Court Favors EPA on Mountaintop Removal

By Brian Sewell A federal appeals court ruled unanimously in July that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to coordinate with other federal agencies during the mountaintop removal permitting process. In 2009, the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began coordinating their review of permits associated with large-scale mountaintop removal coal…

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New Research and Lawsuits Keep Mountaintop Removal in the Spotlight

By Brian Sewell While battles over mountaintop removal permits reach their boiling point and lawsuits are filed and settled, new research revealing the environmental costs continues to pile up. In September, a study by Duke University, Kent State University and the Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies compared the environmental toll of mountaintop removal to the…

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Court Rulings Favor Clean Water

By Brian Sewell Two consecutive court rulings in April affirmed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to veto mountaintop removal valley fill permits and called for increased scrutiny of the practice’s environmental impacts during the permitting process. On April 22, the 6th U.S. Court of Appeals revoked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ use of…

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