Press Release

Contact:  Ed Wiley (860) 248-9512, Bo Webb (304) 854-2631

Enduring Record-Breaking Heat and Torrential Rain, Grandfather Walks to Washington DC to Raise Funds for New School

At Halfway Mark Today, Wiley and Supporters Challenge Governor Manchin's "Spin" on Marsh Fork Elementary 

Aurora, WV - Ed Wiley, grandfather of a recent graduate of Marsh Fork Elementary school in Sundial, WV, reached the halfway mark today after walking more than 225 miles from Charleston, WV on a 455 mile trek to Washington, DC. Wiley has embarked on his pilgrimage to the nation's capital out of concern for the health and safety of the students and faculty of Marsh Fork Elementary. He is promoting the "Pennies of Promise" campaign which is a citizen-led movement to raise money to build a new, safe school in his community. Upon his arrival in Washington D.C., Wiley intends to meet with key policymakers including the Honorable Senator Robert C. Byrd and Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings.

Marsh Fork Elementary, the topic of recent controversy, sits just 225 feet from a coal loading silo that releases coal dust and chemical binding agents associated with coal processing.  A recent study of dust samples from the school confirmed residents' suspicions that the coal dust is getting into the school and children and faculty are breathing it.  In addition, an earthen dam permitted to hold 2.8 billion gallons of toxic coal waste sludge looms just 400 yards upstream.  Previous efforts through the local school board and West Virginia's Governor Joe Manchin have been met with inaction.  In 2005, Manchin told Wiley that he would look into citizens' concerns.  To date, no state agency has tested the school's air for coal dust or begun a health survey of the students.

According to Bo Webb, Pennies of Promise volunteer, the state has accomplished very little with regards to improving the safety and health of the students of Marsh Fork Elementary and has instead developed what Webb refers to as "slick responses" that further enable the administration to escape responsibility.  "Every day that Governor Manchin's administration continues to spin the issue rather than face it directly, and deal with it, is another day that these young children are in danger," said Webb.  "The half-truths and the public relation spin are literally putting these kids at risk.  Governor Manchin is no longer complacent in their danger, but is becoming responsible for it."

On the road, Wiley has been met with an outpouring of support from some unlikely corners. Encouraged by truck drivers, teachers, celebrities, state troopers and even road-side tidying convicts, Wiley says he has yet to meet a person who hasn't, in some way, offered their support. "The Governor's losing votes quick, that's what I'm hearing and seeing.  A lot of people are upset about what he's not doing on this school issue."  Wiley added, "Joe Manchin has really dropped the ball on this one," referring to what Wiley sees as Governor Manchin and his administration's lackadaisical attitude regarding the safety of the children at Marsh Fork Elementary. Wiley is asking that the public call the Governor and express their support for a new school in his community. The Governor's office can be reached at 1-888-438-2731.

The issue of safety at the school has garnered international attention on ABC World News Tonight, Vanity Fair and O Magazine, catching the attention and support of a wide spectrum of the public. So far, the Pennies of Promise campaign has raised several thousand dollars. Accepting small and large donations alike, Pennies of Promise has received donations from students, law enforcement and even celebrities such as Edward Norton and Woody Harrelson. One school donated 85 pounds of pennies.  The public can check on Wiley's progress and sponsor the walk at www.penniesofpromise.org. All donations are tax-exempt and will go directly to the fund to build a new, healthy school for the students of Marsh Fork Elementary.

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Myths and Facts about Marsh Fork Elementary

The following are common responses from the Governor's office when directly questioned about the situation at Marsh Fork Elementary. We find these responses to be at best inadequate, and at worst, misleading. Each statement is followed by a response from the Pennies of Promise campaign.

 

The State has conducted a thorough investigation.

• No public health survey of the students and faculty of MFE has been conducted to date.
• No test for coal dust or any other hazardous chemical has been conducted by the state.
• Neither the water at the school, nor the soil on the school grounds, has been tested for any kind of pollutant that could be hazardous for children or adults.
• The state conducted only one test during their "thorough and extensive" investigation staged in 2005 and as a result it was concluded that the heating and ventilation systems are in top shape. This test was conducted by Bill Elswick, Executive Director, Office of School Facilities on August 25, 2005, last year. In a related news article published in the Charleston Gazette Elswick stated that no test for coal dust or other hazardous material had been conducted and that he was not an air quality specialist.
• Steven Lester of the Center for Health, Environment and Justice responds to tests conducted by the state: http://www.mountainsustainability.org/documents/CHEJ_Letter.pdf

There is an on-going investigation or that the situation at Marsh Fork Elementary is under constant observation

• When asked directly what this means, the Governor's General Council, Carte Goodwin has made it clear that all schools in the WV public system are under constant observation and are monitored. When asked what that meant specifically, as in what sort of activities are involved in the "on-going investigation" he was unable, or unwilling at that time, to expound or further elaborate.

