The Logan prosecutor said at the time that Pittstons failure to receive a state dam license was merely a misdemeanor and that a one-year statute of limitations for prosecutions had lapsed. Arch Moore's emergency director asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to perform recovery work at state expense. But the water-soaked engine would not start, and as he reached for his wife, the flood just carried her away. Adkins did manage to hold onto one daughter and two sons, but his wife and two other children could not be located. First Lieut. An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account. 1946The Buffalo Creek Company purchased the Lorado Coal Company. Pittston had made only one payment for $4,000. 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. It would just go from one hillside to the other. This subcommittee would hear from dozens of witnesses, and was briefed at one point by experts from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers who provided a scale model of the site with details of what happened (see photo below). Why Theyve Got West Virginians Worried, YesMagazine.org, April 23, 2015. The Concept 2 . It took just over 15 minutes. In addition to the two West Virginia reports, there were also several others, including the U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing record already mentioned; a U.S. Geological Survey report; a U.S. Department of the Interior Report; and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers report all of which, in one form or another, found fault with the design, integrity, and lack of oversight of the dams, and how regulators and the Pittston Coal Company failed to meet their responsibilities for public health and safety. Thanks for visiting and if you like what you find here, please make a donation to help support the research and writing at this website. The black wall of water was later estimated to have moved at a rate of seven feet per second. Senator Ed Muskie (D-NH) in one photo, then running for the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination, shown campaigning ahead of the New Hampshire primary. Before that, I was terrified.. 27, No. Another survivor and eye witness recounted what he saw to a Logan Banner reporter: It was throwing houses around like matchstems and it was picking up cars like they were eggshells, Two other witnesses reported to the Logan Banner that they saw bodies getting hung in trees The water was black and it was carrying homes and timber Another man added: I just didnt believe I would see that much water and houses floating down the creek. Ken Ward, Jr., Agencies Failed to Protect People, Inspector Recalls, Charleston Gazette, Tuesday, February 25, 1997. Resources Division inspectors checked the dams but nothing happened. Rescue operations were slowed because roads, bridges and railroad lines were destroyed or blocked. Erikson, a Yale professor when he arrived in Buffalo Creek, is one such outsider, having no connection to the region until he was brought in as an expert witness. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines (W. A. Wahler & Associates), Analysis of Coal Refuse Dam Failure. During World War II, almost a half million POWs were interned in the United States, where they forged sympathetic relationships with Black American soldiers. When the water set it down again, it just flattened out on the ground. So often, these people are defined by misguided Appalachian stereotypes. Sources: The Herald Dispatch, newspaper of Huntington, WV, Thomas Marsh, and the West Virginia Division of Culture and History. A separate settlement for survivors amounted to about $13,000 per plaintiff. Survivor Tim Hall, a Lundale native who now lives at Mud Fork near Logan, said the flood was worse than any other disaster because of the destruction it caused. 1 (Apr., 1978), pp. May 1972, Wash., DC. 28 (S.D. "300 acres of area covered by water a foot deep". A few weeks later, on February 22nd, a federal mine inspector and the company safety engineer observed the dams and found conditions satisfactory. U.S. General Accounting Office, Delayed Redevelopment was Reasonable after Flood Disaster in West Virginia, Report of the Comptroller of the United States, Washington, DC: 1976. (AP Photo/John Raby). 