Dear
Say No to Coal Mines Masquerading as Roads |
Want to find a way to skirt necessary environmental safeguards so you can mine more coal? Coal you don't own?
Coal companies are trying to disguise a coal-mining operation as a highway project in Southwest Virginia, allowing them to seize land and ignore some environmental protections for local communities. They thought they could get away with it. But the permits are under review by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and you can help stop this environmental travesty.
Tell VDOT that you oppose taxpayer subsidized corporate land grabs and support smart, sustainable development for Virginia's Coal Counties.
Coal companies proposed and drew the route of the Coalfields Expressway to increase their profits, not serve the public. Small towns will be bypassed, more than 12 miles of streams will be buried, and hundreds of acres of privately held land will be condemned and handed over for King Coal's profit.
All to build an expensive and unnecessary road that cannot deliver the economic miracle its political cheerleaders promise. Those same politicians receive major contributions from the companies set to benefit most from this $2 Billion project.
You can stop it. Tell VDOT that they should deny the permit for the Coalfields Expressway.
With the Environmental Protection Agency cracking down on water pollution from mountaintop removal coal mines, the coal industry is going to great lengths to squeeze every last ton of coal it can from large scale, highly mechanized operations. Mines associated with the Coalfields Expressway would be exempt from Virginia surface mine permitting, avoiding safeguards meant to protect communities from the worst effects of strip mining.
The people of Southwest Virginia have suffered enough from Big Coal's empty promises over the years. This road will hurt existing, small economic centers, threaten future development possibilities and further pollute waterways that are critical to a diverse economic future in the coalfields.
You can help protect them. Get involved. Tell the Virginia Department of Transportation to put the brakes on the coal companies' proposed "road."
Thanks for all you do to protect Virginia,
Marley Green
Beyond Coal Campaign
Sierra Club
P.S. After you take action, be sure to forward this alert to your friends and colleagues!