Federal Court Backs EPA’s Veto Of One Of The Largest Surface Mines Ever Proposed In Appalachia

We need more victories like these!

Think Progress
Federal Court Backs EPA’s Veto Of One Of The Largest Surface Mines Ever Proposed In Appalachia
by Ari Phillips
October 3, 2014

At 2,278 acres acres, down from an original 3,100 acres, the Spruce No. 1 Mine was one of the largest surface mining operations ever authorized in Appalachia. That was, until the EPA vetoed it. On Tuesday, a federal District Court judge upheld the EPA’s revocation of the West Virginia surface mine’s Clean Water Act (CWA) permit, calling it “reasonable, supported by the record, and based on considerations within EPA’s purview.”

At issue was the agency’s veto of a permit that had previously been issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The drawn-out case — the mine was first proposed in 1997 — received national attention for its potential implications. With this latest development, the Corps may be more hesitant to grant mountaintop removal permits in the future. The EPA vetoed portions of the Corps’ dredge-and-fill permit issued in January 2007. The permit would have allowed Mingo Logan Coal Company, Inc., a subsidiary of Arch Coal Inc., to bury 6.6 miles of natural headwater streams with mining waste.

“This really is a victory for communities in West Virginia that have been fighting to protect the area and who first challenged the permit in 1998,” Emma Cheuse, a senior associate attorney with Earthjustice who argued on behalf of several Appalachian groups in defense of the EPA’s veto, told ThinkProgress. “To its credit, the EPA finally recognized that this harm would really be unacceptable.”

Cheuse also said that the court upholding the EPA’s veto has important value for communities well beyond West Virginia. “The EPA rarely exercises this power,” she said. “The EPA’s recognition of the science here should be the beginning of a broader look at mountaintop removal across Appalachia.” ....

MORE at http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/10/03/3575279/court-epa-veto-surface-mines/