Manchin, Beshear, Buddy Up With National Mining Assoc.

On Oct. 6, just about a month before the mid-term elections, WV Gov. Joe Manchin announced that his Department of Environmental Protection (it sure isnt our DEP!) was filling suit against the EPA and Corps of Engineers, asking a U.S. District Court to throw out the EPAs new Clean Water Act guidelines (see related story on page 3).

At the governors invitation, officials from the WV Coal Association lobby group and the United Mine Workers attended the press conference as Manchin made his announcement.

　 "It comes as no surprise that Gov. Manchin has filed suit against the EPA, which has taken a few steps to protect our states water from coal pollution," OVECs Janet Keating said to one reporter. "During this election cycle, West Virginia politicians are falling all over themselves to out-coal one another. In 2004, Manchin received $521,214 from coal interests, 12 percent of all contributions to his campaign. One could only wish that Gov. Manchin would protect the states citizens, our water and communities living in the shadow of mountaintop removal as vigorously as he tries to protect the coal industrys profits and his own political career."

On Oct. 18, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and the Kentucky Coal Association jointly filed suit against the EPA over, you guessed it, how the agency interprets the rules for granting permits under the Clean Water Act.

Oh, what a difference a state makes. Just days before Gov. Manchin made his announcement that he was suing the EPA because it might rein in mountaintop removal pollution, outgoing Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen had a much more pleasant announcement.

That governor petitioned the Department of Interiors Office of Surface Mining (OSM), asking the agency to set aside state-owned mountain ridgelines as unsuitable for mountaintop removal mining.

"This petition asks the federal government to help us prevent mining on these ridgelines to protect their important cultural, recreational and scientific resources," Bredesen said.

Upon receiving a complete petition, OSM must prepare an Environmental Impact Statement. There will be an opportunity for public input prior to a decision to accept the Lands Unsuitable for Mining petition under provisions of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977.