A & G Coal Corp Appeals Permit Denial to Destroy Ison Ridge

 

 

I'm humbled by the many who have been helping me get back (eventually) to my beloved town and region (by choice, if not roots).... December 10  a driver shattered a pedestrian's  two legs and shoulder  in a crosswalk in Blacksburg.  Said walker (me) is grateful to have survived and checked in last night to a very good rehab after some missteps (says the woman who has yet to take another step since the collision.) Tonight I'm back for a short entry after too long offline.  Graphic from this webpage available for upload thanks to the smart phone of fellow journalist aka techno-amanuensis Bob Stepno, who continues to help me as he has on facebook, now that I'm no longer being held incommunicado.

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The courts, the EPA, and even the Army Corps of Engineers and the Virginia Department of Mines Minerals and Energy giveth hope to those who would preserve what's left of the south-central Appalacian Mountains.  The coal companies would taketh away that hope and the mountains.

Ison Rock Ridge Mountain in Wise County, Virginia shelters the mountain communities of Derby, Arno, Inman, Andover and Appalachia, providing freshwater to over 1,800 people there and many more who live downsteam.

Almost  6 years ago, on May 7, 2009, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers suspended its approval of A and G Coal Corp.’s 1,200 acre Surface Mine 0.8 miles west of Andover. The Sierra Club and Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards had  sued to block the permit and the Corps stated that the suspension would give officials "an opportunity to fully evaluate concerns" raised by EPA April 3, 2009.

When I checked my email today, I learned that the Virginia Department of Mines Minerals and Energy is holding a hearing in room 219 of its Big Stone Gap office on February 18, 2015 at 9:00 AM.  The office is in the Buchanan-Smith Building at 3405 Mountain Empire Road off Route 23. The permit number is 1003841 and the Code of Virginia sections are §§45.1-240, 45.1-250(B), and 2.2-4020 as amended.  See also §4VAC25-130-775.11(b) of the Virginia Coal
surface Mining Reclamation Regulations.
 As before the contact is  Harve A Mooney, harve.mooney@dmme.virginia.gov.  You can also call him at 276-523-8271 or fax 276-523-8163.

Want to keep up on this and other Virginia government hearings.  Go to https://www.townhall.virginia.gov/.