It's just so much less than they would have us believe. Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association, defended his group's previous positions on mountaintop removal's importance to the industry. Raney said that any business would consider a 10 percent cut in revenue significant, just as any worker would think a 10 percent pay cut was a big pay cut. Mountaintop removal blasts off entire hilltops to uncover valuable low-sulfur coal seams. Leftover rock and earth is dumped into nearby valleys, burying streams.
All surface mining accounts for about one-third of West Virginia's annual coal production.
Most coal produced in the state comes from large underground mines. No one knows exactly how much of that one-third comes from mountaintop removal mines. Industry officials and regulators argue over exactly what constitutes a mountaintop removal mine under the law. A federal court lawsuit filed by the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy is trying to rein in mountaintop removal. Lawyers are close to settling most of the issues in that suit.