The cause of the Buffalo Creek failure was analyzed, an inventory of coal waste impoundments was compiled, and emergency inspections were conducted to identify other potentially hazardous sites. Stern meets with Pittstons counsel concerning settlement. Comments to: jdoyle@pophistorydig.com. February 1972. Local high school students were brought in by the busload, helping them to fulfill the 40 hours of community service required to graduate. Survivor Fred Pierson, who lived at Saunders, never shared his story beyond his close family members or attended a memorial service until last year on the 50th anniversary. This work revealed the inadequacies that existed at that time in the safety of many of the dams constructed by the coal mining industry. A wall of water and coal waste 30 feet high and 550 feet across burst from the impoundment, and rushed more than 15 miles down the hollow, toward the confluence of Buffalo Creek and the. Its not even past.. Click for copy. 344.754 S839. 45, No. Dam No. The failure occurred a minute or so before 8:00 a.m. February 26, 1972, and was solely the cause of the Buffalo Creek flood. University of Illinois Press on behalf of the Appalachian Studies Association, Inc. Journal of American Studies, Vol. Army personnel, the Red Cross, state and county officials were all on the scene by then as well, trying to feed, clothe and comfort survivors. The first coal camps at Buffalo Creek were built. Harveys home was spared, barely. Each of the plaintiffs ended up with about $13,000. Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in. You talk about another terror, a man goes from high water and being scared to being up in the sky, so I went through that, Pierson said. Home; We publish articles grounded in peer-reviewed research and provide free access to that research for all of our readers. Buffalo Creek Mine Disaster: Feb. 26, 1972. In a court statement later, Mr. Staten recounted his travail and losing his wife: When I looked back and saw her she said, Take care of my baby.Thats the last time I saw her., Mr. Staten and his son, meanwhile, swept along in the water, were struggling to save themselves. Im a bit of a prepper, Hall said, and that flood I think done it, because I dont never want to be caught again with nothing. The plaintiffs settled out of court for $13.5 million in 1974, with each individual receiving an average of $13,000 after legal costs. Kentucky has 102. More than a dozen homes and hundreds of acres in the down-stream community of Harriman, TN were hit with a gigantic toxic mess. Aerial photograph used during investigation of Buffalo Creek Disaster, showing the approximate locations of the three coal waste gop dams, and the path taken by coal slurry flood wave on its destructive run downstream. SOUTH MAN Sunday marked 51 years since the Buffalo Creek Disaster, the worst flood in West Virginia's history. On Feb. 26, 1972, at approximately 8 a.m., a coal slurry impoundment dam owned by Pittston Coal Company burst . .In 1971, Pittston was cited for over 5,000 safety violations at its mines nationally. the burning refuse pile before wiping out the Buffalo Creek valley. 8:03 a.m., dam #3 failed and carried away dams #1 and #2. Senator Jennings Randolph (D-WV) visited Man High School, a temporary refugee location for Buffalo Creek survivors. The failure of a giant 84-acre coal ash impoundment (upper right) at TVAs Kingston Fossil Plant in Tennessee, released 5.4 million cubic yards of ash slurry into the Emory & Clinch rivers and the downstream community of Harriman, TN. The news of the Buffalo Creek Disaster broke variously across the nation the next few days, in part due to the difficulty of getting to the site. Stern and Staker begin discussing settlement. 1945The Lorado Coal Company opened a coal mine at Buffalo Creek and began If a person is so often treated as trash, they may come to believe they are nothing but trash. He was heavily involved in writing federal regulations and beefed-up criteria for the construction of coal waste dams and their maintenance. a claims office in Buffalo Creek.Pittston moved for summary judgment because Pittston Journal of Appalachian Studies, Vol. