MAJOR EASTERN KY COAL SITE COULD AFFECT WATER SUPPLY TO MILLIONS

(01/03/2008)

A major mountaintop mine site was set to expand its operation near Pikeville Kentucky, but federal officials have blocked International Coal Group after environmental groups challenged the permit for the project. The Sierra Club says the mine would bury streams and creeks leading into the Kentucky River, which provides public water for more than a million people. A federal lawsuit filed last month by the Sierra Club and Kentucky Waterway Alliance alleged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers violated federal laws by issuing the permit. The permit was requested by Scott Depot (WV) based ICG to expand its 960-acre mine in Leslie County by roughly 1,000 acres. The Corps of Engineers has suspended the permit and is reviewing its merits. Sierra Club spokesman Oliver Bernstein says the corps' suspension of the permit is encouraging but too late to prevent ICG from doing damage.

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