New Research Shows Irreversible Ecological Damage From Mountaintop Removal

“In many ways, this has been a disappointing effort.” With those words President Jimmy Carter summed up his feelings when he signed the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) in 1977. Congress had passed two previous bills with better protections for the environment, but both had been vetoed by Gerald Ford while he occupied the White House. Carter felt that, owing to the influence of the coal companies that the law was designed to regulate, the legislation he signed that day had weaker provisions than the bills that received Ford’s veto. Carter’s greatest objection to the new law was that it allowed mining companies to blow up and remove entire mountains. We now call this mining process mountaintop removal.[i]

            In the 35 years since the passing of SMCRA, we have seen that Carter was correct to have his misgivings. This past week a group of scientists at a conference of the Ecological Society of American provided some of the first ecological scientific findings on mountaintop removal. The research sadly shows that the harm done to the ecosystems of Appalachia is irreversible. The damage that these scientists have found goes beyond the blown up mountains, from altered stream flows and flooding to reductions in bird populations.

            With mines so large that you can see them from space, it makes sense that there would be extensive ecological damage. Some of the scientists at the conference called for a moratorium on mountaintop mining to stem the damage. So far, the Obama administration has shown some inclination to give greater regulatory review of this destructive mining practice, but a moratorium seems quite unlikely.

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[i] “Carter Signs Strip-Mining Bill,” New York Times, 4 August 1977