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.. Thunderstorms this evening will give way to steady rain overnight. Although influential, the book overlooks the impressive resiliency and advocacy demonstrated by many survivors within the community. At a protest meeting held in the Buffalo Grade School in Accoville a month after the flood, an older woman stood up and shouted out: Ive lived up at the top of the hollow for a long time. (AP Photo/John Raby), My dad and brothers all were fishermen and miners, Harvey said. BMCfeared Roads werent where they used to be, nor were houses. 2. As of February 1st, 1972, dam No. Buffalo Mining Companys One resident had even written to the governor a few years earlier saying if something wasnt done about the dams, were all going to be washed away., We saw the water lift up our house. The following morning, his wifes birthday, Harvey was on his way to pick up a cake, but police had the road blocked off. Theres also the risk of environmental damage from coal ash, the toxic wastewater left over from burning coal at power plants. International television coverage of the American Civil Rights struggle was critical in the construction of racial identity and experience in postwar Britain. ITHAKA. A bulldozer slid into the pond and its driver died. Hall added that he is what is known as a prepper who stocks up items like food and supplies in case of an emergency or disaster. Pittston, meanwhile, would inform its investors that the 1974 settlement that had come with one of the survivors lawsuits did not impact the companys profit margin. MSHA said 49 impoundments pose a significant hazard because of the potential damage from a failure. PopHistoryDig.com, January 31, 2019. amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; September 2, 1972West Virginia Ad Hoc Commission of Inquiry into the himself from the case because of his friendship with Pittstons president. Jamie Goodman/Brian Sewell, Remembering Buffalo Creek, The Appalachian Voice, February 21, 2012. markets. I dont know where. found that the victims didn't experience the enthusiastic feelings because the disaster was so much greater, and . 79-100. Thats the year we really got cranked up, Harvey said. Last Update:31 January2019 The chair of the citizens commission, Norman Williams, then deputy director of West Virginias Department of Natural Resources, called for the outlawing of strip mining throughout the state. The huge wall of coal wastewater was 30 feet high and 550 feet wide as it gouged its way down the hollow, first smashing through Saunders and then, successively through Pardee, Lorado, Londale, and a dozen other small villages in the narrow creek valley. And I aint never seen God up there driving no bulldozer dumping slate on that dam. Her remarks won applause from most everyone in the room. He relied on depositions and additional interviews he conducted to write Everything in Its Path: Destruction of Community in the Buffalo Creek Flood. alternative for a more definite statement as to plaintiffs states of citizenship amzn_assoc_ad_mode = "manual"; Stephen Young, a Marshall University professor and criminologist, recently wrote an article focused on the 2014 Elk River chemical spill, which left 300,000 West Virginians without clean water. . Some survivors reported homes exploding or splintering apart with the wave's impact. The gathering has become somewhat of a tradition held every year minus last year at the library by retired director Liz Tackett. Its still very personal to me.. July 14, 1970West Virginia Department of Natural Resources (WVDNR) Inspector April 30, 1974Plaintiffs amended their complaint. Penny Loeb's 2007 book, "Moving Mountains". The Buffalo Creek Disaster. Volunteers picked up trash around the creek. Buffalo Creek Mine Disaster: Feb. 26, 1972. One resident had even written to the governor a few years earlier saying if something wasnt done about the dams, were all going to be washed away.We saw the water lift up our house. (1976). But this dam dam No. The Buffalo Creek . The Buffalo Creek Flood: An Act Of Man, Transcript (undated). There had been emergency relief, but little community redevelopment. A motion to make the resolution binding on Pittston management was defeated by Leading off the testimony before the Senate Subcommittee was Garth Fuquay of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (shown in above photo), who had been detailed to the subcommittee to help guide the committee in its investigation. The current members of [the Governors] panel are either oriented to coal or apologists for the tragedy, so we are creating our own commission of 19 residents to take testimony from eyewitnesses, said Pat McClintock at the time. A roadside historical marker describing the Buffalo Creek coal impoundment disaster is shown Feb. 22, 2022, in Man, W.Va. Fifty years ago in West Virginia, the collapse of an coal-waste impoundment unleashed a torrent of black water into a narrow valley. Dam Break'. amzn_assoc_ad_mode = "manual"; W. Va. 1974). C.J. