For Immediate Release – November 19, 2009

ORGANIZATIONS PETITION THE VA AIR BOARD TO ADOPT STRICTER REGS TO CONTROL DUST IN THE RURAL COAL COMMUNITIES OF SOUTHWEST VA

Contacts: Adam Wells, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards 804 240 4372
Oliver Bernstein, Sierra Club 512 447 2152

ORGANIZATIONS PETITION THE VA AIR BOARD TO ADOPT STRICTER REGS TO CONTROL DUST IN THE RURAL COAL COMMUNITIES OF SOUTHWEST VA

Richmond, Va. – The Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards and the Sierra Club will submit a formal petition to the Virginia Air Board supported by legal representation asking the Air Board to promulgate stricter regulations to clear the air they breathe in coal mining communities of southwest Virginia. These former miners, homemakers, and religious leaders will voice their concerns about dust coming from trucks hauling coal from strip mines and prep plants through communities. The residents are part of an ongoing effort by Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards (SAMS) to reduce the amount of dust that ends up on roadways and on people’s property near strip mines.

“This is about protecting people’s health and improving the quality of life for people in our area,” said Pete Ramey, retired underground miner and President of SAMS.

In April, SAMS brought to the Air Board’s attention the dust problems created by hauling coal by truck. The Air Board agreed then that the issue was urgent and needed to be remedied immediately and gave the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) direction to find a solution. SAMS has been working with DEQ, the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, community members and coal operators to find a solution that protects communities.

Since then, coal operators in Roda and Stonega have taken several voluntary measures to try to reduce dust in communities such as installing truck washers, paving haul roads and running street sweepers along the roads used by haul trucks. Now SAMS and the Sierra Club are asking the Air Board to ensure that these measures will continue and be applied to other communities in the coalfields as well.

Exeter resident Larry Bush will be joining the group in Richmond to try to get similar measures in his community. “I want to see DEQ make some rules that require dust control measures anywhere they’re hauling coal, not just in Roda and Stonega,” said Bush, a SAMS board member and retired Federal mine inspector. “When these trucks put dust on my house, I’m the one who has to pay to clean it off. By making coal companies put in these preventive measures, we’re just making sure the cost gets put where it belongs.”

“Ensuring that the voluntary changes made in Roda and Stonega hollows become mandatory are an important Environmental Justice issue. The Sierra Club is pleased to work with community leaders to make sure that the changes are mandatory”. Said Bill McCabe, Environmental Justice Organizer for the Sierra Club.