Links
EPA vetoes mountaintop coal mine in West Virginia
The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday blocked what would have been one of the largest mountaintop coal mines in Appalachia, saying it would have caused irreversible damage to nearby streams.
The EPA said it based its final decision to veto a previously granted permit for the Spruce No. 1 mine on the pollution that would have destroyed wildlife, polluted areas downstream and increased the water contamination risks for people who live in West Virginia's already heavily mined Coal River basin. The streams the veto protects–Pigeonroost Branch and Oldhouse Branch–are two of the last "high-quality" streams in the watershed, the agency said.
Environmentalists claimed a major victory and said they hope it's the beginning of the end for mountaintop mining under new scrutiny by the Obama administration. The EPA, however, said in a statement that it thinks coal companies can design mountaintop mines that comply with the Clean Water Act.
The agency said the circumstances of the Spruce No. 1 mine set it apart.
The proposed mine "would use destructive and unsustainable mining practices that jeopardize the health of Appalachian communities and clean water on which they depend," said Peter S. Silva, the EPA's assistant administrator for water.