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Children walk along the tracks in what remains of their community along Buffalo Creek on Feb. 27, 1972, The people are prisoners of the coal industry.. A Town Stood Here, Life, October 10, 1972. the front to drag them to paradise california. by refuse-pile dams. He is forbidden from distributing the memorandum. A wave from the waste dam flooded and destroyed the Buffalo Creek community [2]. Out of the total settlement, Arnold and Porter took a legal fee of $3 million. Judge Hall ruled that the plaintiffs survivor-syndrome claims might exceed $10,000 Stern met with plaintiffs and obtained settlement authority. At the time of Pittstons acquisition of Buffalo Mining, Dam No. Resources Division inspectors checked the dams but nothing happened. should not be material in relation to [Pittstons] consolidated financial position.. One of the country's worst mining-related disasters occurred February 26, 1972, on Buffalo Creek in Logan County. Downstream, the coal wastewater theoretically filtered through the dams would then emerge in a cleaner state in Buffalo Creek and beyond. The pool was within three feet of the crest of the dam, and ominous cracks appeared. water. (The Herald-Dispatch via AP). A Pittston Coal Group decal sticker listing some of the company's mining locations in the VA-WV area. State of West Virginia sued Pittston in both state and federal court for the states Some residents in the area, especially those who lived in the town of Saunders, located in the valley directly below the dams, had worried for years about the dams strength. One retired coal miner who survived the flood, but who lost his wife, daughter and granddaughter in the disaster, explained what he experienced in one Charleston Gazette account: How I got out of that water, I dont know I rode the house a long ways. So often, these people are defined by misguided Appalachian stereotypes. President Richard Nixon, then in China, had contacted Moore by phone to promise Federal disaster aid. An impoundment dam burst in a coal mining West Virginia town, precipitating a deadly flood that killed or injured more than a thousand people, and left many more residents homeless. EPA had initially estimated the spill would take four-to-six weeks to clean up, however, three years later they were still cleaning up. Click for copy. (3) U.S. Congress. Among those pressing for action in Washington was consumer advocate Ralph Nader, well known by then for taking on politicians and corporations. Field Foundation proposed a resolution that Pittston should spend more money to plaintiffs. and damage claims. I was thrown from side to side and crushed, he recounted, my insides was crushed so hard it just seemed my eyeballs was trying to pop out, and I couldnt get my breath at all. Hall agreed and the documents Drinking water systems in ten counties had to be shut down, and a 20-mile stretch of river was declared an aquatic dead zone: more than 1,500 fish were killed. Black water was pumped into pools behind the dams and dams filtered the deposits so that relatively clear water could run out their downstream face. I want to fish nowhere else., A memorial to the victims of the Buffalo Creek coal impoundment disaster is shown Feb. 22, 2022, in Kistler, W.Va. On Feb. 26, 1972, a makeshift impoundment dam collapsed, sending millions of gallons of black water, coal and debris into the hollow below, killing 125 people, injuring 1,100 and leaving more than 4,000 homeless. A final federal strip mine bill, however, would not be signed into law until 1977. Earl Lambert, From The Mountainsides: Many Saw It Happen, Logan Banner (Logan, WV), February 28, 1972. The Buffalo Creek Flood Disaster occurred on the cold rainy Saturday morning of February 26, 1972, when a coal slurry dam failed. The Buffalo Creek Disaster was one of the costliest preventable tragedies in the history of . The United States declined to sue Pittston for cleanup costs. . A memorial to the victims of the Buffalo Creek coal impoundment disaster is shown Feb. 22, 2022, in Kistler, W.Va. On Feb. 26, 1972, a makeshift impoundment dam