Two activists tree-sit to oppose mountaintop removal coal mining in WV listen

Tags: mountaintop removal, coal, West Virginia, Energy, environment, tree-sit

Two activists in West Virginia are using a risky tactic to try to stop a mountaintop removal coal mining operation. Becks Kolins and Catherine-Ann MacDougal are sitting on platforms in trees about 80 feet above the ground within 100 yards of active blasting from a mine on Coal River Mountain. Charles Suggs is a former Tampa Bay resident and is a volunteer with the RAMPS Campaign.

Suggs adds that Alpha Natural Resources is blasting dangerously close to a sludge impoundment that is permitted to hold 10 billion gallons and will have a dam height of about 300 yards when filled.

This afternoon, after the interview, RAMPS Tweeted that police arrived at the tree-sit site in a helicopter. We’ll keep you posted on developments in this story.

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