This news story originally provided by The Charleston Gazette

DEP

Chronic bungling

AFTER the state Department of Environmental Protection realized that it had based a Raleigh County surface mining permit on erroneous maps, the agency sprang into action. It rescinded a recent permit letting Goals Coal Co. add a second silo near Marsh Fork Elementary School and ordered the company to remove its foundation.

Considering that DEP had allowed the coal company to begin work on the silo before the permit was actually approved, and considering that DEP had approved the permit while Gov. Joe Manchin was still telling residents of the area that the state was listening to their concerns, the revocation seemed like a very responsive action.

Perhaps, too responsive. Or maybe the wrong response, because now the legality of the revocation has been questioned.

Joe Lovett, lawyer for Marsh Fork residents and director of Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment in Lewisburg, says DEP should have cited the company for mining outside its permit boundary instead. DEP officials say they haven’t ruled out that possibility.

What a mess. In the midst of this embarrassment, DEP Secretary Stephanie Timmermeyer apparently decided to get some quick and happy publicity by announcing that Buffalo Coal Co. was donating almost 1,000 acres of land near Dolly Sods Wilderness Area to the state while getting a new strip mining permit in Grant County.

Buffalo Coal deserves praise for its gift. But the DEP fumbled that deal too. The Army Corps of Engineers had not yet held its public comment period. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service questioned the permit, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency objected to it. All three federal agencies must approve such a deal.

Regarding coal silos and public wilderness land, state agencies should follow rules regulating them. DEP should no more revoke mining company permits incorrectly than it should grant them incorrectly.

Some of these mistakes predate Secretary Timmermeyer. But her handling of the uncomfortable scrutiny her office is receiving leaves much to be desired.

Running the state’s office to protect mountains, valleys and sky is important work. It’s not good enough just to give an impression of doing a good job. West Virginians require its Department of Environmental Protection to do its job accurately and legally.