Mining the Mountains
June 17, 1999
Editorial: More bills
Taxpayers shell out
Advertiser

STATE taxpayers are giving two Charleston lawyers $195 and $150 an hour to defend the state's dubious enforcement of mountaintop removal mining laws.

The lawyers' bills to the state were concealed, until Gazette reporter Ken Ward Jr. used the Freedom of Information Act to force the Division of Environmental Protection to reveal them.

The bill for May says one lawyer worked 236 hours at his DEP assignment. Well, May had 21 working days. So that means he worked more than 11 hours per day - unless he worked weekends as well.

Parts of the bill were blacked out, so the public can't learn who the lawyers visited and where they traveled.

So far, the legal bills for April and May total $106,000. Is this how West Virginians want their tax money spent?

We have a better suggestion: DEP should enforce federal laws properly, so the agency won't be sued, and there will be no need for outside lawyers to work 11 hours a day defending it.

In the area
  • Whats is the most effective way to buy and sell locally?
  • Are you looking for a new job? Let us help.
  • There are more homes for sale or rent than you might think
  • A reliable car is not a far off as you might think.
    • The Gazette now offers Facebook Comments on its stories. You must be logged into your Facebook account to add comments. If you do not want your comment to post to your personal page, uncheck the box below the comment. Comments deemed offensive by the moderators will be removed, and commenters who persist may be banned from commenting on the site.
    Advertisement - Your ad here
    In West Virginia, mining companies are literally moving mountains to uncover valuable, low sulfur coal reserves. Mountaintop removal has become the dominant form of surface mining in the state. Coal operators are blasting off hilltops, and dumping leftover rock and dirt into nearby valleys. An untold amount of the state has been flattened, and hundreds of miles of streams have been buried. Find out more in this Special Report.
    Advertisement - Your ad here
    More Mining the Mountains
  • Leaked OSM study outlines slurry dam concerns
  • Appeals court backs EPA's veto of Spruce Mine
  • Bill seeks independent review of mining health impacts
  • Court questions mining permits
  • Coal-backed research takes on mining health studies
    • Advertisement - Your ad here
    Inside wvgazette.com