Activists approach the dragline on the Twilight strip mine complex, June 18, 2009.

Rock Creek, W. Va. — Massey Energy has filed a politically motivated civil suit, also known as a Strategic Lawsuit against Public Participation (SLAPP) suit, against fourteen activists arrested last year in relation to a protest on a mountaintop removal mining site. The suit seems to be part of a larger strategy on the part of the mining company to intimidate and silence critics of the company’s safety record and controversial mining practices, particularly mountaintop removal coal mining.

Since the spring of 2008, Massey has filed at least four SLAPP suits against activists in West Virginia working to end mountaintop removal, none of which have yet been resolved. Commonly used to exhaust critics by burdening them with the cost of a massive legal defense, SLAPP suits have been banned by at least 26 states and one territory has protections against SLAPP suits. West Virginia does not have a ban, but its courts have adopted some protections against them (1).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Massey Energy Files ’SLAPP’ Lawsuit against Environmental Activists

Company Responsible for Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster Actively Seeking to Silence Local Critics

July 29, 2010

CONTACTS:  Larry Hildes, (360) 715-9788

Rock Creek, W. Va. — Massey Energy has filed a politically motivated civil suit, also known as a Strategic Lawsuit against Public Participation (SLAPP) suit, against fourteen activists arrested last year in relation to a protest on a mountaintop removal mining site. The suit seems to be part of a larger strategy on the part of the mining company to intimidate and silence critics of the company’s safety record and controversial mining practices, particularly mountaintop removal coal mining.

Since the spring of 2008, Massey has filed at least four SLAPP suits against activists in West Virginia working to end mountaintop removal, none of which have yet been resolved. Commonly used to exhaust critics by burdening them with the cost of a massive legal defense, SLAPP suits have been banned by at least 26 states and one territory has protections against SLAPP suits. West Virginia does not have a ban, but its courts have adopted some protections against them (1).

“We think that Massey should have higher priorities than suing environmental activists who object to an extremely disastrous mining policy,” said Larry Hildes, an attorney representing the 14 activists. “With a record like theirs, they need to be focusing on measures to help local communities impacted by their mining and working to prevent future disasters in their mines.”

Massey Energy is already publicly notorious due to their history of safety violations and damage to local communities. In April 2010, Massey’s Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal, W.Va., suffered a preventable disaster that took the lives of 29 miners and was widely covered by the press. Thousands more safety violations have been reported in Massey mines throughout West Virginia and Kentucky since the Upper Big Branch disaster. Massey also continues to be one of the leading proponents of controversial mountaintop removal mining practices. Above ground, over 500 mountains, 2,000 miles of rivers and streams and over a million acres of forest have been decimated by mountaintop mining operations. Finally, Appalachian communities near Massey mountaintop removal operations are harmed through coal dust, regular blasting, dirty water and coal waste.

“Not only is Massey destroying Appalachia’s mountains and water, and criminally neglecting the safety of their own workers, but they are also using their vast legal and financial resources to sue environmentalists instead of cleaning up their mess,” said Charles Suggs, a resident of Rock Creek, W.Va., and one of the climbers on the dragline. “This SLAPP suit is intended to intimidate and silence their critics so that Massey won’t have to actually make right the damage they’ve done.”

On June 18, 2009, in Twilight, W.Va., the 14 activists named in the lawsuit risked their safety to stop massive, 20-story earth-destroying piece of mining equipment known as a ‘dragline.’ Their action was intended to protect the families whose lives are harmed every day by this destructive mining practice. Massey now seeks $350,000 in damages for loss of coal production on that day. All fourteen activists had their criminal charges resolved in a W. Va. court in September, 2009.

1. Harris v. Adkins, 432 S.E.2d 549 (1993)

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Beckley, WV - The Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) held an open house at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center today to collect public comments in order to develop a more thorough Stream Protection Rule. The OSM will hold a total of nine open houses throughout the country, the last one set for July 29^th. Those who are unable to attend the open houses may submit their comments via email, postal mail, or hand delivery before July 30^th (see below for details).

The open house featured court reporters collecting oral comments, 11 poster boards detailing various aspects of the proposed stream law, and a comment sheet to be filled out and turned in at the registration table. Besides the circle of OSM officials in the center of the room, the half a dozen police officers standing at the front, and the court reporters at their desks in the corners, the room was largely unpopulated.

