Southeastern Kentucky town supports petition to prevent surface coal mining nearby

The City Council of Lynch, a tiny town between tall mountains in southeastern Kentucky, voted this week to support an effort to have broad swaths of the mountains declared off limits to surface coal mining. The Lands Unsuitable for Mining petition being circulated Kentuckians for the Commonwealth "seeks to protect the water which feeds the Lynch and Benham reservoirs," Nola Sizemore of the Harlan Daily Enterprise reports. "The petition will also protect the historic buildings and the view of mountains which encircle Lynch and Benham." KFTC says five permits for surface mining near the town are under review. (click MapQuest image for larger version)

"A Lands Unsuitable for Mining petition only covers strip mining that has not received technical approval from the state or federal government," Roy Silver, a member of KFTC, told Sizemore. "It does not prevent deep mining. It doesn’t affect any permit which has already been technically approved." One of the pending permits would cover land above the Portal 31 underground mine museum near Lynch. "If they defeat us, It’s downhill for everybody else," Lynch Mayor Ronnie Hampton told Sizemore. "Everybody downstream is looking at us on this issue." (Read more)