Agency puts hold on dozens of mining permits for environmental review
On most environmental matters, the Obama administration scores high marks from us, especially for revitalizing the role of science and respect for the law in the agency's decisions. The shift in ethos from eight years of ruinous Bush policies occurred almost immediately after Obama took office. We have seen dramatic positive changes in how some federal agencies deal with the key issues of climate change and clean energy, roadless protections, clean air, and hazardous waste regulations.
But, until last week, Obama's actions on mountaintop removal mining largely tracked the course set by Bush. As we previously noted in April we hoped that the EPA was going to put the brakes on 48 mountaintop removal permits. We were taken aback in May when the agency instead let 42 of the permits go ahead without further scrutiny. This was a disheartening setback.
The EPA's most recent decision, which requires the permits for new mines to be more closely studied by EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers, is the kind of welcome news we needed. It suggests that the administration may be shifting its approach to honor what science and the law dictate on this issue as on others. And both science and the law compel a ban on mountaintop removal mining. That is what we had been led to expect from statements made by then-Senator Obama when he campaigned for the presidency.
But, it's also important to note that EPA's latest move didn't just happen. The campaign against mountaintop removal locally and nationally has been building over the last decade, involving litigation by Earthjustice, our partners and clients, directly challenging permits for violating the Clean Water Act and other laws, educating the public, lobbying Congress, and mobilizing opposition to the practice wherever and whenever we can.
The announcement by Administrator Jackson gives her agency 14 days to consider its decision to hold these permits up for further review, after which the Army Corps and EPA have 60 days to review each of the permits. If they give those permits the hard look that the law requires, both agencies will have to determine that these mines will cause irreparable harm to the streams and valleys of Appalachia and that they violate the Clean Water Act. Against the background of all the good environmental work done so far by the administration, we hope that here, too, the best available science and law will be applied.
After these reviews, the next step must be to deny all the permits. And following that, we strongly urge the administration to reinstate and enforce clean water rules thatBush gutted -this should keep industries from dumping their waste into streams.
We know that President Obama faces heavy pressure from the coal lobby and from the state of West Virginia, both of which trumpet the need for coal and for jobs—but these are weak arguments. Mountaintop removal produces only 7 percent of our nation's coal needs; and it employs dramatically fewer workers than traditional mining, as witnessed by the steep decline in coal-related jobs in the last four decades. In return for those fewer jobs, Appalachia's communities have been devastated.
It's important for the president to stand strong in the face of these pressures and support EPA in the permit reviewing process. Administrator Jackson is on the right path and needs all the help she can get.
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Thank you for the good news!
I am so glad to see this becoming a more public issue. I believe that most Americans would step up and stand with us to protect our land if they realized what is actually happening. Keep this ship on course and god's speed......
With a good leader at hand, nothing to worry about. Let's join forces in supporting his campaigns and good plan which will benefit all. Like the post and thanks for the share.
team building
It's still business as usual when it comes to corporate and US policies: rape, pillage, and plunder of natural resources for almighty profit and step on anyone that gets in the way of their agenda. Wars are started and instigated in the far most regions of the world for this very reason, so why would it be any different here on our soil. Because some of us are willing to stand up for social, economic and eco-justice! Goddess Bless Earthjustice and all who stand up for defense of our Mother, Gaia, Earth. Rainbow Robin Greenfield, MA
I am also a member of NRDC and I was in Santa Monica, CA last night, hearing Bobbie Kennedy Jr. speak on this very issue! He was so eloquent and passionate and everyone in the room shared his feelings and were appalled by his comments about the abuses that are being committed by the Big Coal Industry.
He mentioned how more than 2,000 miles of streams and creeks have been buried in rubble and entire communites distroyed as well. He talked about how these industries receive subsidies that support the "coal" industry and that most of the so-called investors in this industry are on Wall street.
And he mentioned as well as you have, that there are very few jobs left for the local people, as most of the coal removal is now done by huge machines, eliminating the need for employee,etc..
He talked for over an hour on many environmental issues and also the potential of a national electricity grid that ultimately would be free of charge and certainly not based on oil or coal....all very exciting information...
He spoke of many important issues and landmark achiements by NRDC and although we were appalled by some of the figures he shared, he also created hope for a better future. Not only for the enviornment but for humanity as well.
Please Earth Justice, continue your fight for the planet and a healthy environment for all.
Thank you for the work you are doing.
"We know that President Obama faces heavy pressure from the coal lobby and from the state of West Virginia....."
Believe me not all residents in WV are for mountain top removal. We have seen our home lands, natural habitats, clean air and water supplies destroyed on a daily basis for many years. We learned from a young age the stories our families tell of the continual rape of our state. First they tricked them out of their mineral rights then the timber barons swept in and it has been a continuous attack until today, Now they have succeeded in taking our very mountains. Our voices have been shouted down by the out of state owners of these property rights, and the people they use scare tactics on i.e. you will lose your jobs etc. for years. Unfortunately, these people have short memories. When they mined with underground mines they employed 30,000 miners now there are 3,000 and people will argue it is about jobs. I do not understand them at all. Thank God for sites like Earth Justice that has given us a voice through their petitions etc. or we would still be unheard. Also thank you to all of the people around the globe who have joined in our fight.
I trust that the enviroment will be protected from the grasp old old ways, now that we have a smart leader.
This is why it is crucial to make the phone calls, write the E-mail's and put continuous pressure on Our decision and Law maker's. If We don't, We only need blame Ourselves for the waste and destruction that ensues.
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