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Keep Millions of Tons of Mountaintop Mining Waste Out of Our Waterways

Target: U.S. Congress
Sponsored by: Care2

Watch Woody Harrelson speak out against mountaintop removal:

Since 1977, The Clean Water Act allowed industries to dump small amounts of "fill material" into waterways as long as they were not using them as a place to dispose of industry waste. But in 2002, the Bush Administration redefined "fill material" to include mining waste, which means that mining companies can dump the mountains they are destroying directly in to our streams and rivers!

Across the Appalachian coalfields, more than 1,200 miles of streams are now buried and destroyed by mountaintop removal. In West Virginia, more than 400,000 acres have been leveled. And mountaintop removal mining has destroyed roughly one million acres of Appalachia's mountains!

The Clean Water Protection Act, a bill that will soon be introduced by Representatives Frank Pallone and Christopher Shays, reestablishes the original intent of the Clean Water Act. Send this letter to your Representatives and tell them to help keep millions of tons of mountaintop debris out of our waterways!

deadline: 3-16-2008
goal: 8,000

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Dear [Representative name],

I am writing to ask you to become an original co-sponsor of the Clean Water Protection Act. This bill is critical for protecting the nation's waters from being polluted and buried by waste created during mountaintop removal coal mining. Mountaintop removal mining involves clear-cutting native hardwood forests, blowing up entire mountaintops and dumping millions of tons of debris into nearby streams in order to get at coal seams that lie deep beneath the surface. Already, more than 1,000 miles of Appalachian streams have been destroyed by mountaintop removal mining operations.

For 25 years, the Clean Water Act (CWA) allowed for the granting of permits to place "fill material" into waters of the United States, provided that the primary purpose of the "filling" was not for waste disposal. As such, the CWA prohibited mountaintop removal operations from using the nation's waterways as waste disposal sites.

We signed the “Keep Millions of Tons of Mountaintop Mining Waste Out of Our Waterways” petition!

# 14,706:

2:59 pm PDT, Apr 23, Desiree Diaz, Illinois

# 14,705:

9:20 am PDT, Apr 22, Randy Sanner, Pennsylvania

# 14,704:

3:22 pm PDT, Apr 20, Becky Visco, Texas

# 14,703:

2:11 pm PDT, Apr 20, Cynthia Parker, Virginia

# 14,702:

11:13 pm PDT, Apr 19, Fran Gloor, Washington

# 14,701:

1:33 am PDT, Apr 19, Julia Tawyea, Pennsylvania

# 14,700:

7:14 am PDT, Apr 16, Terence Yeo, Singapore
I am tired of it. Everyone please do your part for Earth and ourselves

# 14,699:

12:11 pm PDT, Apr 13, Lindsey Puckett, Hawaii

# 14,698:

7:57 pm PDT, Apr 2, Emily Barre, Arkansas

# 14,697:

12:53 pm PDT, Apr 2, Name not displayed, Connecticut

# 14,696:

8:57 am PDT, Apr 1, Name not displayed, West Virginia
Water is the most important resource for human survival and the health and prosperity of future generations

# 14,695:

6:30 am PDT, Apr 1, Judyta Dymkowska, Poland

# 14,694:

8:39 pm PDT, Mar 31, Jenny Vegan, United States Minor Outlying Islands
Please stop pillaging our planet.

# 14,693:

1:11 pm PDT, Mar 31, Neva Stuck, West Virginia

# 14,692:

2:45 am PDT, Mar 30, Can Atik, Turkey

# 14,691:

10:06 pm PDT, Mar 28, Catherine C, Canada

# 14,690:

11:22 am PDT, Mar 27, William Scott, New York
The destruction of mountains and natural waterways through mountain top removal, and the consequent effects of this destruction on many people both close to and downstream from the mining sites is unacceptable. I hope, pray, and expect for those in positions of political authority in this nation to stand up for what is right in this matter. [I am a conservative, pro-life Christian--and I want to confirm that the disgust at the continuing practice and allowance of mountain top removal is by no means limited to one end of the ideological and political spectrum in this nation]. God Bless. William A. Scott

# 14,689:

5:12 pm PDT, Mar 26, Janet Haug, Virginia

# 14,688:

10:59 am PDT, Mar 26, Jeanette Jones, Texas

# 14,687:

4:43 am PDT, Mar 26, Name not displayed, California
It is stupid and unecessary, use a candle or go without...use your legs as they were intended...to walk. We all need to change our ways or else we should not be here at all.

