U.S. axes permit for Arch's giant mountain coalmine

The Obama administration revoked a permit on Thursday for Arch Coal Inc's proposed Spruce 1 mountaintop coal mine (left) in West Virginia, effectively shutting one of the biggest in the United States and the largest single mountaintop removal mine permit in West Virginia history. The 2,300-acre operation at the Mingo Logan Coal Co.'s Spruce No. 1 coal mine in West Virginia has been mired in litigation since 1998.

The Spruce Mine is one of the largest mountaintop removal mines ever proposed in Central Appalachia and would result in the destruction of 2,278 acres of temperate rainforest and the burying of 7.5 miles of streams in the Spruce Fork sub-watershed.

Peter Silvan (lower right), an assistant administrator for water at the EPA stated today:

"The proposed Spruce No. 1 Mine would use destructive and unsustainable mining practices that jeopardize the health of Appalachian communities and clean water on which they depend. Coal and coal mining are part of our nation’s energy future, and EPA has worked with companies to design mining operations that adequately protect our nation’s water. We have responsibility under the law to protect water quality and safeguard the people who rely on clean water."

In making its decision to veto the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ approval of the 2,300-acre mine proposed for the Blair area of Logan County, EPA noted that it reviewed more than 50,000 public comments and held a major public hearing in West Virginia. EPA officials said their agency is “acting under the law and using the best science available to protect water quality, wildlife and Appalachian communities who rely on clean waters for drinking, fishing and swimming.”

EPA’s decision prohibits five proposed valley fills in two streams, Pigeonroost Branch, and Oldhouse Branch, and their tributaries. In the case of the Spruce mine, the agency issued a statement Wednesday saying the company's proposed practices "will lead to unhealthy levels of salinity and toxic levels of selenium that turn fresh water into salty water." It also noted that after a year of negotiation, "Mingo Logan did not offer any new proposed mining configurations in response" to the agency's concerns. (Left: example of mine run-off into streams)

The final EPA decision document withdrawing the Clean Water Act Section 404 permit is available here. EPA has also now posted some appendices to that document, including a response to comments.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had approved a permit for the mine in 2007, but it had not been fully constructed.

The EPA went on to state that "EPA’s final determination on the Spruce Mine comes after discussions with the company spanning more than a year failed to produce an agreement that would lead to a significant decrease in impacts to the environment and Appalachian communities. The action prevents the mine from disposing the waste into streams unless the company identifies an alternative mining design that would avoid irreversible damage to water quality and meets the requirements of the law. Despite EPA’s willingness to consider alternatives, Mingo Logan did not offer any new proposed mining configurations in response to EPA’s Recommended Determination.

EPA believes that companies can design their operations to make them more sustainable and compliant with the law. Last year, EPA worked closely with a mining company in West Virginia to eliminate nearly 50 percent of their water impacts and reduce contamination while at the same time increasing their coal production. These are the kinds of success stories that can be achieved through collaboration and willingness to reduce the impact on mining pollution on our waters. Those changes helped permanently protect local waters, maximize coal recovery and reduce costs for the operators."

In today’s announcement, EPA outlined these concerns that the proposed mining operation would have:

• Disposed of 110 million cubic yards of coal mine waste into streams. (At right pollutants are released into the water by coal operations)
  

• Buried more than six miles of high-quality streams in Logan County, West Virginia with millions of tons of mining waste from the dynamiting of more than 2,200 acres of mountains and forestlands.

• Buried more than 35,000 feet of high-quality streams under mining waste, which will eliminate all fish, small invertebrates, salamanders, and other wildlife that live in them.

• Polluted downstream waters as a result of burying these streams, which will lead to unhealthy levels of salinity and toxic levels of selenium that turn fresh water into salty water. The resulting waste that then fills valleys and streams can significantly compromise water quality, often causing permanent damage to ecosystems and streams. (At right)
  

• Caused downstream watershed degradation (at right) that will kill wildlife, impact bird life, reduce habitat value, and increase susceptibility to toxic algal blooms.
  

• Inadequately mitigated for the mine’s environmental impacts by not replacing streams being buried, and attempting to use storm water ditches as compensation for natural stream losses.

The mine would have employed 250 workers and produced about 44 million tons of coal over 15 years, while also burying more than seven miles of streams. The EPA used its authority under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act - which it has used only 12 other times in its history - to argue that the subsequent valley fills would harm the area's water quality, habitat and wildlife.

