Alabama Right News: E.P.A. Revokes Coal Mining Permit It Had Granted in 2007

http://usactionnews.com/2011/01/e-p-a-revokes-coal-mining-permit-it-had-granted-in-2007/

E.P.A. Revokes Coal Mining Permit It Had Granted in 2007: "

The agency’s action on Thursday preempted a court decision and provoked an immediate outcry from West Virginia politicians, the coal industry and other businesses that have raised objections to what they consider economically damaging regulatory overreach by the E.P.A.

The Obama administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.) revoked the permit for one of the nation’s largest mountaintop-removal coal mining projects on Thursday, saying the mine would have done unacceptable damage to rivers, wildlife and communities in West Virginia.

According to The New York Times, Arch Coal’s proposed Spruce No. 1 Mine in Logan County has been the subject of controversy since the Bush administration approved its construction in 2007, issuing a permit required under the Clean Water Act.

Now the same agency said it was using its authority under the same Clean Water Act to revoke the permit, an action it has taken only 12 times in the past 40 years.

The paper said that when the permit was first approved, environmentalists and local residents strongly opposed the sprawling project. This prompted the Obama administration to rescind the permit. It’s actions were challenged in lawsuits by West Virginia and the coal company.

The agency’s action on Thursday preempted a court decision and provoked an immediate outcry from West Virginia politicians, the coal industry and other businesses that have raised objections to what they consider economically damaging regulatory overreach by the E.P.A.

Senator Joe Manchin, Democrat of West Virginia, who until recently was the state’s governor and must run again for the Senate in November of 2012, issued a blistering statement opposing the agency’s determination to kill the mining project. Manchin did not mention President Barack Obama by name, instead limiting his outrage to the E.P.A.

“Today’s E.P.A. decision is not just fundamentally wrong, it is an unprecedented act by the federal government that will cost our state and our nation even more jobs during the worst recession in this country’s history,” Manchin said. “While the E.P.A. decision hurts West Virginia today, it has negative ramifications for every state in our nation, and I strongly urge every senator and every member of Congress to voice their opposition.”

He added, “It goes without saying, such an irresponsible regulatory step is not only a shocking display of overreach, it will have a chilling effect on investments and our economic recovery. I plan to do everything in my power to fight this decision.”

The agency said in a release that it reserved this authority only for “unacceptable cases.”

“The proposed Spruce No. 1 Mine would use destructive and unsustainable mining practices that jeopardize the health of Appalachian communities and clean water on which they depend,” said Peter S. Silva, the agency’s assistant administrator for water. “Coal and coal mining are part of our nation’s energy future, and E.P.A. has worked with companies to design mining operations that adequately protect our nation’s waters. We have a responsibility under the law to protect water quality and safeguard the people who rely on clean water.”

An official of Arch Coal, based in St. Louis, said the company would continue to challenge the federal action in court and warned of the chilling effect this decision would have on all businesses that require an E.P. A. permit.

Kim Link, Arch Coal’s spokeswoman said the decision would hurt the company and future investment by any company that requires the type of permit that was granted by one administration and revoked by another less than three years later.

“Every business possessing or requiring a permit under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act will fear similar overreaching by the E.P.A. It’s a risk many businesses cannot afford to take,” Coal said.

Groups of regulated industries had been anticipating this type of action.

According to the NYT, a group of regulated industries wrote to the White House this week asking that the mine be allowed to proceed, and seeking clarification on when the administration intended to use its Clean Water Act authority to block industrial and agricultural projects.

The letter was signed by representatives of the National Realtors Association, the American Road and Transportation Builders Association and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. They wrote to Nancy Sutley, the chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and said that if the E. P. A. revoked the coal mining permit, “every similarly valid permit held by any entity — businesses, public works agencies and individual citizens — will be in increased regulatory limbo and potentially subject to the same unilateral, after-the-fact revocation.”

“The implications could be staggering,” they added, “reaching all areas of the U.S. economy including but not limited to the agriculture, home building, mining, transportation and energy sectors.”

HEADLINES

Monday, January 17, 2011

The agency’s action on Thursday preempted a court decision and provoked an immediate outcry from West Virginia politicians, the coal industry and other businesses that have raised objections to what they consider economically damaging regulatory overreach by the E.P.A.

The Americano/Agencies

RELATED ARTICLES:

The Great Global Warming Swindle – video documentary on CO2