EPA proposes revoking permit for mountaintop mine

EPA proposed on Friday to "significantly restrict" or stop altogether a controverisal mountain top mining project in Logan County, West Virginia, approved for operation three years ago. *

The Spruce No. 1 mine, owned by Arch Coal, is one of the largest mountaintop mines ever proposed in Central Appalachia and posed significant risks to the environment, EPA said. The project won permit approval in 2007 but has been delayed from opening by litigation. A public comment period lasting 60 days now follows EPA's proposal, to be followed by a final decision.

EPA's decision marks the first time the agency used its veto authority under the Clean Water Act to stop a project previously approved.

The action drew a quick rebuke from the coal industry. The National Mining Association said the original permit was issued after a 13-year evaluation that included weighing the potential environmental impacts of the mine. The mine is “the most reviewed" the nation’s history, the mining group said.

NMA said EPA’s decision would add “further uncertainty for jobs and economic security throughout Appalachia.”

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) also criticized EPA’s decision.

“I have said this before, and will say it again: it is wrong and unfair for the EPA to change the rules for a permit that is already active,” Rockefeller said in a statement.

But EPA said the risks to the environment were too great to let the mine go forward as planned. The mine would bury over 7 miles of headwater streams, directly impact 2,278 acres of forest, and degrade water quality in streams adjacent to the mine.

“The damage from this project would be irreversible,” said Shawn Garvin, EPA regional administrator for the Mid-Atlantic.

The EPA decision is only the 13th time the agency has vetoed projects since 1972, according to EPA.

This post was updated to reflect the fact EPA has not announced a final decision on the Spruce No. 1 mine.