Lawmakers from West Virginia said the EPA's move would hurt the state's economy. "Today's EPA decision is not just fundamentally wrong, it is an unprecedented act by the federal government that will cost our state and our nation even more jobs during the worst recession in this country's history," Senator Joe Manchin (right), a Democrat, said in a release.

Senator Jay Rockefeller (left), also a Democrat, wrote a letter to President Barack Obama, that said: "as a nation we must not fall into the trap of forcing unnecessary choices between protecting the environment and having good paying jobs that support energy independence."

St. Louis-based Arch said it would vigorously defend the permit in court. EPA's revocation of the permit blocks an additional $250 million in investment and 250 jobs, the company said.

It was the latest move by the Obama administration to crack down on mountaintop mining, in which companies blast high peaks to uncover coal seams and often toss the resulting rubble into valleys.

Obama's EPA (left: EPA Director, Lisa Jackson) started requiring big carbon dioxide polluters, such as coal-fired power plants, to hold permits for emitting the planet-warming gas.

Environmentalists applauded the EPA action.

"A full veto of the proposed Spruce No. 1 Mine is a true victory for the communities nearby, and for all Americans across the country who are fighting to protect our precious natural resources from industrial pollution," said Joan Mulhern, senior legislative counsel for Earthjustice.

"While this is only one mine of many, we hope this veto will be the beginning of the end of the devastating practice of mountaintop removal mining by bringing the fundamental legal protection of the Clean Water Act to the whole Appalachian region, once and for all."

Joe Lovett, director of the Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment, said:

It is a relief after all of these years that at least one agency has shown the will to follow the law and the science by stopping the destruction of Pigeonroost Hollow and Oldhouse Branch. (See map at right; click for larger view)

Today, the EPA has helped to save these beautiful hollows for future generations. Unfortunately, the Spruce Mine’s impacts are not unique. Although we are grateful for the EPA’s action today, EPA must follow through by vetoing the scores of other Corps permits that violate the Clean Water Act and that would allow mountaintop mines to lay waste to our mountains and streams."

Source:
The Washington Post,"Obama administration cracks down on mountaintop mining", accessed January 15, 2011
West Virginia Gazette,"Breaking news: EPA vetoes Spruce Mine permit",by Ken Ward, accessed January 15, 2011
Reuters,"U.S. axes permit for Arch's giant mountain coalmine", accessed January 15, 2011

From the Inbox: Sierra Club announces that EPA will veto Spruce No. 1 Mountain top removal mine!

		Dear Friend, Thank the EPA for Protecting Appalachia from Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining! After 12 years of hard work, it's official. Today the EPA announced that it will veto Spruce Mine No. 1 -- one of the largest mountaintop removal mines ever proposed for Appalachia! Send a message to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and thank her for making this courageous decision to protect Appalachia's mountains and people. Since 1998, Sierra Club along with Coal River Mountain Watch, WV Highlands Conservancy, the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Public Justice and the Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment have fought hard to stop Spruce Mine. This year alone, Sierra Club members and supporters like you sent almost 37,000 messages to the EPA urging them to protect the seven miles of streams and 2,000 acres of mountains that Spruce Mine would have destroyed. There's no doubt that the EPA will face more decisions on mountaintop removal mine permits. Please thank Administrator Jackson for standing up for Appalachia and tell her to keep up the good work. This victory proves that when we put our minds to it and work together, we can stop Big Coal and their attempts to profit from destroying our environment and threatening our health. Show the Obama Administration how excited we are that it is taking a major step to protect our mountains. Send your thank you message to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair, Nancy Sutley, today! Thanks again for all you're doing to protect our environment. Sincerely, Mary Anne Hitt Beyond Coal Campaign Sierra Club P.S. We need as many people as possible to take action to ensure that the EPA keeps up their good work to protect our mountains.

From the Inbox: Take Action - Bad Actors in Fossil Fuel Industry

Dear Friend,

It seems that nearly every week we hear of a new disaster... the tragic explosion that killed 29 miners in the Upper Big Branch Mine accident... the explosion of the oil rig that killed 11 workers and is pumping millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

And each week we see the CEOs of Big Oil and Big Coal on the television talk shows, pretending that these accidents were unforeseeable, and pretending that their industries don't put our workers, our communities, and our environment at risk every day.

