US COURT GIVES MAJOR VICTORY TO COAL INTERESTS

(02/16/2009)

A federal appeals court has overturned a ruling that would have required more extensive environmental reviews for mountaintop removal coal mines. The decision is a major victory for coal mine operators in Appalachia. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, said last week that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is permitted to issue Clean Water Act permits for valley fills without more extensive reviews. The court is reversing U.S. District Judge Chuck Chambers' 2008 ruling that the corps wasn't requiring enough environmental review before issuing the permits. Environmental groups who oppose mountaintop mining say it will increase the destructive practice of blasting away mountaintops to expose coal seams and dumping dirt and other debris into streams.

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