EKB News

In response to the latest action concerning surface mine permits, the Sierra Club has applauded a move by the EPA which has left angry feelings for miners and officials in West Virginia. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, since Congress enacted the Clean Water Act in 1972, the agency has never used its authority to review a previously permitted project. But, that all changed Friday when the EPA announced plans to use that authority to revoke a previous permit that was issued in 2007 to St. Louis-based Arch Coal Inc. for its Mingo Logan Coal's No. 1 mine. In a letter sent to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Huntington district, Acting EPA Regional Administrator William Early said the agency is "taking this unusual step in response to our very serious concerns" that the proposed project could violate the Clean Water Act. The permit would allow the company to fill valleys at the site with material removed to expose coal, a practice widely opposed by environmentalists. The Sierra Club says the move "underscores the need for the Obama administration to develop new regulations to end mountaintop removal mining once and for all." However, Governor Joe Manchin responded by saying, "To say I am mad would be an understatement." He calls this a prime example of how the federal government is not working for the people. U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller criticized the EPA, calling the action "wrong and unfair" to change the rules for a permit that already was approved. Rockefeller said, "When businesses make good faith efforts and fully comply with all applicable laws and regulations, they must have the confidence that the commitments made by the government will be honored." Company officials issued a statement saying they were shocked by the action, saying the permit was the most carefully scrutinized and fully considered mine permit in West Virginia history, taking almost ten years to be approved.