BLAIR, W.Va. (AP) — Activists trying to protect West Virginia's historic Blair Mountain from strip mining aren't giving up.
Residents, environmentalists and others are fighting the renewal of a mining permit that St. Louis-based Arch Coal is seeking from the Department of Environmental Protection.
The public comment period on the Adkins Fork permit ends Friday.
In 1921, some unionizing 10,000 coal miners battled authorities and hired guns in what became the nation's largest armed uprising since the Civil War. At least 16 men died before the miners surrendered.
Blair resident Kenneth King has tried to preserve the battlefield for decades. He says the mining would only add to the cumulative impacts on the Spruce Fork watershed, where 17,000 acres are already permitted or being mined.
He also worries about human health effects.
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree
Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics
Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel?
Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot
Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind
Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting
