On top of all the other coal and carbon-related news that broke this week, the Government Accountability Office ^[1] released an 88-page report, titled “Surface Coal Mining: Characteristics of Mining in Mountainous Areas of Kentucky ^[2] and West Virginia ^[3].” The report is a comprehensive look at mountaintop removal ^[4] (MTR) in Appalachia ^[5].

Charleston Gazette ^[6] reporter and anti-mountaintop removal advocate Ken Ward Jr. was the first to analyze this report, though it appears he only read the first few pages:

While the area of Appalachia affected by surface coal mining ^[7] has increased, it has also become more concentrated in a few coalfield counties, and mine operators still propose little in the way of post-mining development of land flattened by mountaintop removal…

And since 2000 alone, new permits have been issued by the state Department of Environmental Protectionthat would allow mine operators to bury 177 miles of West Virginia streams with waste rock and dirt…

The area under open permit — meaning an approved permit that has never been reclaimed — increased in West Virginia from 184,000 acres in January 1990 to 245,000 acres in July 2008, an annual increase of about 2.2 percent.

GAO: Mining permits seldom include development  – News – The Charleston Gazette – West Virginia News and Sports ^[8]

Ward’s report leaves out a number of interesting tidbits of information. The most interesting information showed that out of West Virginia’s 55 counties – a total of 15 million acres – only 1.58 percent of that acreage includes MTR sites. Out of the top three MTR counties – Logan, Mingo, and Boone – only 13.42 percent of their acreage is devoted to MTR.

Killing the mountains? Hardly.

One complaint environmentalists seem to have is about the reclamation of MTR sites; about how mining companies have no plans for turning MTR sites into sites for commercial development. That’s true, but only because most MTR sites are turned into fish and wildlife refuges. In West Virginia, most MTR sites are slated to become reforested land; much how these sites were prior to mining:

In West Virginia, of the 212 permits issued from January 2000 through July 2008, 141 permits were approved for forestland as a PMLU, followed by 46 permits approved for fish and wildlife habitat/recreation and 34 permits approved for hay or pastureland. Sixty permits issued during this time were approved for other PMLU types, including 23 for commercial forestry or woodland, and 12 for industrial/commercial.

You’d think the environmental movement would be thrilled to see a former MTR site become a new forest as opposed to a Target. Oh well. However, the MTR sites that are reclaimed for commercial use don’t seem so bad. Just check out this picture included in the GAO report:

As usual don’t take our word for it, and for that matter don’t take Ken Ward Jr. at his word either. Read the full report below.

Surface Coal Mining: Characteristics of Mining in Mountainous Areas of Kentucky and West Virginia ^[9]