# 14,686:

11:17 am PDT, Mar 25, Kelly Pittenger, New Jersey
Its so sad and disgusting. It has to stop immediately.

# 14,685:

4:16 am PDT, Mar 25, Jeanie Buerger, Massachusetts
I am from West Virginia and they have ruined our mountains because of mountaintop mining.

# 14,684:

2:41 pm PDT, Mar 24, Lori Shelton, New Jersey
It is unwise and unreasonable to expect that such a practice would not have serious consequences from an environmental, social and economic standpoint.

# 14,683:

11:09 am PDT, Mar 23, Ruth Ketvirtis, California
Bill Caylor, president of The Kentucky Coal Association, is responsible for this tragedy. He is getting rich by destroying the Appalachian Mountains. Do something about it!

# 14,682:

1:19 am PDT, Mar 22, Art Deco, Maine

# 14,681:

8:16 pm PDT, Mar 21, JOCELYNE ANNIE, Canada

# 14,680:

5:25 pm PDT, Mar 19, Karolyn Wcislo, Pennsylvania
I don't know how any one can think this is right...

# 14,679:

7:40 pm PDT, Mar 15, Stephanie Michta, Florida

# 14,678:

5:37 pm PDT, Mar 14, Name not displayed, New York

# 14,677:

11:56 am PDT, Mar 14, Albert Goldfinch, North Carolina
I recently heard a radio discussion about this. This is awful...

# 14,676:

9:36 am PDT, Mar 14, Caleb L, Arizona

# 14,675:

1:36 pm PDT, Mar 13, Kyla Rogers, Colorado

# 14,674:

4:45 am PDT, Mar 13, Shannon Sultan, Wisconsin

# 14,673:

5:56 am PDT, Mar 12, Nico Van de Water, Germany
Mountain-top mining is "Apocalypse Now" redefined. However, this time it's real...

# 14,672:

11:21 pm PDT, Mar 9, Name not displayed, California

# 14,671:

4:09 pm PST, Mar 6, Name not displayed, Colorado

# 14,670:

2:52 am PST, Mar 3, Marius Costin, Romania

# 14,669:

12:56 pm PST, Mar 1, Darlene Davis, Michigan

# 14,668:

5:10 am PST, Feb 29, Shelley Vienot Spencer, Canada

# 14,667:

4:09 pm PST, Feb 23, Mark Venzke, Florida
The solution to mountain-top removal has been with us for decades: renewable energy. Its price is coming down. Work to change the energy policy of this country.

# 14,666:

4:06 pm PST, Feb 23, Shiu M. Hung, California

# 14,665:

3:45 pm PST, Feb 23, Maureen Primerano, California

# 14,664:

2:16 pm PST, Feb 23, Suzie Gordon, New Hampshire

# 14,663:

7:41 am PST, Feb 23, Necole S., Canada
It's disgusting that such blatent disregard for people's lives, homes, land and the environment continues to be allowed by money hungry companies with no apparent foresight into how these actions will affect the future.

# 14,662:

3:43 am PST, Feb 21, Betty Gibson, Florida

# 14,661:

10:32 am PST, Feb 20, Homer Goodall, Jr, West Virginia

# 14,660:

6:49 am PST, Feb 19, Daniel Amon, South Carolina

# 14,659:

12:52 am PST, Feb 19, Terry L. west, West Virginia

# 14,658:

11:01 am PST, Feb 18, Amber Griffin, Canada

# 14,657:

10:39 am PST, Feb 18, Crystal Whitfield, Texas

# 14,656:

8:21 am PST, Feb 18, Lisa R, Germany

# 14,655:

1:46 am PST, Feb 17, Greg Wallace, West Virginia
i hate strip mining,It is all around my area and our hills are being destroyed.

# 14,654:

3:53 pm PST, Feb 16, Laura Zanoli, Italy

# 14,653:

9:05 pm PST, Feb 14, John Leonard, Pennsylvania

# 14,652:

5:10 pm PST, Feb 14, Eric Bock, California

# 14,651:

3:53 pm PST, Feb 13, Millie Delaney, California
Clean water, what more should I say?

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Keep Millions of Tons of Mountaintop Mining Waste Out of Our Waterways

This petition has been closed.