[PCA] NEWS: The battle over Coal River Mountain (fwd)

[Olivia Kwong]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Olivia,
  Could you please pass this on to the PCA.

I'm glad you included the article about Coal River Mountain in your
circulation to the PCA. People, including the botanist community, should be
aware of the destruction of the practice of mountain top removal (MTR) and
valley fills. This practice which is done in WV, eastern KY, TN, and a part
of western VA, not only destroys mountains and streams, it also destroys
square miles of the richest deciduous forest ecosystem anywhere on this
planet. There is no such thing as "clean coal technology". You only have to
drive as far as Appalachia to see that. Or you can look at Landsat data and
remote sensing imagery to view the vast and total destruction on a large
scale, that this type of mining has on the planet.

Restoration of these surface MTR coal mines does not work due to a number of
factors. A basic engineering concept for material placement called "the angle
of repose", limits any rebuilding of a sloped surface from earth materials.
The mountains can never be replaced. Different aspects and slopes add to the
complexity and diversity of these deciduous forestlands. In addition the
chemistry and structure of the soils are so altered, they can not support the
regrowth of these diverse deciduous forests. The overburden and refuse goes
into a valley fill, which destroys miles of headwater streams. This practice
degrades the water system, from the upper watershed, all the way downstream.

Of course there are human consequences too. Many Appalachian communities
suffer from devastating floods caused by sediment impoundments breaching,
dumping toxic waters downstream into communities and streams. Many
communities have been destroyed by these events. There is also increased
flooding downstream caused by increased runoff from these large tracks of
valley fill upstream. One only has to understand another basic engineering
concept to understand this phenomena;
the Rational formula. This formula is often used in the calculation of
overland flow and water run-off, because of its simplicity and accuracy. It
is quite accurate for small watersheds (<100 acres) and reasonably accurate
for watersheds up to 2 square miles (Carpenter 1976). The run-off volumes are
computed directly by establishing relationships between rainfall intensities,
run-off ratios, watershed acreage and sometimes slope (Seelye 1954).

The rational formula (Seelye 1954) can be expressed as:  Q = ciA.
Where Q represents the run-off in cubic feet per second; c represents the
rainfall/run-off coefficient which is a roughness factor of the ground
surface affecting the rate of run-off; i represents Storm intensity which is
the intensity of rainfall in inches per hour for a period equal to the time
of concentration (storm event); and A represents the area of watershed
drainage, measured in acres. The coefficient of run-off expresses how the
texture of the surface material affects the mean velocity of water flow
traveling across the surface of the ground. The rougher a surface texture is,
the slower water will move across the surface. Roughness coefficients are
determined for different materials. The value assigned for each type material
indicates the relative protection the material provides from flowing water.
Larger values provide greater protection from flowing water.

Energy policy and politics drive this critical energy issue. However, it
comes down to our choice as individual energy consumers; do we continue to
buy cheap energy from these destructive practices, or do we support
alternative energy sources? What price are we willing to pay for coal powered
energy? How much are the Appalachian mountains and the richest deciduous
forest ecosystem worldwide worth?

Pamela Bailey
Research Botanist and Landscape Architect

Citations:
Carpenter, J.D. 1976. Handbook of Landscape Architectural Construction. The
Landscape Architecture Foundation, Inc. Washington D.C. 772p.

Seelye, E.E. 1954.  Data Book for Civil Engineers: Field Practice. John Wiley
and Sons, Inc. NY 394 p.

-----Original Message-----
From: native-plants-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org
[mailto:native-plants-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org] On Behalf Of
Olivia Kwong
Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2008 9:01 AM
To: native-plants at lists.plantconservation.org
Subject: [PCA] NEWS: The battle over Coal River Mountain

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/10/07/coal.river/index.html

The battle over Coal River Mountain
By Deborah Feyerick
CNN's American Morning

RALIEGH COUNTY, West Virginia (CNN) -- Lorelei Scarboro loves to talk
about the wild turkeys and bears living on West Virginia's Coal River
Mountain.

She watches them from the home her husband built when they were first
married. But Scarboro is convinced it could all become a casualty of
blasting that could begin on the mountaintop which is just 100 yards from
the family cemetery where her husband is buried.

See the link above for the full article text.


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