Winds of Change Newsletter, February 2006     See sidebar for table of contents

Redefining Mine Safety - Inside and Outside the Mines

by Norm Steenstra

I worked in a small underground coal mine for a couple of years. Roof falls were common and electrical fires were a constant threat. We had a “bad air” episode and I still marvel that we made it out. The Sago and Logan mine tragedies stirred up emotions placed in storage for over 25 years. In a small way I could visualize what the trapped miners went through.

I commend the quick action taken by the governor and the Legislature in addressing the causes of these recent tragedies but the safety issue is far more comprehensive. We need to declare that mine safety does not stop at the mine portal.

Hundreds of West Virginians live, worship and educate their children down the hollow from some of the state’s 150 coal impoundments. Thirty-four years ago the world learned at Buffalo Creek that these dams could fail, erase communities and kill entire families. More recent episodes in Kentucky and in our own state indicate that the coal dams are still not safe. Miners have the United Mine Workers to advocate for miner safety but who lobbies for the potential victims of dam failure?* Why don’t the people downstream merit the same disaster communication systems and new regulatory scrutiny?

Coal impoundments are a disaster waiting to happen, and the Marsh Fork Elementary School is a poster child for a potential calamity. It is located four football fields away from a huge Massey Energy coal sludge impoundment; this is the same company that had the massive dam failure in Martin County, Ky., several years ago. Both dams have received numerous construction violations from federal inspectors. Common sense says that sooner or later, either by negligent coal companies or by an act of God, people will die as a result of a West Virginia dam failure.

I said I could somewhat relate to the miners’ terror but I cannot relate nor have I ever experienced the terror of living downstream from a coal impoundment. People living with this omnipresent risk need leadership from both the governor and the legislature now.

* Ed. Note: The affected residents and the Sludge Safety Project (led by folks in Mingo County, OVEC and Coal River Mountain Watch) are working for changes that will improve mining community safety. Please strengthen our efforts by supporting and working with us. See www.sludgesafety.org.