GATES ARE OPEN FOR MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL

(03/12/2009)

Kayford Mountain in northwestern Raleigh County is one of the state's largest mountaintop removal sites (Vivian Stockman Photo) By Bob Weaver A federal appeals court has opened the gate for about 90 new West Virginia mountaintop coal removal projects to move ahead. A panel of the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that U.S. Federal District Judge Chambers erred in his 2007 decision that required full consideration of the environmental effects of mountaintop removal. Judge Chambers ruled that the US Army Corps of Engineers, issuing permits that allowed the filling of WV streams and valleys was wrong. That decision had nearly stopped new permitting. The US Army Corps maintained there was no permanent damage to streams, the pushing of billions of tons of mountaintop debris into valleys. The current permits have allowed about 1,000 miles of streams to be filled. Judge Chambers said the Corps made a political decision with no basis in scientific fact, while the evidence is overwhelming regarding the harm done by such practice. The coal industry is currently promoting "clean coal" through media PR campaigns, but such dumping denies any semblance of protecting West Virginia's environment. Mountaintop removal operation on Kayford Mountain, Raleigh County, WV (Photo by Vivian Stockman)

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