In our state’s rural communities and in our watershed, surface mining destroys farms and forests on a daily basis. Strangely, this destructive activity is not only permitted by our laws, but is actually overseen by Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. Surface mining is both ecologically and psychologically damaging, and has irreversible impacts on the environment and our communities.
This type of mining often has many costly impacts on adjacent landowners and communities from contamination or loss of water supplies to blasting damages to homes, and oftentimes, private citizens struggle through the regulatory networks to have the damages properly addressed. We work to assist citizens and communities affected by strip mining in our watershed and beyond. MWA has created a series of informational brochures for affected or concerned citizens. |
