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Center in the Media
News Archive
(Listing with summaries)
2007 - 2008
2006
2005
2004
News Archive
(Headlines only)
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
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The Appalachian's Center's work has been featured in hundreds of news stories and editorials in national, regional, and local newspapers. Recent articles include:
National and Regional Articles:
(click here for State Articles)
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W.Va., Coal Mine Settle Suit
Over Selenium Hobet Mining LLC will pay $4 million to
settle claims by the state of West Virginia that the company
violated the Clean Water Act by discharging selenium and other
pollutants into the state's water supply. Portfolio Media,
July 14, 2008
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Stripping Mountains to Power D.C.; In W.Va., Mining Companies
Shear Off Peaks And Transform Landscape in Search for Coal;
MUD, W.Va. -- This is a place where "moving mountains" is no
longer a figure of speech. Here, among the steep green
Appalachians, mining companies are moving mountains off their
pedestals to get the kind of coal that Washington needs.
Washington Post, April 20, 2008.
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No new whistleblower protection for
WV miners A group of state legislators in West
Virginia introduced a bill earlier this year to strengthen the
State's laws to protect mine workers who raise concerns about
unsafe working conditions. Several weeks have now passed, and
are any of us surprised to learn that the bill was killed in the
WV legislative committee? The Pump Handle, March 11, 2008.
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Coal mining ravages Appalachia mountains CHARLESTON,
WEST VIRGINIA–When you flick on the lights this evening, think
of Kayford Mountain. Or what was Kayford Mountain, but now is a
sprawling, muddy, trembling construction site 100 meters below
Larry Gibson's home. Toronto Star, February 23, 2008.
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Groups Petition MSHA
to Bolster Miners’ Rights A group of advocates for miners and
their families sent a rulemaking petition to MSHA on February 1,
asking the agency to improve its regulations governing the
training that mine workers receive about their statutory rights. Wordpress.com,
February 5, 2008.
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WV Lawmakers Push
Whistleblower Protection for Mine Workers A group of
state legislators in West Virginia introduced a bill to
strengthen the State’s laws to protect mine workers who raise
concerns about unsafe working conditions. Wordpress.com, January
24, 2008.
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Massey Energy settles suit with EPA on 4,500 violations of the
Clean Water Act Massey Energy has agreed to pay the
largest fine ever by a coal company for polluting streams. In a
consent decree issued last Thursday in the case the United
States vs. Massey Energy, the company announced it would pay $20
million in fines for 4,500 violates of the Clean Water
Protection Act related to mining operations in West Virginia and
Kentucky over a 6 year period. Massey also agreed to set aside
$10 million to prevent future problems at the company’s 44 mines
and coal facilities Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia.
Community Correspondents Corps, January 21, 2008.
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Coal Company Hit With
E.P.A.’s Largest Civil Penalty Coal Company Hit With
E.P.A.’s Largest Civil Penalty; The nation’s fourth largest coal
producer, Massey Energy Co., was hit Thursday with a $20 million
fine, the largest civil penalty ever levied by the federal
government for a violation of this type under the Clean Water
Act. NY Times January 17, 2008.
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Shnayerson's Coal
River' examines ills of mountaintop mining If you want
to blow off the top of a mountain and dig out the exposed coal,
you'll need a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
They're the ones responsible for America's waterways. The top of
the mountain will end up in the valleys, filling in rivers and
streams. Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 6, 2008
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Producers: Expanding
the Mined How U.S. coal companies adapt to safety and
environmental pressures may determine their future, U.S. coal
miners sit at the crossroads of worker safety and the
environment -- two major public-policy issues that pose threats
to the industry as a whole, but offer opportunities for
individual companies that can adapt. Increasing scrutiny
of the industry's environmental and safety performance has put a
premium on companies that can mine coal more safely while
causing less environmental damage. Wall Street Journal, November
12, 2007.
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Mount Stripmine?
