CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Members of the Kanawha State Forest Coalition said they were disappointed but certainly not defeated by this week’s ruling from the West Virginia Surface Mine Board.
The board rejected more than a dozen arguments posted by members of the coalition and nearby residents aimed at revoking the permit for Keystone Coal’s K-D#1 mine which lies near the border of Kanawha State Forest.
“We disagree with the Surface Mine Board’s findings, but we will continue to fight this through the legal system as far as we can,” said Chad Cordell, a volunteer with the coalition.
The mine is in place, but the state Department of Environmental Protection indicated due to market conditions production at the operation had been stopped for the time being.
“It’s a good thing for us. It means for now at least the daily blasting on the mountain has stopped,” Cordell said. “It’s probably a temporary idling, so we’ll use that time in the meantime to continue to put pressure on the DEP to enforce these laws we have that are meant to protect our neighboring property owners and our public land.”
Cordell said there is already evidence of acid mine drainage coming off of the mine site and flowing into Davis Creek. He said the mine’s idle status buys them time to work to find a solution to the problem. But the only solution acceptable to Cordell and the coalition will be pulling the permit and shutting down the operation permanently.
“That’s our ultimate goal, to keep the mining away from Kanawha State Forest and away from West Virginia residents being impacted by these strip mines so close to their homes and so close to their communities,” Cordell said.