Why it matters:

EPA opening its eyes to the ravages of Mountaintop Removal Mining is one of the most important developments in recent history.

Recap:

EcoMatters has been keeping a close eye on all things Mountaintop Removal (MTR), the paleolithic practice of blowing off the top of a mountain, picking out the coal, and dumping the “overburden” into adjacent valleys.  We reported earlier about the Obama administration’s approval of several new mining sites.

But today we bring you good news…well, encouraging news anyway.

Owing to a combination of passionate locals, a very vocal environmental community (y’all), and recent “scientific information”  the EPA has taken two important steps toward ending MTR mining.

The first, heralded by groups like ILoveMountains.org, was the agency’s recommendation to deny 79 of its almost 200 permit applications. And while the decision is not final, the move marks a bold new stance for the agency.

And do you know any environmental experts whom have recently found themselves downsized? Or maybe one looking to get in on the cadillac of health insurance that Richard Army has enjoyed for the past 30 years? Well, the EPA wants your nominations for an MTR environmental impact advisory board.

The announcement comes in response to recent reports that MTR and the subsequent “valley-fill” processes “may be linked to degraded water quality and adverse impacts on in-stream biota.”

The ad hoc board will be comprised of industry experts and environmental scientists of applicable disciplines, and will be tasked with compiling an assessment of MTR’s environmental impacts.  The report will address the subjects of stream loss, water quality, and in-stream biota exclusively, and will not be addressing the “cultural, aesthetic, and human impacts” of the practice.

Commentary:

MTR “may be linked to degraded water quality and adverse impacts on in-stream biota?”  That’s a bit like “Getting shot may be linked to excessive bleeding and adverse impacts on the human body.”

But between the EPA’s recommendation to deny many of its pending permits and creating the advisory board, it seems the agency is reevaluating MTR with a much more critical eye.  And while it’s clear to many that the practice is unsustainable at best, and a holocaust at worst, the EPA’s new approach, despite its timidity, is a step in the right direction.

But the board envisioned by the EPA does not sound impartial per se.  As mentioned, the EPA hopes to populate the board with both industry and environmental experts.  The prior seems odd, given that one of the criteria upon which the nominees will be evaluated is an “absense of financial conflicts of interest.”  One would also hope the industry experts will only be providing information about the MTR process, and won’t be asked to speculate on its environmental impacts.  “Fish love coal dust. See? Look, that one just floated to the top and rolled over… He wants more!”

They say Rome wasn’t built in a day.  Well, neither were the Appalachian Mountains, and saving them isn’t going to happen overnight either… So keep up the good fight.

Creative Solutions:

• Nominate your pick for the EPA’s MTR board
• Send a letter to President Obama
• Donate your Facebook Status & Tweet This: “@barackobama Mr President, please come to Appalachia & see the devastation of Mountaintop Removal for yourself www.ran.org/obamamtr #MTR”
• Sign the petition at ilovemountains.org and stopmountaintopremoval.org
• Find out your connection to MTR
• Call your representative
• Send a letter to your local representative
• Support the Clean Water Protection Act
• Support the Appalachia Restoration Act

Tagged as: coal, conservation, Energy, epa, fuel, pollution, power, runoff, toxins, Water