WHILE THE nation's attention was focused on the nine lives lost
in the deep coal mine of Crandall Canyon in Utah, the Bush
administration has been busy pushing a form of strip mining in
Appalachia that is lethal to land itself. It has proposed a rule
that would explicitly allow mining companies to blast and
bulldoze the tops of mountains and dump rock and dirt debris
into streams and hollows. While this has been going on under
existing rules and laws, critics of the dumping had fought it in
courts. With the new rule, mine owners expect the legal fights
to end. Editorial Boston Globe,
September 4, 2007.
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Leveling Mountains for Cheaper Coal Host:
Warren Olney - panelist Joe Lovett of the Appalachian Center for
the Economy and the Environment. Coal miners are taking
the tops off mountains and dumping the rubble in streams and
valleys—forever changing the Appalachian Mountains. To the
Point - NPR Radio, August 24, 2007
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A change to mountaintop-mining rules? The Bush Administration is preparing
new rules to encourage what some say is a safer and more efficient type of
above-ground mining -- mountaintop, or strip, mining. John Dimsdale reports
environmentalists are worried. Marketplace - American Public Media, August
23, 2007
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Rule to Expand Mountaintop Coal Mining
WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 — The Bush administration is set to issue a
regulation on Friday that would enshrine the coal mining
practice of mountaintop removal. The technique involves blasting
off the tops of mountains and dumping the rubble into valleys
and streams, New York Times, August 23, 2007
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Mining Battle Marked by Peaks and Valleys BOB WHITE,
W.Va. — In the hamlets scattered across the coal fields of
southern Appalachia, the news from the courthouse was a breath
of fresh air to many: A federal judge had sided with
environmentalists fighting to stop a form of destructive strip
mining known as mountaintop removal. USA Today, April 18, 2007
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Ahead of the Bell:
Peabody Energy Rises NEW YORK — A Friedman Billings Ramsey
analyst upgraded shares of Peabody Energy Corp. on Monday,
saying a judge's ruling blocking permits for a rival to mine
coal in Central Appalachia will drive coal prices higher.
Last month, U.S. District Judge Robert Chambers revoked four
permits that allowed Massey Energy Co. to mine coal from
mountaintops in Central Appalachia. The judge ruled the
engineers that studied the sites failed to prove the mines
wouldn't harm the environment. AP April 9, 2007
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Mountaintop Rescue
Mountaintop mining is a cheap and ruthlessly efficient way to
mine coal: soil and rock are scraped away by enormous machines
to expose the buried coal seam, then dumped down the
mountainside into the valleys and streams below. NTtimes, March
29, 2007
State Articles:
Since the Center’s inception in 2001, its work has
been extensively covered by West Virginia's largest newspaper, the
Charleston Gazette. Please visit their archives for a
comprehensive look at the Appalachian Center and the issues it
confronts. Of special interest in the Charleston Gazette is
Mining the Mountains, a comprehensive and ongoing series of
stories on mountaintop removal mining that frequently feature the
Center’s work.
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Mining company to pay $1.48 million selenium fine;
Hobet given nearly two more years to end violations CHARLESTON,
W.Va. -- Hobet Mining Inc. will pay a nearly $1.5 million fine
to resolve a lawsuit by state regulators over repeated selenium
water-quality violations from its sprawling mountaintop removal
operations along the Lincoln-Boone county line. Charleston
Gazette, July 13, 2008.
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Coal
companies accused of mining without a permit
West Virginia environmental group best known for challenging
mountaintop removal permits in court is planning to sue two
companies for mining before they received any permit at all.
WVNPR, June 23, 2008
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Mines'
selenium extensions wrong, appeals board finds The
Manchin administration must revisit two dozen orders that gave
coal operators three additional years to fix selenium pollution
violations, a state appeals board ruled Thursday. Charleston
Gazette, June 13, 2008
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Environmental groups to sue TECO Two environmental
groups have notified a local coal company that they will be
filing suit over two allegedly illegal valley fills. Appalachian
News Express, June 12, 2008
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Mine's
selenium deforms fish, expert says Selenium pollution
from one of West Virginia's largest mountaintop removal mines is
dangerously poisoning Mud River fish, leaving some with serious
deformities, according to one of the nation's leading experts on
the issue. Charleston Gazette, April 27, 2008.
