Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – The U.S. Environment Protection Agency on Thursday revoked the permit granted to the Spruce Number One coal mine in West Virginia. The landmark decision marks a shift in policy by the Obama administration against the practice of mountaintop removal mining.
The recalled permit would have allowed the mine operator to blast mountain tops covering over 2,200 acres. The EPA said the project would have dumped tons of mining waste into waterways, in the process burying 6.6 miles of the Pigeonroost Branch and Olhouse Branch streams, killing aquatic life and compromising water quality for Appalachian residents.
It was the first time in EPA’s 40-year history that the agency recalled a previously issued permit. The move was criticized by West Virginia leaders and the mining lobby.
Stenographic notes of the EPA hearings on the mine project showed that the mining lobby and many residents opposed a veto of the project because of its impact on jobs and the local economy. Myron Jones of Rish Equipment Company, which depends on surface mining for 70 percent of the company’s revenue, said low-cost energy is needed by the U.S. to compete on the world stage and the coal mine could provide that.
The EPA decision ends 13 years of battle over the Spruce Number One mine. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers initially approved the project in 2007, but lawsuits by green groups delayed the start of the project. The EPA said it revoked the permit after negotiating for one year with mine operator Arch Coal to find a less damaging way to mine coal.
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