News Release Courtesy of the MTM Coaltion

CHARLESTON – Thursday’s announcement by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of its decision to suspend the use of Nationwide Permit 21 (NWP 21) in the Appalachian region of six states is discriminatory and threatens the economy of the region.

In a June 17 announcement, the Corps said they will immediately suspend the issuance of mining permits under the NWP 21 standards for the mining industry in West Virginia as well as Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia.

The Corps said in a release that the suspension “will remain in effect until the Corps takes further action on NWP 21 or until the program expires on March 18, 2012.”

Destroying Thousands of West Virginia Jobs
 
SB-696, otherwise known as the Alexander/Cardin or the “Mountaintop Mining” Bill, is on the move in the U.S. Senate. The bill would essentially ban surface mining in West Virginia and threatens thousands of mining jobs across the state and Appalachia.
 
Co-sponsored by Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ben Cardin (D-MD), the bill currently sits in committee. It is our understanding that the bill will likely be “marked up” during the next two weeks, a process which precedes a committee vote in which it will likely pass. 

The West Virginia Coal Association (WVCA) hereby submits the following comments and observations regarding the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal to revoke the Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404 permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to Mingo-Logan Coal Company for its Spruce No. 1 Mine (Spruce) in West Virginia.

The EPA permitting halt will hit West Virginia and Kentucky especially hard.

From the State Journal by Dan Page

The minority staff of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee produced a report last month that says in plain English what many people in Appalachia believe:

"Our investigation found that the Obama Administration is using the Clean Water Act Section 404 permitting process to dismantle the coal industry in the Appalachian region."

A government report cannot be clearer. It said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, by bringing the issuing of Clean Water Act 404 permits to a virtual halt, is signing the death certificate for a significant portion of the Appalachian coal industry. Coal companies must have water quality permits to operate both surface and deep mines. The May 21 report said the agency is holding up 190 permits.