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Massey
plans big expansion; Firm wants to open a new coal mine every 17
days this year Massey Energy Co. expects to open a new
coal mine at a rate of one every 17 days this year as it
continues an ambitious plan to increase production 25 percent by
2010, a company official said Friday. Massey is
positioning itself to take advantage of soaring demand and
prices for Appalachian coal. The expansion is centered on
underground coal mines, giving Massey alternatives if a court
decision that would make it more difficult and time consuming to
get federal permits for surface mines is upheld. Charleston
Gazette, April 26, 2008
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Mining
appeal argument delayed until September The Bush
administration and the coal industry will have to wait another
four months to argue their appeal of the latest federal court
ruling to curb mountaintop removal coal mining. Charleston
Gazette, April 25, 2008
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Coal
operators agree to limit valley fills Coal operators
agreed to limit waste dumping at three mountaintop removal mines
to streams that had already been disturbed. Charleston Gazette,
April 24, 2008.
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Judge to
Corps: Show permit info The U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers must stop stonewalling environmental group requests
for information about new mountaintop-removal mining permits, a
federal judge ruled Thursday. Charleston Gazette, April 18, 2008
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New MSHA
rule increases coal mine seal strength The U.S.
Mine Safety and Health Administration on Friday finalized a rule
that requires stronger underground mine seals, but does not
toughen seal standards as much as studies by two other
government agencies suggested was needed. The Charleston
Gazette, April 19, 2008.
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Manchin
plans no investigation of coal, health Gov. Joe
Manchin plans no immediate state review of coal pollution's
impacts on public health following the release of four studies
that raise questions about the industry's effects. Manchin asked
two state agencies to look at the studies, but any serious
follow-up investigation should be left to the federal
government, state officials said. Charleston Gazette, March 30,
2008.
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Coal
industry, fed mining appeal argument May 13 Oral
arguments in the latest mountaintop-removal court appeal have
been scheduled for May 13 in the 4th U.S. Court of Appeals. The
Bush administration and the coal industry are appealing rulings
last year by U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers to require a
more detailed review of new mining permits. Charleston Gazette,
March 28, 2008.
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Suit aims
to block Greenbrier plant The West Virginia Highlands
Conservancy wants a circuit judge to order state regulators to
revoke a key permit for the proposed Western Greenbrier
Co-Generation plant. Charleston Gazette, March 27, 2008.
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Suit
seeks to force MSHA to tighten dust limit A Kentucky
coal miner has sued U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao to try to
force federal regulators to tighten the limits on coal dust that
causes black lung disease. The Charleston Gazette, March 22,
2008.
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Senate
committee bows to King Coal Recently, a small group of
state senators dealt a big blow to West Virginia coal miners
when they killed a bill pending before their legislative
committee. The bill would have better protected West Virginia
coal miners who speak up about unsafe work conditions. The
Charleston Gazette, March 11, 2008.
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Mountaintop-removal hearing generates strong turnout
Mountaintop Removal Hearing Generates Strong Turnout; Here’s a
sample of opinions from supporters and opponents of
mountaintop-removal mining who spoke Wednesday at a public
hearing. Sen. Jon Hunter, D-Monongalia, scheduled the hearing
for a bill he introduced that would effectively ban the mining
practice by making it illegal to dump excess rock and dirt into
streams. WVNPR , February 29, 2008.
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Miner whistleblower bill
fails (mp3) A Senate committee killed legislation that
would have given better protections to whistleblowers in coal
mines. West Virginia Public Broadcasting, February 25, 2008.
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Mine
expansion in middle of fight; Reclamation buries natural streams
HYDEN, Ky. -- Giant earth-moving equipment groans under tons of
rock that has been blasted from a mountainside at the Thunder
Ridge mine to expose a seam of coal underneath. The debris
is being dumped in one of two hollows freshly scoured of trees
and brush. Once the hollows are filled, they will be graded,
planted with vegetation, and rocky riprap channels will replace
the natural streams that once drained them. The Courier-Journal,
Kentucky, February 11, 2008.
