From CRMW:
We had a win. The U.S. District Court for
the District of Columbia struck
down a 2008 rule change that made it easier for coal companies to
dump their rubble into mountain streams. Now, if only the federal
Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement would reinstate the
previous rule and actually enforce it, coal companies would have a harder time
doing mountaintop
removal. Until then, it’s a hollow victory.
Read more here.
Unfortunately, there’s a bill in the US
House that would make this bad rule a bad law. Please go here to tell your representative to oppose HR
2824.
Alpha's Edwight mountaintop removal site above Naoma, Pettry Bottom, and
Sundial, WV. Flyover courtesy southwings.org
Yesterday, the federal EPA proposed a
settlement with Alpha
Natural Resources, the company responsible for most of the mountaintop
removal in the Coal River Valley. Under the proposed consent
decree, Alpha would pay a $27.5 million fine and spend another $200 million to
reduce pollutant discharges at 79 mines and 25 preparation plants in WV, KY, VA,
TN, and PA. The EPA says that Alpha violated water pollution
limits more than 6,000 times from 2006 to 2013.
Alpha’s Edwight mountaintop removal permit
is up for renewal. This 2,000-acre mess in our backyard continues
to endanger our community’s health with blasting dust in our
air and contaminants in our water, as well as the ongoing blasts that
rattle our homes and mountains.
If you can make it, please come out to the
informal conference tonight, March 6, 2014, at 6:00 PM at the
NEW Marsh Fork Elementary School, 5960 Coal River Rd, Rock Creek, WV, 25174. If
you can’t attend, please take a moment TODAY to email the WVDEP at Thomas.E.Wood@wv.gov and tell them that you OPPOSE
the renewal of permit number S301299. Here are some good reasons:
-WVDEP consistently ignores or denies the
many health studies indicating that mountaintop removal harms our health. Here's a list, and here's a
link to the most recent study about airborne dust from mountaintop
removal.
-WVDEP refuses to effectively enforce laws
at this site. They ignore citizen complaints, issue a tiny fine,
or simply enlarge the permit boundaries to include off-site damage. See
violations (where they actually issued a violation) here.
-WVDEP ignores the danger of blasting to
the rock overhangs along Coal River Road. Alpha should pay for the
cleanup and repairs from the Dec. 27 cliff
collapse that cut off the road for nearly two months.
-WVDEP has no business renewing a permit
that they cannot or will not enforce.
Thanks for all your support.
Please consider a one-time or recurring
donation to support our work to protect our communities.
Vernon Haltom, Executive director, Coal River Mountain Watch
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