EPA Moves to Veto Permit for Biggest Proposed

Mountaintop Removal Coal Mine 

Statement from Sierra Club Director of Environmental Quality Ed Hopkins

Washington, D.C. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today moved to veto a Clean Water Act permit for the nation’s largest proposed mountaintop removal coal mining site, the Spruce No. 1 Mine in Logan County, West Virginia.

In response the Sierra Club's Director of Environmental Quality, Ed Hopkins, issued the following statement:

"We are encouraged by EPA's continued scrutiny of this permit for the largest authorized mountaintop removal operation in Appalachia. We applaud the agency for its reliance on the most recent scientific studies on water quality impacts from mountaintop removal mining, as well as its attention to the overall impacts of this and other existing and proposed mines in the immediate area.

"Local residents have been actively challenging the approval of this permit at the Spruce No. 1 Mine in Logan County for more than a decade. This massive mine would have buried seven miles of streams, destroyed thousands of acres of land and disrupted local communities.

"According to the EPA, today’s announcement marks the first time since the Clean Water Act passed 37 years ago this Sunday that the agency has used its authority under the law to review a previously permitted project. We applaud today's action by EPA, which underscores the need for the Obama administration to develop new regulations to end mountaintop removal mining once and for all."

Sierra Club. © 2009 Sierra Club