Mine industry sues over Appalachian permits
Associated Press
July 21, 2010
The coal industry filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the Obama administration's efforts to limit surface coal mining in Appalachia.
The National Mining Association's lawsuit accuses the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers of illegally preventing mines from obtaining water quality permits in the region. If successful, the NMA says the lawsuit would free a logjam of 235 pending permit applications that have been held up for additional scrutiny by the EPA since 2009.
"Members' efforts to navigate this unlawful process and obtain reasonable and predictable permit terms have been unsuccessful, leaving us no choice but to challenge the EPA and Corps policy in court," NMA President Hal Quinn said in a statement. "The agencies' continued abuse of the law to impose arbitrary standards on mining operations, state agencies and other federal regulatory bodies threatens the entire region with further economic misery and stagnant employment."
The EPA had no immediate comment. The corps referred questions to the U.S. Department of Justice, which also had no immediate comment.
The lawsuit is the latest skirmish in a series of court fights over mountaintop removal coal mining in West Virginia, Kentucky and other Appalachian states. Mine operators say the practice is highly efficient, supports tens of thousands of jobs and provides coal for electric power plants across much of the South and East. But opponents argue that surface mining is too damaging to the environment because it disposes of excess material such as rock by burying streams.
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2010