LOGAN — Friends and foes of coal trekked to Washington for a senate committee hearing on Mountain Top removal today, including a Daily News staff member to report on the issue which has thrown West Virginia into the national spotlight.

“The Impacts of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining on Water Quality in Appalachia,” a hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Water and Wildlife Subcommittee, will take place at 3:30 p.m. on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C.

The Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition reported 2009 Goldman Environmental Prize winner Maria Gunnoe would be giving testimony to Congress at the hearing.

Several environmental groups attempting to stop mountaintop removal plan to attend the hearing at the nation’s seat, as do groups in support of mining coal by all means.

One of these groups, Friends of Coal, left Logan this morning at 6 a.m., heading toward Washington D.C., to attend the hearing, with plans to stop in Charleston to pick up more.

On the two buses were a mixture of people including coal executives, representatives of the W.Va. Coal Association, citizens from Mingo, Logan and Kanawha counties, and Williamson Daily News Sports Editor Jeff Reynolds.

“It’s hard to pass up an opportunity like this,” said Reynolds, a former high school principal. “From a reporting stand point, it gives us a chance to tell readers what is gong on at the nation’s capital regarding our area first hand.”

“The Daily News representative is riding with ‘Friends of Coal,’ the coverage of this important issue will not be biased,” said Editor Loretta Tackett. “The recent arrests of protesters at Massey’s Coal River Valley site has put Tug Valley in the national spot light. The Daily News is grateful to have an opportunity to have someone at this informative hearing.”

A host of well-know environmental activists, including actress Daryl Hannah, were arrested Tuesday in Raleigh County in what Green Media Toolshed called a “peaceful protest on mountaintop removal.”

A press release from Green Media said the protest was organized by coalfield residents and Rainforest Action Network. Among those arrested for trespassing besides Hannah were leading climate scientist, Dr. James Hansen, former representative Ken Hechler, Michael Brune, the executive director of Rainforest Action Network, and Goldman Prize winner Judy Bonds. Also arrested were dozens of Coal River Valley residents and allies.

“They risked arrest by crossing onto the property of leading mountaintop removal coal mining company, Massey Energy—purposely trespassing to protest the destruction of mountains immediately above the Coal River Valley community,” the release said.

This is part of a string of increasingly dramatic protests on mountaintop removal and comes after the Barack Obama Administration’s announcement that the EPA will reform, but not abolish, the aggressive strip mining practice. Tuesday’s protest is happening just days before a Congressional hearing titled, “The Impacts of Mountaintop Removal Mining on Water Quality in Appalachia.”

 “I am not a politician; I am a scientist and a citizen,” said Dr. James Hansen. “Politicians may have to advocate for halfway measures if they choose. But it is our responsibility to make sure our representatives feel the full force of citizens who speak for what is right, not what is politically expedient. Mountaintop removal, providing only a small fraction of our energy, should be abolished.”

Two weeks ago, the Obama Administration announced steps to end the fast tracking of certain mountaintop removal coal mine permits and to add tougher enforcement in Appalachia. However, it remains unclear what, if any, improvements this will have on-the-ground in Appalachia or elsewhere.

“This is not a practice that needs to be reformed. It is a practice that needs to be abolished. By sacrificing the Appalachian Mountains for the country’s coal addiction, we undermine future investments in 21st century clean energy solutions that will protect our planet, produce more jobs and preserve our natural resources,” said Michael Brune, executive director of Rainforest Action Network.

“Every day, mountaintop removal mines use more explosive power than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima,” said Bo Webb, an organizer of yesterday’s protest and a Coal River Valley Resident.

Mountaintop removal coal provides less than eight percent of all coal produced in the United States.

Recent studies have shown that the Appalachia Mountains could support commercial scale wind energy facilities, which would bring long-term, sustainable jobs to the region – but only if the mountains are left standing, Green Media reported. In West Virginia, jobs from mining account for just 3.3 percent employment in the Mountain State – that is less than 20,000 jobs total, the release said.