More than 500 peaks across Appalachia have been sheared off so
far, and coal companies dump the resulting tons of blasted rock,
dirt and vegetation into steep valleys adjacent to the mine
sites. The practice is legal but heavily regulated by a plethora
of county, state and federal agencies. Activists like Gunnoe
argue that these so-called “valley fills” routinely bury
streams, destroying aquatic and animal habitats in violation of
the Clean Water Act—a contention the Environmental Protection
Agency has agreed with on multiple occasions, levying millions
of dollars in fines against mining operations. In 2008, Massey
Energy, which is based in Richmond, Virginia, but does much of
its mining in West Virginia, agreed to pay a record $20 million
fine and make an additional $10 million worth of facility
upgrades in response to a federal lawsuit citing some 4,500
violations of the Clean Water Act. However, in a recent debate
with environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Massey CEO Don
Blankenship called the rules and