W.Va. coal regulators admit not properly applying rules meant to keep mines from causing floods

"West Virginia regulators and coal operators have not properly implemented state rules meant to keep strip mining from contributing to flooding during heavy rains over narrow mountain hollows, according to a new federal report," Ken Ward Jr. reports in The Charleston Gazette. "Mine operators have inconsistently applied computer modeling in permit applications, and state regulators have approved those applications anyway," according to the report from the Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation.

Also, Ward reports, "The state Department of Environmental Protection does not do follow-up studies to see if permit models were accurate," and doesn't require long-term monitoring of runoff from surface mines. DEP officials concurred with the findings and "agreed to hold an industry seminar and better train its employees to try to fix some of the problems." Ward notes, "Coalfield residents have pointed to mountaintop removal as a contributing cause for this spring's heavy flooding in southern parts of West Virginia." (Read more)