THE ONLY PROBLEM WITH BLOWING UP MOUNTAINS

Let’s say, just for the sake of argument, that you have a mountain. Let’s also say that there’s a seam of coal in said mountain and you want to get at it. How do you go about it? Well, if you’re Peabody Energy, or one of our nations’ other major coal producers, you just blow off the whole mountaintop. Voila! Cheap and efficient fuel for the taking! Hey, is this a great country or what?

Now, part of me thinks that being able to blow up a whole mountain would be pretty cool (I don’t ski). But there’s just one little problem: the mountaintop is going to go somewhere. And the law of gravity being one of the few laws not subject to review by the Supreme Court, it’s most likely going to end up in the valley below. If there’s a river or stream running through that valley, it won’t be running long.

For years, it’s been illegal to dump mining waste into a stream or river--unless you have a special permit from the Army Corps of Engineers. Actually, the Corps’ legal authority to do this is somewhat suspect. They’re supposed to be able to allow companies to fill streams for "development purposes", but not use them as waste dumps. In the language of the Federal rule, you can dump in "fill", but not "waste". This seems like a major distinction, unless you’re a fish. In that case, it doesn’t really matter how you define what’s dropped into your backyard.

For years, however, the Corps of Engineers routinely issued permits allowing mining companies to dump their wastes from "mountaintop removal" mining into the nearby streams. Finally, the courts put a stop to it.

Lately, the Bush Administration, at the behest of Peabody and other coal companies, has proposed a change in the rules that would redefine "fill" as "any material that has the effect of replacing portions of waters with dry land or changing the bottom elevation of a water body." Under this definition, you could dump practically anything into a mountain stream: mining waste, construction debris, used cars, environmental lawyers…and if that dumping happens to jeopardize the drinking water of the folks downstream—well, just drink beer, Bubba, ‘cause we need to reduce our dependence on furrin oil. Besides, as former Peabody exec and CEO of the "Western Fuels Association" Frederick D. Palmer has stated, "the people running the United States government are from the energy industry." It is not known if Palmer followed this quote by steepling his fingers and saying "eeeexcellent," in an evil gloating hiss, but I wouldn’t bet against it.

Palmer, by the way, is a big wheel in the energy lobbying biz. He’s distinguished himself in the global warming debate by opining publicly that (a) it’s not happening; (b) if it is, it’s not the fault of C02 emissions, and (c) global warming is actually good for the environment. "Increased atmospheric carbon dioxide content," Palmer has written, "has led to an explosion of productivity in the biosphere [which includes] unexpected and large growth in the forests in the world...increased ground cover, leading to more abundant wildlife and diversity of species; and most important, a huge increase in food productivity all around the world."

Yeah, and when the icecaps melt, the fish who were displaced by all of the mining waste dumped in the streams can live in the submerged streets of New York and Miami. See how we humans fit into the wonderful balance of nature?

Still think it’s okay to change the rule? Would it change your mind to know that it was originally Bill Clinton’s idea? That’s right, the original plan to define legal "fill" as "pretty much anything the coal company decides to dump in the stream", was cooked up during the Clinton years. Fortunately, after more than 17,000 citizens and dozens of members of Congress objected, the Clinton administration backed away from the proposal. Unfortunately, there are some things that just won’t go away, like Tonya Harding and comedian Carrot Top. This idea is another one of those things. But unlike Tonya and Carrot Top, we actually stand a chance of stopping this idea. It’s been done before. Write to Christine Todd Whitman at the EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20460) and tell her that if you blow the top off a mountain, you have to keep the waste someplace other than the nearest stream.

COPYRIGHT 2002 BY JERRY D. RHOADES, JR.