A group of coal industry companies are hoping to stop the Obama administration's surface mining policy.
They want a court order to bar the usage of a policy designed to limit surface mining in Appalachia. The National Mining Association (NMA) has filed a motion on Friday seeking the court order in the US District Court, Washington D.C.
In July the NMA had sued the federal Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers over the same issue.
The current second lawsuit is hoping to overturn the policy which the EPA had unveiled in April this year. This involves tougher water quality guidelines for mountain top removal and other coal mining activities in six Appalachian states.
The coal industry group is asking the court to suspend these guidelines based on the economic damage that will be caused to the coal states. It has also argued that they violate federal law as they circumvent requirements for public notice and comment and receiving a peer review.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson in a statement that the people of Appalachia shouldn't have to choose between a clean, healthy environment in which to raise their families and the jobs they need to support them. Both the sides are gearing up for the legal battle.