The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized the guidelines for surface mining and they include a new standard for judging the impact of mining operations on regional water quality. The surface mining guidelines have caused quite a controversy in the Appalachian coal county that includes Eastern Kentucky.
The guidelines are to be used by regulators to review before granting applications for surface mine permits. The new guidelines are likely to protect the quality of water and aquatic life better in areas where mountain-top strip mining operations are in progress. The environmental groups have seen the new guidelines as a significant improvement over previous regulations.
Earth Justice Senior Legislative Counsel Joan Mulhern said that they were glad to see Administrator Lisa Jackson follow through on her commitment to finalize this important staff guidance, which is a considerable step toward giving Appalachian communities their rightful protections under existing law and following sound science
The coal industry on the other hand is arguing that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has put in the guidelines improperly and the coal mining companies cannot meet all the requirements. They say that the guidelines will trouble companies from getting permits and will result in a loss of production and maybe even loss of jobs in the Eastern Kentucky and Central Appalachia region.
The National Mining Association said that the EPA guidance goes beyond its Clean Water Act authority. NMA President Hal Quinn said that despite the administration’s pledges to focus on jobs creation, today’s final guidance is a jobs destroyer and does nothing to cure EPA’s unlawful permit moratorium on coal mining in Appalachia.