"Our water is worth more than that coal!” Bennie Massey said to the Kentucky Department of Mining and Reclamation Enforcement (DMRE) at Wednesday's hearing on the proposed strip mine for Benham & Lynch, Harlan County. Bennie, Lynch's longest running city council member, joined 20 of his neighbors and friends in Middlesboro at the DMRE to speak out against the 500-acre strip mine that will threaten the community's drinking water. 

Allies from around the state supported these brave communities by answering a KFTC call to action made last week to contact KY Dept. of Natural Resources Commissioner Carl Campbell, telling him that enough is enough, respect the plans and concerns of local residents and give priority to protecting the communities' assets. Upon request from several residents at the hearing, the deadline for these comments has been extended. Click here to take action.

Along with water, residents of Benham and Lynch expressed several other fears about the proposed mine. “Mountains can't be destroyed and then expected to hold back water,” one woman explained after reading aloud an article about Pike County residents of Harless Creek suing a coal company for extreme flooding damage. “I have flood insurance right now and I live up on a mountain.”

 Stanley Sturgill (below) added, "I don't wanna be blasted out of bed every morning by those machines."

Portal 31

Residents of Benham and Lynch in Harlan County are creating a new future of their communities. They are asking for support to help stop another proposal to strip away the communities' assets and their hopes for the future.

“Our little communities of Benham and Lynch have a lot of potential. The Portal 31 Exhibition Coal Mine, Lynch Depot, Benham Theater, the Schoolhouse Inn, and the Kentucky Coal Mining Museum are all part of our history and heritage. We are planning to rehab the Old Restaurant and Old Fire Station, near Portal 31. We can continue to build tourism if we protect these facilities and the beauty of our mountains” – Stanley Sturgill

This area also boasts the highest peak in the state (Black Mountain), great quality drinking water, and local development plans that can be a showcase for the rest of the state.

That is, if they can keep coal companies from destroying everything.

Residents are now challenging the fifth pending coal mining permit application that puts all their present and future plans at risk. The latest is a 500-acre strip mining proposal that would come very close to historic buildings in Lynch. The company, Nally & Hamilton, has caused KFTC members numerous problems over the years. The strip mining on the other side of the mountain from Benham and Lynch destroyed Elmer Lloyd’s pond three years ago and contributed to additional problems last week. Check out his story here.

Harlan chapter members recently filed, with the help of Kentucky Resources Council, that an area including these 500 acres be declared Unsuitable for Mining. But Benham and Lynch residents must also fight for this individual permit to be denied while the larger petition proceeds for the viewshed and watershed be declared unsuitable for mining.

Their future and their children and grandchildren’s future depend on the right decisions.

Click the "act now" button below to send an email to the Kentucky Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Carl Campbell, telling him that enough is enough. Respect the plans and concerns of local residents and give priority to protecting the communities' assets.

You are encouraged to submit comments by 4 p.m. on Thursday, September 2 (this is an extension from the original deadline).

Thanks for helping and making a difference.

Our goal was to explore the connections between the impacts of the coal industry in Kentucky and Colombia. An important part of the exchange and the high point for many was a celebration of culture and an exchange of the things that people in both places love about where they are from.

A delegation of 5 from Kentucky - including 3 KFTC members and 2 staff - participated in this Witness for Peace trip, which was focused on "The People Behind the Coal in Appalachia and Colombia." The exchange began with a tour of mountain communities impacted by coal mining in Eastern Kentucky. From July 19th to July 26th, the group traveled on to Colombia. We spent the week learning about the impacts of the coal industry on Colombian communities in a northern coastal region called Cesar.

In a village called Tamaquito, we sat under a cool canopy of trees in mud huts with palm thatched roofs. KFTC member Randy Wilson took a moment of space to do some pickin' for the villagers. People were immediately at ease, and the space filled with laughter and song.

Randy Wilson's Banjo in Tamaquito, Colombia from Kentuckians For The Commonwealth on Vimeo.

