Coal Mining in the Black Warrior River Watershed
By: David Whiteside
Written For Waterkeeper Magazine - Winter 2005
The Black Warrior River originates in the heart of the Warrior Coal Basin, which is the largest coal-producing area in the Deep South. Coal mining was a common practice in Alabama by the 1850s. By 1914 the Birmingham District had become the seventh largest coal producer in the nation. Currently there are about 101 active coal mines in Alabama -- 94 of these active mines are located in the Black Warrior River watershed. In the Black Warrior basin coal is plentiful, which is notable considering that Alabama ranks fiftieth – dead last – in the United States for environmental protection. All of this abundant coal and lack of environmental enforcement has resulted in tremendous water pollution. The corporations who are plundering Alabama for coal are some of the most destructive in the state. These private coal interests are denuding Alabama and using their good ole’ boy political clout to escape responsibility for cleaning up their mess.
The Black Warrior was the first river in Alabama to be severely altered by dams. In the 1880s, the United States government announced it would build a series of dams on the river. By 1915, a total of seventeen locks and dams had been completed and numbered in sequence. As the twentieth century progressed, river barges became too big for the old locks; by the 1960s, the Army Corps of Engineers had replaced the older system with the current series of four locks and dams from Birmingham to Demopolis. Today the Black Warrior is a silent giant in Alabama's economy, serving as a major shipping route for coal, cotton, steel, wood chips, and other products connecting Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, and Demopolis with Mobile Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.
In the Black Warrior River watershed operators use surface mining (strip mining) and underground mining to extract coal. Strip mining is the cheapest method of mining, and involves clearcutting the land and removing coal deposits from relatively shallow ground after the layer of earth above it has been completely removed. In underground mining, a cutting head moves back and forth across a panel of coal about 800 feet in width and up to 7,000 feet in length. The cut coal falls onto a flexible conveyor for removal. Underground mining is done under hydraulic roof supports (shields) that are advanced as the seam is cut. The roof in the mined out areas falls as the shields advance. The Black Warrior is home Jim Walter Resource’s Blue Creek Mine #5, which is the deepest vertical shaft underground mine in the world. At its deepest point the shaft dives 2,000 feet and sprawls under many square miles of Tuscaloosa County. This mine is a significant discharger into Daniel Creek, Hurricane Creek, and the Black Warrior River. Some mines have displaced families from their homes for years because of the environmental and physical risks, as in the case of the Red Star Mine, which is owned by Cherokee Mining and George Barber. Alabama-based Drummond Company’s Shoal Creek Mine currently crosses underneath the main stem of the river west of Birmingham. Miners are pumping 40 million gallons of river water out of the mine each day. Water cascades down a bluff into the river. This waterfall is mistaken as a natural cascade. Black Warrior Riverkeeper has heard witness reports describing citizens swimming in this discharge!
As these mines operate, the leaching of heavy metals and acids from coal seams is constantly polluting the river. Acid mine drainage is a lingering problem long after the mines are abandoned, and has damaged many streams in the Black Warrior Basin. The Black Warrior River watershed has dozens of abandoned mines designated as acid mine drainage (AMD) sites. There are over 50 abandoned underground mines in the watershed, many run underneath the major cities of Birmingham and Tuscaloosa. It will take decades and millions of dollars to clean these up. Some tributaries of the Black Warrior River, such as Daniel Creek and Cane Creek, have been rendered biologically dead due to reckless strip mining.
Coalbed methane extraction also continues to be a major industry as a result of coal mining. There are thousands of coalbed methane wells all over the Black Warrior River watershed. The extraction of coalbed methane involves a process known as hydraulic fracturing. Fracturing allows access to hard-to-reach energy deposits by forcing pressurized fluids deep into the earth, creating underground fissures that permit oil and gas to flow toward the surface. Once these underground cracks are opened, fine sand or ceramics mixed with a chemical gel are pumped into the fissures to keep them open so the gas can be removed. Some coal companies claim degasification in underground mines increases mine safety. However, there are more explosions in degasified mines than mines that do not use this process, according to the United Mining Workers of America.
In the 1980s, Alabama coal had a market value of $22 a ton. Today, the market value of coal is well over $100 a ton! As a result of this rising cost, Alabama is seeing a resurgence in coal mining. New coal mines are being permitted throughout the Black Warrior watershed on almost a monthly basis. King Coal has already picked the lowest hanging fruits off the coal tree in Alabama. Now these fat cats are digging deep at the coal tree’s roots and trying to harvest coal that was previously unprofitable for them to mine.
Three major coal burning steam power plants are located on the banks of the Black Warrior River: Miller Steam Plant, Gorgas Steam Plant and Greene County Steam Plant. Miller Steam Plant, on the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior near Birmingham, releases approximately 1,589 pounds of mercury a year according to a 2003 EPA report. Alabama Power’s owner, Southern Company, has spent millions lobbying for weaker environmental laws while simultaneously spending millions to “greenwash” their image with misleading advertisements. In March 2001, a Southern Company lobbyist emailed the Bush Administration requesting reform of the New Source Review Codes of the Clean Air Act and related enforcement. Southern Company succeeded as the Environmental Protection Agency retreated from high-profile enforcement actions against Alabama Power, Southern Company, and other polluters.
Finally, unionizing mines can improve coal mining. Generally, there are fewer environmental concerns with the United Mine Workers of America (U.M.W.A.) unionized mines in Alabama than with the non-unionized mines. Normally, union operated mines are more cognizant of the law because of their structure, which demands responsibility and discipline within the mining operation. This could be one of the reasons King Coal tries to discourage union representation, because they know that the U.M.W.A. demands compliance.
America can do better. In this complicated web of energy and pollution, there are dozens of ways to improve efficiency. From the start, coal can be mined in a less destructive manner. Power plants and factories can reduce pollution by utilizing new technologies, including cleaning their stacks with scrubbers. Americans can reduce their dependency on King Coal in many ways. One way is to unplug electric products when they are not in use. Coffee makers, cell phone chargers, stereos, and other common products use electricity even when they are not in use. Unplugging them assures that these two-toothed vampires cannot suck electricity wastefully. Another method is investing in compact fluorescent light bulbs in your home and office. These bulbs cost more apiece but they last much longer and will save you money on your power bill in the long run as they use less energy than conventional incandescent bulbs. Compact fluorescent bulbs can be purchased at any hardware store. In fact, if every household in the country exchanged the bulbs in their five most-used lights with five compact fluorescents, it would be the carbon-reducing equivalent of taking eight million cars off the road for an entire year! Also, look for the EPA energy efficient star on large household products such as refrigerators and washing machines and purchase the more efficient ones.
The entire Black Warrior River basin has been severely impacted by mines and it is easy to notice this destruction from the air. Black Warrior Riverkeeper has reviewed dozens of mining permits and we are pursuing Clean Water Act violators. The organization also plans to create a database of all of the mines in our watershed and examine their permits as well. Black Warrior Riverkeeper is partnering with John Wathen, Hurricane Creekkeeper and President of the Citizens Coal Council, to develop strategies to clean up coal mining in Alabama. We will also be looking at ways of tightening up mine operators’ National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits and trying to bring back adequate federal funding to Alabama for abandoned mine sites.