There is no scientific evidence of regulatory non-compliance

• In a letter that was sent to Goals Coal on August 11th, the DEP stated that only those operations which existed on August 3, 1977, are exempt from the Surface Mine Control and Reclamation Act rule prohibiting mine operations within 300 feet of a school.  The DEP determined that as of 1977, no loading or coal silo operations existed at that site. The proposed silo would have been 260 feet from Marsh Fork Elementary School.
• Randy Huffman, Director of the DEP's Division of Mining and Reclamation, wrote, "The exception allows Goals to continue the type of operations that were conducted within three hundred feet of the school in 1977, but does not allow it to either make substantial changes in the type of operations being conducted in this protected zone or undertake substantial expansion of such operations. The existing operation exception does not allow Goals to construct the silo it proposes."
• If it were true that indeed the situation at Marsh Fork Elementary was in no way violating any current regulations then any reasonable thinking person could see that the regulations we have just aren't good enough to ensure the safety of our children. The problem then becomes about weak regulations and far more significant because it begs you to think about how many other children could be at risk due to the obvious fault with our current standards.
• See silo denial letter:   http://www.mountainsustainability.org/documents/Goals_Letter_8-11-06.pdf

There is no scientific evidence that indicates that any further testing by the State need be done

• While the State stood-by, refusing requests to test for fugitive coal dust, an independent study for coal dust at the school was conducted. The following is an excerpt from D. Scott Simonton, PE, PhD with regards to the results of those tests:  "I have concluded with a high degree of scientific and engineering certainty that there is a completed pathway between materials handled at the Goals Coal facility and environmental receptors, namely the occupants of Marsh Fork Elementary. In short, dust has been and is generated at the Goals Coal facility as a result of material handling activities and this dust migrates to the school property and into the school, where it is respired. This dust has known health hazards, especially in the inhalation exposure route" stated D. Scott Simonton, PE, PhD  in a letter dated March 21, 2006. To see full text: http://209.51.142.90/~mnoerpel/pennies/science.php
•  The test samples were analyzed by Dr Dewey Sanderson who is a professor of Geology at Marshall University

The governor's office might even tell you they don't know who Dr. Scott Simonton is, even though he is the Vice-Chair on the Governor's Environmental Quality Board (EQB)

 

Scott Simonton, P.E., Ph.D., Vice-Chair
(Independent - Kanawha County, Charleston, WV) Appointed: 2002 Term Ending: June 30, 2007 Assistant Professor of Environmental Science, Marshall University College of Information Technology and Engineering. Ph.D., Engineering, University of New Mexico, 2002; M.S., Environmental Engineering, Marshall University, 1997; B.S., Civil Engineering, West Virginia Institute of Technology, 1991.

 

 For more on the Governor's EQB: http://www.wveqb.org/board.asp

There is no evidence that the children at Marsh Fork experience negative health impacts from the Goals site.

• The state has yet to conduct a public health survey of the students and faculty of MFE .
• You will not find evidence of dangers to public health or impacts on public health if you do not do not conduct a health survey or study. How do you find something when you are not looking?

Charlotte Hutchens called the EPA and requested an investigation

• 2 years after she had already been questioned by the EPA during an investigation into the situation at Marsh Fork Elementary, requested by community members, Charlotte Hutchens called the EPA.

There are community members who do not want a new school

• In actuality there are community members who are afraid if Marsh Fork Elementary school is closed that the State will not build them a new school in their community but rather bus their children out of the valley to be schooled as far as an hour away from home. For this reason they are concerned about MFE being deemed unsafe and closed. They also worry that local teachers would also lose their jobs in this situation. This is why some valley residents have formed a group called "Pennies of Promise" www.penniesofpromise.org and are taking it upon themselves to raise the money to build a new school in their own community.

The State does not have the money to build a new school

• Joe Manchin just spent nearly 3 million dollars on renovation at his home, including the installation of black jack tables.

Last September, Governor Manchin allocated approximately a half million dollars, to the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine.