Paul Quinlan of Energy & Environment News analyzes the Environmental Protection Agency's handling of mountaintop-removal coal mines, and its recent rejection of a permit for the biggest one: "EPA's compromises show nuanced exceptions to the Obama administration's tough approach to mountaintop mining: Companies that agree to blast in phases, one at a time, while monitoring and mitigating for environmental damage, are more likely to get the green light. Companies unwilling to bargain over such details, as was the case with Spruce No. 1, get blocked."
Quinlan also looks ahead, giving us a road map for future coverage: "All eyes are on two applications sitting on top of the pile at EPA: the Little Fork mine proposed by Premier Elkhorn Coal Co., part of TECO Energy Inc., and the Stacy Branch mine that Leeco Inc., a James River Coal Co. subsidiary, has pitched. Both are in Eastern Kentucky." The two are among 79 permit applications EPA said in 2009 that it might veto, "a move that sent a shudder through the industry," Quinlan writes. "Dozens of those proposals have since been withdrawn. EPA is waiting on additional materials from 31 others before starting reviews. At least one firm that received a go-ahead, Kentucky-based Booth Energy, ultimately turned down the permit because of the conditions that came with it, according to an industry official."
In November, the TECO (Tampa Electric Co.) and James River subsidiaries got letters from EPA saying the agency had "significant" concerns about their plans. "Among other recommendations, EPA asked the companies to take a phase-by-phase approach that included monitoring for environmental impacts along the way as well as additional mitigation measures," Quinlan reports. In a Nov. 2 letter to the Corps about the TECO mine, which had already been re-engineered to mitigate impacts, EPA recommended an environmental impact statement for it. To read the letter, click here.
E&E is a subscription-only service, but Quinlan wrote his story for Greenwire, which is sometimes used by The New York Times, so you may be able to find the story there. It's reasonably comprehensive, and thus worth looking for.
Quinlan also looks ahead, giving us a road map for future coverage: "All eyes are on two applications sitting on top of the pile at EPA: the Little Fork mine proposed by Premier Elkhorn Coal Co., part of TECO Energy Inc., and the Stacy Branch mine that Leeco Inc., a James River Coal Co. subsidiary, has pitched. Both are in Eastern Kentucky." The two are among 79 permit applications EPA said in 2009 that it might veto, "a move that sent a shudder through the industry," Quinlan writes. "Dozens of those proposals have since been withdrawn. EPA is waiting on additional materials from 31 others before starting reviews. At least one firm that received a go-ahead, Kentucky-based Booth Energy, ultimately turned down the permit because of the conditions that came with it, according to an industry official."
In November, the TECO (Tampa Electric Co.) and James River subsidiaries got letters from EPA saying the agency had "significant" concerns about their plans. "Among other recommendations, EPA asked the companies to take a phase-by-phase approach that included monitoring for environmental impacts along the way as well as additional mitigation measures," Quinlan reports. In a Nov. 2 letter to the Corps about the TECO mine, which had already been re-engineered to mitigate impacts, EPA recommended an environmental impact statement for it. To read the letter, click here.
E&E is a subscription-only service, but Quinlan wrote his story for Greenwire, which is sometimes used by The New York Times, so you may be able to find the story there. It's reasonably comprehensive, and thus worth looking for.
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