Beshear gets a first-hand look at the orange water of King Coal

Today KFTC finally put out their press release from Gov. Steve Beshear’s visit to eastern Kentucky last week, fulfilling his promise to KFTC to see the horrors of mountaintop removal first-hand.

Here’s what that looks like:

Here’s a portion of the release where Kentuckians pleaded with Steve Beshear to fight on the side of the residents and not the out-of-state coal companies, and Beshear says that he’ll “take their concerns under consideration”:

Weigand pointed out to the governor that the streams he visited were a few of thousands that have been impacted by mining throughout the region. “What you’re seeing here is just one example of a much larger problem. It’s happening all over,” she said.

Handshoe added, “Governor, this is a people issue; it’s a human rights issue. Our groundwater around here was contaminated by deep mining a long time ago. You just can’t allow our surface waters to be destroyed too.”

Later that afternoon, Governor Beshear and Secretary Peters attended a meeting hosted by KFTC members in the Harlan County community of Lynch. Residents shared ideas for economic development and a sound future for their area, and asked the Governor to block two proposed surface mine permits that now threaten their drinking water and quality of life.

“I’ve lived here all my life,” shared Carl Shoupe, a retired third generation coal miner from nearby Benham, Kentucky. “This is a special place with an important history. We have good, pure water that flows out off Black mountain. With a lot of work by a lot of people, we’ve built up some fine tourism sites, like the School House Inn and Portal 31 exhibition coal mine. But all of those things could be lost if the state allows these strip mines to go forward.”

Stanley Sturgill, a resident of Lynch and retired coal miner and federal mine inspector, thanked the governor for his time and asked him to take a stand. “Will you declare your support for designating key areas around Benham and Lynch as ‘Lands Unsuitable for Mining,’ and will direct your Energy and Environment Cabinet to revisit and reverse their recent ruling on this matter?” Sturgill questioned. The Governor responded that his administration would carefully review all permits and “take the concerns we’ve heard today under consideration.”

Governor Beshear later stated, “I’m convinced that if we are smart and enforce our regulations, we can mine coal and protect the environment. It’s something we have to balance.”

To which Sturgill countered, “Governor, what you saw up there in Floyd County today, would you consider that balanced just right?”

Reflecting on the day, KFTC member Doug Doerrfeld noted, “I’m thankful that Governor and Secretary Peters came and listened. This is just a first step, and it’s good that he agreed to meet with us again soon. There are many issues left to be resolved. The whole conversation needs to go much deeper, and we need to see concrete action.”

I’d love to know how Beshear answered “what you saw up there in Floyd County today, would you consider that balanced just right?”

It should be noted that at no point during his visit did Steve Beshear scream at anyone to get off his back:

Put up or shut up, Steve.