watershed. Dingess Run has a WV Stream Condition Index of 33.6, indicating an already severely impaired stream. The Camp Branch permit would be adding stress to a watershed that is extensively surface mined already. This could directly and cumulatively result in significant and permanent degradation of local and downstream aquatic life.

Furthermore, there have recently been studies linking mountaintop removal mining to increased birth defects and higher cancer rates. In general, more study must be done on those links before renewing more mountaintop removal permits and allowing our communities health to be devastated.

This is an opportunity to voice your concerns about this permit, and to help us block the Camp Branch surface mine from destroying a significant portion of the 1921 battlefield. We ask you to take the time and write a letter in objection to the renewal of the Camp Branch Surface Mine, and send it to the below address.

Address:
Permit Supervisor, DEP
1101 George Kostas Drive
Logan, WV 25601

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SAMPLE LETTER:
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To: Permit Supervisor, DEP
1101 George Kostas Drive
Logan, WV 25601

Re: Camp Branch Surface Mine
Permit #S501390
Applicant: Aracoma Coal Company, Inc.

Dear Sir or Ma’am,
I am writing to express my opposition to renewing the Camp Branch (S501390) surface mine permit, which is permitted for areas surrounding and intruding into the Blair Mountain battlefield. Due to the impacts on the archaeological resources, local ecology, and health of surrounding communities, as well as past violations associated with this permit, I respectfully urge you to deny this renewal.

In regards to the archaeological resources associated with the 1921 Blair Mountain Battle, this permit would intrude into the established boundaries for the National Register of Historic Places. This would entail the irreparable destruction of fragile archaeological resources in the Beech Creek area, which is known to be a significant part of the battlefield due to both historical and archaeological accounts.

The environmental and human health impacts must also be considered when evaluating this permit renewal. The Dingess Run watershed, in which the Camp Branch mine is situated, has  been permitted or is already being mined in 25 percent of the watershed.  Dingess Run already has a WV Stream Condition Index of 33.6, indicating a severely impaired stream. The Camp Branch permit would be adding stress to a watershed that is extensively surface mined already.

Furthermore, there have recently been studies linking mountaintop removal mining to increased birth defects and higher cancer rates. More study must be done on those links before renewing more permits. Blair Mountain needs to be preserved as an ecologically intact mountain and national park. We can’t allow its future potential for tourism and beauty to be ended in a way that will devastate and poison the communities around it.

Blair Mountain is an historically important and ecologically diverse mountain that deserves protection. The S501390 Camp Branch permit renewal should be denied due to the highly detrimental impacts on the archaeological resources and the ecology of the Blair Mountain battlefield, as well as the negative impacts on the health and well-being of communities in the surrounding area.

Sincerely,

Federal Government and Coal Association Working Together Asking Judge to Dismiss Lawsuit Over the Protection of Blair Mountain.

The Coal Association and the Federal government are working together in their ask of a judge to dismiss the lawsuit aimed at putting the battlefield back on the National Register of Historic Places and protecting Blair Mountain.

The U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., the Department of the Interior, the National Park Service and the Keeper of the Register argued that environmental and preservation groups lack legal standing to sue over the site because we don’t own it. The files say that the Sierra Club, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, West Virginia Labor History Association and other groups that signed onto the lawsuit can’t demonstrate concrete harm from the de-listing, don’t own property on the mountain and also lack legal permission to visit any of the privately owned parcels.

“Simply stated,” the association says, the plaintiffs “have no right to visit or enjoy the Blair Mountain nomination area.”

Blair Mountain should be a monument to all our lost miners, should be a memory of things worth fighting for and a tribute to Appalachia’s beauty and future. We believe Blair Mountain must be preserved, and we believe that the blood shed at Blair Mountain by the people for the people makes it the peoples mountain. Blair Mountain should be a park for everyone to enjoy and learn about coal mining heritage as well as the history that is scrawled across the 1921 battlefield.

The Judge has not ruled on the motions or set a date for trial.