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Date accepted ----c:::;J:--+L-b{,"",/)_·~1.J'---\,L6 _ RECLAIMING HOME: COMPARING COALFIELDS ACTIVISM IN ARIZONA AND WEST VIRGINIA by JULIA BANNISTER SENDOR Cathy Johnson, Advisor A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment ofthe requirements for the Degree ofBachelor ofArts with Honors in Environmental Studies WILLIAMS COLLEGE Williamstown, Massachusetts May 15, 2008 When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe. -John Muir 11 Acknowledgments Above all, one person truly made this thesis possible. I would like to thank my mother, who traveled with me from the mountains to the desert this summer. She accompanied me as I visited Arizona and West Virginia to meet the activists in person. She soaked in the stories along with me, let me bounce my scattered ideas offher, and weathered two flat tires - one in each state. I literally could not have done it without her; I do not have a driver's license. For all your love and support, as well as your excellent driving skills, thank you. I also want to extend my deepest thanks to the residents ofArizona and West Virginia who took time from their busy lives to welcome me into their homes and shared their experiences and sometimes blueberry muffins. Overwhelmed by their courage and passion, I left each interview with my head spinning with inspiration. To my fearless advisor, Cathy Johnson, thank you for your wisdom and honesty. Thank you for keeping me on track and gently but firmly pushing me to organize my thoughts. Your dry sense ofhumor that made meetings fun, and the interesting clippings on your door even made waiting outside your office fun. Thank you also to my readers Nicole Mellow and Alex Willingham for your insightful advice. Finally, to my family and friends, thank you for being patient with me during the rough spots and for your enthusiasm about my work, but also for reminding me about the great big world waiting beyond these pages oftext. iii Table ofContents Chapter 1: A Lay ofthe Land 1 Chapter 2: The Endangered Aquifer 31 Chapter 3: How to Shut Down a Mine .42 Chapter 4: Just Transitions 62 Chapter 5: "Strip Mining on Steroids" 79 Chapter 6: Up Against the State 91 Chapter 7: Thinking Outside the Limits 125 Chapter 8: Conclusion 140 A Note on Sources 146 Bibliography 147 IV Chapter 1 A Lay ofthe Land: Comparing Environmental Injustices in Arizona and West Virginia Introduction On the arid Black Mesa plateau ofArizona, the aquifer that had supported North America's longest-standing human settlements was facing collapse only three years ago. Today, across the country in West Virginia, nearly three million tons ofexplosives a day blast offthe tops ofthe Appalachian mountains, the oldest mountain chain on the continent. While the red-orange expanse ofthe Black Mesa plateau looks like a different world from the lush forests ofWest Virginia, the rich seams ofcoal beneath the surfaces of both landscapes have led to similar patterns ofexploitation. Peabody Coal Company in Arizona has been draining the region's already-limited groundwater supply to transport its coal. Meanwhile, mountaintop removal coal mining in West Virginia has leveled thousands ofacres ofmountaintops and buried more than a thousand miles ofstreams. Mountaintop removal uses heavy machinery and explosives to scrape mountaintops bare and blast off hundreds offeet ofmountain in order to dig out the formerly unreachable coal seams. Companies dump the leftover rocky debris into valleys and streams and, after washing the coal, store billions ofgallons oftoxic sludge waste in dams, often perched above homes. As mining operations endanger neighboring residents' health and even lives, and as coal companies strategically buy land to surround and isolate residents' houses, entire communities have disappeared.! With their homes threatened by the national demand for cheap energy, grassroots activists in Arizona and West Virginia coalfields have launched intensive campaigns against the mining practices which threaten their communities. On the Black Mesa ofArizona in the last decade, the Hopi and Navajo united with environmental groups to demand that Peabody Coal's Black Mesa mine stop using their groundwater to ship coal to the power plant. In southern West Virginia, also in the last decade, coalfield residents have struggled to end mountaintop removal mining, a relatively new form ofsurface coal mining that has become increasingly popular. The Arizona activists have achieved far greater success than the West Virginians in cracking the power ofthe coal industry. The Black Mesa organizers have forced the Black Mesa mine to shut down operations and are seriously exploring economic alternatives to coal mining, as well as more overarching ways to strengthen the economies ofindividual communities. Meanwhile, the West Virginians have yet to end the process ofmountaintop removal itself, or even the most destructive parts ofthe process. Successes are mainly limited to legal victories addressing more "peripheral" issues such as processing plant dust or land inheritance rights. This thesis examines the 1 Patrick C. McGinley, "From Pick and Shovel to Mountaintop Removal: Environmental Injustice in the Appalachian Coalfields," Environmental Law 34, no.3 (2004), under '''Almost Level, West Virginia': Mountaintop Removal Strip Mining," http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/search/homesubmitForm.do. 2 reasons for the different outcomes: why the Black Mesa groups have largely succeeded while the West Virginia groups are still struggling. The two different outcomes make meaningful comparisons because the two situations share several key parallels. Both groups are well-organized, with broad coalitions that include both grassroots bases and national environmental organizations. Demographics ofboth regions reveal that their populations equally lack wealth and education - traditional resources for gaining political power. Both communities also depend on coal for jobs and revenue, so citizens and lawmakers face similarly difficult decisions in opposing coal mining. While the tribal and state government structures differ, both governments were shaped by resource extraction industries and still rely on coal for a large portion ofstate revenue. Although the struggle has not ended for either group, the Black Mesa activists' more tangible victory makes the case an icon ofthe potential of grassroots activism, in which a traditionally powerless group overcomes political, economic, and social inequalities to create change. The reasons for the Black Mesa activists' success provide a template for analyzing the complex challenges that the West Virginian activists face. As the story ofthe Black Mesa campaign unfolds, four key advantages ofthe Navajo and Hopi activists emerge. First, the organizers gained the support ofcitizens and politicians by using powerful cultural framing to present their case. Second, they magnified their political voice by combining an outpouring ofpublic support with backing from local governments. Third, they offered convincing alternatives to the 3 problem. Finally, they gained new leverage points through third-party connections. These same four points also highlight fundamental reasons for the West Virginia groups' difficulties. The groups have struggled to overcome the cultural-political sway ofcoal in a state steeped in the history ofcoal mining, especially the influence ofthe miners' union which has publicly, fiercely opposed the groups' work.