UPDATE: Illegal mining in Leslie County continues

Illegal mining is continuing to be perpetrated by the Whymore Coal Company on the property of KFTC members Mary Jane and Raleigh Adams near their home in Leslie County, KY.

In December 2007, Whymore Coal Company of London, KY broke a lease agreement and contract with the Adams family when they stopped paying the couple wheelage, a fee to use the couple’s road for mining activities. Since that time, the company has continued to use the family’s road and is actively mining on the couple’s property.

Previously, the Adams had leased a portion of their property to the coal company to be mined, but this lease became void after the corporation broke the terms of their agreement. In December when the contract was first violated, Raleigh sent the company a letter acknowledging that the contract was now void and demanding that Whymore Coal immediately stop mining on his property and leave. The company had 15 days to respond, but the Adams report that they only received one phone call and that since that time the company has never responded to their complaints.

Over the last two weeks the situation has become more serious. Whymore Coal has moved heavy equipment onto portions of the Adams’s private property and is actively and illegally clearing and mining their land without payment or notification to Mary Jane and Raleigh. The retired couple also report that threats have been made to their safety.

For the Adams family, this is not an issue about money and wheelage fees. Rather, it is about a landowner’s rights and the lack of enforcement of the coal industry in Eastern Kentucky. At her home talking over next steps with her husband and a group of neighbors, Mary Jane Adams said, "We don’t want money. I would live in poverty if it meant this company would see some justice.â€

And while the coal company does owe the Adams family for the wheelage fees it has stopped paying, the Adams say no sum of money can replace the occupation and destruction of the couple’s property at the hands of a company that has continually broken promises and violated its contract. "You just can’t trust them,â€ said Mary Jane.

Besides connecting with KFTC to begin organizing a response to these abuses, the couple has contacted local media outlets in hopes that their story of broken contracts and violations can connect with other landowners who have had similar violations and the news exposure offer some help. However, WYMT, the leading news broadcast channel based out of Hazard, has been unresponsive to the couple’s request that they send a film crew to cover the story. The Adams have had more success with community media and a radio story about their situation from the Community Correspondents Corps at WMMT in Whitesburg is currently in production.

The Adams have also exercised their rights as landowners by requesting a state inspection, but no mining inspector has yet been sent to investigate the situation and file a report. And even if an inspector were to come to Leslie County, the inspector would not be able to take action as under state law a mining inspector can only enforce what is on a mining permit and does not have the right to enforce a signed contract between a landowner and company.

Despite these set backs, Mary Jane and Raleigh are determined to stand their ground. The couple will continue to organize with the support of KFTC.

Mary Jane Adams is a former Vice Chairperson of KFTC and served as the Chairperson of the organization during the Broad Form Deed Campaign in KFTC’s early history.

KFTC members in the region are continuing to support Mary Jane and Raleigh Adams in their fight to keep illegal mining off their land. Things are developing quickly, so be sure to check back on the KFTC blog for updates.