8:03 a.m., dam #3 failed and carried away dams #1 and #2. At the outset of the hearing, Fuquay was the first witness, and the subcommittee chairman, Senator Harrison Williams (D-NJ), submitted for inclusion in the hearing record, Fuquays 225-page report, titled An Engineering Survey of Representative Coal Mine Refuse Piles as Related to the Buffalo Creek, West Virginia, Disaster. That two-part report, focusing on the failed Buffalo Creek dams and a sampling of other dangerous coal refuse dams in the region, made headlines in a few places on May 30th, 1972, the day the Senate hearings began. to the one at Buffalo Creek collapses, killing 147 people. Privacy Policy Contact Us Stern describes victims losing family members before their eyes, and the devastation caused by the flood. document.getElementById( "ak_js_3" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); JSTOR Daily provides context for current events using scholarship found in JSTOR, a digital library of academic journals, books, and other material. 1948US Department of Interior published an information circular, Burning A few helicopters were used initially until local miners and others, and the National Guard, began clearing debris and building makeshift roads and bridges. But West Virginia newspapers in the area were covering the tragedy closely, as the grim business of accounting for the dead, injured, and homeless continued. The Buffalo Creek disaster is the best example of a tragedy centered on environmental injustice where the minority ethnic groups and low . This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Pierce. (The Herald-Dispatch via AP). of 38 West Virginia Coal Waste Dams warning about Aberfam. But his youngest son and daughter and his wife were among the missing. It just doesnt seem that long ago that it happened, Harvey said. On Feb. 26, 1972, at approximately 8 a.m., a coal slurry impoundment dam owned by Pittston Coal Company burst . In 1973, the West Virginia Legislature passed the Dam Control Act, regulating all dams in the state. [I]f you dont do some-thing, were all going to be washed away., By June 1970, Pittston had acquired the Buffalo Mining Company. The. He argues that stereotypesparticularly the white trash stereotypes depicting Appalachians as lazy, ignorant, and hopelessallow for the continued exploitation of Appalachia by industry. Arch Moore agreed to a $1,000,000 settlement just days. A search of Public Service Commission records in response to Pearl Woodrums complaint failed to produce any proof that dams No.1 and No. Today is the 40th anniversary of the dam bursting which was owned by Pittston Coal Company. Jack Doyle, Date Posted: 31 January 2019 Mimi Pickering, my wife, made two documentary films about the disaster. By the days end, hundreds of homes and vehicles were destroyed, thousands were left homeless, and 125 men, women, and children were dead. Click for copy. But this dam dam No. Click here to stay informed and subscribe to. 1942Buchanan County coal refuse pile explosion covered the railroad tracks 3/4 (SPRING/SUMMER 2009), pp. motions due. The water is tranquil in the pools where the trout like to hide. The Charleston Gazette of February 1972 reporting on the early flood death total, with front-page photo of damaged homes thrown about on the valley floor. "$1, 000, 001 Settlement in Flood Suit," Charleston Gazette, 11-15-1977. Still highly regarded today, a 2011 paper in the Asian Journal of Social Science refers to Eriksons book as a classic piece on the sociological study of post-disaster societies., Some, however, have taken issue with Eriksons work and, on a larger scale, with outsiders views of Appalachia. Jack Doyle, "Buffalo Creek Disaster: 1972,"PopHistoryDig, January 31, 2019. wvculture/history/buffcreek . This mining activity, though in the past, had stripped away the water-absorbing forest undergrowth, thus increasing surface run-off during heavy precipitation. Media Blow Held Worse Than Flood, Charleston Gazette, March 8, 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. discovery confidential. I finally caught hold of the railroad with one hand and pulled my myself out. On February 26, 1972, tragedy struck a small mining community in the coalfields of southern West Virginia. 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. More than 100 people died in southern West Virginia when a dam failed. 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. studied the 1972 Buffalo Creek flood in WV. For outsiders, these stereotypes dehumanize the exploited individuals. Volunteers picked up trash around the creek. J.L. But it brings back memories. dam will hold. April 30, 1974Plaintiffs amended their complaint. Jules Loh, Associated Press, Buffalo Creek Hollow: A Nice Place to Live Then The Flood, March 5, 1972. April 16, 1971WVDNR Inspector recommended an emergency spillway on Dam Each of the plaintiffs ended up with about $13,000. Kai Erikson's book, "Everything In Its Path: Destruc-tion of Community in The Buffalo Creek Flood". In fact, there is a very sizeable coal waste legacy that will continue to pose dangers for many rural American communities and the nations rivers and streams