Object To Mountaintop Removal
Jan 15, 2026
Coal River Mountain Watch is opposing renewal of Alpha Metallurgical Resources' Turkeyfoot surface mine, permit number S301419, covering 1,085 acres and 11.2 million tons of coal on Coal River Mountain. Please sign on to our objections here. 
Here's what we said:
Coal River Mountain Watch OPPOSES renewal of Alpha Metallurgical Resources subsidiary Republic Energy’s permit number S301419, the Turkeyfoot permit. We request an informal conference for the purpose of concerned citizens to give their comments in opposition to the permit. We request that the conference be held in a hybrid format, available to participants online, via phone, and in person at a time and location convenient to the residents of neighboring communities. We further request a visit to the site of the permit for the purpose of gathering information pertinent to the proceeding, and that WVDEP either allow photography or provide requested photos. For the purpose of informing the community, we request that the site visit be held at least two weeks prior to the informal conference.
We have several reasons to object to this permit, some of which follow and some of which may be further elaborated during the conference:
-This operation will endanger the health and lives of the surrounding communities (https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_hendryx_the_shocking_danger_of_mountaintop_removal_and_why_it_must_end). This type of surface mining, particularly blasting, will pollute the air that residents breathe with fine and ultrafine silica dust, a known hazard. Residents face significantly higher rates of cancer, heart disease, birth defects, and other deadly illnesses. Dozens of peer-reviewed scientific studies demonstrate the impact to residents' health. WVDEP claims that they lack the capacity to understand the science, and that they have no knowledge of human health. But granting this permit will violate WVDEP's mission of "promoting a healthy environment" and the permit requirement that "all operations shall be conducted to prevent significant imminent environmental harm to the health or safety of the public." Since WVDEP does not know what would constitute "harm to the health of the public," they have not business granting this permit.
A few of the more notable studies are:
--Appalachian Mountaintop Mining Particulate Matter Induces Neoplastic Transformation of Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells and Promotes Tumor Formation (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4224494/)
--Association between residence near surface coal mining and blood inflammation (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214790X15000386)
--The association between mountaintop mining and birth defects among live births in central Appalachia, 1996–2003 (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0013935111001484)
-In addition to the health impacts of airborne dust, blasting on the site will damage aquifers and pose a hazard to neighboring homes.
-The deforestation and alteration of natural contours will cause an increased flooding risk.
-The operation will pollute adjacent streams.
-This operation will destroy habitat for the endangered Indiana bat and northern long-eared bat.
-The deforestation of 1,085 acres and the extraction of 11.2 million tons of coal from this site will contribute to the growing climate crisis. While WVDEP may deny that human activity can affect the climate, the reality is that your action of approving this permit will add to heat waves, droughts, and catastrophic weather events around the world.
-This permit would prevent community members from the use and enjoyment of the area for traditional activities such as hunting and gathering mushrooms, ramps, ginseng, and other resources.
The mine plan proposes mining within 300 feet of occupied dwellings.
The mine also includes four spoil disposal valley fills and 34 wastewater outlets. These outfalls would discharge into Workman Creek, Stovers Fork, and Wingrove Branch. All of these streams are tributaries of the Coal River watershed, which has already been heavily impaired by surface coal mining.
West Virginia Dept. of Environmental Protection has the duty and obligation to provide and maintain a healthy environment. To approve this renewal, subjecting neighboring residents to carcinogenic dust clouds, is to abdicate this responsibility. WVDEP must do the right thing and deny renewal of permit S301419.
