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Yes! Supreme Court to Hear The Miller's Case
OVEC Screens Bowling For Columbine
We Need You Sept. 22: Rally Our Folks In Raleigh
YES! SUPREME COURT WILL HEAR THE MILLER'S CASE
Do a little dance! The WV Supreme Court has decided it will hear the case of OVEC members Leon and Lucille Miller who are trying to keep Ark Land (Arch Coal) from forcing them off the family's old homeplace in Lincoln County. Mountaintop removal is approaching this beautiful plot of land from all sides. No trial date is set yet, but we'll keep you posted. This trial should be fascinating-you won't believe what this family has gone through in trying to keep their land! (Gazette news)
MONDAY--CHENEY IN CHARLESTON
On Monday, Sept. 15, Dick Cheney will be in Charleston stumping for Rep. Shelley Moore Capito. Reckon they'll both speak up about the National More, More, More Energy Plan and the Energy Task Force papers that courts keep ordering Cheney to give up? (Washington Post news)
West Virginia Patriots for Peace has an OK with the Secret Service to have folks protest across from Cheney's venue (the Marriott-a company which is profiting from the highly questionable "synfuel" tax breaks; see Gazette news.
Folks will gather across Lee St. from the Marriott, in front of Kaufmann's Department Store, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Lunch, consisting of MRE's (Meals, Ready-to-Eat), like our soldiers are eating in Iraq, will be served (to the extent available). WVPFP is holding a phone bank, tomorrow, Saturday, from 10-12 noon if anyone wants to help. Also, folks will create posters at the Unitarian Church on Saturday at noon, 520 Kanawha Blvd W. at the corner of Vine (near Magic Island). Please help make posters! For further information contact: Jim Lewis (345-0427); Barbara Ferraro (344-8053) or Robin Godfrey (552-2567) Bombing the coalfields, bombing the oilfields--these are not acceptable energy "polices"!
OVEC SCREENS BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE
On Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 6 p.m., please come out for the premier Huntington screening of Michael Moore's documentary, Bowling for Columbine. This free event is sponsored by OVEC! Cabell Co. Library meeting Rm. 1, Corner of 5th Ave. and 9th St. in Huntington. Snacks will be available. (www.bowlingforcolumbine.com)
RALLY OUR FOLKS IN RALEIGH-COAL SLUDGE AND WATER CONTAMINATION
Please come out to respectfully listen to the proceedings. We need a big turnout of folks on Monday, Sept. 22 at 2 p.m. at the Raleigh County Courthouse. The Circuit Court will hear Marfork Coal Co.'s (a Massey Energy subsidiary) appeal of a victory we had a few years back. Raleigh County voters are strongly urged to be in attendance!
Marfork's Brushy Fork coal sludge impoundment-slated to be the state's largest-takes waste from mountaintop removal mines. (See photos here).
This gargantuan lake o' toxic goo was engineered by the same people who worked on the failed Martin County Coal Co. (another Massey subsidiary) impoundment-the one that spewed over 300 million gallons of sludge into about 100 miles of waterways along the Kentucky-West Virginia border. (See gallery, gallery, article, gallery).
In December of 2000, at a DEP hearing about a permit renewal for Brushy Fork, over 100 folks gathered in Whitesville to enumerate our grave concerns with the impoundment's safety. The DEP ignored our concerns, forcing us into the legal arena.
OVEC, Coal River Mountain Watch, a Marshall University student group, Freda Williams and Pauline Canterberry appealed the DEP's permit renewal to the Surface Mine Board. Lawyer Mary Ann Maul and hydrogeologist Rick Eades worked feverishly on the appeal, which was held June 26, 2001. (See page 10 of November 2001 enotes).
As a result of our appeal, the Surface Mine Board ordered a new groundwater monitoring condition at the Brushy Fork site. Massey was ordered to monitor the water for mercury, lead, arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, and copper-an action that, as far as we know, is unprecedented and could be extended to any of the other 135 permitted coal waste slurry impoundments in the state.
Surprise, surprise. Massey didn't like our victory and appealed the Board's ruling. So, we go to Circuit Court on Sept. 22. Once again, lawyer Mary Ann Maul will donate her services. We sure hope you can make it! E-mail vivian@ohvec.org if you need directions.
SAVE THE DATES!
Oct. 11: 1-6 p.m. at the John Slack park in Racine. Coal River Mountain Watch will host a picnic to honor CRMW members and to memorialize the 3rd anniversary of the Massey Energy coal sludge impoundment disaster (see the related links above). Call Coal River at 304-854-2182 for more information.
Oct. 18: The Sierra Club is looking for volunteers to go forth in teams of two to visit about 40 houses per team in Charleston neighborhoods. The teams will knock on doors and drop off information about mountaintop removal, including a postcard people can use to send in comments on the draft Environmental Impact Statement on mountaintop removal. To help out on this day, please contact Bill Price at Bill.Price@sierraclub.org.
Lots more on our events calendar webpage:
Thanks for supporting OVEC! Your donations help keep us going. You can donate on-line here.
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