Water downstream from Appalachian coal mines is toxic, newly released federal data show

"Water quality downstream from surface coal-mining operations in West Virginia and Kentucky greatly exceeds recommended toxicity limits, according to previously unreleased sampling data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency," Ken Ward Jr. reports for The Charleston Gazette. "EPA scientists found toxicity levels as high as 50 times the federal guidelines in water downstream from mining operations. In-stream water samples from 14 of 17 sites EPA tested exceeded the agency's guidelines." All eight in Kentucky did so.

The samples were taken in 2007 and 2009, but the results weren't made public until environmental groups obtained it under the Freedom of Information Act, had a University of Maryland scientist analyze the data and attached it to a petition asking EPA to take over water-pollution permitting for coal mines in Kentucky, Ward reports. "The findings are important because the type of testing provides a more complete and accurate picture of the toxicity of water than sampling for any one pollutant alone." (Read more)