AV's Intern Team | December 19, 2014 | No Comments
By Brian Sewell
A federal judge acknowledged the environmental damage caused by mountaintop removal this September when she ruled to uphold a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency veto of a permit for one of the largest surface mines ever proposed in Appalachia.
Originally proposed in 1997, the Spruce No. 1 mine would have occupied more than 2,250 acres in Logan County, W.Va., and buried more than six miles of headwater streams with mining waste. Citing the irreversible nature of this damage, the EPA vetoed the site’s Clean Water Act permit in 2011. The decision comes after the Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge by Arch Coal of the EPA’s authority to veto mountaintop removal permits.
Like this content? Subscribe to The Voice email digests
The Appalachian Voice is a publication of Appalachian Voices
589 West King Street, Boone, N.C.
© 2021 Appalachian Voices
Member Spotlight: Russ Moxley
Volunteer monitors coal mine data and maintains Appalachian Trail
Creating Positive Change: A Note from Our Executive Director
Solar, Environmental Justice and Utility Reform in Virginia
Miners and advocates travel to Washington to ask legislators to strengthen black lung benefits
Layers of injustice: Community concerns ignored as federal regulators allow Mountain Valley Pipeline to begin operation
A week of action to stop zombie coal mines