Goodwin Says No Nationwide Permits

Charleston Gazette, August 14, 2004
by Ken Ward Jr.

A federal judge on Friday expanded his July 8 ruling that blocked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from approving mountaintop removal valley fills through a streamlined permit process.

U.S. District Court Judge Joseph R. Goodwin granted a request by the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition to add six specific mining operations to the injunction.

A little more of West Virginia’s heritage goes tumbling out the back of a massive dump truck (upper left) at a valley fill in southern WV. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers considers this type of destruction "minimal."

Goodwin ordered the Corps to suspend Clean Water Act permits for the six operations if they had not commenced fill construction as of the July 8 date of his original ruling.

Originally, Goodwin blocked the corps from issuing new fill permits through the streamlined process, but also blocked 11 other operations if they had not yet commenced fill construction.

…In his original ruling, Goodwin said the Corps could no longer approve valley fills through a streamlined permit process meant only for activities that cause minor environmental damage.

Rather than these "general" or "nationwide" permits, Goodwin said, coal companies must go through more rigorous individual permit reviews when they propose to bury streams with waste dirt and rock.