The struggles of a family to visit and maintain the integrity of their loved ones’
graves continue in West Virginia. The story was big news last year, and the
family has been struggling with the coal company since 2008.
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| The "Graveyard in the Sky" photo Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Maria Gunnoe/Associated Press |
As you can see from
the photo, the mountaintop removal mining operation completely encircles what
remains of a community’s graveyard. Members of the Jarrell family, as well as
environmental activists, claim that Alpha Natural Resources and its subsidiary
Independence Coal Company, which operates the mountaintop removal coal mine,
violated state law and an agreement reached between the coal company and the
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection to preserve access to the
graves and keep mining at least 100 feet away from the graveyard. The
plaintiffs also claim that mining has toppled gravestones in the cemetery.
The
family members can visit their loved ones’ graves, but before they are allowed
to do so they must first give notice to Alpha 10 days ahead of their planned
visit, endure a 30-minute safety course, surrender their cell phones and
cameras to the coal company, and be escorted by Alpha employees up a dirt road
that is only accessible by four-wheel drive.
The
family claims that these requirements of the coal company in essence deprives
them of their ability to visit the graves of their loved ones and to bury their
dead at this cemetery in the future. Lest you think that this is a unique
situation, there are plenty more “mine bound” cemeteries in the Mountain State.
Can you imagine visiting your parents' or grandparents' graves under such conditions? And
what’s this thing about cell phones and cameras?
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