White House Forum on Environmental Justice (Part 3)

Senior Administration officials, including Attorney General Eric Holder and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, hold a forum to discuss ways to ensure that overburdened and low-income communities have the opportunity to enjoy the health and economic benefits of a clean environment. December 15, 2010.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• environment
• environmental
• justice
• green
• sustainability
• livability
• EPA
• CEQ

[joyangels4caylee]

Even the best reclamation provides no comfort to nearby families and communities whose drinking water supplies have been polluted and whose homes will be threatened by floods for the hundred or thousands of years it will require to re-grow a forest on the mined site.

There are currently no federal or state agencies tracking the overall extent or cumulative impacts of mountaintop removal coal mining.

mountaintopremovalwatchdog.wor­dpress. please visit that ((____.

[joyangels4caylee]

Coal dust, clay and toxic chemicals such as arsenic mercury, lead, copper, and chromium. Impoundments are held in place by mining debris, making them very unstable.RECLAMATION — While reclamation efforts such as stabilization and revegetation are required for mountaintop removal sites, in practice, state agencies that regulate mining are generous with granting waivers to coal companies. Most sites receive little more than a spraying of exotic grass seed.

[joyangels4caylee]

The waste from the mining operation, also known as overburden or spoil, is dumped into nearby valleys, burying streams. According to an EPA environmental impact statement, more than 1,000 miles of Appalachian streams were permitted to be buried as of 2001.The coal is washed and treated before it is loaded on trains. The excess water left over from this process is called coal slurry or sludge and is stored in open coal impoundments. Coal sludge is a mix of water.

[joyangels4caylee]

Many Appalachian coal seams lie deep below the surface of the mountains. Accessing these seams through surface mining can require the removal of 500-800 feet or more of elevation. Blowing up this much mountain is accomplished by using millions of pounds of explosives.Coal and debris is removed by using this piece of machinery, called a dragline. A dragline stands 22 stories high and can hold 24 compact cars in its bucket. These machines can cost up to $100 million.

[joyangels4caylee]

There are 6 main components of the mountaintop removal process: CLEARING — Before mining can begin, all topsoil and vegetation must be removed. Because coal companies frequently are responding to short-term fluctuations in the price of coal, these trees are often not even used comercially in the rush to get the coal, but instead are burned or sometimes illegally dumped into valley fills.BLASTING — Many Appalachian coal.

[joyangels4caylee]

Fraction of what conventional methods require.

The US Environmental Protection Agency defines mountaintop removal as follows:

“Mountaintop removal/valley fill is a mining practice where the tops of mountains are removed, exposing the seams of coal. Mountaintop removal can involve removing 500 feet or more of the summit to get at buried seams of coal. The earth from the mountaintop is then dumped in the neighboring valleys.”

[joyangels4caylee]

Help save Endwell WV Mountaintop removal is a relatively new type of coal mining that began in Appalachia in the 1970s as an extension of conventional strip mining techniques. Primarily, mountaintop removal is occurring in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee. Coal companies in Appalachia are increasingly using this method

 because it allows for almost complete recovery of coal seams while reducing the number of workers required to a fraction .

[MyTinyTrain]

If the American people could see the kind of Bullshit that going on behind closed doors with the Administration, they would march on Washington DC with pitch Forks. When someone knocks on your front door and says" Hi, I'm the US government just stick a gun in their face and say, get lost"! Better yet, come back here again and you'll need at flack jacket.

[MyTinyTrain]

I'll stick a boot up your Ass you Big Government central planning nanny state Red. This is exactly what is killing this nation. For example, the whole global warming bullshit that has fell off the radar screen because it a bald face lie!

[1nature2future]

when you do not back up a Democrat Presidebt with a Democrat senate and congress, you make it extremely difficult for good protective regulations and sustainable policies to be passed, funded or implemented. Stop Voting Republican!