Agency Revokes Permit for Major Coal Mining Project
By JOHN M. BRODER
Published: January 13, 2011
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency revoked the permit for one of the nation’s largest mountaintop-removal coal mining projects on Thursday, saying the mine would have done unacceptable damage to rivers, wildlife and communities in West Virginia. It was the first time the agency had rescinded a valid clean water permit for a coal mine.
Arch Coal’s proposed Spruce No. 1 Mine in Logan County, which would have buried miles of Appalachian streams under millions of tons of residue, has been the subject of controversy and litigation since the first application was filed more than a decade ago. Opposition intensified after the Bush administration approved the mine’s construction in 2007, issuing a permit required under the Clean Water Act.
The boldness of the E.P.A.’s action was striking at a time when the agency faces an increasingly hostile Congress and well-financed business lobbies seeking to limit its regulatory reach. Agency officials said that the coal company was welcome to resubmit a less damaging mining plan, but that law and science demanded the veto of the existing plan.
Environmentalists welcomed Thursday’s decision. But the mining company and politicians in West Virginia expressed fury, saying the action was an unprecedented federal intrusion, an economic catastrophe for the state and a dangerous precedent for all regulated industries.
The project would have involved dynamiting the tops off mountains over an area of 2,278 acres to get at the rich coal deposits beneath. The resulting rubble, known as spoil, would be dumped into nearby valleys, as well as the Pigeonroost Branch, the Oldhouse Branch and their tributaries, killing fish, salamanders and other wildlife. The agency said that disposal of the mining material would also pollute the streams and endanger human health and the environment downstream.
The agency said it was using its authority under the Clean Water Act to revoke a legally issued permit, an action it had taken only twice in the past 40 years and never before for a coal mine. The agency said that it reviews thousands of permits every year and that it reserved the authority to rescind them only for “unacceptable cases.”
“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,” said Peter S. Silva, the agency’s assistant administrator for water. “Coal and coal mining are part of our nation’s energy future, and E.P.A. has worked with companies to design mining operations that adequately protect our nation’s waters. We have a responsibility under the law to protect water quality and safeguard the people who rely on clean water.”
Mr. Silva said the agency had worked with the company to try to devise a mining plan that would meet federal law, but that a year of discussions had failed to reach an agreement.
An official of Arch Coal, based in St. Louis, said the company would continue to challenge the federal action in court.
“We remain shocked and dismayed at E.P.A.’s continued onslaught with respect to this validly issued permit,” said Kim Link, the company’s spokeswoman. “Absent court intervention, E.P.A.’s final determination to veto the Spruce permit blocks an additional $250 million investment and 250 well-paying American jobs.”
“Furthermore, we believe this decision will have a chilling effect on future U.S. investment,” she added, “because every business possessing or requiring a permit under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act will fear similar overreaching by the E.P.A. It’s a risk many businesses cannot afford to take.”
She was referring to the provision of federal law under which the permit was originally issued and then revoked.
Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, who until recently was the state’s governor and who had sued the E.P.A. over delays on the project, issued a blistering statement opposing the agency’s final ruling.
“Today’s E.P.A. 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,” Mr. Manchin said. “It goes without saying, such an irresponsible regulatory step is not only a shocking display of overreach, it will have a chilling effect on investments and our economic recovery. I plan to do everything in my power to fight this decision.”
Anticipating the agency’s decision, a group of regulated industries wrote to the White House this week asking that the mine be allowed to proceed, and seeking clarification on when the administration intended to use its Clean Water Act authority to block projects.
Groups including the National Realtors Association, the American Road and Transportation Builders Association and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association wrote to Nancy Sutley, the chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, asking that the Spruce Mine permit be approved.
The groups said in their letter that if the agency revoked the coal mining permit, “every similarly valid permit held by any entity — businesses, public works agencies and individual citizens — will be in increased regulatory limbo and potentially subject to the same unilateral, after-the-fact revocation.”
“The implications could be staggering,” they added, “reaching all areas of the U.S. economy including but not limited to the agriculture, home building, mining, transportation and energy sectors.”
The mining industry made a similar point on Thursday. “E.P.A.’s veto of an existing, valid permit for the Spruce No. 1 mine threatens the certainty of all Section 404 permits — weakening the trust U.S. businesses and workers need to make investments and secure jobs,” said Hal Quinn, president of the National Mining Association.
An agency official said that though the current design for the Spruce No. 1 project had been rejected, the company was free to submit a new proposal.
Janet Keating, president of the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, said in a statement, “We breathe a huge sigh of relief today.” She added that the move “halts the destruction of Pigeon Roost Hollow,” where much of the debris was to be dumped.
Ms. Keating said the decision was a milestone in the debate over mountaintop-removal coal mining. “Spruce No. 1 is the only individual permit to have undergone a full environmental impact statement,” she said. “The science completely validates what we have been saying for more than a decade: These types of mining operations are destroying our streams and forests and nearby residents’ health, and even driving entire communities to extinction.”
Tom Zeller Jr. contributed reporting.
A version of this article appeared in print on January 14, 2011, on page A14 of the New York edition.
No comments:
Post a Comment