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Appeals Court Upholds EPA Veto of Massive Spruce No. 1 Mountaintop Removal Mine Permit
Today Appalachian Mountain Advocates and our partners helped to win another round in the decades-long legal battle over the Spruce No. 1 mine, the largest mountaintop removal mining site ever proposed for our region. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit today upheld the EPA’s 2011 decision to block a permit for the mine because » Continue Reading.
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WV judge bars pipeline surveyors from private property
Appalachian Mountain Advocates scored a critical victory yesterday when a West Virginia judge ruled that the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline is not for public use under West Virginia law and that the pipeline company cannot use a state statute to survey private property without the owner’s permission.
Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Robert Irons issued the injunction in front of » Continue Reading.
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Verdict in Fola lawsuit confirms harm from conductivity
In late January, U.S. Circuit Judge Robert?Chambers once more found that high conductivity levels resulting from pollution flowing from mountaintop removal mining operations harm the biological integrity of streams and violate water quality standards.
On Jan. 27, Chambers ruled that Fola Coal Co., a unit of Consol Energy Inc., had violated its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit by » Continue Reading.
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Selenium settlements resolve multiple lawsuits
On Dec. 19, 2014, Appalachian Mountain Advocates announced three settlements with Central Appalachian coal companies that will require the companies to treat unlawful selenium discharges into West Virginia?s waters, to contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars to efforts to protect West Virginia?s streams and riparian areas, and to pay civil fines » Continue Reading.
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Judge agrees that conductivity pollution hurts streams
Appalachian Mountain Advocates has been pursuing a number of legal cases designed to show that mining operations that cause high levels of conductivity downstream are violating water quality standards ??and their National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits.
That legal theory won important validation in a ruling last summer by U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers.
In a case brought by » Continue Reading.
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Two victories in the fight against mountaintop removal
Two days; two excellent decisions from federal appeals courts.
Last Monday, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in our favor in a case against the U.S Army Corps of Engineers ?and its issuance of streamlined national permits for mountaintop removal operations. The court said the Corps failed to follow Clean Water Act and National Environmental Policy Act requirements » Continue Reading.
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SB 562 exemplifies the problem with regulation in West Virginia
By Dan Radmacher
Why are West Virginia?s streams so polluted that less than a quarter of them can support their designated uses ??such as recreation, providing drinking water, or supporting aquatic life?
The example of the passage and implementation of Senate Bill 562 is very telling. It?s yet another case of state regulators and lawmakers capitulating to a polluting industry » Continue Reading.
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Boom! Boom! in Lewisburg
On November 17, about 70 Appalmad supporters gathered in Lewisburg for an afternoon of music, poetry and fellowship. The Boom! Boom! Fundraiser featured poet Crystal Good and the music of the Black Twig Pickers.
It was a tremendous success, and we’d like to thank everyone who was involved, especially Suzanne Thorniley and her host committee, who came » Continue Reading.
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Patriot getting out of mountaintop removal mining
Today, Patriot Coal announced it has agreed to get out of the mountaintop removal business ? permanently. This agreement represents an enormous victory in Appalachian Mountain Advocates’ 14-year battle against mountaintop removal mining.
Our ongoing actions against Patriot to ensure that it could not shirk its responsibility to clean up the water pollution caused by its operations played a vital » Continue Reading.
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Suits challenge mines over public health impacts
The U.S. Corps of Engineers continues to ignore a growing body of scientific evidence suggesting that mountaintop removal mining could be making people who live near mining sites sick in a number of ways. Mountaintop removal has been linked to increases in cancer rates, birth defects and higher mortality rates, among other things.
In a pair of?recent lawsuits?brought » Continue Reading.
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