Photo by Vivian Stockman

Coalfield citizen groups are at the state Capitol this hour, announcing plans for “Appalachia Rising,” a Sept. 27 event being billed as a “mass mobilization” against mountaintop removal in Washington, D.C.

According to an announcement of the event:

They are calling for thousands to join them in demanding the Obama Administration abolish surface mining and investment in sustainable economic diversification in Appalachia. Groups aim to mobilize thousands from across the country for a dignified day of action in DC to increase public pressure on elected officials and regulators to ban surface mining.

And on its Web site, the event organizers add:

Appalachia Rising declares that we are not a national sacrifice zone. We will not stand idly by as we see our past and future blasted to rubble, our communities and mountains eliminated, and our neighbors poisoned as coal executives and their shareholders grow rich. Appalachians are not, and never will be, collateral damage. We are proud of our coal mining fathers, hard-working neighbors, and Appalachian past, present and future!

And to be clear, this effort — as mentioned above — says again on its Web site that it is advocating a ban on all surface mining, not just mountaintop removal:

Appalachia is endowed with abundant resources too long plundered by outside interests. We call for the abolition of surface mining, a just transition for coalfield communities, and renewed investment in a prosperous and just economy in Appalachia.