About the Issue
On October 11th, 2000, roughly 306 million gallons of coal slurry broke the bottom of an impoundment owned by Massey Energy into an abandoned mine. This slurry, laced with heavy metals, acids, and carcinogens, began flowing out of the mine, mixing with nearby creeks that flow into Tug Fork River.
This sludge killed nearly all life within the creeks, and severely damaged the wildlife in Tug Fork River, along with all surrounding wildlife that relied on the river. Massey energy originally attempted to clean the rivers and fix the damage, paying $3.25 million to kentucky and alledgedly $46 million to clean beforehand.
The Human Impact
This disaster also affected the drinking water of over 27,000 people at the time, and drinking the water could cause many health issues. Even though this issue occured 20 years ago, it has still not been solved with around 50% of all water samples taken from the county exceeding maximum contamination U.S. EPA levels (from a study by Martin County Concerned Citizens – MCCC). Another survey by the same organization found that only 12% of the residents would trust the tap water in the county. Building on this issue, Martin county has some of the highest water prices whilst being the 14th poorest county when ranked by median household income at $34,435 (2022). Furthermore, the water infrastructure is severely dilapidated, with a 68% water loss in 2018 according to Nina McCoy, chairwoman of MCCC.
How You Can Help
For Anyone:
The best resource to help directly is the Martin County Concerned Citizens group, or MCCC. They were established to address the water and infrastructure crisis in the county. It is run and by locals, Another great resource is the Appalachian Citizen’s Law Center, which addresses many of the issues that affect appalachia in general, including Martin County. Alongside this, the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center (ACLC) advocates for Appalachian communities that suffer from polluting industries. However, it is a broad nonprofit and doesn’t focus solely on the Martin County water crisis.
For Those Nearby:
Donating water bottles is one of the best ways to help if you can make the trip, or even if you can send them in some other way. The best way to go about this is to go through the schools, or to contact the Martin County Emergency Management Office, or if that fails, at the County Clerk’s Office at https://martin.countyclerk.us/contact-us/ or by sending mail to P.O. Box 460, Inez, KY 41224. Another way is by volunteering with the MCCC, as they often have events to help the community where they need volunteers. If you are a resident of Kentucky, you could petition and mail to your state-level lawmakers to address the issue, showing them that all Kentuckians care about the suffering of other Kentuckians.
Links
Direct Ways to Help
MCCC Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/MartinCountyConcernedCitizens/
Indirect Ways to Help
Appalachian Citizen’s Law Center – https://aclc.org/
Further Reading on the Cause
Wikipedia Article – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_County_water_crisis
ACLC Report – https://aclc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Drinking-Water-Affordability-Crisis-Martin-County-Kentucky-1.pdf
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