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Legislation introduced to end valley fills in West Virginia
CHARLESTON,
W.VA. – Senator Jon Blair Hunter (D-Monongalia) earlier this
week introduced legislation that would effectively end the
practice of burying thousand of miles of streams under the
rubble created by mountaintop removal coal mining. “I
introduced Senate Bill 588 because I fervently believe that God
did not intend for us to destroy the mountains, the streams, the
forests and His people in order to mine coal,” Sen. Hunter said.
Herald-Dispatch, February 10, 2008.
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DEP
protecting coal industry on selenium, lawsuit says In
November 2006, environmental group lawyers warned Hobet Mining
that its Boone County operations were dumping too much selenium
into tributaries of the Mud River. Lawyers Derek Teaney
and Joe Lovett told Hobet that the West Virginia Highlands
Conservancy and the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition planned
to sue the company over its alleged permit violations.
Charleston Gazette, February 10, 2008.
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Increased
training on miners' rights sought Coal miners should
receive more and better training to understand their right to
work in a safe and healthy workplace, according to a new
petition filed with the U.S. Mine Safety and Health
Administration. Charleston Gazette, February 6, 2008.
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MSHA
urged to detail problems with assessing fines Top
federal lawmakers want the U.S. Mine Safety and Health
Administration to provide more detailed answers about thousands
of violations for which the agency never assessed monetary
fines. Senate and House Democrats called for MSHA to
explain how the problem occurred, how bad it is, and what is
being done to quickly fix it. Charleston Gazette, January 29,
2008
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Group to
study post-mining land use Gov. Joe Manchin wants a
team of state officials and economic developers to study ways
West Virginia can better use former mountaintop removal mine
sites. Charleston Gazette, January 23, 2008
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$20
million fine, improvements part of Massey deal; feds believe
company will now have to change Federal environmental
regulators believe a record $20 million fine, new pollution
monitoring requirements and the threat of automatic penalties
for additional violations will force Massey Energy Co. to change
the way it does business. Charleston Gazette, January 18, 2008
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State
adds fish advisory for selenium West Virginia
regulators have begun warning state residents not to eat fish
from certain waterways because of high levels of selenium
pollution. Charleston Gazette, December 21, 2007.
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Manchin
joins Massey, industry in mine ruling appeal Gov. Joe
Manchin has joined with Massey Energy and the rest of the coal
industry to fight two federal court rulings that require more
scrutiny of proposed mountaintop removal mines. Charleston
Gazette, December 7, 2007
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Mountaintop Removal Permit Challenged Environmental
groups in Appalachia have filed a lawsuit against the federal
government, challenging a permit that allows International Coal
Group to expand a mountaintop removal operation in eastern
Kentucky. AP, Forbes.com, December 7, 2007
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Board
hears citizen concerns about coal mine selenium Pauline
Canterberry has lived around the Coal River for 67 years.
Canterberry swam and fished, and watched whippoorwills,
kingfishers and bluejays. “When I was growing up on Coal
River, I knew every swimming hole there was,” Canterberry said.
“I used to fish until about 10 years ago. I quit. I’m definitely
not going to eat anything out of it now.” Charelston
Gazette November 16, 2007
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ICG Mine
Draws complaints Beth Baldwin and her husband had just
about finished the foundation on their new Taylor County home
when they heard the news. International Coal Group had
proposed a new underground mine nearby. ICG’s longwall mining
machine would tunnel under the Baldwin’s house near Knottsville.
Charleston Gazette, November 14, 2007
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Boone
County mountaintop removal project blocked; Ruling might cost 39
miners their jobs at Castillo A federal judge on
Thursday blocked a coal operator from starting a new valley fill
at a mountaintop removal mine in Boone County. U.S.
District Judge Robert C. Chambers issued a preliminary
injunction that stops new mining at Jupiter Holdings LLC's
Callisto Surface Mine near Bob White. Charleston Gazette,
October 12, 2007.
