On Thursday, March 13, 2008, the people of West Virginia were graced with some news that proved to be music to our ears. Stephanie Timmermeyer, the Chief of the West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection, resigned. Why was she so despised, especially by the residents of the coalfields? Because she was a coal lackey’s lackey. From day one she represented coal interests while supposedly representing the people of the State of West Virginia. To illustrate her blatant coal industry bias, when she was a law student, she authored a controversial law review titled, “So You Want To Ban Mountaintop Mining? You May Have To Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is”. You can read the full, convoluted text of this “gem” at the following link:

http://www.ohvec.org/galleries/people_in_action/2003/08_26/timmermeyer.pdf

Yes, folks, the sad reality of it is even after that blatant piece of propaganda, Ms. Timmermeyer was appointed to the head of the WV DEP. How, you might ask, could a person with such biased views, who had graduated law school less than 2 years prior to her appointment, be appointed to a post that is supposed to uphold and enforce the environmental regulations of the state? In West Virginia, it is easy to get such a post if you have the right connections and if you are pro-coal. Many concerned citizens preferred Patrick McGinley, a WVU environmental law professor with nearly 30 years of experience under his belt, to head the DEP. Instead, the Wise administration appointed a fledgling lawyer whose only prior experience was as an industry consultant and for a brief time, an industry lawyer. (Profile: Environment is a priority for Wise, says new DEP chief, Ken Ward, Jr., Charleston Gazette, 4/14/03.)

I won’t delve too deep into Ms. Timmermeyer’s role in the “dismissal” of Matt Crum, the former director of Mining and Reclamation at the WV DEP, whom many of the coalfield residents found to be a reasonable person to deal with. But, the powers that be felt that Crum was getting too chummy with the “radical environmentalists” in the ever-growing MTR movement. Timmermeyer simply cited differences in “management style” and told the press that Crum was an “at will and pleasure employee” of the state, so she didn’t have to give a reason for his dismissal. (State Forces Out West Virginia’s Mining Reclamation Chief, August 23, 2003, Charleston Gazette, Ken Ward, Jr.) So you can clearly see that from the get-go, Ms. Timmermeyer was “looking out” for the people of the state, starting with getting rid of one of the most effective and competent members of the DEP.

Upon taking the helm of the DEP, Ms. Timmermeyer had a backlog of fifty or so mining permits. Many of these were in a backlog because the former Mining and Reclamation director Crum wasn’t satisfied that safety concerns were adequately addressed. Still, less than six months after taking over, Timmermeyer bragged to the press that she was proud to say that there was now no backlog of pending permits (this, of course, would include MTR permits)! (The Charleston Gazette, February 19, 2005, Saturday, “Timmermeyer touts faster mine permitting” By Ken Ward Jr.)
As a result of the fast, less scrutinized mine permitting process of the DEP, the issue of the “migrating” property lines at the Goals Coal Facility behind the Marsh Fork Elementary School came to light. (for more information on this saga, see Ken Ward’s “Mining the Mountains” series during July 2005 at www.wvgazette.com/news/Mining+the+Mountains) I’m sure that this instance of “departmental oversight” is just scratching the surface of the interesting information that will eventually come out in the future regarding this speedy mine approval process now adopted by the DEP. With such swift approval one thing is evident, those pending permits were practically rubber stamped by the Timmermeyer-led DEP, and it would appear that little or no investigative review was conducted on them. It has long been known that time is money in the coal industry, and now that a coal lackey was heading the DEP, it was certain that very little time would be exercised by the DEP in the mine approval process.

During the tenure of Timmermeyer, it was becoming evermore apparent that the DEP was an extended arm of the coal industry. It operated in blatant disregard of the laws, and in total disrespect of the concerns of the citizens of the coalfields. One just needs to look into the continuing saga of Ed Wiley and Marsh Fork Elementary to see this. When Ed confronted Gov. Joe Manchin about school children getting sick and the deplorable conditions at Marsh Fork Elementary, which was brought about by the Goals Coal facility located immediately behind the school. Governor Manchin was on record as saying that he would do “everything humanly possible” to ensure the students were safe, the governor, also a grandfather, said that he did not know if he would want his grandchildren attending Marsh Fork Elementary. (DEP approves Massey Permits near school, Charleston Gazette,7/1/05;Raleigh Man Ends Capitol Sit-in, Charleston Gazette, Ken Ward, Jr., 7/5/05.)

