Jobs Trump Streams as Mountaintop Removal Coal Mine Permitted

The permit comes after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday that it supports a permit for the company following discussions that resulted in "additional significant protections against environmental impacts."

In mountaintop mining operations, entire coal seams are removed from the tops of mountains by blasting away the rocks above the coal and dumping the waste rock into neighboring valleys, often burying streams.

As originally proposed, the Hobet 45 mining extension would have buried nearly six miles of headwater streams and contaminated downstream waters that now support healthy streamlife and are used by local residents for fishing and swimming.

EPA recommended changes to the mine plan in consultation with Hobet Mining and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that will:

• Reduce stream impacts by more than 16,000 linear feet, roughly three miles
• Require that contaminated mine drainage be directed away from surface waters
• Ensure more effective compensation for environmental losses
• Establish an adaptive management plan to further protect water quality
• Protect highly productive streams on the mine site

"We appreciate the work done by the EPA and the Corps to achieve this result. We would also like to acknowledge the efforts of Congressman Nick J. Rahall, Governor Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Congressional delegation and our locally elected representatives in support of a constructive dialogue with the EPA and the Corps that led to the issuance of this permit," Whiting said.

The Hobet 45 mountaintop removal coal mine (Photo courtesy I Love Mountains)

The Hobet 45 mine is one of 79 projects identified by the EPA as raising environmental concerns under a special enhanced coordination process with the Corps to make decisions on a large group of permits that were delayed for several years because of litigation.

The EPA approved issuance of a Clean Water Act permit while recognizing that, "Appalachian coal mining has buried an estimated 2,000 miles of streams in states including West Virginia."

"Scientific studies have increasingly identified significant water quality problems below surface coal mining operations that can contaminate surface waters for hundreds of years," the EPA said, announcing the Hobet 45 mine decision. "Data from coalfield communities also indicate that coal mining is responsible for causing fish kills and contaminating fish and wildlife."

Environmental and citizens groups across Appalachia and across the country were dismayed by the decision.

"We, the affected citizens that are living with the impacts of this destructive mining practice, pray that this decision is not a preview of other destructive mining permits being approved," said Judy Bonds with Coal River Mountain Watch. "We certainly hope this is the last destructive permit approved that will allow the coal industry to continue to blast our homes and pollute our streams."

"The Obama administration rings in the new year by allowing coal companies to bury more miles of streams," said Joan Mulhern, senior legislative counsel for Earthjustice, a public interest environmental law firm.

"There is no excuse for approving this permit when the science is clear that mountaintop removal coal mining permanently destroys streams," said Mulhern. "The administration claims to be making progress on mountaintop removal, but in reality they are still following the flawed policies put in place by the Bush administration. It is time for them to make a commitment to ending this abominable practice."

The groups say this decision highlights the urgent need for the U.S. EPA to protect streams from mining waste by revising Clean Water Act regulations gutted by the Bush administration.

The Sierra Club and other national and local environmental groups encourage the Obama Administration to begin a rulemaking to exclude mining waste from the definition of 'fill' as a material that can be dumped in waters of the United States. The groups say entire communities have been permanently displaced by mines the size of Manhattan.

The EPA said Tuesday that the agency "has committed to use its Clean Water Act regulatory authorities to reduce environmental and water quality impacts associated with surface coal mining."

Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia said, "I commend Patriot Coal and the Environmental Protection Agency for their determination to come to the table and work together to resolve this issue. By choosing cooperation over confrontation, Patriot and the EPA are creating a template for how coal operators and regulators can work together to protect mining jobs while also abiding by federal laws that protect the land, water, and people from negative environmental impacts."

But Bill Price, environmental justice organizer for the Sierra Club in West Virginia, is not persuaded. "While we understand that this short term deal means more mining and destruction but also the extension of employment to mine workers, we know that mountaintop removal coal mining is not a long-term economic strategy for Appalachia," he said.

"There is an achievable balance between environmental concerns and the necessary mining of coal as part of our energy portfolio. Striving for that balance, without rancor, must be our goal," said Byrd.

Byrd also announced that next week the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the EPA, and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection will begin hosting regular meetings with any interested coal companies in order to clarify the technical details and requirements associated with the processing of permit applications. The first meeting is slated for Tuesday, January 12, at the Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia.

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