Chapter 24 Quiz: Mountaintop Removal — When They Blew Up the Mountains
Multiple Choice
1. "Mountaintop removal" refers to a form of mining in which:
a) Underground tunnels are used to remove coal seams from beneath mountain peaks b) The top of a mountain is blasted apart and removed to expose coal seams, with the rubble dumped into adjacent valleys c) The peak of a mountain is shaved off to create flat land for development, with coal as a secondary product d) Mountain summits are drilled horizontally using auger equipment to extract coal without disturbing the surface
2. The material that is blasted off the top of a mountain and dumped into adjacent valleys is known as:
a) Tailings b) Slurry c) Valley fills (consisting of spoil or overburden) d) Reclamation material
3. The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA), signed into law in 1977, required that mined land be restored to its:
a) Original pre-mining condition, including forest replanting and stream restoration b) "Approximate original contour" (AOC), with exceptions allowed for alternative land uses c) Pre-mining elevation within one percent accuracy d) Natural state as certified by the U.S. Forest Service
4. The "AOC variance" became significant in the history of mountaintop removal because:
a) It required companies to restore mountains to a higher elevation than before mining b) It was used as a loophole to avoid restoring the original mountain contour, with companies promising alternative land uses that rarely materialized c) It banned all surface mining within Appalachian National Forests d) It required federal court approval for every mountaintop removal permit
5. Approximately how many miles of headwater streams were buried under valley fills by mountaintop removal operations in Appalachia?
a) About 200 miles b) About 500 miles c) More than 2,000 miles d) More than 10,000 miles
6. Larry Gibson of Kayford Mountain became a prominent opponent of mountaintop removal by:
a) Filing a series of successful lawsuits that shut down mining operations across West Virginia b) Running for the West Virginia legislature on an anti-mining platform c) Refusing to sell his family's land and bringing journalists, students, and activists to see the destruction surrounding his property d) Organizing an armed blockade of mining equipment at Kayford Mountain
7. The Martin County, Kentucky sludge spill of 2000 released approximately how much coal slurry?
a) 11 million gallons — comparable to the Exxon Valdez b) 50 million gallons c) 306 million gallons — more than thirty times larger than the Exxon Valdez d) 1 billion gallons
8. The concept of "regulatory capture" as applied to mountaintop removal refers to:
a) Environmental groups infiltrating and taking control of state regulatory agencies b) The coal industry gaining effective control over the agencies that were supposed to regulate it, through political influence, the revolving door, and chronic underfunding c) Federal courts overriding state regulatory decisions on mining permits d) The capture and imprisonment of state environmental regulators by coal company security forces
9. Health studies of communities near mountaintop removal operations found:
a) No significant health differences compared to other Appalachian communities b) Lower rates of disease due to economic benefits of mining employment c) Higher rates of cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory illness, and birth defects, even after controlling for other risk factors d) Health effects limited to miners themselves, with no impact on nearby residents
10. Mountaintop removal declined primarily because:
a) Federal legislation banned the practice in 2010 b) The U.S. Supreme Court ruled mountaintop removal unconstitutional c) Natural gas became cheaper than coal, reducing demand and making many operations uneconomical d) All mountaintop removal permits were successfully challenged in court
Short Answer
11. Describe the mountaintop removal process in sequence — from clearing the mountain through creating valley fills. Explain why each step is environmentally destructive.
12. The chapter describes the Martin County sludge spill as "thirty times larger than the Exxon Valdez" but notes that it received a fraction of the national attention. Identify at least two factors that explain why the Martin County disaster was less visible in the national media.
13. Explain the concept of "regulatory capture" using specific examples from the history of mountaintop removal regulation. How did the agencies that were supposed to protect communities end up protecting the industry instead?
14. Larry Gibson argued that he was "not anti-coal" but "against blowing up the mountains." Explain the distinction he was drawing and why it was strategically important for the anti-mountaintop removal movement.
Essay Question
15. This chapter argues that mountaintop removal is "the logical culmination of the extraction pattern" that has defined Appalachian history since industrialization. Write an essay (500-750 words) that traces this extraction pattern from the broad form deed (Chapter 15) through company towns (Chapter 16), black lung denial (Chapter 21), and mountaintop removal. For each stage, identify who benefited and who paid the cost. Conclude by analyzing whether the decline of mountaintop removal represents a break in the extraction pattern or merely a transition to new forms of extraction.
Your essay should reference specific evidence from at least three chapters and should engage with the concept of the "sacrifice zone" — a place whose destruction is treated as acceptable because the benefits flow to people who live elsewhere.