EPA says 79 mountaintop removal permits need further review

The EPA says the mines would likely cause significant harm to streams and rivers in West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee.

Twenty-three of those permits are in West Virginia.

EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Peter S. Silva wrote today, “After a careful evaluation of these surface coal mining projects, EPA determined that each of them, as currently proposed, is likely to result in significant harm to water quality and the environment and are therefore not consistent with requirements of the CWA.”

The agency says it will work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers  to reduce harm to water quality downstream from the proposed mines.

“The Corps of Engineers is now responsible under the coordination process for beginning the next stage of discussions with EPA and the mining companies to reduce anticipated environmental and water quality impacts,” Silva wrote.

The letter sets in motion a process between the EPA and the Corps over the next several months to try to alleviate the EPA’s clean water concerns.

In March, the EPA announced it would scrutinize pending permits for valley fills associated with mountaintop removal mining.

Earlier this month, the EPA released a list of 79 proposed permits which it thought could hurt the environment if approved.

The EPA’s new look at mountaintop removal mining has led to renewed efforts by pro-mining groups. Industry leaders set up booths at coal shows and rallies to make it easy for people to send a letter to Washington to show opposition to the cap-and-trade bill and in favor of mountaintop removal mining.

Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship and other sponsored a “Friends of America Rally” on Labor Day, drawing thousands to a reclaimed mountaintop removal site in Logan County.