Mountaintop Removal in West Virginia

Case Overview

Mountaintop removal coal mining, often described as “strip mining on steroids,” is an extremely destructive form of mining that is devastating Appalachia.

In the past few decades, over 2,000 miles of streams and headwaters that provide drinking water for millions of Americans have been permanently buried and destroyed. An area the size of Delaware has been flattened. Local coal field communities routinely face devastating floods and adverse health effects. Natural habitats in some our country’s oldest forests are laid to waste.

On behalf of local and national environmental and community groups, Earthjustice has been in the courts and in Congress to bring the protections of the Clean Water Act to the people, communities and waters of Appalachia.

Mountaintop removal is a form of strip mining in which explosives are used to blast off the tops of mountains in order to reach the coal seams that lie underneath.
Mountaintop removal is a form of strip mining in which explosives are used to blast off the tops of mountains in order to reach the coal seams that lie underneath. (Photo courtesy of OVEC)

Case Updates

Kayford Mountain in West Virginia has been devastated by mountaintop removal mining.
December 12, 2014 Article

President Obama Earns "C" on Mountaintop Removal Mining Report Card

The mining industry and its allies have been crying long and hard since President Obama took office, but the other side of the story has not gotten nearly enough attention. The problem is not that President Obama has done too much to regulate coal mining; the problem is that he could do more—much more—to protect the families and communities of Appalachia.

December 8, 2014 Press Release

Grassroots Progress Report Evaluates President Obama’s Legacy in Appalachia

The report discusses the Obama Administration’s successes and shortfalls in addressing the impacts of mountaintop removal and investing in a just and sustainable economy in Appalachia

September 30, 2014 Document

Court Document: Amicus Brief on Behalf of Community Groups in Support of EPA Veto of Spruce Mountaintop Removal Mine

Amicus Brief filed by Local Community Groups in the U.S. District Court for D.C. in support of EPA’s decision to veto the Spruce No. 1 Permit