EPA stops mining of mountain tops

Lisa Jackson, the administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said on Tuesday that a large number of permits for coal mining from mountain tops are now suspended pending a review of how marshlands and streams are affected by the mining.

The suspension is aimed at a contentious procedure carried out by mining companies who remove entire mountain peaks with explosives and deposit waste into wetlands and rivulets.

It only covers applications for new permits, which are believed to be almost 200.

The EPA said it has legal authority under the Clean Water Act to disallow permits issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for mines that make an everlasting deterioration in the quality of water by polluting valley rivulets.

This could make an impact on hundreds of mines where permits have been applied for or already given.

The EPA sent two relevant letters to the Corps of Engineers, which gives permits for such devastating mining on the understanding that the mine companies reconstruct the streams.

The EPA commented that it would play an active role in examining the long list of permits awaiting Corps approval.

The EPA very rarely reviewed and denied permits issued by the Corps, during the Bush administration.

Clearly, the EPA will use its powers under the Obama administration.

Joe Lovett, the executive director of the Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment said that if the EPA did not intervene now, all those permits waiting for Corps approval will be granted and about 200 miles of streams will be filled in.

The coal industry says almost 130 million tons of coal is mined from mountaintop sites in Appalachia.

This coal provides electricity to 24.7 million customers.

The mines employ around 14,000 people across Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee and Virginia.

Permits have been dramatically reduced since March 2007, when District Judge Chambers ordered the Corps to withdraw some permits.

However, Chambers’ judgement was reversed by the Court of Appeal last month.

The coal companies have reduced output, layed off staff and shut down mines because of lower demand, especially for utility coal abroad and coke for steel mill furnaces.

Almost 1,310 jobs have been lost in Appalachian mines recently.

Carol Raulston, of the National Mining Association, said more postponement in the permits will mean the loss of well paid employment in the area.

It will not be easy to replace the type of coal produced from the mines.

The industry has always said that stopping the mining of mountaintops means increased imports from countries with insufficient environmental protection.