Central Appalachia EJ Program
Bill Price: EJ Resource Coordinator
922 Quarrier Street
Suite 304
Charleston, WV 25301
304-342-3182
304-342-3183 (fax)
304-389-8822 (cell)
bill.price@sierraclub.org
Bill McCabe: EJ Organizer
726 Clinch Mountain Road
Eidson, TN 37731
423-944-3220
423-944-3221 (fax)
423-327-2820 (cell)
bill.mccabe@sierraclub.org
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Regional Projects: Central Appalachia:
Activist Profiles
Maria Gunnoe | Larry Gibson
Carl "Pete" Ramey | Charles Blankenship
Maria Gunnoe
For Maria Gunnoe, one of the best parts of living in Bobwhite,
WV was the fact that nothing had changed much in her lifetime.
Part Cherokee, Maria is the fifth generation of her family
to live there. Her grandfather and father made a living in
the nearby underground coal mines, and two brothers still do.
But the family's way of life was forever changed in 2000
when her new neighbor Jupiter Coal Company moved in. Jupiter
Coal
is now operating a 1183 acre mountaintop removal coal mining
strip and creating 5 massive valley fills. And Maria's property
is in the valley that the mine company is filling. Maria and
her two children have suffered greatly since then.
In the past
four years they have been flooded four times, once with no
rain. The worst flooding took place in June 2003- within 45
minutes, the 30 foot wall of water that washed down from the
mine site destroyed what Maria's family had worked for for
four generations. It wiped out access to her house, decimated
the orchard, and contaminated the ground water.
Maria's property
is now worthless- it is too damaged to sell- and she can't
afford to rent another house. Her children were traumatized
so much that they still will not sleep if it’s raining.
And Jupiter Coal Company refuses to accept any liability, calling
the tragedy an "act of God.”
Maria realized this
same devastation existed throughout her community. She saw
that mountaintop removal had made Boone County a war zone,
and gave up her regular waitressing job to organize her neighbors
to halt the destruction. Since then, she has worked with many
organizations to bring about the abolition of mountaintop removal
mining.
Larry Gibson
Many Americans feel a strong connection to their homeplaces;
but Larry Gibson puts up with antagonism and bullying in order
to protect his- the last 50 acres of green on top of Kayford
Mountain.
Larry has lived on Kayford Mountain for 18 years- but
the property has been in his family for over 200 years. Things
have changed a lot during Larry's lifetime. From his cabin,
he guards over the only 50 acres on the mountaintop that have
not been mined. Outside of this area lies a wasteland caused
by the blasting and destruction of the mountaintop removal
mining that began in 1986.
Larry is determined to halt the destructive
process of mountaintop removal so others don't have to see their
homes blasted to
bits as he has. He works with the Keepers of the Mountain foundation,
the Sierra Club, and other organizations to accomplish this
goal. He gets many visitors to his cabin who want to experience
the effects of mountaintop removal firsthand, and in 1999 he
walked across West Virginia - 500 miles - to bring attention
to the necessity of stopping MTR.
Carl "Pete" Ramey
A former miner, Pete Ramey began speaking out against mountaintop
removal mining when the blasting of the peaks surrounding his
home near Appalachia, VA, started impacting his daily life.
In the five years since, he has been so persistent and vocal
in his opposition that a SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public
Participation) was filed against him. These suits have been
used throughout the coalfields to discourage public protest
against mining abuses, and are often very effective, but occassionally,
as Pete did, the citizen announces that losing the suit will
not affect his or her right to free speech. Pete continues
to speak out and organize against the poorly regulated coal
industry in Southwest Virginia and throughout the Appalachians.
A
miner for more than 37 years and a member of the United Mineworkers
Association for twenty, Pete supports underground
mining. However, personal experience led him to the conclusion
that mountaintop removal mining is too destructive to continue.
Five years ago, Pete and his wife Juanita were forced to move
from their home in Appalachia because of the dust, blasting,
and constant truck traffic near it.
Pete is motivated by
his religious beliefs and the strong conviction that if one
is truly Christian he or she must oppose
the destruction of God's mountains. He works with many local
groups to fight mountaintop removal mining, including the Lions
Club, hospitals, hospice groups, and other area residents.
Charles Blankenship
Charles Blankenship's family has lived in the area of Campbell
County for over 250 years. Charles now owns a livestock
farm on Zeb Mountain, and will be directly impacted by the strip
mining operation National Coal Corporation is proposing there.
The operation of the strip mine will likely contaminate the watering
ponds and springs that serve his farm and make them undrinkable
by livestock.
Charles was born and spent his young life in Elk
Valley, TN. When he was ten, Elk Fork Creek was clear, clean
and offered
plenty of fishing- then strip mining started in Campbell County.
Within five years the creek was contaminated with acid mine drainage
and silting, all the fish were killed off and swimming holes
were filled with silt.
The changes Charles has seen during his life in Campbell
County have convinced him that strip mining there must be stopped.
He has seen neighbors and family members lose well water from
blasting, and now mining on Zeb Mountain threatens his own livelihood.
He has filed violations with the local Office of Surface Mining
and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
He joined Save Our Cumberland Mountains and now serves on its
Strip Mining Committee, speaking out in the community against
the devastating impacts of strip mining.
Charles hopes
his activism will protect the rights of his grandchildren to
enjoy the same natural wonders and recreational activities that
he experienced as a child.
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