The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that it will review the issuance of new permits for mountaintop removal coal mines.
The announcement comes just over one month after a controversial Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that paved the way for more than 100 additional mountaintop removal mining permits. That decision left the permitting of mountaintop removal mines up to the Army Corps, but today’s action could help protect Appalachian communities and hundreds of miles of streams.
In response to today’s announcement, Sierra Club Executive Director, Carl Pope issued the following statement:
“Already close to 2,000 miles of streams have been contaminated or destroyed by mountaintop removal coal mining, and communities throughout the Appalachian region suffer daily from contaminated drinking water, increased flooding, and a decimated landscape. Today’s announcement sends a clear signal that it is time to move beyond coal and toward clean energy solutions that will create good, green jobs here in America."
Read Associated Press coverage at the link below.
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