Key elements of the rule that are being considered include: the definition of “material damage to the hydrologic balance outside the permit area”; the inclusion of fills in the restrictions of mining activities near streams; the limitation of variances; the prohibition of mountain-top removal mining; monitoring requirements; the reforestation of abandoned mines; coordination between regulatory organizations; and the definition of a stream.

While the posters touted large friendly pictures, the explanations seemed to include an unnecessary amount of regulatory lingo for a comment session open to the general public.

Court Reporters Meet with Citizen

Send your comments to the OSM by July 30^th:

Email: Send to sra-eis@osmre.gov with the Docket Number OSM-EIS-35 in the subject line of your message.

Postal mail, hand delivery, or courier: Include the Docket Number OSM-EIS-35 at the top of your message and send to:

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
Administrative Record
Room 252–SIB
1951 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20240

“In 2008, the Beehive Design Collective allied with Appalachian grassroots organizers fighting Mountain Top Removal Coal Mining, a practice which blasts mountains into moonscapes to fuel the ever-growing global demand for electricity. Our team of volunteer artists and educators have put countless hours into designing “The True Cost of Coal,” a visually stunning graphic multi-tool for activists and ordinary folks seeking real solutions.

We are all impacted by coal, and we all play a part in the system that demands coal as fuel. The Beehive’s True Cost of Coal Campaign is helping more people understand the real impacts of our national energy choices, so we can build a sustainable future.”

Pick up a copy from the Hive’s awesome webstore or from them while they’re on tour.

Appalachia Rising: Voices from the Mountains

September 25-26, Washington DC

Appalachia Rising: Voices from the Mountains is a conference held in Washington DC on September 25-26, 2010 calling for the abolition of mountaintop removal and surface mining in Appalachia. It is a time for the national movement against strip mining to assemble and grow through a weekend of strategizing, workshops,  learning, and cultural events. We envision a vibrant weekend during which thousands will learn about the challenges Appalachia faces and ways to build a movement to end the destruction and plant the seeds of a sustainable and prosperous Appalachia.

This inset of the Beehive Collective's True Cost of Coal poster models organizing for a sustainable future in Appalachia.

Give us your input!

We have created a template for our weekend gathering, Voices of the Mountains, and are looking for you to fill in the details.

Here is a rough outline:

Friday will be a day for us to get settled in and register. Our evening program will be comprised of dinner, speakers, and entertainment.

Saturday will be a day of movement building and visioning. We want to take advantage of the fact that so many intelligent and hardworking activists and allies will be in the same place. We are hoping to use our time together on Saturday to have strategy breakouts in which people working on interconnected issues will have the opportunity share work and ideas, and move forward together.

If you are interested in facilitating a workshop/discussion or have ideas and recommendations, please fill out this workshop form.

Sunday will be a day of workshops and trainings. For those interested in participating in the day of action, Sunday will be the day to prepare. For those interested in attending workshops and continuing to put some brain power behind this movement, Sunday will also be the day for you. We want to ask you if the programming for Sunday should be general education workshops, or workshops put on by larger environmental and climate movement organizations, like Greenpeace and Sierra Club.

This is the process:
Respond to the below questions before Tuesday, August 3. You can email them to voicesfromthemtns@gmail.com.
On _____, we will email out a summary of your ideas, and you’ll have another week to respond to those ideas.
The brainstorming period ends on ______. At that point, the day of agenda working group will convene to combine the material you provided into one cohesive agenda.
If you know people who don’t do email and are invested in this work, please include them by asking these questions in person or on the phone and report back.

For guidance, take a look at the vision statement.
What do you hope to get out of Voices for the Mountains?
What topics would you like to see discussed on Saturday?
What workshops would you like to attend on Sunday? Who could lead them?
What could make this weekend especially unique and worthwhile?
Would you like to lead a strategizing session or workshop? If so, about what?

If you are interested in joining the programming team, please contact voicesfromthemtns@gmail.com

Call Senator Webb and ask him to 1. Thank the EPA for all they have done to protect coalfield communities from surface coal mining and 2. Ask the EPA to continue to intervene with the Ison Rock Ridge water permit!

