EPA Stops Mountaintop Removal Mine in West Virginia

WASHINGTON (January13, 2011) –  The Environmental Protection Agency’s veto of West Virginia’s Spruce No. 1 mine permit protects the state’s irreplaceable mountains and streams as well as the health of its citizens.The following is a statement from Jon Devine, a senior attorney in the Water Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council:“In the face of the political and industry forces pressuring EPA to ignore the damage this mine would cause, it took guts for the agency to follow the science and the law.“EPA’s action means Appalachians dealing with the devastating damage from radical coal mining can breathe a sigh of relief. The agency made the right decision to prevent the destruction that would have been caused by this enormous mountaintop-to-moonscape project.“Now EPA needs to apply the same scientific rigor to all other pending mountaintop removal proposals and it must enforce the Clean Water Act to permanently protect Appalachian communities.”