Vigilance Required at Mine Waste Site
Letter to the Editor
Morgantown Dominion Post
5 July 2011
My Lemley great-grandparents, grandparents and other relatives are
buried at the Oak Forest Cemetery. That’s the cemetery that lies within
100 feet of a proposed mine waste.
Oak Forest Cemetery is on the ridge at the top of the Camp Run
watershed, which is part of the Dunkard Creek watershed.
When CONSOL bought the whole Camp Run Valley and demolished the
farmhouses and buildings, we knew the unique, almost pristine valley
and its healthy perennial stream (where my grandfather used to wash
diapers) would be destroyed.
But I didn’t imagine that 1,372 acres of slurry would reach to the
ridgetop cemetery. Sort of ironic. My husband’s family owned the land
occupied now by Blacksville No. 2 mine and its waste-filled valley that
will rise higher than the surrounding hills. Now my ancestral land, one
of those special West Virginia places that people love to retire to, is
going to be buried in black stuff. For 20 years of coal, eternal
destruction. What a downer.
It is inappropriate that Wolfpen (the CONSOL subsidiary) has adopted
the appellation “Mason Dixon” for this latest project to industrialize
a piece of wild, wonderful West Virginia. Charles Mason and Jeremiah
Dixon wouldn’t like it. They were intelligent, respected
astronomer/surveyors who accomplished a difficult task in 1764-1767,
drawing a straight line for 200-plus miles through the wilderness.
Their names have many applications here on the Mason-Dixon Line, always
as an expression of honor and recognition. “You’re in Mason-Dixon
territory” means, “Hey, something significant happened here. Not an
appropriate name for a thing no tourist will ever want to see.”
Additional mining will put additional stress on the entire Dunkard
Creek watershed, which experienced decimation of all aquatic life in
2009, an event that was well documented and still is a red flag for
future water quality concerns.
Camp Run provides quality water to Dunkard Creek and its destruction
will be significant. Dunkard Creek seems to be recovering. It must be
recognized that CONSOL has been cooperative in protecting the creek as
much as possible and, we must assume, will continue to do so through
the construction and operation of the facility that will occupy the
valley of Camp Run.
It will be a huge facility and will require vigilance on its part to
prevent further water quality problems. Many watershed residents will
be employed at the new mine; it will be the best of both worlds if they
are able to make a living and have the opportunity to relax by Dunkard
Creek and catch some nice fish.
Betty Lemley Wiley
Westover