Friday, March 23, 2012

Judge rejects EPA veto of big mountaintop mine

"In a case that could have far-reaching implications, a federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency exceeded its authority in revoking permits for a strip mine in West Virginia," Erica Peterson reports for WFPL in Louisville, with help from The Associated Press.

The ruling came from District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington, D.C. "EPA vetoed the corps' permit for the mine in January 2011, saying it would cause irreparable damage to the environment,"AP reports. "The move enraged both the coal industry and West Virginia politicians, several of whom have since introduced bills to try rein in the EPA."

The Spruce Mine, already under development, would be the largest mountaintop removal mine in West Virginia and probably in the four Central Appalachian states where the practice is used.

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