Appeals court upholds EPA’s mountaintop removal crackdown
Cross-posted from Appalachia Group
The Charleston Gazette
Charleston, WV
Friday, July 11, 2014
Appeals court upholds EPA’s mountaintop removal crackdown
By Ken Ward Jr., Staff writer
In a significant victory for the Obama administration’s coal policies, a federal appeals court on Friday upheld U.S. Environmental Protection Agency initiatives aimed at reducing water pollution from mountaintop removal mining operations.
A panel from the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the EPA was within its authority to set up a process to coordinate with the Army Corps of Engineers on reviews of Clean Water Act permits for mining operations.
The three-judge panel also said EPA guidance aimed at reducing conductivity pollution from large-scale surface mines was not a final agency rule and, therefore, not subject — at least at this point — to legal challenge.
“ EPA is pleased that the Court of Appeals agreed with our position in this case,” agency press secretary Liz Purchia said in a prepared statement. “We are committed to consistently using our authority under the Clean Water Act to protect the health and environment of Appalachian communities.”
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