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Presumed
toxic dangers overblown, official says: Enviro board member
criticizes attack on selenium Environmental Quality
Board member Bill Gillespie says too much was made over the
dangers of asbestos, DDT and Red Dye No. 2. And now, Gillespie
says, citizen groups are wrongly launching a similar crusade
over selenium runoff from West Virginia strip mines. Charleston
Gazette, October 2, 2007.
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Boone
mine permit wrangling continues HUNTINGTON — Maria
Gunnoe has lived most of her life at her family homeplace, at
the mouth of Big Branch near Bob White in Boone County. Gunnoe
fished in the streams, played in the creeks and picnicked at
family reunions on nearby Cazy Mountain. The last few years,
Gunnoe has lived with flooding and water pollution that she
blames on Magnum Coal’s mountaintop removal operation up the
hollow. Charleston Gazette, September 27,2007.
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Judge
asked to block Boone mine permit Judge asked to block
Boone mine permit; A federal judge was urged Monday to block a
coal company proposal that would bury more than a mile of Boone
County streams. Charleston Gazette, September 18, 2007.
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Buckhannon man to help mine whistleblowers Last year,
Nathan Fetty watched his community suffer through the deaths of
12 miners at the Sago Mine disaster. Now, the Buckhannon
resident is going to do something to help coal miners across the
state deal with safety problems. Fetty is starting a new project
to provide free legal services to miners who have voiced safety
concerns and then been retaliated against. Charleston Gazette
September 9, 2007
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Coal
lawyers want appeal thrown out A challenge to water
quality waivers for dozens of mining operations should be thrown
out, coal industry lawyers told a state appeals board Thursday.
Lawyers for more than 25 coal companies urged the state
Environmental Quality Board not to hear an appeal concerning
water quality waivers for the toxic metal selenium. Charleston
Gazette, August 10, 2007.
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Law not
stopping mine damage, House told: Hearing held ahead of 30th
anniversary of surface mine act on Aug. 3 A
30-year-old federal strip mine law has not stopped coal
operators from blowing up mountains, displacing coalfield
communities, and burying hundreds of miles of streams, a
congressional committee heard Wednesday. Charleston Gazette,
July 26, 2007.
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Court
backs limit on PPG mercury emissions: DEP moving to loosen
firm's permit anyway
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W.Va.
environmental groups file to join suit against Massey
Three West Virginia environmental groups want to intervene in a
lawsuit filed by federal regulators over thousands of alleged
water pollution violations at Massey Energy operations,
Charleston Gazette, June 20, 2007
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Mine
ponds ruled illegal Judge deals second blow to coal
industry. Coal operators cannot evade the Clean Water Act by
building sediment-treatment ponds just downstream from strip
mine valley fills, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. Charleston
Gazette, June 14, 2007.
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Permit
switch, secrecy ended mine challenge Two weeks ago,
environmental activists Cindy Rank and Vivian Stockman took a
drive through the Logan County hills with Paul Vining, the
president of Magnum Coal. Charleston Gazette, May 27, 2007
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DEP
selenium waivers for mines challenged Three West
Virginia environmental groups have challenged the Manchin
administration’s move to give 76 mining operations waivers from
the state’s limits on the toxic metal selenium. On Friday,
lawyers for the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, the Ohio
Valley Environmental Coalition and Coal River Mountain Watch
filed their challenge with the state Environmental Quality
Board. Charleston Gazette, May 6, 2007.
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Fight
renewed over streamlined mine permits While one
mountaintop removal court ruling is appealed, lawyers for
citizen groups and the industry set the stage on Wednesday for a
renewed battle over streamlined permitting of mining valley
fills. Lawyers for the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition
allege that federal regulators have wrongly returned to the use
of “nationwide” or “general” permit approvals for valley fills.
