BREAKING NEWS: Change is Gonna Come: EPA Halts Mountaintop Removal Permits

It's been a long time coming, but the EPA made a breakthrough announcement today, calling for a halt to select mountaintop removal permits in West Virginia, in order to address their impact on water quality. Whether this is the beginning of a transition to abolish mountaintop removal is yet to be seen, but it is a huge step forward for our country.

While you're reading the EPA press release, enjoy Ben Sollee, a great anti-mountaintop removal advocate and his version of a Change is Gonna Come:

(Washington, D.C. - March 24, 2009) The United States Environmental Protection Agency has sent two letters to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers expressing serious concerns about the need to reduce the potential harmful impacts on water quality caused by certain types of coal mining practices, such as mountaintop mining. The letters specifically addressed two new surface coal mining operations in West Virginia and Kentucky. EPA also intends to review other requests for mining permits.

"The two letters reflect EPA's considerable concern regarding the environmental impact these projects would have on fragile habitats and streams," said Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "I have directed the agency to review other mining permit requests. EPA will use the best science and follow the letter of the law in ensuring we are protecting our environment."

EPA's letters, sent to the Corps office in Huntington, W.Va., stated that the coal mines would likely cause water quality problems in streams below the mines, would cause significant degradation to streams buried by mining activities, and that proposed steps to offset these impacts are inadequate. EPA has recommended specific actions be taken to further avoid and reduce these harmful impacts and to improve mitigation.

The letters were sent to the Corps by EPA senior officials in the agency's Atlanta and Philadelphia offices. Permit applications for such projects are required by the Clean Water Act.

EPA also requested the opportunity to meet with the Corps and the mining companies seeking the new permits to discuss alternatives that would better protect streams, wetlands and rivers.

The Corps is responsible for issuing Clean Water Act permits for proposed surface coal mining operations that impact streams, wetlands, and other waters. EPA is required by the act to review proposed permits and provides comments to the Corps where necessary to ensure that proposed permits fully protect water quality.

Because of active litigation in the 4th Circuit challenging the issuance of Corps permits for coal mining, the Corps has been issuing far fewer permits in West Virginia since the litigation began in 2007. As a result, there is a significant backlog of permits under review by the Corps. EPA expects to be actively involved in the review of these permits following issuance of the 4th Circuit decision last month.

EPA is coordinating its action with the White House Council on Environmental Quality and with other agencies including the Corps.

More information on wetlands and the letters: http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/

Comments

[RTIII]

When I was a child, my father was appointed head of environmental enforcement in Louisiana as an assistant Attorney General under Billy Guste Jr. I recall vividly going with him to investigate wetlands destruction and the mantra from those in the fight was; "Our victories are always temporary, our defeats permanent." And with that, they battled fiercely as later-day Jedi Knights against the Imperial Republic. Years after the fact, I learned that my own life and that of my sister were threatened as my father, after years of preparation, set about closing the so-called "Good Hope Refinery" (just upstream from the New Orleans fresh-water intake pipe!) when they dumped phenol into the river one time too many.

...Same as it ever was... ...Only today, finally, there's someone in the White House who actually cares...
.

[bdaved]

I worked at Good Hope for TCP for 47.9 hours during June of 1981. I saw a palm reader while I was in New Orleans who told me to avoid explosives, and then the cat cracker blew up again. I spent all the next day not coming in to work and they fired me.

[Dorothy Dotson]

This is glorious news! I know we are are far from an end to MTR, but it's a wonderful beginning. The genocide in Appalachia has to end.

[ScottontheSpot]

If we are to allow coal mining at all in this country (and oil and NG drilling as well) we should forget about collecting taxes on their profits (which are always well hidden anyway) and just tax the heck out of them for all the resource use and pollution they cause. This Geonomic solution would put the burden where it belongs and incentivize the industry to clean up its act. Right now, they get away with pollution and bribe officials with the capital taxes they pay. This needs to be reversed. While we're at it, untax wages of the workers too; these are taxes that discourage production, when we should be discouraging resource use and pollution; both belong to all of us (air, water, land), and it is a perversion of natural law that the mining industry doesn't have to abide by that simple truth.

[quidam56]

Praise God, this is a blessing !

http://www.wisecountyissues.com/?p=138

Appalachia can't stand anymore of the progress and prosperity thanks to Bush/Cheney and The New And Improved Clean, Green, Hybrid Coal Industry.

[brandnewstuff]

I hope to see more areas of progress- For all Industires

[myfriendheather]

Best news of 2009...by far!

[Kaye08]

This is wonderful news. I hope it is the end to mountain top destruction!

[stumptowngreen]

"EPA's letters, sent to the Corps office in Huntington, W.Va., stated that the coal mines would likely cause water quality problems in streams below the mines, would cause significant degradation to streams buried by mining activities, and that proposed steps to offset these impacts are inadequate."

Understatement of the century. It says a lot about the current state of our environmental policies when acknowledging the obvious ("[mountain top removal] coal mines would likely cause...significant degradation to streams BURIED by mining activities") represents a paradigm shift in administrative policy. This is very good news.

[TRYKER]

YESSSSSSSS­SSSSSS!!!!­!

[Kaye08]

I agree!