Many residents of southwestern Pennsylvania seem to know as much about what happens under their homes as around their communities. That’s because what happens below ground has for decades had a strong impact on their daily lives.
I toured the area for a feature on longwall coal mining and its impacts. The decades-old practice has become increasingly mechanized and efficient in mining large quantities of coal. While it provides cheap fuel for America’s energy hunger, it also causes significant damage on the surface. Land subsides, homes crack, trees move and streams can go dry.
Many folks in Greene and Washington Counties — in the far southwest corner of the state, near West Virginia — know where the longwall mining machine has been and where it will go next, much like they know the layout of the roads. Maps show exactly where the long, rectangular areas of coal will be removed. Damage occurs almost as quickly as the coal is extracted.
Pennsylvania law requires mining companies to work with residents to prevent or correct damage. Many people get lump-sum settlements. Still, the debate over the adequacy of regulation and the benefits of the practice are ongoing.
Whatever one’s view on the controversial subject, it’s easy to understand people’s complaints. Americans elsewhere would be shocked to learn that residents in southwest Pennsylvania, and other communities around the nation, have to deal with the ground going down several feet under their homes.
And now, with the natural gas boom from the Marcellus Shale, area residents must share the land not only with sprawling mines but also with natural gas wells, waste ponds and the constant movement of heavy equipment through rural roadways.
While many politicians and advocates want to move the U.S. toward more sustainable, renewable energy, we’re not there yet. Regions like southwest Pennsylvania pay the price of keeping the lights on.