The villagers then performed a dance for us where the women, covered from head to ankle in flaming red capes, circled the open ground to the sound of a drum. Then one woman was joined by one man and they twirled together in an intense circle, rounding one another and bumping shoulders. 

After the dance, the villagers fed us a rich meal of marinated rice and goat meat. We talked as much as we could with them and played with the children who ran all around us. It started to rain and we quieted, sitting under the shade and listening to the sounds of the drops in this beautiful little village. With only one solar panel in the village, no one went inside their homes during this pleasant afternoon rain, but sat watching, experiencing it instead.

When we asked the villagers what they loved about the place they call home, several of them smiled. One said, “When the sun sets and night falls it is dark, we know where we are. We are not lost. Once, we lived in peace here.”

Tamaquito is being forcibly displaced from their land by a coal mining company. We're losing communities and cultures like them around the world at a rapid clip, due to our driving demand to consume. As Randy Wilson said, "The very people who know how to live sustainably, who figured this out long, long ago, are being displaced by a society whose principles and policy don’t have a clue."

The hope we can find is in communities standing together to learn from one another and to protect the values, the culture and the possibilities of transition that still remain here in Kentucky and abroad.

To learn more about the issues and the trip, plan to attend KFTC’s Annual Meeting and participate in a multi-media presentation about the trip.

Nearly three years ago, Elmer Lloyd began a journey for justice on his property in Cumberland, KY after the Nalley & Hamilton owned strip mine above his home completely devastated his family's fish pond. Excessive drainage of toxins, sediment, and mud killed hundreds of fish and nearly filled in the entire pond, as shown by video footage here. Years of lawyers, inspectors, court battles, and coal company lies, ended in Elmer having to settle with the company.

“I fully believed there were enough laws to protect my property. Boy was I wrong.” Elmer, disabled underground coal miner, says of the tragedy. This past November Elmer received his small settlement and began a new journey to restore his pond. Since then he has spent nearly three thousand dollars on the restoration.

Late last week, the site above Elmer's home, now considered “reclaimed”, released another slide of silt and mud into his pond. “We had some rain, but the stream coming off Pine Mountain [onto my property] was crystal clear. The stream running off that strip job was thick mud running right into my pond.”

Inspectors came out but were resistant to give Elmer any information. They told Elmer they would be in touch about the water samples they took, and they couldn't write a violation if the company was in compliance.

“They probably won't give them an off permit violation because of all the mess I made about it the last time. They know I won't shut up about it and I'll stay right on 'em.”

Elmer is hopeful that this incident isn't as detrimental, although still very damaging. He is yet to find any dead fish, but it will take some work to fix it. If his pond takes a couple similar hits to this one, it will be right back to the destroyed state it was three years ago. 

A lot of people around here have serious damage to their homes and property, but are scared to talk about it because them or their families work in the mines. I'm just a drop in the bucket, but I don't care to tell about it.

Join KFTC's delegation to a conference and day of action focused on transition and the future of Appalachia. The events aim to advance the dialogue about current energy extraction practices, with a specific focus on ending mountaintop removal coal mining, and advocate for a renewable energy future for Appalachia on a national stage

"We envision a vibrant weekend during which thousands will learn about the challenges Appalachia faces and ways to build a movement to end the destruction and plant the seeds of a sustainable and prosperous Appalachia," said the organizers of the events.

The conference, entitled Voices from the Mountains, will be held on September 25-26, 2010. Organizers of the Voices from the Mountain conference are planning a space for regional participants to grow and connect through strategy sessions, workshops, learning, and cultural events. Topics will include both exploration of the issues facing the region and ways to move forward.

The day following the conference, September 27th, many people from the Appalachian region will gather with conference attendees for a day of mobilization and rallying on Capitol Hill. 2000 people, including movement leaders from the region, celebrities such as Ashley Judd and Silas House, and many Appalachian residents are expected to gather.

Click here to sign up or learn more.