for decades to come, even as the coal industry as a whole winds down its role in the U.S. and global economies. I was terrified of water because I lived through it as a kid and I was just traumatized, but I tell you what, after that dam broke and I seen what I seen, I never was afraid of water again. The Earth Justice organization, one of the environmental groups following this issue, has complied a U.S. map of these sites as shown above. Brittany Patterson, The Cautionary Tale of the Largest Coal Ash Waste Site in the U.S., AlleghenyFront.org, June 22, 2018. himself from the case because of his friendship with Pittstons president. Construction is carried out according to the approved plan. March 11, 1967Pittstons Dola, W.Va., dam failed and a massive flood In 2012, a section of embankment being worked on collapsed at a coal slurry pond in northern West Virginia. Davis managed to rescue two of his sons, and his neighbors helped pull his 17-year-old daughter from the waters two miles down the hollow. On Saturday, victims were being remembered at the same high school that served as a temporary morgue 50 years ago. February 25Because of heavy rains, dam #3 was rising 1-2 inches per hour. Vicki Smith, Feds OK Coal Slurry Dam Expansion, GazetteMail.com, March 25, 2013. The people of Appalachia seem to be forever poised at some vague mid-point between ability and disability, is one such Erikson statement. Chronology of a Disaster, BuffaloCreek Flood.org. K.T. To view our latest e-Edition click the image at left. 30, No. The second commission, the Citizens Commission, was established to counter this bias. In addition to its coal debris, the slurry wave picked up an abrasive and destructive mixture of semi-rotten trees, rocks, and sediment as it went, gouging out the land and becoming a more lethal force capable of battering and sweeping away all in its path. Through the 1940s coal mining and coal washing including dumping coal refuse and coal wash water occurred in the area of the Middle Fork, one of three headwater streams that formed Buffalo Creek. Property damage is estimated to be upward of $50 million or more. In 1960, Buffalo Mining had constructed its first gob dam, or impoundment, near the mouth of Middle Fork in 1960. I found the use of . U. S. Department of Interior, Task Force to Study Coal Waste Hazards, Preliminary Analysis of the Coal Refuse Dam Failure at Saunders, West Virginia February 26, 1972, Washington, D.C., March 12, 1972. The Pittston Company: Company Profile & History, ReferenceForBusiness.com. July 1971Pittstons vice-president of industrial engineering and training Penny Loeb's 2007 book, "Moving Mountains". February 26, 2022, marks the 50th anniversary of one of the most devastating mine disasters in U.S. history. However, he did question the ability of the overflow pipes in Dam No. Ewen and Lewis also include the story of another survivor who spent five months rebuilding his damaged home rather than letting authorities tear it down (it had been deemed to be damaged beyond repair). 2/3 (152/153) (2018), pp. 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. Pierson said he still feels a bit of anger over the aftermath of the flood. The moving wall of wastewater did its damage in seconds, in repeated fashion, as it moved down the hollow. 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 . Judge Hall suggests selecting 4-5 sample cases on the question of liability. UPI photographer Leo Gardner, one of the first outsiders to reach the area reported, Lorado was wiped out. Another early report from the devastation noted: 52 bodies lying on both sides of the road running alongside Buffalo Creek. Some drowned in the floodwaters, while others were buried by landslides, as a thick muck had moved along with the coal water. Gerald M.Stern writes the story of The Buffalo Creek Disaster, how a coal cleaning impoundment dam burst, killing 125 people injuring more than 1000 and causing over 4000 people to be homeless. You will then receive an email that helps you regain access. MSHA recognizes those who were impacted in the 1972 flood that killed 125 and injured over 1100 people. As of 1987, Pittston was still among the ten largest coal companies in the U.S. March 28Pittston press release stating that it had opened offices to To address this problem, two of the main actions taken by the U.S. Bureau of Mines (the federal mine safety agency at that time, now MSHA) were to strengthen the regulations governing the construction of dams by coal mining companies, and to develop in-house technical expertise on impoundment safety. (AP Photo/John Raby). After last year, Pierson, who now lives in Scott Depot, made the drive home to Logan County once again to reminisce with other survivors. I saw my neighbors houses leave. Pittston announced in 1999 that it was leaving the coal business. Buffalo Creek Disaster 1. Last Update:31 January2019 It just broke your heart to see firsthand the devastation that water could do, he would tell a Herald Dispatch reporter. Murder in Appalachian, The Nation, March 20, 1972. ensued. Men and women, children and animals were floating in that high wall of water.. June 4, 1974Proposed representative plaintiff lists from both sides due. Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. The pool was within three feet of the crest of the dam, and ominous cracks appeared. Out of the total settlement, Arnold and Porter took a legal fee of $3 million. Since our founding in 1986, we have established ourselves as the premier resource for information about OCD and related disorders, as well as the nexus of a broad international community of. Robert Weedall, West Virginias climatologist, noted in later remarks that yes, Act of God is a legal term, but there were other perhaps more apt legal terms that might apply to what had happened in Buffalo Creek, such as involuntary manslaughter or criminal negligence. The record, however, would prove that acts of man had everything to do with what happened at Buffalo Creek. Published: Feb. 27, 2022 at 12:17 PM PST. flagrant disregard for the safety of residents of Buffalo Creek and other persons It was a recipe for disaster as the trio of dams was inadequate to handle runoff from large rainstorms, like the one that dumped several inches of rain on Logan County by early Saturday morning, Feb. 26. Arnold and Porter noticed Pittstons president and vice-presidents depositions January 1, 1971Pittstons umbrella insurance underwriters imposed a $1 State regulators sued the mines owner. of their damage claims. Survivors of 1972 Dam Disaster Accept $13.5-Million Settlement, New York Times, July 6, 1974. November 14, 1970: Marshall University football team killed in plane crash. 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. . 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 . On Saturday, the community showed they are still standing with a room full of survivors coming . 22-45, Appalachian Journal and Appalachian State University, Social Justice, Vol. Pittston, meanwhile, would inform its investors that the 1974 settlement that had come with one of the survivors' lawsuits did not impact the company's profit margin. The result of the dam bursting was 132 million gallons of black wastewater being unleashed onto the 16 communities that encompass Buffalo Creek. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. But following a bitter labor strike in 1989, and the declining profitability of its minerals division throughout the 1990s, Pittston began to wind down its coal operations. (plus appendices, vol. 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 lawsuit and the book provide the In addition to the deaths, the disaster injured 1,100 and left more than 4,000 people homeless. Most of Buffalo Creek was previously owned by the Popp family, who ran a dairy farm before converting to grain crops such as soybeans, wheat and corn. 79-100. M. S. TERN, T . In 1977, Governor Moore, with three days left in office, accepted a settlement offer of $1 million for a suit in which the state sought $100 million from the coal company. But in the valley below, Buffalo Creek ran for about 17 miles where some 5,000 people lived in a string of 16 small towns built along the valleys bottom lands. 2 (Jan., 1978), pp. markets. 3), Washington: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1972. make a donation to help support the research and writing at this website, Online Exhibit /Special Collections, Marshall University. But the disaster will never be forgotten. But the dam pools, and the dumping of the solid slag wastes on the dam structures, were both essentially cost-saving, cheapest-way-to-do-it coal industry practices. Ive got uranium and all kinds of radioactive stuff in my bedroom. An airplane crashes. Buffalo Creek Disaster Gerald M. Stern 3.68 2,196 ratings176 reviews One Saturday morning in February 1972, an impoundment dam owned by the Pittston Coal Company burst, sending a 130 million gallon, 25 foot tidal wave of water, sludge, and debris crashing into southern West Virginia's Buffalo Creek hollow. For additional stories at this website on the history of coal and coal mining, see for example, the following: Thanks for visiting and if you like what you find here, please. Press Release, New Federal Standards Needed for Storing Coal Waste, National Research Council (Washington, DC), October 21, 2001. May 13, 1974Judge Hall denied motion for partial summary judgment as to personal