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This article originally provided by
The Charleston Gazette
By Ken Ward Jr.
Staff writer
Coal operators agreed to limit waste dumping at three mountaintop
removal mines to streams that had already been disturbed.
The Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and other citizen groups had
sought a federal court order to block the additional valley fills.
Coalition lawyers went to court last week, arguing that the new
permits from the federal Army Corps of Engineers violated previous
rulings by U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers.
Independence Coal, Fola Coal and Tyler Morgan LLC each agreed to
limit operations to one existing fill at their respective
operations, said citizen group lawyer Joe Lovett of the Appalachian
Center for the Economy and the Environment.
The agreements came after Chambers last week temporarily blocked new
fills at the sites and held a hearing Wednesday on a request for a
longer injunction.
All three companies agreed that they could probably continue
operations in the limited fill areas until an appeals court rules on
a challenge to Chambers' 2007 decisions. Company lawyers agreed to
give the citizen groups 30-day notice if they plan to start
additional fills, Lovett said.
Last week, Chambers had also ordered the corps to provide more
timely notice to the citizen groups of any new permits issued for
mountaintop removal valley fills.
In his March 23, 2007, ruling, Chambers concluded that the corps had
not fully evaluated the potential environmental damage before
issuing the Massey permits.
Citing the "alarming cumulative stream loss" to valley fills,
Chambers ruled the corps needed to more thoughtfully consider
mining's potential impacts before granting permits.
In a second ruling on June 13, Chambers concluded that the Clean
Water Act does not allow coal operators to build in-stream sediment
ponds at the bottom of valley fills.
The 2007 rulings are being appealed by the Bush administration and
the coal industry to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The
Richmond, Va.-based court has scheduled oral arguments for May 13.
To contact staff writer Ken Ward Jr., use e-mail or call
348-1702.
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