State Police and Capitol Police arrest seven sit-in protesters who refused to leave the office of Gov. Joe Manchin unless the governor stopped a Massey Energy strip mine.
Read more in Coal Tattoo
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Seven opponents of mountaintop-removal mining were arrested Monday afternoon when they staged a sit-in outside Gov. Joe Manchin's office to try to force the governor to stop Massey Energy mining operations in the Coal River Valley.
Capitol Police and State Police troopers arrested the protesters shortly after 5 p.m., when they refused to leave a reception area that was closing at the end of the business day.
Earlier, Manchin had emerged from his private office to meet with the protesters. The governor said it wasn't his place to issue or block mining permits, and that he is trying to find a balance between mining jobs and environmental protection.
"What we're trying to do is find a balance, and that's tough to do in an extractive state," Manchin told the protesters.
About two-dozen protesters, including Coal River residents and activists from Climate Ground Zero, gathered in the reception area at noon. They said they wanted to deliver a list of demands to Manchin, including that the governor halt Massey Energy from blasting at strip-mining operations near its Brushy Fork slurry impoundment in Raleigh county.
Protesters also promoted their proposal that Coal River Mountain ridges be turned into a wind energy facility, rather than be blown up by mountaintop-removal mining.
"We can have a wind facility on top of these mountains, and Massey Coal can deep mine under these mountains to get the coal," said former underground miner Chuck Nelson, now an activist with the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition.
In a letter to the governor, the residents and activists said, "We live in fear that the blasting could cause the dam to fail and create one of the greatest industrial disasters in our nation's history.
Read more in Coal Tattoo
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Seven opponents of mountaintop-removal mining were arrested Monday afternoon when they staged a sit-in outside Gov. Joe Manchin's office to try to force the governor to stop Massey Energy mining operations in the Coal River Valley.
Capitol Police and State Police troopers arrested the protesters shortly after 5 p.m., when they refused to leave a reception area that was closing at the end of the business day.
Earlier, Manchin had emerged from his private office to meet with the protesters. The governor said it wasn't his place to issue or block mining permits, and that he is trying to find a balance between mining jobs and environmental protection.
"What we're trying to do is find a balance, and that's tough to do in an extractive state," Manchin told the protesters.
About two-dozen protesters, including Coal River residents and activists from Climate Ground Zero, gathered in the reception area at noon. They said they wanted to deliver a list of demands to Manchin, including that the governor halt Massey Energy from blasting at strip-mining operations near its Brushy Fork slurry impoundment in Raleigh county.
Protesters also promoted their proposal that Coal River Mountain ridges be turned into a wind energy facility, rather than be blown up by mountaintop-removal mining.
"We can have a wind facility on top of these mountains, and Massey Coal can deep mine under these mountains to get the coal," said former underground miner Chuck Nelson, now an activist with the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition.
In a letter to the governor, the residents and activists said, "We live in fear that the blasting could cause the dam to fail and create one of the greatest industrial disasters in our nation's history.
"The emergency evacuation plan for the Brushy Fork sludge dam states that should it fail, a wall of water 50 feet high would hit Whitesville and result in the deaths of at least 998 people," the letter said.
A report by the U.S. Office of Surface Mining explained that the impoundment is built over underground mine workings -- a major concern of the protesters -- but generally agreed with the state Department of Environmental Protection conclusion that the operation was safe.
Manchin told the protesters that it would be improper for him to intervene in DEP's handling of mining permits. But Nelson noted that the governor has flown to Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia to intervene on behalf of coal companies when federal regulators wanted to delay permits for more thorough reviews.
The governor did hand out business cards with his constituent services' phone number. He told any residents who feel they are being harassed or intimidated by the coal industry to call and file complaints.
Police and the governor's staff allowed the protesters to stay in the reception area, and to hold up large banners in the hallway outside, until the building was scheduled to close at 5 p.m.
At that point, the seven sit-in protesters were arrested. They were expected to be charged with trespassing and obstructing an officer, said Randy Mayhew, deputy director of the Capitol Police.
Outside the Capitol, other demonstrators strummed guitars and sang "This Land is Your Land" and other folk songs as police made the arrests.
Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kw...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1702.
Reach Alison Knezevich at alis...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1240.
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Geez this is something I would see happening in China, not in America.
Gov. Manchin gets more arrogant and obnoxious with every article I read about him.
The last thing I need is Californians, Arkansas or Floridian dollars building a road or school in WV when those states need their own money.
Perhaps if we as a nation would get a little more offended instead of sticking our hand out and asking for more, we could reduce the size and scope of government and greatly reduce our taxes.