Congressman slams halt on mountaintop-removal related permits

This announcement comes more than a year ater a March 2009 U.S. District Court decision ruled these permits illegal. Environmental activists characterize the permit as giving blanket authorization for mountaintop-removal coal mines to dump their mining waste in streams and waterways.

 

U. S. Rep. Zack Space, D-Dover, on Friday blasted a decision by the Army Corps of Engineers that immediately suspends the use of Nationwide Permit 21 (NWP 21) in Appalachia.

 

According to a release from the Corps, NWP 21 is used to authorize discharges of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States for surface coal mining activities, and is oten associated with “mountaintop removal” mining operations.

The suspension is effective immediately in the Appalachian region of Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Nationwide Permit 21 continues to be available in other regions of the country.

The suspension in Appalachia will remain in effect until the Corps takes further action on Nationwide Permit 21, or until the permit expires on March 18, 2012.

This announcement comes more than a year ater a March 2009 U.S. District Court decision ruled these permits illegal. Environmental activists characterize the permit as giving blanket authorization for mountaintop-removal coal mines to dump their mining waste in streams and waterways.

Activists who monitor mountaintop removal say they’re not aware of any going on in Space’s 18th Ohio District. Space said, however, that the suspension of the permit is an outrage.

“This suspension unfairly targets a region in which mining is a way of life,” he said in a release. “What this decision does is restrict mining practices and eliminate this type of mining as a viable way to make a living in Appalachia.”

He said working families in the Appalachian region should be provided with every possible opportunity to make an honest living and put food on the table.

“Now is not the time to hold our region back,” he argued. He called on the Corps to immediately reverse what he described as a disastrous decision. He also said steps need to be taken to ensure that Appalachian coal has a future in the nation’s energy portfolio.

According to the Corps, while the suspension is in effect, individuals who propose surface coal mining projects involving discharges of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States will have to obtain Department of the Army authorization under the Clean Water Act, through the Individual Permit process.

On June 11, 2009, the U.S. Department of the Army, U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency all signed onto a memorandum of understanding, agreeing to work together to reduce the adverse environmental impacts of surface coal mining activities in the Appalachian region, the release said.

As a part of the MOU, the Corps agreed to issue a public notice to seek comment on the proposed action to suspend the use of NWP 21 in the Appalachian region.

On July 15, 2009, a Federal Register notice was published soliciting public comment on the Corps’ proposal to modify NWP 21. he notice also proposed to suspend NWP 21 in order to provide more immediate environmental protection while the longer-term process of modification is fully evaluated.

The comment period was extended in response to many requests, and public hearings were conducted in October 2009 in each of the six affected states.

About 6,000 people reportedly attended the public hearings, with about 400 offering oral testimony. he Corps received approximately 23,000 comments during the comment period that ended Oct. 26, 2009, of which, the release said, 1,750 were substantive comments that were nearly evenly divided for and against the proposed modification and suspension actions.

“The Corps determined ater a thorough review and consideration of comments that continuing use of NWP 21 in this region may result in more than minimal impacts to aquatic resources,” the release said.

Activities with this level of impact must be assessed through individual permit procedures, the release said; “therefore, NWP 21 has been suspended in this region and coalmining activities impacting waters of the U.S. in this region will be evaluated in accordance with individual permit procedures.”

Space is seeking re-election to Ohio’s 18 th Congressional District seat in November. His opponent, Ohio state Sen. Bob Gibbs, R-Lakeville, said opposition to the Corps’ decision regarding NWP 21 is one issue he and Space can agree on.

Gibbs said that when the Corps had a hearing on the matter in Cambridge, he was the only elected official to testify against the suspension on issuing permits. Gibbs alleged that Space was not at the hearing and didn’t send a representative either.

“When the Corps was having their hearings, where was Space?” Gibbs asked. “I went down there and testified how important it was to keep issuing those permits and keep our coal industry going and keep the jobs going.”

With regard to mountaintop removal, Gibbs said he’s not an expert but he doesn’t believe it is going on in Ohio.

“Obviously I support the coal industry for our energy needs,” he said. “We can do a lot of things in this country protecting the environment while at the same time keeping a viable coal industry, and reliable and affordable electric.”