[Hoot Gibson]

I guess I'm a casual reader, but you make mining sound glorious. Now, as a kid, we used to go to Eastern KY a lot, so I did see strip mining first hand. The last time when I was a teen, for a funeral, I remember my dad nearly dying as a pall bearer, lugging that casket up the side of a mountain.

But isn't MTR eliminating a lot of the mountainous terrain? I saw a coal developer on a TV show once, and he claimed it was, but that it was a good thing. I got the impression from him that "flat" was good, and "hilly" was bad. Sounded like a typical developer to me, just wanting more flat land for other uses, even if they seem like good uses, such as playing fields, parks, etc. Yes, it may be green, and more useful, but is that always the best thing?

I don't know, I guess I'm just old school. I kinda like to keep mother nature as it is for the most part. There are other ways to drill, though I'm sure they cost more. I'm kinda hoping we get our nuclear program rolling anyway, to coexist with the coal industry, then maybe so much land doesn't have to be altered. I also support drilling for oil off our coast, so I'm not a tree hugger by any means. It just seems to me there is a better way.

There are large areas of coal reserves that are not safely and economically minable by any other method. When mountain top removal methods are used, most of the "mountain" is untouched. A "flat topped" mountain is not as pretty to look at from a distance but it is a whole lot easier to hike, fish, or hunt on one. Deer and other wildlife thrive on reclaimed mountaintops.

When an area can be mined by surface mining methods, then it should be mined that way. Recovery rates for mountain top mining can reach 85 or 90 percent.

Augering is an extremely wasteful mining method that generally recovers no more than 35 percent of the area penetrated (150 to 200 feet, tops) and makes the remaining reserves less attractive for mining. Underground mines are required to test drill when mining close to old auger holes or other deep mines, which makes such mining more dangerous and more expensive.

Highwall mining theoretically recovers coal at a higher rate than augering but recovery depends on highwall conditions and the geometry of the coal seam outcrop.

Underground room and pillar mining typically recovers 50 to 60 percent of the coal in place. In ideal conditions, the recovery rate can be a little higher but adverse roof conditions can result in much lower recovery rates.

Longwall mining is done in areas where the amount of cover over the seam is too great to deep mine. This type of mining, in good conditions, is capable of recovering 70 percent or more of the coal in place.

When coal is mined using the wrong mining method because of unreasonable regulations, resources are wasted and safety is compromised.

If you have never been on an active surface mining operation, then you would be shocked at the level of destruction that you would see on your first visit. However, most people are surprised at how much different an mined out area that has been properly reclaimed is, as compared to the horror stories and pictures recycled by liberal newspapers such as the Charleston Gazette, Lexington Herald-Leader, and the Louisville Courier-Journal. Unfortunately, stories in our own newspapers get picked up by the national media and reprinted and read by the armchair environmentalists who own private jets and sprawling estates.