Martin County’s past does not excuse future harm of any kind.
We have heard simplistic statements from regulators, elected officials and developers (in public hearings and otherwise) such as, “Anything (nuisance) wouldn’t be as [bad] as coal mining.”
Those words come from a place of ignorance and condescension.
Let us explain.
When regulators and officials make such statements, they give permission to industries or developers that could exploit our county in new ways.
Whether it is unchecked resource extraction, unregulated development or a shortsighted venture, harm disguised as progress is still harm.
The damages or mistakes of the past do not justify granting permission to repeat or amplify them or to add a new variety. We lived those past nuisances and harms because regulators and our government allowed them.
Coal dust, mud, emissions from mining equipment, noise pollution, water pollution, subsidence, traffic and road wear are just a few.
For decades, we in Martin County have fought for the basic dignity of clean water. That is despite the fact that pristine water wells were aplenty before Shell Mining Company, Massey Coal Company and other outside corporations “sunk” those wells.
Fast-forward 50 years and state regulators blamed Martin County for its water woes without acknowledging their own failure to regulate.
We do not appreciate simplistic statements from regulators.
Our county is so often reduced to a headline or a metaphor—environmental ruin, poverty, bad water. But we are not anybody’s symbol. We are real people: teachers, laborers, entrepreneurs and artists. Please respect our voice and agency and do not presume to speak over us.
Indeed, we welcome conversations about moving beyond coal and anything else that elevates our community. However, a word to the wise: approach those conversations with respect and sensitivity for our complex history, values and struggles.
Coal mining built our towns, fed our families and sent our children to school. It came with the price permitted by our government. That price does not—or should not—grant anyone a free pass to create nuisances or do us harm—now or ever.