So, in early July 2005, Ed Wiley felt compelled to do a sit in at the state capitol, and refused to leave until Gov. Manchin came out and answered some of his questions, such as “why Massey Energy’s profits are more important than these kids’ health and safety?”. At first, Manchin refused to meet with Ed but later reconsidered when Ed began to get media coverage from all over the state. Sensing a media nightmare, Gov. Manchin met with Ed Wiley, and soon found out that Ed was there for results, and no amount of Manchin’s infamous slick-talking, political double-speak was going to satiate Ed’s thirst for justice. After the meeting, Manchin ordered the DEP to investigate Marsh Fork Elementary. The DEP complied, and a few days later they walked through the school and commented to each other that everything looked fine. They reportedly took no dust samples, no water samples, they didn’t talk to any of the children or parents there They more or less dismissed the whole affair. With so little attention paid to detail, it begs the question if these people were inherently incompetent, or if they were following orders from a Division superior. A few days after Ed’s meeting with Manchin, a permit for a second silo, to be located even closer to the school was approved, then rescinded, and then eventually re-approved. Many legal wranglings ensued. When the new school year opened in late August 2005, Marsh Fork Elementary opened as usual, with no apparent change in safety procedures. Through all of these political maneuvers, Manchin deferred to the DEP expertise, and the DEP deferred to Manchin. Once again, the clear losers were the residents of the coalfields. (for more information on this saga, see Ken Ward’s “Mining the Mountain” series during July 2005 at www.wvgazette.com/news/Mining+the+Mountains)

One of the most egregious issues to come about during the Timmermeyer reign at the DEP was the whole settlement of more than 200 violations by Massey Energy. These violations resulted from a number of black water spills and a whole cacophony of environmentally devastating practices that accompany MTR operations. For a paltry sum of $1.4 million, Timmermeyer settled all of these violations with Massey (including Massey’s subsidiaries). (Massey to pay $ 1.4 million in settlement with agency, Ken Ward, Jr., Charleston Gazette, 1/7/06; MINING: W.Va. to settle hundreds of Massey violations for fraction of cost, Greenwire, 2/27/06)
These violations certainly cost the State, which the responsibility then fell to for the ultimate payment of these legacy costs, more than $1.4 million. If the DEP, headed by Timmermeyer, had not rolled over for Massey Energy, it is reasonable to believe that the state could have shared in the $20M fine by the federal government for Massey’s violations of the Clean Water Act. The federal government also secured an additional $10M for streamside restoration in the areas most impacted by these violations. (Fines to Force Change, Feds Say: $20M Penalty Against massey in Settlement, Ken Ward, Jr., Charleston Gazette, 1/19/08; see also Massey Energy Company Clean Water Act Settlement at www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/cases/civil/cwa/massey.html)

Had Timmermeyer not sold out the state of West Virginia for a paltry $1.4M, then it is reasonable to believe that the WV DEP could easily have gotten a piece of this piece, or even a pie of their own! Joe Lovett of The Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment discussed the settlement in the following statement:

“If the state had brought this action, this money would be going into state coffers instead of to the federal government,” said Joe Lovett, a lawyer for the citizen groups. “DEP has the primary responsibility for enforcing the Clean Water Act permitting program, and this should have been something the DEP and the Manchin administration did, instead of allowing the federal government to do it.”

But no, with the settlement with Massey, Timmermeyer’s DEP completely released Massey from responsibility for their actions.
So, good riddance to those who portray themselves as upstanding leaders of West Virginia even while selling out its residents. It is no great surprise that many of the citizens of the State of West Virginia, and even Appalachia as a whole, breathed a great sigh of relief upon hearing of the resignation of Stephanie Timmermeyer. Now, we face the future with both optimism and apprehension, and we wonder whom the Manchin Administration will now appoint to this vital post.

By Matthew H. Burns ©15 March 2008