To reach Senator Webb’s DC office call: 202-224-4024
or Toll Free: 1-866-507-1570

Questions, comments, or to find out how to take further action, please contact Nina at the Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards office: (276) 523-4380

Mountaintop removal is a devastating method of strip mining in which hundreds of feet are blasted off the tops of mountains and dumped into neighboring valleys in order to expose thin seams of coals. The proposed Ison Rock Ridge mine would destroy nearly 1,300 acres of forested land, bury headwater streams and put hundreds of Wise County families at risk. The impacts of the proposed Ison Rock Ridge permit would occur in addition to the intensive surface mining already taking place on over a quarter of the land area in Wise County, Virginia

Wise County residents have been successfully fighting this permit since 2007 with the support of people statewide. The Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy has approved of the mine, but is unable to issue a permit as the EPA has put a hold on the project for further review. The EPA is concerned that the proposed mine would violate the Clean Water Act, and so are we. There is no way to operate a mine of this size without valley fills—dumping the tops of mountains into valleys, burying and destroying fresh water streams. Strip mines of this scale threaten public health and safety.

Community members are tragically familiar with the dangers of strip mining. The company proposing the Ison Rock Ridge mine, A&G, is the same company that is responsible for the death of three-year old Jeremy Davidson, who was killed by a falling boulder from a similar 
mountaintop removal mine.

Senator Jim Webb has a history of championing progressive causes. However, he has remained silent on the matter of Ison Rock Ridge and is currently receiving disproportionate pressure from the coal industry. In turn, people concerned about those living in southwestern Virginia and the health of the environment MUST ramp up the pressure as well.

Senator Webb’s public support would greatly strengthen the efforts of those on the grounds of the Virginia coal fields and send a clear message that the welfare of people in these communities is of greater concern than profit for the corrupt coal industry.

All report that they are happy to be released and thank everyone for their continued support, monetary and otherwise.

RAN activists just disrupted Massey CEO Don Blankenship’s talk at the National Press Club sending him a strong message:“Your coal is not Clean, Safe or Forever.” They were eventually escorted out by security.

Pics soon. You can see live video at http://press.org/events/npc-luncheon-don-blankenship

Washington, D.C. (7/22/10)— Today activists with the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) attended Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship’s National Press Club speaking event. RAN was there to call attention to Massey’s repeated mine safety violations, including the April 5 Upper Big Branch mine explosion in which 29 miners tragically died, as well as the company’s lead role in mountaintop removal coal mining (MTR). Blankenship has gained quite a reputation for his company’s mine safety violations as well as his indifference to environmental protection and climate change.

My three friends and fellow protestors are still in jail and continued
support for them would be fantastic! Support either through letters, positive thoughts or donations to the legal fund so they can be bailed out are all greatly appreciated!

-Katie

"The action went really well, the miners were friendly and we shut that shit down for four hours."

Colin Flood, Jimmy Tobias, and Sophie Kern would love to receive mail in jail at the following address:

Southern Regional Jail
1200 Airport Road
Beaver, WV  25813

A collection of visual, aural and written accounts and statements about this action:

• The video from the action is here.
• A video of them talking about their actions is here.
• Their written statements are here
• An audio interview here with Rock Creek, W.Va., resident Ed Wiley talking about Brushy Fork before it was filled with coal slurry.
• Photos are here, including two maps.

We owe it to the brave miners of Blair Mountain to honor the ground they fought upon. While the battleground portion of Blair Mountain was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in Spring 2009, it was delisted that December, when out-of-state coal companies rounded up additional objectors among landowners on the mountain. Suddenly,  landowners who favored the historic listing were outweighed by those who did not (two deceased were among the objectors). Now, several historical and environmental groups in WV are working to get Blair Mountain placed back on the registry. Meanwhile, some of Blair Mountain’s richest archeological locations are mysteriously being bulldozed.

–––

From Friends of Blair Mountain:

[Read their press release about the destruction here.]

Local citizens, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Sierra Club,
Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, and the Friends of Blair Mountain are
working together to preserve the site of the largest labor insurrection in
US history.

The National Trust, Sierra Club, and OVEC have filed a petition asking the
National Park Service to reevaluate the listing on the National Register
due to major discrepancies in the nomination process.

This reevaluation is all the more urgent due to the recently discovered
destruction of five locations within the battlefield, as seen in the video
below and documented in a report by the Friends of Blair Mountain.

Please take action now. Write the National Park Service and kindly ask
them to reconsider the listing!