In 1993 Elmer Lloyd “borrowed some money against his home” to build a pond. The fruits of his labor were enjoyed by Elmer, his wife, their family and friends. Their children and grandchildren would camp by the pond behind their home in the community of Blair in Harlan County. Elmer would go out every morning with his cup of coffee and feed the fish. They became so attached to the fish that when they would catch one they would throw it back. “The fish were friendly. They would follow you.”

A fresh water spring from the hollow above his house provided clean water to the one-third acre, eleven feet deep pond until the Fall of 2006. Until then “You could push your boat around with a long pole. It was a good solid hard bottom. Now there is approximately four to five feet of sticky mud below two foot of water.”

Most of Elmer’s fish have been killed. This was caused by a silt discharge and chemical release from a strip mine operated by Nally & Hamilton. They have been issued at least three citations by the Kentucky Departments of Mines and Minerals and the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Elmer’s immediate concern is for the safety of people and wildlife. If a child or animal were to wonder into the pond they would likely get trapped in the five feet deep “sticky mud.” He has asked Nally & Hamilton to drain the pond and landscape it so that it would not fill up with water. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife has told him that without a good source of fresh water, like he had, the pond would not be able to sustain any fish.

When asked what should be done to prevent something like this from happening again Elmer said: “It is all right for them to mine coal, but they ought to mine it so that if they damage people’s property they should be well compensated for their losses, otherwise they don’t need to be mining. If they intentionally damage people’s property, they shouldn’t be issued another permit.”

Elmer Lloyd believes that while the state has done as much as the law allows, he has received more attention after Kentuckians For The Commonwealth became involved. Harlan County KFTC chapter member Carl Shoupe has known Elmer for many years. He began working with him soon after the pond began to fill with mud. Another chapter member has gotten Tom Fitzgerald, Director of the Kentucky Resources Council to represent Elmer.

Prior to working with KFTC Elmer had tried unsuccessfully to get Nally and Hamilton to look at the damage they had created. Carl Shoupe got the county newspaper to publish a story. That day the company contacted Elmer. Within a month a state inspector contacted him again. He told Elmer that his boss in Frankfort had read the story. The inspector told Elmer that “he didn’t know I was having anymore trouble because I hadn’t contacted him. I told him that I had told him once and didn’t think I had to keep on contacting him.”