New Mountaintop Removal Photos, Coal River Mountain


Jul 18, 2017

Junior Walk took these photos by aerial drone on July 18, 2017. From above the mouth of McDowell Branch on Coal River Mountain, he aimed the camera up the holler generally west. This is the Middle Ridge mountaintop  removal site operated by Alpha Natural Resources, with seven violations within the past year: four for sediment control, two for method of operations, and one for permit conditions. Everything you see above the lower edge of "disturbance" is permitted for mountaintop removal. People live in these homes, forced to breathe the carcinogenic blasting dust from the daily explosive equivalent of a MOAB "mother of all bombs." Please support Coal River Mountain Watch's work to end this abomination at http://crmw.net/donate.php. And if someone tells you that mountaintop removal is over, tell them it just ain't so. Thanks!         

We appreciate your support. If you'd like to intern or volunteer with Coal River Mountain Watch, either on site or from wherever you are, please contact us at coalriver (at) crmw.net. We also host student groups for spring and fall break and provide tours for journalists. Thank you!