(adapted from Rainforest Action Network news story)

Last month, Wells Fargo became the fourth top U.S. bank to adopt a position limiting financing of mountaintop removal (MTR) coal mining. This shift is consistent with a national move away from support for the mining practice, which recently both scientists and the federal government have confirmed causes irrevocable harm to landscape, water quality and public health.

Within the last two years, Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo along with Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley have passed policies limiting their financial relationships with coal operators that practice mountaintop removal. These banks were the lead financiers of the practice prior to their policy shifts.

The move comes as a response to more than three years of national pressure from several regional and national groups, spearheaded by Rainforest Action Network (RAN). KFTC members have attended and spoken out at bank shareholder and board of director meetings during these years.

One of the major impacts of these mountaintop mining policies is that the banks are no longer financing Massey Energy, the leading MTR coal company in the country that also was involved in the April 5 Upper Big Branch underground mine explosion where 29 miners were killed. In particular, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, all of which have had substantial financing relationships (underwriting bonds or providing loans) with Massey Energy since January 2005, no longer finance the controversial company.

With the nation’s leading banks moving away from MTR, coal operators are looking toward new banks for financing. Currently, PNC and UBS are the lead financiers of the practice. PNC finances mining companies responsible for almost half of all mountaintop removal coal mined in the U.S. PNC has numerous locations in Kentucky, including in counties that produce coal. UBS has operations in Louisville, Lexington and Paducah.

Read the anti-MTR policies of various banks:
·      Bank of America 
·      Citi Bank
·      Credit Suisse
·      Morgan Stanley
·      JPMorgan Chase (page 31)
·      Wells Fargo

Comment from Teri Blanton:

Most of the work that we do around mining and clean energy issues is with government agencies or elected officials in the case of mountaintop removal, KFTC has been supporting Rainforest Action Networks (RAN) efforts to convince banks to stop financing mountaintop removal.  This effort has gained enough traction that 4 major national banks have adopted policies that explicitly denies funding for mtr.

We want to thank the KFTC members who have attended shareholders meetings to educate corporate officers and other share holders of the effects that their decisions have on the lives of the Appalachian people.  Supported by the proxy votes of other shareholders we’ve told the stories of the people who, until then, were just numbers on a balance sheet. We especially thank RAN for dedication to this project.  This is a major victory and we should savor it.

A group of well-known local community activists, writers, academics and business leaders have contributed to the issue. including Wendell Berry, Vernon Haltom, Stephen George, John Todd, Adam Lewis, Sarah Forbes and many more. An article titled A Cooperative Approach to Renewing East Kentucky was written by KFTC member Randy Wilson and staff person Sara Pennington. Erik Reece contributed an interview with Joe Childers, a founding member of KFTC and current chair of the Kentucky Mine Safety Review Commission.

The premise for the special issue, according to Solutions editors, is a recognition of Appalachia as a special place and one of the most biologically diverse and culturally rich regions on the planet. Central Appalachia has the potential to become a national model of the positive transition to a clean energy future.

This July/August special Appalachia issue of Solutions is now available on newsstands and by subscribing. A year's subscription (6 issues) is $29.99 but if you identify yourself as a KFTC member by using Coupon Code APP2010 you will receive a $5 discount. If you want your subscription to start with the current special issue, please email julie.thorpe@thesolutionsjournal.com and make this request. Most of the content will also be available online, but KFTC encourages support of this nonprofit venture with a subscription or a donation.

Solutions is an online forum and print publication devoted exclusively to showcasing bold and innovative ideas for solving the world's integrated economic, social, and environmental problems.

It was a mere 29 years ago today that a group of 26 people from 12 counties meeting in Hazard agreed to officially form a new organization – KFTC, then known as the Kentucky Fair Tax Coalition. 

