The EPA has said mountaintop removal mines have a dangerous impact on water quality. (Sierra Club)
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Tuesday approved a permit for Coal Mac's Pine Creek No.1 Surface Mine in Logan County, W.Va. The Corps said the mine will impact 14,530 feet of stream.
The permit for Pine Creek has been a point of contention for some environmentalists who believe it to be inconsistent with new Clean Water Act rules announced by the Environmental Protection Agency in April. In June, the EPA recommended the Corps approve the permit despite their new rules.
In an announcement Tuesday, the EPA said the approved permit was changed to meet their new guidelines.
Consistent with the Clean Water Act and the recent EPA guidance on mountain top mining, the Agency’s consultation with the Company and the Corps led to significant changes to the permit that will reduce potential adverse impacts to water quality and avoid significant degradation of the aquatic ecosystems in the Pine Creek watershed. The key changes include reductions to stream impacts, protection of water quality through a strict conductivity level, enhanced mitigation and restoration, and reduction of cumulative impacts.
The agency said it would evaluate the impact of the first valley fill before allowing additional mining.
EPA also reached an agreement with the company related to sequencing of valley fill construction. The company may only proceed with the first valley fill and any additional valley fills will have to be evaluated individually as part of the agreement. If EPA and the Corps find that any of the valley fills are adversely impacting water quality, we will not approve additional mining at the site. The company agreed to meet all conditions presented by the Agency.
Coal Mac has also agreed to restore and enhance thousands of feet of stream. A recent study conducted by the Natural Resource Defense Council and Appalachian Voices showed that despite promises made by coal companies, only a fraction of the 1.2 million acres of land flattened by mountaintop removal in Appalachia has been reclaimed.
Coal River Mountain is an ancient Appalachian cradle of rolling ridges and nestled hollows, which provide refuge to a variety of delicate wildlife species and a home to a uniquely American mountain culture. But just beneath the surface lays something that calls into question the mountain’s very survival: $4.3 billion worth of coal. Massey Energy holds permits to clear-cut 6,450 acres of hardwood forest on the mountain and to detonate thousands of tons of explosives. The blasts will topple debris into nine miles of streams below, destroying not just the mountain, but also the land and the way of life of those who live there. The people of Raleigh County, West Virginia are the ones who will suffer from the loss of their mountain to strip mining.
The Coal War is the story of a symbol and a struggle: one mountain destined to be destroyed by the coal industry and a courageous effort to bring renewable energy to the heartland of America.
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Coal River Mountain is an ancient Appalachian cradle of rolling ridges and nestled hollows, which provide refuge to a variety of delicate wildlife species and a home to a uniquely American mountain culture. But just beneath the surface lays something that calls into question the mountain’s very survival: $4.3 billion worth of coal. Massey Energy holds permits to clear-cut 6,450 acres of hardwood forest on the mountain and to detonate thousands of tons of explosives. The blasts will topple debris into nine miles of streams below, destroying not just the mountain, but also the land and the way of life of those who live there. The people of Raleigh County, West Virginia are the ones who will suffer from the loss of their mountain to strip mining.
The Coal War is the story of a symbol and a struggle: one mountain destined to be destroyed by the coal industry and a courageous effort to bring renewable energy to the heartland of America.
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