Combating Mountaintop Removal: New Directions in the Fight against Big Coal

Notes

Notes Introduction 1. Throughout this text, I use “Coal” to refer to the coal industry, particularly its corporate bodies; “coal” refers to the black mineral found inside the mountains. 2. See McNeil (2005). 3. From the mountainous literature on neoliberalism and globalization, I draw from Harvey (1989a, 1989b, 1996, 2005, 2006) Neil Smith (2005), Dicken (1998), Castells (1996, 1997) Comaroff and Comaroff (2001), and Stiglitz (2002). 4. Holland and Lave (2001: 4–5). 5. Gregory (1998: 3). 6. Eller (1982: 3–38). 7. Corbin (1981: xvii–xviii). 8. Montrie (2003). 9. Burns (2007). 10. Watts (1998). 11. Hinson (2000: 327–34). 12. See Montrie (2003) on the history of activism against strip mining in Appalachia. 13. Nonini (2007). 14. Ward, “Bush Hauling in Coal Contributions”; “Coal Operator Makes Case over Buffet”; Frankel, “Coal Operators Get Chance to Talk with Candidate.” 15. Several transnational companies have become owners of Appalachian mines. Some mines in Coal River are owned by RAG International, a subsidiary of RAG Aktiengesellschaft based in Essen, Germany. 16. Harvey (2005: 19). 17. Harvey (2005: 23). 18. For entry into the rich literature on community organizations in Appalachia, see Fisher (1993), Couto and Guthrie (1999), and Montrie (2003). 19. Satterfield (2002: 8). 180 Notes to Introduction, Part I, and Chapter 1 20. U. S. Census Bureau. Statistical Abstract of the United States. 21. I borrow the term “civic professionalism” from Herb Reid and Betsy Taylor (Reid and Taylor 2002; Reid 2006). “Pragmatic solidarity” comes from Paul Farmer (2003: 26). Part I. The Worst Goddamn Thing I’ve Ever Seen 1. Julia Bonds was known to her friends as “Judy.” I use both names interchangeably throughout this text. See description of hybrid pseudonym use in the introduction. 2. Subsidence refers to surface cracks and fissures caused as the ground settles into abandoned underground mines. 3. In the eastern United States, mountaintop removal and surface mining for coal has also been done in Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. I focus on West Virginia, but for information on other states, see Montrie (2003). Chapter 1. Welcome to Coal River 1. Personal communication with anonymous Sylvester resident, July 2000. 2. Other forms of strip mining were practiced in Coal River since the late 1940s. 3. Consolidation and mazelike subsidiary structures within the coal industry make names very confusing to trace. Eastern and Addington Brothers were among the largest producers in the early 1980s. Eastern Associated and Eastern Associates are often used interchangeably in local speech. Both refer to Eastern Associated Coal Corporation. While it owned and operated mines in Appalachia as an independent corporation, Eastern has since become part of Peabody Energy and Addington, after several name changes and bankruptcies, became Horizon Resources. 4. All comments attributed to Jack Spadaro in this section are taken from an interview conducted December 10, 2003. 5. All comments attributed to Randy Jarrold [pseud.] are taken from an interview conducted July 16, 2000. 6. The company I refer to as Massey Energy or just Massey was known for most of its existence as A.T. Massey Coal Company. Through several corporate mergers and spinoffs , it has become known as Massey Energy. Massey is the largest coal producer in West Virginia and fifth largest in the nation. It is well known for its nonunion, or “union free” mines and its long-standing antagonistic relationship with the United Mine Workers. www.masseyenergyco.com. 7. Gross (1995: 227–41) describes the continuation of these trends in the NLRB under President Ronald Reagan who appointed conservative ideologues to the board early in his first term. 8. In May 1981, approximately two thousand UMWA members marched from a nearby rally onto the Elk Run property, damaging several company buildings and vehicles. This is described in detail in chapter 4. 9. Only one preparation plant has retained its union contract since Massey took over the mines from Peabody. The plant employs around two dozen workers. 10. New York City’s Central Park offers a good size comparison. That park that people get lost in every day is “only” 848 acres. Notes to Chapters 1 and 2 181 11. Interview with Ken Hechler, June 27, 2003. 12. End-dumping refers to simply backing a dump truck up to the edge of the mine site and dumping spoil over into the valley without compaction or other design or engineering criteria. 13. A coal waste impoundment collapsed, washing away communities in Buffalo Creek...