This news story originally provided by the The Charleston Gazette

7/10/04

Ruling revokes coal waste permits

By Brian Farkas
The Associated Press

A federal court ruling that barred the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from using a streamlined process to approve coal permits for waste disposal left companies wondering Friday about the future of mountaintop removal mining in West Virginias southern coalfields.

Yesterday you were OK, today they are saying that permit isnt any good and you have to go get another permit, said Bill Raney with the West Virginia Coal Association.

The ruling, issued Thursday by U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin, revoked 11 permits that had been issued by the corps. The permits would have authorized the construction of 40 sediment ponds, 36 valley fills and other activities that would have buried about 26 miles of stream.

Goodwin ruled the corps had violated the federal Clean Water Act when it approved the permits under a streamlined process called the Nationwide Permit 21.

Five of those permits were held by Richmond, Va.-based Massey Energy.

The supply in central Appalachia cannot keep up with the demand, company spokeswoman Katharine W. Kenny said Friday. This ... will certainly impact a situation that is already tense and that is unfortunate.

Massey is one of West Virginias largest producers, mining more than 30.1 million tons in 2002.

I think it would be tough for us to go elsewhere, she said. It is certainly disappointing that these kinds of decisions continue to impact on our ability to produce there.

West Virginia produces about 15 percent of all coal nationwide. The states coalfields have been a topic in this years presidential campaign as President Bush has said production is vital to ensure the nations energy independence.

Although the majority of the states coal is mined underground, companies have been turning to mountaintop removal mining to extract thinner seams.

The process involves blasting the mountaintop to expose the coal. Rock and dirt left over from the reclamation process is pushed into valleys to create fills. As a result, more than 1,000 miles of streams in Appalachias coal regions have been buried.

Thursdays ruling was based on the latest lawsuit to challenge the mining practice by questioning the permitting process.

Federal court rulings in 1999 and 2002 said the mining practice violated the Clean Water Act. The 2002 ruling barred the corps from issuing valley fill permits under Section 404 of the Act. Both rulings were overturned by the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition filed the latest lawsuit, arguing the corps should have conducted a more detailed review and issued individual permits. Goodwin agreed.

Spokespersons for the U.S. Department of Justice and the corps Huntington District office said Friday they were still reviewing Goodwins ruling and had no comment.

It takes between 45 days and a year and a half to review and approve a permit, said corps spokesman Chuck Minsker. If the corps is required to conduct individual permit reviews, Minsker said it would add about two months to the review.