Citizens' Enforcement Program coordinator Junior Walk: For over a quarter of a century, we at Coal River Mountain Watch have done everything within our power to stop coal companies from pillaging our region with their surface mining practices. One of the main ways we’ve found to cost these coal operators money is to diligently monitor their activities and find things to bring to the attention of regulatory authorities. Whether these infractions are related to coal companies not following pre-agreed upon reclamation schedules, chemical spills, runoff from the side of a mine site, or dangerous highwalls precariously close to public roads, or many other problems we’ve found. It’s our belief that if coal operators were held to the same standard as your average citizen, they wouldn’t be able to operate in an economically sustainable way.

Here are some updates on our Citizens’ Enforcement Program so far in 2024:-Junior Walk, our CEP coordinator, site monitor, and outreach coordinator, has posted 97 YouTube videos of the coal operations, as well as some stunning fall foliage, in the Coal River Valley at https://www.youtube.com/@StopMTR/videos.

Coal River Mountain Watch has gotten the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection to greatly curtail its practice of granting indefinite extensions for coal company violation abatement. In July 2023, with allies Appalachian Voices and Sierra Club, we complained to the federal Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement about this practice, focused on a violation by Lexington Coal Company in July 2021. WVDEP had granted 25 extensions over two years, when the law allows only 90 days with very specific exceptions. OSMRE agreed with us and gave WVDEP a Ten Day Notice, giving them 10 days to correct the situation. WVDEP issued a cessation order for that violation and began issuing more cessation orders and "Show Cause" orders and applying the required fines at dozens of coal company permits. Lexington now owes over $3 million in delinquent penalties and has entered into a payment agreement with WVDEP to pay the bulk of their fines within two years. However, WVDEP has continued granting excessive extensions in some cases and otherwise failing to take effective enforcement action. Also, that violation from July 2021 is still unabated more than three years later.

West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection is holding a public hearing (informal conference) regarding mountaintop removal March 21 at 5:00 PM, online, by phone, or in person at Clear Fork Elementary School, Artie, WV. You can also send comments by email to Laura.B.Claypool@WV.gov by 5 PM March 21. This is for those who OPPOSE renewal of Alpha Metallurgical Resources subsidiary Republic Energy's Middle Ridge mountaintop removal permit number S301712 on Coal River Mountain. Photo by WVDEP. Details below:

Chronic violator Lexington Coal Company wants to renew their 1,222-acre Crescent #2 mountaintop removal permit on Cherry Pond Mountain, on the border of Boone and Raleigh Counties, WV. Please join Coal River Mountain Watch in telling the WV Department of Environmental Protection to deny this renewal. There's an online conference Dec. 14, 5:30 PM EST, available at https://meet.google.com/sba-msyz-bdy or by calling in at 1-650-667-3352, PIN 248 285 955. You can also email your comments to permit supervisor David.R.Wagner@WV.gov. Comments will be accepted up until the end of the conference. Be sure to state that you oppose renewal of Lexington Coal Company's permit number S502007. Here are some good reasons you might include: