Patriot Coal, the last major operator at the Hobet mine, outlined more than $400 million in pollution liabilities after its first bankruptcy in 2012. Arch used more than a billion dollars in debt to take hold of new leases and rival operations in the West. With bigger machinery and longer hours, the Hobet mine could boost output without hiring more miners. Note: The coal industry payroll is nearly $2 billion per year. If the share price climbed, Leer could redeem stock options for cash. Was this review helpful to you? This film tells the tale of a close-knit Appalachian family that has changed little in the last 100 years. While the locals work these jobs and worry constantly if they will have a job the following day. Wiley’s granddaughter told him that the coal was making the children sick, driving Wiley to take his protest to then Governor Joe Manchin (now a U.S. annually. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Massey and the coal industry maintain that they are creating jobs and would reclaim the mountain, while the activists present a very different picture and claim that with mountaintop removal mining the land cannot be properly reclaimed, that the practice destroys their air and water, produces fewer jobs than traditional underground mining. Meanwhile, activists like Bo Webb and Lorelei Scarbro, who live in the shadow of Coal River Mountain, have organized a group of citizens to propose that instead of destroying the mountain, a sustainable wind farm be built on the mountain’s ridges instead – an energy project that could power 70,000 homes with renewable energy virtually forever. Coal was first discovered in what is now West Virginia in 1742 by The weathered piles of spoil and valley fills are leaching selenium, a healthful nutrient in trace amounts but a toxin in larger doses. Manchin calls himself "friend of coal". Tucked in the Appalachian mountains of Southern West Virginia, Oceana, is a small, once thriving coal-mining town that has fallen victim to the fast spreading scourge of prescription painkiller Oxycontin. After five years under Arch, Hobet was producing a record 5 million tons of coal, according to government data. Streetlights were installed so laborers could work around the clock to fulfill a contract with a power plant in the state capital, Charleston. Toxic runoff must be steered clear of tributaries that feed the Ohio River. Leer did not respond to interview requests. The documentary, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, is about the environmental impact of coal mining and mountaintop removal mining in the Appalachian region. “They had my job posted before I was out the door,” Tony said. The Last Mountain is a feature-length documentary film directed by Bill Haney and produced by Haney, Clara Bingham and Eric Grunebaum. The last year mining deaths exceeded 100 was in 1968 when 152 One brother was killed in a bulldozer accident at a strip mine, and the Hobet workforce was shaped by defiance. TOWERING SYMBOL, LAST DAYS: The massive Big John dragline reshapes the rocky landscape in some of the last sections to be mined for coal at the Hobet site in Boone County, West Virginia. As the coal industry slowly declined and times got tough, a black market for the drug sprung up and along with it a rash of prostitution, theft and murder. Contact Hobet was now under Arch Coal’s corporate umbrella. There’s no way of knowing how long any company might have survived,” he said. The year the law was passed, Nutter sold out to Ashland Oil of Kentucky. West Virginia leads the nation in underground coal production. Quillen said that’s not so clear-cut. companies. Adkins, 71, is eligible for Medicare, but that carries its own costs and limitations. DAWN OF A COAL MINE. reporting year (2009). Experts including Alan Hershkowitz, Senior Scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, former dean of the Yale School of Forestry & the Environment Gus Speth, and Vanity Fair writer and Coal River author Michael Shnayerson, put the story in political and environmental context. All 55 counties, even the non-coal producing counties receive Coal HISTORY & GEOLOGY : Coal was first discovered in what is now West Virginia in 1742 by John Peter Salley in what … Training. Asian demand rose with the economy and natural gas output was flat, keeping up demand for coal. This FAQ is empty. Could Magnum shoulder miner health and welfare plans? Add the first question. The West Virginia coal wars (1912–21), ... Coal mining in West Virginia ... A documentary named The Mine Wars was made about these events for PBS and was originally aired on the network January 26, 2016. Director: Christian Blackwood | Stars: Bibi Besch, Richard Bright. Check out some of the IMDb editors' favorites movies and shows to round out your Watchlist. pages within our website. Soon one shift became two. The welfare of thousands of miner families was no longer tied to the deep-pocketed Arch Coal. But there are no concrete plans yet. Narrated by actor Michael Murphy, it used archival material and interviews to convey the story as part of their ongoing American Experience series. Operating 25 miles south of Charleston in the belly of West Virginia, Hobet is a case study of a once-rich industry in decline. Members of Climate Ground Zero pull off a tree-sit in the blasting zone of Coal River Mountain one winter night and sit in protest for nine days until they are arrested for attempting to halt the destruction of this symbolic mountain. Alpha Natural Resources filed for bankruptcy in August 2015; a federal judge in July approved its plan to exit bankruptcy. West Virginia Coal Bell published by the West Virginia Mining and Reclamation “He liked to party, get drunk and worked his ass off,” Toler said. us. And the American people need to find their position where that is. Still, the industry’s larger challenges are testing the Ohio miner. We have assembled the following WEST VIRGINIA COAL MINING FACTS from various sources. HISTORY & GEOLOGY : Coal was first discovered in what is now West Virginia in 1742 by John Peter Salley in what … Directed by Sean Dunne. [HBO] HD. “The union leadership told us there was nothing we could do,” said labor leader Pauley. Much of his compensation was tied to the company’s performance. Underground mines in 2009 produced 87 million tons with 33 million tons from longwall mining. By 2011, rising coal prices ignited a new spree of deals. The coal industry’s perspective is explained by the president of the West Virginia Coal Association, Bill Raney, while the infamous ex-CEO of Massey Energy, Don Blankenship, presents his views in several public forums. No more. A documentary that chronicles the similar disappearances of five children in the wilds of North America, across multiple decades. 30,000 direct jobs “We won that one. We have assembled the following WEST VIRGINIA This content is currently not available in your region. They went into business together. Steven Leer, 45 at the time, had helped market Valvoline motor oil for Ashland before leading the coal division. Also there are hyperlinks within the text so the reader may navigate to related pages within our website. The West Virginia Coal Industry provides about information obtained from these documents is accurate to the best of our Stars: Andrew Christian, Andy Christian, Mike Crowder, R.B. In the era of answering to Wall Street, Woodring said, mining knowledge could take a backseat to marketing. located in West Virginia. Votes: 90. Title: The documentary examines the cycle of exploitation of people and environment by West Virginia’s coal industry, highlighting Massey Energy, a coal firm that was based in Richmond. In 2007, Leer took a $10 million payout – his biggest in a career with Arch Coal that earned him more than $40 million, a Reuters review of securities filings found. Do relationships stand a chance among addicts? By clicking “I agree” below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. Read our Privacy Notice Summary. Coal is responsible for more than $3.5 billion annually in the gross state The Last Mountain begins by introducing local activist Maria Gunnoe, who describes how the hills surrounding her home in the town of Bob White, WV have been "turned inside out" and demolished, stripping away forest cover and topsoil and leaving less permeable rock in its place. It shows their heroin life stories. Working conditions were brutal for coal miners, and unionization was violently suppressed. The film premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and went into general release on June 3, 2011. The film presents Don Blankenship as an antagonist. In ‘Coal Country,’ Memories From a Mining Tragedy Live On A new documentary play at the Public Theater weaves together interviews from people … The Last Mountain tells the story of the fight for Coal River Mountain in West Virginia, where community members and environmental activists are pitted against a coal company in the struggle to save one of the last large mountain ranges in– the area from mountaintop removal. Asked Questions], If you have further questions send e-mail to:  WVMHSTwebinfo. Hobet managers summoned to Arch’s St. Louis headquarters came back describing cost-savings and “the Arch Way” of management that kept a steady eye on spending, said Ronnie Vance, a Hobet manager. Use the HTML below. Virginia's economy. Investors applauded for years before those industry leaders reached the edge. Pensions had defined benefits, which relied on a share of miner wages going to pay retirees. Written by Peabody Energy filed for bankruptcy in April 2016. There, union power was weak and mines had vast reserves of low-sulfur coal in demand under new pollution controls. Bob Murray, an outspoken coal baron who founded Murray Energy, believes a drive for short-term profits pushed publicly-traded companies to the brink. Looking for some great streaming picks? Those cutbacks have some asking whether any coal company can survive this industry-rattling decline. Eventually, Patriot Coal bought Magnum Coal. “You felt appreciated,” Clark, 87, remembered of that day in January 1990. The Refer to the list of sources at the bottom of this page and from our sources page. You're connected to coal, whether you realize it or not. He could die without his pills, yet the health care plan for Adkins and about 800 other retired Hobet miners and their families expires at year’s end. There are 117 named coal seams in West Virginia. Murray Energy said last month it may be forced to lay off thousands of miners. ©2003 West Virginia From May until nearly Christmas in 1993, workers were off the job to protect their health plan. The site’s transformation symbolizes change in an industry once known for dangerous work, but now for corporate buyouts that have coal on the edge. A bit of the effort to tell the story with Bobby Kennedy as the central character seems overly forced. The new operator attacked the problem of spoil with an audacious piece of equipment.