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Permalink Reply by Sandra Staats on June 11, 2009 at 10:00pm

Departments to Toughen Standards for Mining
By JOHN M. BRODER
Published: June 11, 2009
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration said Thursday that it would toughen standards for mountaintop-removal coal mining but would not end the practice as some environmental groups had hoped.

Related
E.P.A. Plans Closer Review of Mountaintop Mining Permits (March 25, 2009) Officials from four agencies said they had agreed to order a more rigorous legal and environmental review of pending and future applications for mountaintop mining in Appalachia. The technique involves blasting the tops off mountains and dumping the rubble into valleys and streams. The practice has buried hundreds of miles of streams and has polluted water throughout the region.

The officials, representing the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the Interior Department, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers, did not make clear whether the new process would result in the granting of more mining permits or fewer. Earlier this year the administration imposed a virtual moratorium on mountaintop mining pending this review, leaving the status of 110 permits in limbo.

In the interim, however, the administration has granted 42 such permits while denying 6. It appears that those 42 projects will now move forward.

Nancy Sutley, chairwoman of the White House environmental council, said strict safeguards in the new agreement made good on President Obama’s pledge to limit the damage from mountaintop-removal mining while providing coal for the nation’s utilities.

“We are committed to powering our country while protecting health and welfare in the Appalachian region, securing access to clean streams and safe drinking water, and honoring our clean-water laws,” Ms. Sutley said.

Mountaintop mining has led to many protests and hundreds of lawsuits. The coal industry contends that it is the safest and most efficient way to remove coal that is near the surface and that the landscape and communities are left relatively unharmed. Residents and environmental advocates say the practice destroys streams and valleys, dislocates communities and poisons drinking water.

The Bush administration tried to fast-track permits for such operations but left office without rewriting the laws. The Obama administration is now trying to give mine operators, state officials and communities some certainty on when and where mountaintop mining will be permitted.

In a statement, the National Mining Association said the announcement failed to clarify what impact the new procedures would have on granting permits.

“We remain concerned that an ambiguous process will continue to hold up coal production and jeopardize jobs not only in six states but possibly throughout the nation’s coal fields,” the statement said. (Mountaintop mining is practiced in Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.)

State officials were generally positive about the policy, saying it would make decisions on permits faster and more predictable.

Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia, a Democrat, said he supported the new approach, adding: “As we continue to meet the challenges of the global financial downturn, we have an obligation to permit the recovery of traditional energy sources that fuel our economy. However, we also have a responsibility to discourage the use of mining methods that exploit our mountains and valleys.”

But Joan Mulhern, legislative counsel of Earthjustice, an environmental group that opposes mountaintop mining, said her group could not endorse the new policy.

“It’s not clear yet whether this policy will result in more or fewer permits,” Ms. Mulhern said. “Until they can clearly tell us their policy is to stop the destruction of mountains and streams in Appalachia, we cannot support them.”


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/science/earth/12mining.html

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Permalink Reply by Sandra Staats on June 12, 2009 at 12:20am

06/11/2009

Questions From All Sides
Staff
Washington, D.C.



None of the interested parties in the controversial mountaintop removal mining process appear satisfied with an announcement Thursday from the Obama administration.

The EPA, Interior Department and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have signed a memorandum of understanding to "reduce the impacts" of mountaintop removal.

Nancy Sutley, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, called the announcement an unprecedented step. She says the coordinated approach is a reflection of the Obama administration's "serious concerns about the impact of mountaintop coal mining on our natural resources and health and welfare of Appalachian communities."

But neither mountaintop removal opponents nor coal mining supporters appear pleased with the decision.

Opponents say they've heard these promises for years. There was no indication Thursday the Obama administration would stop mountaintop removal mining.

UMWA President Cecil Roberts also expressed disappointment in the decision. He says the union was not consulted by the Obama administration.

"There will clearly be some impact from these new policies on the timing for approval of new permits in the short term, although it is not yet clear if there will be any impact on the operations where our members work," Roberts said in a prepared release.