Massey Energy (which runs the Upper Big Branch Mine) is the largest perpetrator of mountaintop removal coal mining, and they have one of the the worst track records in the industry for worker safety -- yet they rarely face repercussions for violating laws and regulations. Cleaning up the act of companies like Massey Energy is about more than improving safety for workers -- it's about taking a broader view of our nation's energy future.

Can you take a moment and tell your Senators to take the first step to a clean energy future by supporting the Appalachia Restoration Act (S. 696)?

Click here to email your Senators today: http://www.ilovemountains.org/write-your-senators

The recent energy disasters in West Virginia and the Gulf of Mexico reveal our nation's urgent need to move toward a clean and more sustainable energy future and away from dangerous practices like mountaintop removal mining.

As the perils of using dirty energy sources like coal and oil are becoming more apparent, we need to urge our Senators to cosponsor and pass S. 696, the Appalachia Restoration Act.

It is our responsibility to help our friends, family, and elected officials see the connection between the corner-cutting mentality that results in both unsafe working conditions and mountaintop removal.

By speaking up together, we can end mountaintop removal coal mining and bring a cleaner energy future to Appalachia and our nation.

Thank you for taking action.

Matt Wasson
iLoveMountains.org

Senator Robert Byrd Rips Into Mining Industry for Putting Coal Above People

Late last year, as Democrats were considering climate change bills and the Obama administration was mulling new regulations to rein in mountaintop removal coal mining, Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), a longtime defender of the coal industry and the jobs it creates in Appalachia, shocked observers in Washington and West Virginia alike when he called on the coal industry to embrace the changes happening around them.

“West Virginians can choose to anticipate change and adapt to it, or resist and be overrun by it,” he wrote at the time.

On Wednesday, May 5, 2010, the 92-year-old Sen. Robert C. Byrd called for a reconsideration of West Virginia's relationship with coal mining, saying the industry cannot be allowed to dominate the state's politics while causing needless deaths and environmental damage.

"Coal brings much needed jobs and revenue to our economy," the West Virginia Democrat wrote in a new commentary. "But the industry has a larger footprint, including inherent responsibilities that must be acknowledged by the industry."

Byrd issued the piece in response to the nation's worst coal-mining disaster in 40 years, the April 5 explosion that killed 29 miners at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County.

"As we seek to understand how and why the Upper Big Branch disaster occurred, we might also re-examine conventional wisdom about the future of the coal industry in our state," Byrd said.

“The monolithic power of industry should never dominate our politics to the detriment of local communities,” he wrote in an op-ed featured in the local press.

He was referring not only to the practice of mountaintop removal, but the absence of concern for miner safety that’s been the focus of great interest since 29 miners were killed in Montcoal, W.Va., exactly a month ago.

Byrd goes so far as to threaten irresponsible companies with extinction, and he states that the coal industry "must respect the miner and his family."
A single miner’s life is certainly worth the expense and effort required to enhance safety. West Virginia has some of the highest quality coal in the world, and mining it should be considered a privilege, not a right.

Any company that establishes a pattern of negligence resulting in injuries and death should be replaced by a company that conducts business more responsibly. No doubt many energy companies are keen for a chance to produce West Virginia coal.

The target here, of course, is Massey Energy — for reasons that become clearer each day. Not only does the Virginia-based coal giant own the mine where last month’s Montcoal blast occurred, but more and more Massey employees, both active and former, are coming forward with horror stories about the safety policies of the company.

But there’s more. Byrd then takes on the industry over mountaintop removal, a practice in which companies blast the tops off of mountains to reach the coal seams inside. In the process, the excess soil, rock and other debris are pushed into adjacent valleys, many of which contain the headwater streams for larger bodies of water below.

“The industry of coal must also respect the land that yields the coal, as well as the people who live on the land,” Byrd wrote. “If the process of mining destroys nearby wells and foundations, if blasting and digging and relocating streams unearths harmful elements and releases them into the environment causing illness and death, that process should be halted and the resulting hazards to the community abated.”

Byrd ended his remarks by saying, "The old chestnut that 'coal is West Virginia's greatest natural resource' deserves revision. I believe that our people are West Virginia's most valuable resource. We must demand to be treated as such."

Source:
Washington Independent,"Byrd Rips Into Mining Industry for Putting Coal Above People", accessed May 5, 2010
The Charleston Gazette, "Byrd calls for re-examination of state's relationship with coal", by Ken Ward, Jr. accessed May 5,2010