Could it be true? Is there really a new emphasis on the environment coming from the EPA?
The Environmental Protection Agency put hundreds of mountaintop mining operations on notice that they would be the focus of closer scrutiny yesterday, saying it needs to review their impact on local streams and wetlands before they can move forward.
Needless to say, some of us tree hugging mountain loving save the environment people are cheering, hoping this is not just a one time act, but a sign of change to come. However, not everyone is thrilled with the scrutiny.
The announcement, which outraged mining interests and cheered environmentalists, challenged a Bush administration policy and blocked the effect of a federal court decision that had made it easier for mine operators to dispose of the rubble and sludge created when companies blow off the tops of mountains to get to the coal buried underneath.
As most of us know, just before leaving office the former President Bush
finalized rules that eased a 25-year-old prohibition on dumping mine waste within 100 feet of any intermittent or permanent stream, allowing such dumping if it was unavoidable and as long as harm was minimized “to the extent practicable” and was compensated for somewhere else.
This slow down of issuing permits to blow the tops off mountains may be just a slow down. We can only hope for more. But, it is a good first step to saving the rivers and streams in coal mining country.
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