"People, especially in eastern Kentucky, were getting to know each other. All around the region there was a loose network of people who had worked together with each other in various ways over the past 15 years or so. What we didn't have in those days was a structured connection between us. There was a no interlocking of these community-level efforts, until KFTC" — Herb E. Smith

According to the book Making History: The First Ten Years of KFTC:

"This Hazard meeting was not the first meeting of this group of people who were coming together from across eastern Kentucky. The group had met on several prior occasions to explore the possibilities of working together on common issues. Shared concerns included the quality of (or lack of) community services and public education in coal counties (which suffered from gross inequalities in the tax system) and the rights of landowners.

"Many of the people involved were organizing in their respective home counties around these and related issues. The decision to launch a new organization was based on the understanding that the issues were all related and shared a common underlying roots cause: "the inequality of life with a single dominant industry – coal – that was not contributing its fair share."

Thanks to everyone who is helping KFTC continue to make history! How about helping us celebrate with a $29 donation, which you can do securely here, as we work to make the next 29 years even more exciting!

Rural communities in Kentucky will see an expansion in their access to broadband internet service, thanks to $246 million in grant dollars that the state was just awarded last week. The grants are funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also known as the federal stimulus package. These awards are a part of the federal government's long-term strategy to expand and improve internet throughout the country. (Visit http://www.broadband.gov/ to learn more about this.)

The recently awarded round of grants includes awards of more than $125 million in far west Kentucky, and more than $80 million in the mountains of eastern Kentucky. The eight funded projects outlined plans to build broadband infrastructure in unserved or underserved rural areas. The following is a list of the awards:

Leslie County Telephone Company - $6.1 million
Salem Telephone Company - $1.9 million
West Kentucky Rural Telephone Cooperative, Inc. - $123.8 million
Highland Telephone Cooperative, Inc. - $66 million
People's Rural Telephone Cooperative, Inc. - $25.5 million
Foothills Rural Telephone Cooperative Corporation, Inc. - $20.9 million
Windstream Corporation - $950,000
Mikrotec CATV LLC - $829,000

Kentucky had already received $75 million from this broadband infrastructure fund for projects in Grant, Owen, Morgan, Menifee, Wolfe and Elliott counties.

“Not only will this funding help create jobs, it will also help bring much-needed infrastructure to our rural communities, helping them to expand their services, attracting new businesses that will bring economic growth and jobs by providing affordable access to critical 21st Century technologies,” said Gov. Beshear.

Internet access will be key to factor in economic diversification in rural Kentucky, particularly in the eastern mountain communities. Broadband access facilitates small business-start ups and connects remote areas to larger market bases.

On a related note, KFTC allies at Appalshop are working on the issue of internet access and expansion with other groups. They want to ensure that the internet is affordable and accessible to all communities. The grassroots project, called Dial-Up Rocks, is based on these principles:

-Network Neutrality: Network neutrality (also net neutrality, Internet neutrality) is the principle of open and unfiltered access to the Internet, with no restrictions on content, sites, or platforms, the kinds of equipment that may be attached, or the modes of communication allowed.

-Universal Broadband: Universal broadband is a policy initiative to make affordable, high-speed broadband Internet affordable and accessible throughout the United States.

Free and unrestricted communication is a human right and that media is the intersection of power, social justice and all kinds of equity – gender, racial, and cultural. Media Justice is about taking control of our media environment – our airwaves, networks, and online spaces. To achieve this we must transform our relationship with media and how we want to define its structure and how our communities access media.

Dial-Up Rocks will be following the implementation of the broadband grants very closely.

Are you an electrician, plumber, HVAC contractor or solar installer looking to learn more about energy efficiency in homes and businesses? 

The Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED) will offer a free "lunch and learn" on Thursday, September 2 in Paintsville. Water heating and space heating experts will share the latest in energy efficiency for both residential and commercial applications.

Location:

Time, Date:

10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Thursday, September 2, 2010

Topics:

• Heat pump technology
• Geo-exchange waste heat recovery
• Gas condensing technology
• Tankless water heating systems for water and hydronic space heating applications
• Solar water heating systems

Speakers: