The "Approximate Original Contour"

Following up on that last post, I figured I should mentioned what the coal industry says about their mining and reclamation practices:

"Mountaintop Mining is a legal, highly regulated, and complex engineered earthmoving process for the surface mining of multiple steep slope coal seams in central Appalachia. This environmentally responsible method employs mining in the most efficient manner for the purpose of electricity generation and/or steel production, thereby strengthening our nation’s competitive economic power and national security."

Statements like that and finding development projects like the Mount Olive Correctional Complex pictured above, we should be thanking these guys for how responsible and generous they are to Appalachian communities. After all, according to Walker CAT, life is "thriving on West Virginia's reclaimed mine sites." (This document is a must-read for anyone looking for a chuckle).