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Sierra Club Lawsuits

New Report: Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining Too Costly to Appalachia's Economies

Case Updates:

October 19, 2009

On October 14, 2009, Sierra Club and the Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment released a groundbreaking report that reaffirms the economic benefits of ending mountaintop removal mining and transitioning to clean energy sources in Appalachia. According to the report, conducted by Synapse Energy Economic, Inc., mountaintop removal is not the economic savior for Appalachia that some have claimed. Mountaintop removal mining, which is the most destructive form of mining, actually employs fewer workers than other types of mining and costs state budgets more than it generates. The report shows that America can have affordable electricity without this destructive practice; there is an abundance of cost-effective alternatives to mountaintop removal coal including natural gas, energy efficiency and renewable sources such as wind power and low-impact hydroelectric.

As Mary Anne Hitt, Deputy Director of Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign said, "[t]his new report highlights the benefits for Appalachia that would result from ending mountaintop removal mining and transitioning to clean energy jobs. We can have affordable electricity without mountaintop removal, and we can protect our communities, streams, forests and mountains at the same time."

Details and Documents:

New Report: Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining Too Costly to Appalachia's Economies
October 13, 2009, Sierra Club Press Release

Economic Impacts of Restricting Mountaintop/Valley Fill Coal Mining in Central Appalachia
August 25, 2009, Report by Synapse Energy Economics, Inc. 

News Articles:

MTR Economics: Limits won't be the end of the world
October 14, 2009 by Ken Ward Jr., The Charleston Gazette