Mimi Pickering (Film Director), Buffalo Creek Flood: An Act of Man (essay), Library of Congress, 1978 (in 1984, filmmaker Mimi Pickering completed Buffalo Creek Revisited, an update on the flood and its consequences). Tim Hall, left, tells his story during a memorial service at the Buffalo Creek Memorial Library on Friday, Feb. 24. (2) Stern, G.M. buffalo creek disaster 1 - Free download as Word Doc (.doc / .docx), PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read online for free. In the blink of an eye, people's lives completely changed; lives were lost, houses were gone and families were destroyed. In just a few brief moments, 125 people were killed, 1,100 were injured, and over 4,000 were left without homes [1] as the result of a collapsed coal waste dam. [I]f you dont do something, she wrote, prophetically, were all going to be washed away. Her letter did bring a state inspector to visit the dams. They also worried about the mining practice of dumping coal mining slag or gob coal mining waste into the dams. The report also noted the possibility that water and coal wastes in abandoned underground mines could break through auger holes and flow into the impoundment behind dam #3, as the practice of disposing coal sludges in abandoned underground mines had occurred in other areas of the state, with sludges breaking through to the surface in some cases. 128-129. A Pittston Coal Group decal sticker listing some of the company's mining locations in the VA-WV area. "one acre of area covered by water to a depth of 300 feet", OR Generated by Wordfence at Wed, 1 Mar 2023 10:03:54 GMT.Your computer's time: document.write(new Date().toUTCString());. amzn_assoc_linkid = "40258c095eb99c570bd3ec58d7f0a3fb"; The goal of MSHAs impoundment program continues to help ensure that: Impoundments constructed by the coal industry are designed to accepted dam safety standards. After its pH level and temperature were checked, the creek was returned to the Division of Natural Resources trout stocking program in 2006 after a 34-year hiatus. How the 1972 Buffalo Creek Flood Disaster Forever Changed Appalachia A Book Proposal by Tom Nugent. Twenty-seven years of follow-up research by teams of both . How much was the settlement? Committee in a lawsuit against Pittston. Or something else altogether? The other, David Adkins Jr., he was the same age five he hadnt started school either, but every evening, he was out and back then, they put braces in a fence and hed sit right in that brace and hed watch that bus every evening like he was saying, Next year, Im going to ride that bus. He didnt make it. WV. In the end, more than 125 people were killed, at least 1,000 injured, and some 4,000 left homeless. The Buffalo Creek Flood: An Act of Man / Buffalo Creek Revisited, BuffaloCreekFlood .org, Website. U.S. map showing locations of coal ash waste dams, spills, and contamination compiled by Earth Justice. Its still very personal to me.. Hall. Buffalo Creek Special Series, Charleston Gazette, February 1997. This work revealed the inadequacies that existed at that time in the safety of many of the dams constructed by the coal mining industry. Moore shared stories of two young children Darla Dillon, 5, and David Adkins Jr., 4, both of Lorado who perished in the flood. 242-246, Appalachian Journal, Vol. Still, the worries for citizens living near either kind of impoundment are equally valid, whether of the mine-site or powerplant variety. I teach it. Clearly and simply, said the report, people living downstream from the Buffalo Mining Companys coal refuse dam at Saunders were the victims of gross negligence.. of Inquiry into the Buffalo Creek Floods documents. Court to make the plaintiffs state their dollar damage claims with more particularity. Porterfield described a makeshift morgue set up at the local junior high school, likening it to the famous scene from Gone with the Wind in which Scarlett OHara stands astonished looking upon a sea of battlefield casualties. a federal safety standard prohibiting refuse piles from impeding drainage or impounding In the last week of his second term in 1977, Moore accepted a $1 million payment from Pittston Coal Company to settle accounts from the Buffalo Creek Disaster. 3 every day. At the time, the EPA called it the worst environmental disaster in the southeast United States. The coal company called it an act of God (sound familiar?). Judge Hall ruled that the plaintiffs survivor-syndrome claims might exceed $10,000 The report found that company and state officials were ill informed of the problems of refuse dams and had not taken timely measures. On both sides of the total settlement, Arnold and Porter took legal... 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