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If a Permit Might Impact You...
What to do and who to call in West Virginia
If you are at all concerned about the impacts of a permit, you have a right to speak up for your quality of life and to protect the investment you have made in your home, your water supply, and your community. Here's How:
1. Make your concern official
Write and Call the DEP (Department of Environmental Protection: 1-800-654-5227 Tell them what you think about the permit. It is important that your concerns be in their official record. Make a copy of the letter and send the original by registered mail. Keep a copy for your files. Here is a sample outline for the letter:
2. Talk to your neighbors
Make a list of people who might share your concerns and talk to them. Who has questions? If they are concerned, they need to also write to the DEP and talk to others. You may want to educate neighbors because they may not be aware of what is taking place.
3. Organize
Organizing is getting something done together that you can't do by yourself. Most of the time communities are not heard because they do not stand together. Would you pay more attention if one person wrote you one letter, or if you received 20 letters?
4. Gather Allies and Resources
Contact the Sludge Safety Project, a coalition of citizens groups and communities in West Virignia who have been through this before. We provide support to people who want to protect their community health and water www.sludgesafety.org
5. Get the Facts About the Permit
- Contact your local DEP Office or County Courthouse to view the permits on file.
- See "What to Look for in A Permit"
- Are there other permits that are related? See "Where to Find Permits"
6. Get More Facts - Know the Rules
- Get the WV Surface Mining Reclamation Rules. WV Coal Mining and Reclamation Act – read through it with a highlighter.
- Is the coal operator permit blocked?
- Do you have good water now? Have it tested. Call the National Center for Water Quality Research: 1-800-925-9250 Ext. 2198 wql@heidelberg.edu
7. Get a Spot Light on your Community
Companies stick to better practices if they know people are paying attention. Groups like OVEC can connect your community with media and provide you and your neighbors with training in speaking to reporters so you can get the truth out about the costs you may bear from this operation.
8. Attend the Informal Hearing
This is usually where the company will attempt to intimidate you or convince you there is no need to oppose the permit because they will take care of you and be a good neighbor. Talk to people who have done this before and go in with a big group of your allies to the informal hearing. The greatest opposition to injustice is when every day people stand up for themselves.
9. Prepare for the Surface Mine Board
This is the group appointed by the Governor to hear opposition to surface mine permits. The Surface Mine Board is notorious for not holding the DEP or coal companies to the law, but people have won before; and these hearings can lay the foundation for taking the case to circuit court. They are also a chance to get media paying attention to your issue-- imagine the news headline: Citizens Stand Up for Their Rights at the West Virignia Surface Mine Board.
10. What is the underlying issue and how can we make a difference?
The DEP has 100 job vacancies and does not adequately enforce the law. The head of the DEP is appointed by the Governor who has received more than half a million dollars in campaign contributions from the coal industry. To keep our civil liberties, we need to think about building a group with other people and standing up for what we believe.
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