So back in Georgetown, TX, I am trying to explain to my wife this whole concept. Dewatering meant that people who had good, clear, clean well water one day, awoke the next to find that they had not brackish, dirty water, but no water at all. None.
"Instant drought," she said. "Dewatering is like having a drought. Except that it's never going to end."As an explanation, Central Texas is in an extreme drought. It has been going on for two years. Crops have withered, livestock have been sold off and in some cases, folks have lost their farms. In this case the drought was caused by El Nino. In November, or near there, we should receive abundant rain. The people I talked to in Greene County, Pennsylvania? Won't. First of all, their drought was man made. Caused by the longwall mining of Consol Energy. With no regard for the destruction it would/will cause, the company grinds away under stream headwaters and beneath the homes in the area.
The water that flows in a stream, or sits in a small aquifer seems on first glimpse, to be fairly constant. And, so it is. Unless of course something extreme happens to cause it to change. Longwall mining produces new cracks and fissures in the earth, and in so doing changes the flow of the water. For wells it is the same. New fissures open and the water changes course. Instant drought.
The mining companies know this. In fact, they have insurance to cover such events because they know damned good and well it will happen. And, maybe even more importantly, they have the three things which will force those affected to settle for a pittance. Time, money and lots and lots of lawyers.
Unlike the people in Central Texas who have been affected by the drought caused by La Nina, the people affected by the destructive practices perpetrated upon them by the likes of Consol and Massey, will not recover. Longwall mining means instant drought. And, the instant death of their way of life.
2 comments:
And as Paul Harvey used to say, now for the rest of the story.
The Pennsylvania DEP has laws and regulations which regulate ENCROACHMENTS, which are defined as "Any structure or activity which in any manner changes, expands or diminishes the course, current or cross-section of any watercourse, floodway, or body of water."
So, one might think that streams and wetlands are protected by these regulations from being dewatered by the longwall mining "activity" which clearly "diminishes the course AND current" of streams and wetlands (wetlands are defined as "bodies of water"). But you would be wrong, because the DEP does not see it that way (in fact, they have said that it is "subsidence" that causes the dewatering (not longwall mining), and subsidence is not an "activity", it is merely a consequence of the longwall mining activity.) Brilliant!
Your writing and observations are right on--it's really all about water and how much is being lost--permanently lost--to longwall mining. This relentless destruction of the water table that is currently supporting agricultural land is barely discussed at the national level when considering the consequences of coal mining.
Ironically, the industry that is contributing most to global warming is also responsible for destroying the one resource--water--that might be helpful in counteracting the desertification of our region. For eons water has flowed generously (and for free) from out of these ancient hills--and so long as there is water one can always farm, always produce food. In sustainable farming "watershed = foodshed". No water, no food.
Agriculture is the number one industry of the state and one would think that Rendell and the other politicians sucking up to Big Coal would be more concerned about their legacy and how its ruining farming. The double-think excuses the DEP give for not doing more about water loss are classic examples of how deeply entrenched corporate interests are in the State. Pity, because even when the lights are out, people are going to want to eat.
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