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Appalachia Thanks the EPA (and The New York Times)

Last week, the EPA did its job and protected communities from the devastating effects of mountaintop removal by revoking a permit for the largest mountaintop removal operation in West Virginia, Spruce Knob. In an editorial in The New York Times, the writers rightly mentions "the beginning of the end of a mining practice that has caused huge environmental harm across Appalachia." Instead of miles of pristine mountain streams being destroyed from dumping the toxic coal refuse, this mountain will now be preserved, pending appeals by Arch Coal. In the past, the EPA has been toothless in enforcing its permits and the Clean Air Act in particular; this revoking of the Spruce Knob permit shows the EPA is finally enforcing its policies, policies that protect the public from environmentally-devastating practices.

Please join me in doing everything humanly possible to stop mountaintop removal, including contacting Senators Manchin and Rockefeller, both of whom have antiquated, pro-coal approaches on this issue.

Labels: Appalachia, Arch Coal, EPA, Manchin, mountaintop removal, New York Times, Rockefeller, Spruce Knob

posted by Michael Martin @ 5:47 AM