A poll of likely voters in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee released Aug. 16, 2011, shows widespread opposition to mountaintop removal mining and overwhelming support for the full enforcement and strengthening of the Clean Water Act to better protect streams, rivers and lakes from the impact of mountaintop removal mining.
The poll was conducted by Lake Research Partners and Bellwether Research & Consulting and commissioned by Appalachian Mountain Advocates, Earthjustice and the Sierra Club.
As Lake and Bellwether’s pollsters said in the memo accompanying the release of the poll:
Voters across Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, and Virginia solidly oppose mountaintop removal coal mining, by wide margins and across a host of demographic and political divides. Three-quarters support fully enforcing—and even increasing protections in—the Clean Water Act to safeguard streams, rivers, and lakes in their states from mountaintop removal coal mining. Fully 76% of voters across these four states support this proposal, including a 62% majority who feel that way strongly. Just 8% of voters oppose it. Support for this proposal is far-reaching, encompassing solid majorities of Democrats (86%), independents (76%), Republicans (71%), and Tea Party supporters (67%).
Residents of these states broadly support coal mining. Across the region, 61 percent had a favorable impression of coal mining – with an overwhelming 87 percent in West Virginia favoring the industry. But that support does not extend to mountaintop removal mining. According to the poll, 57 percent of those provided a brief, neutral description of the practice opposed it, with 42 percent strongly opposed. Only 10 percent of the respondents strongly supported it.
In addition, coalfield residents do not buy the argument that environmental protection must come at the expense of the economy. Sixty percent of those polled thought environmental protections were mostly either good for the economy or had no impact.
This information is not surprising. Previous polls have shown similar outcomes, including a poll conducted in West Virginia in 2004 and a national poll conducted in 2008. In fact, a national poll just conducted by CNN International found the same percentage opposed as the regional polls. That shows that even those who live in states where coal is a big part of the economy don’t like mountaintop removal mining.
At Appalachian Mountain Advocates, we believe this poll should be a strong condemnation of politicians like Rep. Nick Rahall and Sen. Joe Manchin who have strongly criticized the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for better enforcing Clean Water Act regulations that apply to mountaintop removal. Seventy-three percent of West Virginians say they want the act fully enforced. Seventy-five percent say they want the act’s protection of streams, rivers and lakes increased.
Yet Rahall, Manchin and other West Virginia politicians have been waging a vendetta against the EPA for actions that fall far short of fully enforcing the law. Rahall has introduced legislation, which passed the House, to gut the EPA’s ability to enforce Clean Water Act standards.
Voters across Appalachia need to call their representatives and ask why they continue to oppose any efforts to control an environmentally destructive practice their constituents do not like. Whose interests are they serving?
Learn more
Press Release
Lake/Bellwether Memo on Survey Findings
2011 Poll on Mountaintop Removal/Clean Water Act protection
PowerPoint Summary
[...] new poll conducted by two bipartisan firms shows overwhelming support for ending mountaintop removal within [...]
[...] new poll conducted by two bipartisan firms shows overwhelming support for ending mountaintop removal within [...]
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What is the status of H.B. 2018?
Thank you,
Roger Downs
Roger,
H.B. 2018 has passed the House. It has made no progress in the Senate so far.
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