Subject: Co-sponsor H.R. 2169, the Clean Water Protection Act
Dear Representative,
Mountaintop removal is the nation's most destructive form of coal mining. Mining companies clearcut native forests and use explosives to blow off mountaintops to uncover seams of coal. To minimize waste disposal costs, they then dump millions of tons of the waste rock into the valleys below, permanently burying streams. This devastating practice destroys ancient mountains, buries streams and lays waste to wildlife habitat. The blasting, coal dust, poisoned drinking water, and increased flooding ruin the quality of people's lives and dramatically reduce the value of their property. Please co-sponsor the Clean Water Protection Act, H.R. 2169, to stop this destruction.
[Your personal comments here]
Mountaintop-removal mining has buried and contaminated more than 1,200 miles of streams in Appalachia. The federal government has estimated that past and future mining could destroy more than 1.4 million acres. By the end of the century, more than 2,200 square miles of Appalachian forests and mountains will be gone. Appalachia is an area of high biodiversity, and mountaintop removal could harm more than 240 species of animals.
The Clean Water Protection Act will restore the original intent of the Clean Water Act by preventing disposal of waste material, such as mining waste, in streams. Please co-sponsor H.R. 2169 to protect Appalachia's mountains, streams and communities.
Sincerely,
[your name]
