For Immediate Release -- June 30, 2010
Environmental Protection
Agency Approves Major Mountaintop Removal Coal Mine
West Virginia Mine Approval an Ominous
Sign for Appalachia’s People, Mountains and Waterways
Washington, D.C. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has
given tentative approval to Arch Coal Inc.’s Coal-Mac Pine Creek Surface Mine in
Logan County, West Virginia. This large mine would be one of the most
significant mountaintop removal coal mines to receive permit approval since the
EPA announced more stringent permit review guidance in April .
Bill Price, Sierra Club Environmental
Justice organizer in West Virginia, issued the following
statement:
"We had high hopes that the EPA’s more stringent guidance for mountaintop
removal coal mining would mean protection for our communities, but apparently we
were mistaken. It’s time to turn words into action and end this destructive
practice.
"The massive Pine Creek Surface Mine and the neighboring communities and
watershed suffer from the cumulative impacts of being surrounded by other
mountaintop removal coal mines. This permit would allow Arch Coal Inc.’s
Coal-Mac to dump toxic mining waste into three entire valleys.
"Mining companies have already buried close to 2,000 miles of Appalachian
streams beneath piles of toxic waste and debris. We can’t allow even one
additional mine to destroy our communities. As the late Senator Robert Byrd
said, it is time to adapt to change and to embrace clean energy
solutions."
###
--
Oliver Bernstein
Senior Communications Strategist
Sierra Club
Cell: 512.289.8618
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