Given how destructive
mountaintop removal is, it’s surprising that there aren’t more lawsuits like
this. The Sierra Club, along with other organizations, is suing the Fola Coal
over mine runoff pollution from a mountaintop mining operation that is about 20
miles east of West Virginia’s capitol, Charleston.
The runoff from the mine flows to the Leatherwood Creek. About 60 percent of the Leatherwood Creek’s watershed is permitted for mining. The Sierra Club was successful last year in a similar lawsuit against Fola Coal. Right now there are four other lawsuits concerning eight impaired streams. The coal companies involved in these suits are Alex Energy, Elk Run Coal, and Fola Coal.
The runoff from the mine flows to the Leatherwood Creek. About 60 percent of the Leatherwood Creek’s watershed is permitted for mining. The Sierra Club was successful last year in a similar lawsuit against Fola Coal. Right now there are four other lawsuits concerning eight impaired streams. The coal companies involved in these suits are Alex Energy, Elk Run Coal, and Fola Coal.
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| A creek showing the characteristic yellow staining of acid mine runoff |
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