In December, the Obama administration released the final Stream Protection Rule knowing it would be a likely top target for the incoming Republican-controlled Congress. And it is, indeed, in the crosshairs — but members of Congress should understand they’re gambling with Appalachia’s health and economic future, all for a risky bet on coal’s unlikely comeback.
On Monday, the U.S. Department of the Interior released the Stream Protection Rule, which aims to protect streams from the impacts of surface and longwall mining. The final rule offers only modest improvements to protections for public waterways, but it is well worth defending from congressional attack.
“God gave us the water so we can stay clean, and so we can drink it. I don’t want poison in the water.” Those are the words of 6-year-old Levi Marney, spoken to representatives of the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy at a public meeting about the proposed Doe Branch mountaintop removal mine in Haysi.
The history of the Doe Branch mine in Southwest Virginia is long and complicated, and its future remains unclear. A bankruptcy saga with the mine’s previous owner stalled development in the past year, but things appear to be getting back on track — putting the Russell Fork River at risk.
Two mountaintop removal coal mines are proposed in West Virginia, and another relatively new mine faces a pollution lawsuit. Meanwhile, federal courts upheld the EPA’s denial of the largest mountaintop removal permit ever proposed.
Contact: Erin Savage, Central Appalachia Campaign Coordinator, 206-769-8286 The federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) announced today that it will fund a $1 million review by the National Academy of Sciences of current research on the links…
Daile Boulis, a resident of Loudondale, W.Va., lives just a few thousand feet from the KD#2 mountaintop removal mine in Kanawha County, W.Va. At a recent gathering of The Alliance for Appalachia, Daile shared the story of how she became involved in the fight against mountaintop removal coal mining.
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has brought a lawsuit against Keystone Industries over Clean Water Act violations at the KD #2 surface mine in southern Kanawha County, W.Va., adjacent to the Kanawha State Forest.
A lot of folks have had questions about last month’s mine blowout on Pine Creek, in Letcher County, Ky. So we’ve put together an explainer that runs through the facts, the science and the regulatory protocols behind spills like this — and offers tips on what you can do about them.
Over the weekend, a letter by our Executive Director Tom Cormons to the editors of The New York Times appeared on the newspaper’s website. It was penned in part to stress the importance of the Stream Protection Rule and to urge federal regulators to stand firm in the face of industry opposition, and finalize it.