Charleston Gazette April 26, 2007
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Parts of
mining ruling suspended A federal judge on Tuesday
suspended parts of his ruling that blocked four Massey Energy
mountaintop removal mining permits. U.S. District Judge Robert
C. Chambers ruled that Massey can continue to dump waste rock
and dirt into valley fills already started at three of the four
operations. “Most of the substantial harm plaintiffs complain
about has already occurred,” Chambers said. “It cannot be
undone.” Charleston Gazette, April 18, 2007
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Massey
seeks stay of ruling Massey Energy asked a federal
judge on Tuesday to suspend a ruling that blocked four of its
mountaintop removal mining permits. Lawyers for Massey also
notified U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers that they would
appeal his decision to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in
Richmond, Va. Charleston Gazette, April 11, 2007
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Judge
blocks Massey plan to continue mining A federal judge
on Friday rejected a Massey Energy plan to continue mining on a
mountaintop removal permit that was rescinded last month.
U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers ruled that Massey's
Aracoma Coal Co. could not legally clear, grub and mine on one
of four permits blocked by his March 23 decision. Charleston
Gazette, April 07, 2007.
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Lawyers
argue over scope of mine ruling HUNTINGTON — More mining
permits will probably land in front of a federal judge, as
lawyers for the coal industry and government regulators try to
sort out the latest mountaintop removal court ruling.
Citizen group lawyers want U.S. District Judge Robert C.
Chambers to add several permits to the case, a move that
industry and Bush administration lawyers oppose. Charleston
Gazette, April 6, 2007
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No
decision on appeal of latest mountaintop mining ruling
HUNTINGTON -- The Bush administration has not yet decided if it
will appeal the latest federal court ruling to more strictly
regulate mountaintop removal coal mining. "It's still very
much under consideration," said Cynthia J. Morris, a lawyer for
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Morris joined lawyers
for the coal industry and citizen groups Thursday at a hearing
to discuss the long-term implications of a March 23 ruling by
U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers. Charleston Gazette,
April 5, 2007.
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Legal
action sought on funds for state mine cleanup program
Citizen groups started two major legal actions Wednesday to
force the Manchin administration to properly fund the cleanup of
abandoned coal mines that are polluting streams with acid
drainage. Charleston Gazette, March 29, 2007
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Environmentalists hope ruling ends mountaintop removal mining
Environmentalists on Monday hailed a federal court victory over
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as the possible death knell of
mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia. Lexington Herald
Leader March 26, 2007
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4 mining permits blocked; U.S. judge
cites ‘alarming cumulative stream loss’ in decision A
federal judge blocked permits for four mountaintop removal mines
late Friday, in a major ruling that could force much tougher
regulation of West Virginia's coal industry. Charleston Gazette
March 24, 2007
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Mine cleanup fund could be empty by
2012, report says A fund meant to clean up abandoned
coal mines could face a financial crisis within five years,
according to a state Department of Environmental Protection
report. Charleston Gazette March 7, 2007
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Mines might get more time on selenium Four
years after federal regulators reported troubling levels of
selenium leaching from mountaintop removal mines in Southern
West Virginia, the Manchin administration is proposing to give
dozens of operations three more years to stop the pollution.
Charleston Gazette, March 4, 2007
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Groups ask judge to stop strip mine
Three environmental groups on Tuesday asked a federal judge to
block Arch Coal Inc. from operating on the largest strip mine
permit in West Virginia history Charleston Gazette, January 31,
2007.
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Corps gives final OK to record strip mine in
Logan Federal regulators have given final approval to the
largest mountaintop removal-mining permit in West Virginia
history. Charleston Gazette, January 30, 2007.
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Battle continues for DEP, Massey
Massey Energy lawyers on Tuesday took on state regulators again
in longstanding battles over a storage silo and a coal
stockpile. Massey challenged Department of Environmental
Protection orders blocking construction of a coal silo near a
school and requiring the company to cover a new stockpile
adjacent to the town of Sylvester. Charleston Gazette, January
10, 2007
In addition, Joe Lovett has appeared on Sixty Minutes, Bill
Moyers' NOW, the BBC, and in Sasha Waters' award-winning documentary, Razing Appalachia, which aired on the PBS feature Independent Lens.
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