DEP allows coal company to operate strip mining complex, including impacts to national forest, without first obtaining necessary approvals

South Fork Coal Company's Rocky Run Surface Mine cutting a gash into the Yew Mountains above the South Fork Cherry River and the community of Richwood. Photo by Andrew Young/ Southwings

Today, a coalition of conservation groups submitted a complaint and public comment objecting to a decision by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection to grant “advanced approval” to two mining companies that want to take over South Fork Coal Company’s permits for operations near the Monongahela National Forest, including a haul road that illegally runs through part of the forest.

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Saving 5 Miles on the Gauley River

Overhead view of the Gauley River and adjacent land that the Arc of Appalachia hopes to conserve. Photo courtesy of Arc of Appalachia

Arc of Appalachia, an Ohio-based nonprofit, launched a campaign to purchase and protect 1,336 acres in Nicholas County, West Virginia. The property includes 5 miles along the Gauley River and 1 mile of Big Beaver Creek.

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American Rivers names Gauley River to America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2025, due to toxic coal mining pollution

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEApril 16, 2025 CONTACTHawk Hammer, National Communications and Media Director, Hhammer@americanrivers.org   Andrew Young, staff attorney for the Allegheny Blue Ridge Alliance (ABRA), ayoung@abralliance.org Dan Radmacher, Media Specialist, Appalachian Voices, (276) 289-1018, dan@appvoices.org  WASHINGTON, D.C. — The threat of toxic pollution from coal strip mining in the headwaters of one of the Gauley’s primary tributaries — the…

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