Environmental groups challenge Eastern Kentucky strip mine proposed near whitewater stream

Two environmental groups have launched a challenge against a proposed 792-acre surface mine near Elkhorn City in far Eastern Kentucky. "The Sierra Club and Kentuckians for the Commonwealth argue that the state didn't properly assess the mining operation's potential impact on nearby streams," including the Russell Fork of the Big Sandy River, a whitewater stream, before issuing the permit to Cambrian Coal Corporation last month, Bill Estep of the Lexington Herald-Leader reports. The group also alleges Cambrian "also didn't design the mining and reclamation plan to properly limit the impact of valley fills," and runoff from the mine "would cause water-quality violations in several watersheds, or worsen problems that already exist," Estep writes. (Read more)

The groups are being represented by the Appalachian Citizens' Law Center, which has posted a copy of the petition on its website.