collapsed, sending millions of. October 23, 1890: "Wreck on the C&O" November 4, 1985: Floods devastate West Virginia. A few weeks later, on February 22nd, a federal mine inspector and the company safety engineer observed the dams and found conditions satisfactory. One of the country's worst mining-related disasters occurred February 26, 1972, on Buffalo Creek in Logan County. Buffalo Creek Disaster Term 1 / 149 Who is Gerald Stern? But before the acquisition, Pittston engineers had reportedly surveyed the Buffalo Mining property, and according to company officials who later testified: Our reports had no indication that there was any danger, or that anything was wrong with the impoundments . An airplane crashes. The historic Buffalo Creek flood tore through a region often exploited by industryand stereotyped by outsiders. flood the people will already have their coffins 1,121 individuals were injured over 4,000 of Buffalo Creeks approximately 5,000 residents were immediately rendered homeless. National Guard helicopters picked up survivors and delivered supplies. 2 (Spring 1973), pp. MayA group of Buffalo Creek disaster survivors traveled to Pittstons Somewhere along there I lost that boy of mine. I go to fire departments and teach about nuclear fallout. Robert Shy, among those in the West Virginia Army National Guard who helped during the crisis, flew helicopters up and down the valley delivering water and milk and picking up dazed and injured survivors. I repair Geiger counters. Construction is carried out according to the approved plan. March 1972Arnold & Porter agreed to represent the Buffalo Creek Citizens From 1962 to 1972, three dams were built in on the middle fork of Buffalo Creek in Logan County. Teaching with Reveal Digitals American Prison Newspapers Collection, a finalist for the National Book Award the year of its release, Buffalo Creek Revisited: Deconstructing Kai Eriksons Stereotypes,, The Rumble and the Dark: Regional Newspaper Framing of the Buffalo Creek Mine Disaster of 1972, Resilience in Post Disaster Societies: From Crisis to Development, Buffalo Creek Revisited: Deconstructing Kai Erikson's Stereotypes, "Do We Really Want to Go Down That Path? This process was repeated when the third dam (Dam No. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. dams. ), 400 Still Missing in West Virginia Flood, February 28, 1972. Like Kalgan mentions these cases sometimes end up "spending more money on litigation costs than on payments that end up in injured plaintiffs pockets" (Kagan, 138). Map Feature: Coal Ash Contaminated Sites & Hazard Dams (U.S.), EarthJustice.org. Many in the downstream communities were keenly aware of the unstable nature of these impoundments, and expressed their concern to government officials. In fact, there had already been signs of trouble at the dams, which should have raised alarms and efforts at corrective construction. June 12, 1964Buffalo Mining Company (BMC) incorporated. Family and Character Change at Buffalo Creek, American Journal of Psychiatry, March 1976, pp 295-299. No criminal charges were brought against the mining executives for their negligence in the creation and operation of the illegal and unstable coal waste dams. 1/2 (Spring/Fall 2010), pp. "Coal: A Human History", 2016 edition. The Charleston Gazette reporting on the rising death toll of the Buffalo Creek Disaster and Pittstons PR office calling the disaster an act of God. In addition to coal waste dams used in mining and coal washing operations, there are also more than 1,400 coal ash impoundments used mostly at or near coal-fired powerplants in the U.S. Senator Ed Muskie (D-NH) in one photo, then running for the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination, shown campaigning ahead of the New Hampshire primary. Coal waste dumping had gone on there for decades, up in the hills, at the headwaters of the Buffalo Creek. Buffalo Creek Disaster; however, I have concentrated on the parts of the book that offered me the most insight in terms of procedural strategy. The makeshift dam had collapsed after several days of heavy rain, releasing black water estimated at 132 million gallons. As an article in Vox noted, this kind of stereotyping is on full display in the popular book and film Hillbilly Elegy. Article Citation: The state sued the company for $100,000,000 dollars but then Gov. In 1974, the 645 Buffalo Creek residents suing Pittston Coal settled for $13.5 million, which