Sutley promised the three agencies would work together to "stringently review" mountaintop removal permit applications. She added the agencies have short and long-term reforms that will make sure the future mining projects are more responsible.

Sutley says the Obama administration is doing all it can under existing laws and regulations to take aim at the most "environmentally destructive impacts of mountaintop coal mining," she said.

http://www.wvmetronews.com/index.cfm?func=displayfullstory&stor...

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Permalink Reply by Sandra Staats on October 17, 2009 at 3:23am

Personally, I think there has to be a better way than burying 7 more miles of mountain streams.
Get the coal, but preserve the mountains and streams! They have already started to convert coal fired electricity to wood. We need trees for shade and oxygen. Which is worse?
Mankind cannot live without fresh water. I'm willing to take a raise on my electric bill, until the technology is developed. I don't know how I'll pay it, but I know that destroying 7 miles of mountain streams is wrong! There has to be a better way!

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Permalink Reply by Sandra Staats on October 17, 2009 at 3:52am

Big Coal Companies need to think. I'm NOT blaming the workers! They are victims too! They both know what they are leaving to future generations. Supporting families is a necessity.
Making more money than you could ever spend at the expense of the lives of others is wrong.
Were'nt they ever taught responsibility? Respect for their fellow man? Honesty? Chivalry? Fairness? Decency?

I believe in coal, freedom an capitalism, but I see abuse. Do the Coal Companies have a conscious, like most West Virginians? What has been done in southern West Virginia should be repaired... all of it!

If it costs more not to do Valley Fills, so be it! If it costs more to mine underground, so be it!
In this day and age I know there is an efficient way of doing this. Coal companies need to stop this raping of West Virginia, in the name of the "cheapest way possible"... "The Environment be Damned! "

Please find a better way!

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Permalink Reply by Sandra Staats on December 22, 2009 at 3:57am

This needs to be brought to the top. It keeps getting buried in the wake of Obama destruction. Lots of things going on are connected to this. West Virgina doesn't realize the power we have.

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Permalink Reply by Sandra Staats on May 4, 2010 at 2:33am

We , as West Virginians know the value of Coal mining jobs. To have full knowledge of the mechanisms that guide our state's economy, we need to understand every view and experience.
We need to plan for a day when the coal is gone, also. We are NOT anti-coal!

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Permalink Reply by ELI ELLISON on May 5, 2010 at 1:41am

Our state is the most "Rodney Dangerfield" state out of all of them. Right now we are Down 14% in our economy while the lowest of the next 48 states is no lower than 6-7%. North Dakota's economy is the only state that has shown an increase of 1.5% in the last year.

Until the citizens of this state rise up and demand that our elected officials do something other than go to Charleston and pass BS resolutions naming state landmarks, roads and buildings for other political hacks we are going to get nowhere. Hey Carpetbagger Rockefeller, you got your name on a airport that no one flys into. I am sure that gives you special bragging rights at the country club doesnt it.

I am afraid when the coal is all gone, all of the companies will just leave the state citizens empty handed again as we attempt to find a way to pay for the messes that they have left us. We have nothing but "professional butt kissers" working in our Economic Development Authority in Charleston.

They are worse than a "Welfare Cheater". Take millions of taxpayer dollars and what do we have to show for it?

They are probably better at surfing for Internet Porn than the guys at the SEC who are watching over the Stock Market.

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Permalink Reply by John Lloyd on May 6, 2010 at 12:10am

Well Eli and Sandy I agree with you both. We need to elect representatives that are going to put the health and welfare of their constituents first . Rockefeller is left liberal if you ask me and he doesn't care if we all starve as long as his checks keep coming in. If you dump 2 gallons of drain oil on his lawn he'll have you locked up for life but these large corporations pollute all they want and restrictions on them are very loose as you can see by the mine disasters that we see. How beautiful a state we have here , we need the coal yes, and we need the jobs but why not try to make the progression of our society less invasive on this state we call home. The theme of" leave it better than you found it" sure is not echoed by the big companies in this country.

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Permalink Reply by Sandra Staats on May 6, 2010 at 12:37am

Amen! Well said!

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