More than 100 people filled the Charleston Civic Center's Little Theater Thursday night to voice their opposition or support for the newly proposed Stream Protection Rule, created by the federal Office of Surface Mining.
The public hearing was meant to provide an opportunity for citizens and local leaders to have their voices heard during the rule making process.
While the rule would expand environmental monitoring and restoration, increase protections for endangered species and strengthen bonding procedures for mines, it does not create a stream buffer rule, which would stop companies from dumping waste rock and dirt into nearby streams.
The Thursday hearing was the last of five that have been held across the country in places like Denver, Louisville, St. Louis and Pittsburgh, and comes several years after previous attempts to amend the 30-year-old rules were tied up in court.
The U.S. Department of the Interior estimated that the newly-proposed rule would ensure that 6,200 miles of streams nationwide would be "improved" or "protected" between 2020 and 2040.
But the comments during Thursday's meeting were less about specifics and more about people's interpretations of how the rule would effect their jobs, West Virginia's economy and the country's electricity supply. At times, the meeting was more about theatrics than substance.
The room was filled with stickers that represented people's support or opposition to the rule. Those opposed to the rule wore "Friends of Coal." Those in support wore "Our Water Our Future." And in the back of the dimly lit auditorium one sign being held by miners read "Appalachian Lives Matter," playing off of the Black Lives Matter slogan that stemmed from protests over police brutality.
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, numerous state legislators, officials from West Virginia's congressional delegation, members of the West Virginia's Coal Association, and dozens of miners from throughout the state took their turn criticizing the rule and arguing that it was not going to help the environment and was only meant to end coal mining all together.
Throughout the several hours of commentary, the rule was referred to as "onerous," a "monstrosity," a "job killer," a "death sentence," "bureaucratic regulatory hogwash," a "kick in the face," "government at its worst" and the "final nail in the coffin."
Tomblin began the string of complaints about the new rule by characterizing the rule as only the latest decision by the federal government that places more regulations on coal mining and coal-fired power plants.
Tomblin lamented the dismal economic condition of West Virginia, which now has an unemployment rate of 7.5 percent, and he criticized the Office of Surface Mining for not listening to the states more during the rule making process.
While voicing recognition for the market forces that have reduced coal production in West Virginia - like low natural gas prices and reduced seams of coal - Tomblin railed against federal rules.
"Market forces are manipulated by federal policy," Tomblin said before he stepped off the stage to applause by the miners in the room.
One after another, state politicians, such as House Speaker Tim Armstead (R-Kanawha), delegates Marty Gearheart (R-Mercer) and Rupie Phillips (D-Logan), took the stage to denounce the rule.
"We simply cannot take another round of over-regulation from Washington," Armstead said.
While others who spoke asked for a longer commenting period, Gearheart said he wanted an extension until the 2016 presidential election so that he could vote for a presidential candidate that would overturn the stream protection rules.
Phillips directly addressed officials with the Office of Surface Mining when he said "When the power grid fails and the heat goes off, I hope you freeze y'all asses off."
He went on to suggest the rule wasn't needed saying, "Mother Nature takes care of herself."
The miners who stepped up to the podium, wearing their work boots and hard hats, repeatedly cited the number of children and grandchildren they have, and then expressed their opposition to the rule. Some of them directly challenged the economic impact studies that the Office of Surface Mining has conducted as part of the rule making process.
While the vast majority of those attending the meeting spoke out against the rule, a smaller minority waited patiently to have their say. The people in support of the rule got their turn to speak an hour and a half into the hearing.
Daile Boulis, who lives next to the surface mine near Kanawha State Forest, said she appreciated the rule and recognized the need for the rule to come from the federal level.
"Our state officials have been co-opted by the fossil fuel industry," she said.
Reach Andrew Brown at andrew.brown@wvgazette.com, 304-348-4814 or follow
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