amounted to approximately $13,000 paid out to each plaintiff. The Earth Justice organization, one of the environmental groups following this issue, has complied a U.S. map of these sites as shown above. WV. Betty Dotson-Lewis / Brian Sewell, The Day Baby Brucie Died: An Oral History of the Buffalo Creek Flood, The Appalachian Voice, February 27, 2012. If you think you have been blocked in error, contact the owner of this site for assistance. Middle Fork Buffalo Creek, Saunders, West Virginia, Volume 1, February 1973. Pierson said he was flown out by helicopter. The .gov means its official. A number of leaks and smaller spills have also occurred. In reaction to the flood, Hechler said: The people are prisoners of the coal industry., Hechlers quote is included in the media theorist Rita Colistras article in the Journal of Appalachian Studies, which also includes a quote from Ralph Nader. The state's investigation into the disaster is filled with controversy. ensued. March 2, 1973Judge Hall holds hearing on Pittstons motion to dismiss .. We won't share it with anyone else. An accounting of the disaster, and multiple investigations, would then proceed to piece together what had happened there, focused on the coal mining and dam building. By that time he had stopped screaming and drunk so much water and everything I dont what happened to him.. Click the card to flip Definition 1 / 149 * the author, former civil rights attorney employed at Arnold and Porter (large DC firm) * lead attorney in Buffalo Creek case Click the card to flip Flashcards Learn Test Match Created by Mariam_Salman27 Terms in this set (149) who live near coal-refuse impoundments.. JSTOR, the JSTOR logo, and ITHAKA are registered trademarks of ITHAKA. My daughter said she had heard my wife praying when the waters hit the house, said Davis, later recounting his travail. Among officials and Senators shown are, from left: Dennis Gibson, Buffalo Mining Co.(22) Garth Fuguay (21, with pointer), Army Corps of Engineers; Sen. Harold Hughes (18); Sen. Jennings Randolph (17); Sen. Jacob Javits (16); Sen. Harrison Williams (15); Sen. Richard Scheiker (19), and Sen. Robert Stafford (20). Pittston objected to Arnold & Porters more definite statement, asking the Less than a year later, in February 1971, Dam No. Report of the Citizens Commission to Investigate the Buffalo Creek Disaster, Disaster on Buffalo Creek: A Citizens Report on Criminal Negligence in a West Virginia Mining Community, Charleston, West Virginia, 1972. October 8, 1971Pittston promisedWVDNRto install an emergency 302-305. Initial Settlement Proposal (Buffalo Creek) and Pittston's First Counter Offer - Stern wanted 32.5 mil (people would've been happy with 10.5 mil) - Pittston came back with 3 mil offer . Alvid Davis was working outside his home in the community of Stowe when he looked up and saw the flood waters coming, according to an Associated Press report of February 28, 1972. In that case, the bottom of the 72-acre Big Branch slurry impoundment owned by the Martin County Coal Corp. broke through an abandoned underground mine located below it. process loss claims without admitting any responsibility. They relate the story of a group of survivors who formed their own support group without outside help. As part of its more definite statement, Arnold & Porter filed with the court The site is secure. Privacy Policy Contact Us February 1972. ", Dealing with Disasters: Some Thoughts on the Adequacy of the Legal System, Coming from West Virginia: An Interview with Songwriter Tom Breiding, The Legendary Language of the Appalachian Holler, Prisoners Like Us: German POW and Black American Solidarity, Hysteria, Indigenous Identities, and Cocaine Bear, Fast and Pluribus: Impacts of a Globalizing McDonalds, How Rap Taught (Some of) the Hip Hop Generation Black History, About the American Prison Newspapers Collection, Submissions: American Prison Newspapers Collection. amzn_assoc_search_bar = "true"; 8 a.m., dam No listing some of the American Civil Rights struggle was in... Owned by Pittston coal group decal sticker listing some of the unstable nature of these impoundments, expressed! The United States declined to sue Pittston for cleanup costs penny Loeb 's 2007 book ``! '', 2016 edition Rights struggle was critical in the Buffalo Creek.... Were hit with a gigantic toxic mess time in the construction of coal waste dumping gone! 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