This article originally provided by The Register-Herald

July 24, 2006

Marsh Fork residents air concerns about silo

Amelia Pridemore
Register-Herald Reporter

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection heard comments Monday night from the public about a Massey Energy subsidiary’s application to build a second coal loading silo near Marsh Fork Elementary School — and the packed gymnasium full of people wanted to be heard loud and clear.

Goals Coal Company’s plan to build a 168-foot tall silo 260 feet away from Marsh Fork Elementary drew protests from parents and residents concerned about its possible environmental impact, according to the Associated Press. They have filed a class action lawsuit against Massey, claiming coal dust from Goals is causing health problems for students.

The DEP granted the company a permit to build the silo last year, but rescinded it because a Massey engineer had enlarged the submitted map’s permit boundary from previously approved permits. The state Surface Mine Board upheld the DEP’s decision and ordered Massey to submit accurate maps for the location.

Massey operates an identical silo, built in 2003, about 225 feet away from the school, according to a release from Coal River Mountain Watch, a Coal River Valley-based environmental group. The silo stores powdered coal and loads rail cars about 150 feet from school grounds. After loading, the operation sprays a binding agent over the coal.

Rock Creek resident and Coal River Mountain Watch member Hillary Hosta was incensed that for a second time, residents were having to voice concerns about the silo.

“There shouldn’t be a second time,” she said. “We’re hearing the dangers, for a second time, about putting a silo behind a school. I am horribly insulted. This is a terrible thing to even think about — putting a second silo behind the school.’

“We should be talking about putting a new, safe school in this community for these children.”

Coal River Mountain Watch is calling for construction of a new school in the Marsh Fork area, according to the release. Noting long bus rides after Marsh Fork High School closed, the group is asking for a new facility to accommodate grades K-12.

Dawn Seeburger, a scientist and owner of the Charleston area-based Environmental Resources and Consultants, was the first speaker at the hearing. She said she was hired by an attorney named Kevin Thompson who represents parents and students at the school.

Seeburger said there is potential for students and staff to inhale respirable dust. Coal dust particles of less than 10 microns in size will go into the lungs — and because they are so small, they will cause irreversible damage. In describing the size of a micron, she said several thousand of them are about the size of a period.

“If they are that small, they will not go to the mucus membranes and then be spit back up,” she said. “The little stuff goes deeper — and once it goes deeper, you can’t get that back out.”

Children will generally not show evidence of any serious damage right away, Seeburger said. However, she noted they generally breathe 50 percent more than adults, partly because they are more active. Their respiratory systems are still developing. Therefore, children are at more risk for illness.

Seeburger said a survey was conducted of 125 households in the Marsh Fork area, 60 of which had children. Of those 60 households with children, 53 households reported children having health problems.

The area needed to have an actual scientific survey, she said, to determine whether coal dust is the cause — and if so, the quantity and the type children were inhaling.

Rock Creek resident and Coal River Mountain Watch member Julia Bonds said a second silo would increase the dust in the area, and because chemical binding sprays are used, the spraying will increase.

“Who’s going to take care of your kids 20 years from now?” she said. “How are they going to live if they can’t work? You need to look beyond this and think about who’s going to take care of your kids.”

Coal River Mountain Watch member and Naoma resident Vernon Haltom expressed a lack of faith in the DEP’s entire permitting process after the silo permit was first approved, then rescinded, due to boundaries.

“They didn’t check the maps the first time,” he said. “They should have realized (the boundaries) had been changed before the permits were approved.’

“Every permit in the state is doubtful.”

Maria Gunnoe, Bob White resident and Coalfield Community Organizer for the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, expressed strong displeasure at the DEP and other state regulatory agencies for what she believed was failing to do their job to protect residents and their children. She said she also believed the wealth of coal companies influenced state officials’ decisions at the expense of the citizenry.

“Our tax dollars are spent to assure protection for ourselves and our children,” she said. “The laws on the books are being blatantly ignored. Tax dollars are being wasted on lax regulatory agencies. Why should we trust you to protect us?”

“There are millions of dollars in coal mined — not every week, not every month — every day. Why is there not enough money to build these kids a new school?” she said, and several in the room erupted in cheers.

Not everyone in the room shared the same viewpoint.

Andrea Cook, a parent of a child at the school and president of the PTO, said she has lived in the area her entire life and went to Marsh Fork Elementary when it was a middle school. She also grew up “just down the road” from the school.

“I’ve never been sick — not one time,” she said.

In the past, the building was heated by coal, and Cook suggested any coal residue inside could be left behind from that. She said most parents and teachers at the school were not included in the survey mentioned by Seeburger, and they had received no copies of it. Haltom then handed her a copy.

She also mentioned her father and grandfather were both coal miners, and they never had health problems. Those remarks garnered groans from some in the crowd.

“This is my turn to speak, and you all will have your turn,” she said. “You all don’t know my family.”

The school also had a high attendance rate and test scores, and any drop in the school attendance rate could possibly be attributed to sixth graders moving to Trap Hill Middle School, Cook said.

Three women in Massey Energy shirts stood up and cheered for Cook after her remarks.

— E-mail: apridemore@register-herald.com