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July 10, 2011 EPA Issues Final Guidance on Mountaintop Removal Mining To Reaffirm the Clean Water Act and New Science
Washington, D.C. Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued final guidance to assist its staff in meeting longstanding requirements of the Clean Water Act with regard to mountaintop removal coal mines in Appalachia. All mountaintop removal mines must be permitted under the Clean Water Act and must comply with the law, but recent research by EPA and scientists have found these projects create lasting, irreparable harm to streams and water quality. The final guidance comes after a more than year-long process during which the EPA examined the science, completed new major scientific reports, received peer review, and considered 60,000 public comments. In addition to improving the agencys oversight and compliance with existing requirements of the law, the guidance reaffirms the essential role of science in evaluating proposed mountaintop removal mining permits. The final guidance is based on the latest peer-reviewed science on stream pollution and protection, including two comprehensive new scientific reports released by EPA this year that reveal information on how mountaintop removal mining harms the integrity of vital waters and natural resources. EPAs guidance is also based on tens of thousands of public comments that EPA considered and received during its notice-and-comment process in 2010. Represented by Earthjustice and the Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment, seven conservation and social justice groups the Sierra Club, Coal River Mountain Watch, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, and Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment have intervened in a coal mining industry lawsuit to support EPAs use of this guidance and its effort to follow the Clean Water Act, consider the latest science, and protect Americas waters from destruction. Were glad to see Administrator Lisa Jackson follow through on her commitment to finalize this important staff guidance, which is a considerable step toward giving Appalachian communities their rightful protections under existing law and following sound science, said Joan Mulhern, senior legislative counsel of Earthjustice. But clearly, as long as mountains are being blown up and leveled in Appalachia, streams are being buried with mining waste, and waters for communities are being contaminated, the Obama administration has more work to do in making sure that the government is following the Clean Water Act, said Mulhern. This is a strong first step, though, and we hope to see this followed up with serious implementation and a hard look at how much longer our federal government will allow mountains to be destroyed and Appalachian communities to suffer. This guidance is only as protective as its implementation and the test will be whether we finally see compliance with the Clean Water Act which prohibits significant degradation of our nations waters. The EPA first released interim guidance in April 2010 for public comment after scientific breakthroughs offered new information on the lasting, irreparable harm from mountaintop removal mining. The EPA also found that there had been serious non-compliance in the permitting process with important existing legal requirements. In 2010, the EPA requested public comment while also implementing the interim guidance in Appalachia. The EPA stated that it would issue final guidance by 2011. "In a time when some decision makers focus on scoring political points through empty rhetoric we congratulate Administrator Jackson and the EPA for using existing law and scientific findings to improve protection of Appalachia's communities and environment," said Mary Anne Hitt, director of Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign. "We need EPA to finally ensure compliance with the Clean Water Act and bring an end to the nation's most destructive coal mining practices." Said Dianne Bady, co-director of the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, based in West Virginia: This science-based guidance is absolutely necessary to safeguard clean water that still exists near current and proposed mountaintop removal mining operations. A healthy economy and healthy communities depend upon safe water. No community should ever again face the contamination of our precious water for short-term corporate gain. Said Vernon Haltom, executive director of Coal River Mountain Watch in West Virginia: In the absence of any meaningful regulation by state agencies, our communities must depend on the EPA to protect our lives, homes, and water. Now, the coal industry and their political allies are working to take away the EPA's ability to use law and science to protect us. Final Guidance: Improving EPA Review of Appalachian Surface Coal Mining Operations Under the Clean Water Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and the Environmental Justice Executive Order: http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/guidance/wetlands/upload/Final_Appalachian_Mining_Guidance_072111.pdf Information on the EPAs Clean Water Act oversight of Appalachian surface mining activities: http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/guidance/wetlands/mining.cfm Information on Appalachian groups intervention to support EPA in lawsuit filed by the coal mining industry: http://earthjustice.org/news/press/2010/appalachian-and-national-organizations-defend-obama-administration-s-review-of-mountaintop-removal-mining-from-i Final EPA Scientific Reports on Water Quality and Mountaintop Removal Mining Pollution Impacts:
Final EPA Report: Review of Clean Water Act 402 Permitting for Surface Coal Mines by Appalachian States (2010): http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/guidance/pdf/Final_Appalachian_Mining_PQR_07-13-10.pdf |
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