This article originally provided by The Record Delta

August 12, 2006

Man fights to move school from near coal site

BY AMANDA HAYES

There is a determined look on Ed Wiley’s face as he discusses the effects coal dust and chemicals are having on the children at Marsh Fork Elementary School in Sundial, W.Va.

The problem stems from Goals Coal Company, a subsidiary of Massey which operates a coal prep plant and silo just 300 feet from the school. People in the community claim that the air and water quality in and around the school is making the children sick. Wiley knows first hand because his granddaughter was a student at Marsh Fork but will be moving up to the middle school this fall. One day just two years ago Wiley picked his granddaughter up from school. She turned to him and said
“Grampy, these coal mines are making us sick.”


From then on Wiley vowed to do whatever it took to solve the problem. Although his granddaughter is not at the school anymore, Wiley is not dropping his crusade. He has two younger grandchildren who have yet to start school and there are approximately 220 other children left at the school.

Wiley is on a mission to get not only a new school built for the children at Marsh Fork Elementary, but to ensure that no other child has to go through this again.

“I’m going to get this done,” he stated emphatically.

Wiley began working on this issue two years ago when former Governor Bob Wise was still in office and made headlines statewide last year when he staged a sit-in at the Capitol Building until Governor Joe Manchin III would meet with him. Wiley and members of Coal River Mountain Watch community group, met with the governor and other state officials to present their concerns. Manchin promised to investigate but Wiley felt like the governor had not heard the whole story.

So he requested another meeting. When that did not work out, he went to the steps of the Capitol Building and protested. Manchin returned from Flatwoods earlier to meet with him after five hours, according to Wiley. The two sat discussing the issue for over two hours.

Following that meeting, Manchin told Wiley, “He would try to do everything humanly possible,” Wiley said.

“I believe deep in his heart, the governor does care,” he added. “He really wants to help these children.”

However the process has dragged on and in the meantime, the problems are not going away, according to Wiley.

Carte Goodwin, chief counsel for Manchin, said that representatives from the state DEP, the state department of education and MSHT had toured the facility.

Anytime there is a concern about the safety, health and well being of children at Marsh Fork or any other school, the governor is going to look into it, according to Goodwin.

No evidence of regulatory non-compliance and no evidence of
health violations was found, according to Goodwin.

The site is subject to continued monitoring he added. In fact, Raleigh County Schools has asked the federal Environmental Protection Agency to investigate further, according to Goodwin.
Superintendent Dr. Charlotte Hutchens confirmed that the school system had done that.

Not far away from the preparation plant is a coal sludge impoundment built to hold 2.8 billion gallons of this toxic waste. If the dam were ever to break, the elementary school is in its path, according to Wiley.

Another issue is a silo built 150 feet from the school and a second silo Massey Energy requested a permit to be built next to it.

Wiley credited Charleston Gazette reporter Ken Ward with calling attention to the fact that the first silo was out of the permit area. The DEP had granted Massey a permit, but then rescinded that order. Survey maps showed that property lines had been moved to accommodate the first silo and the proposed silo site had moved closer to the school.

However, the silo issue has blocked attention from the other issues at hand such as the coal dust and chemicals and the sludge impoundment itself.

Wiley, who lives six miles from the school and coal site feels the
vibrations from blasting done at the site.

“When they blast there, it shakes my house. What’s it doing to
the dam?” he asked.

Wiley who once worked at the site stated that employees had to complete an 80 hour class and a separate 40 hour course that taught about the chemicals. He learned about the dangers of ammonia and other toxic chemicals now sitting in the impoundment.

Wiley is now taking his concerns to the nation’s capitol.

Starting August 2, Wiley set out on a 455 miles trek from Charleston to Washington, D.C. to call attention to the issue. There, he hopes who to meet with Sen. Robert C. Byrd, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings and others regarding the problems at Marsh Fork Elementary School.

His aim is not only raise $5 million needed for a new elementary school but to get a law passed to ensure that this never happens again.

Wiley set a goal of walking 10-11 miles each day, but is averaging 16-17 miles. He is a week ahead of schedule.
He reached the southern tip of Upshur County Wednesday and walked as far as the West Virginia Wildlife Center. He resumed his walking on Thursday but planned to stop at the outskirts of town and start again today. Each time Wiley stops, he returns to that same point to start walking again.

In each town Wiley tries to meet with the mayor and talk with as many people as possible.

Buckhannon is different because of the Sago Mine Disaster, according to Wiley. He doesn’t want to offend anyone, but wants people to understand what he is doing.

“I have a lot of respect for people here,” he said. He said he probably would not talk to as many people here in order to not be seen as pushy.

Wiley is not against coal mining.
“Let them keep their coal site,” he said, “It’s about getting the

children moved. I’m not going away and I’m not giving up.”

Wiley has received a lot of support throughout his journey, he stated.

The issue has received international attention and support through “ABC World News Tonight,” a May Vanity Fair article and O Magazine. Donations have been received from around the country and as far away as Wales. A website, www.penniesofpromise.org, run by the grassroots organization of the same name, keeps track of Wiley’s progress with blogs and information on how to donate.

All donations will go towards funding the new school, according to Wiley. The expense of his trip has already been paid for. Donations are also tax-exempt.

Ed Wiley walks along Route 20 South on his way to Washington, D.C. as he raises awareness and funds for a new school.