Published: April 17, 2008 06:41 am            

Environmentalists peition to block mining permits in W.V.

CHARLESTON, WV — Environmental groups have asked a federal judge to block permits issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for three mountaintop removal mines in West Virginia.

In a petition filed Wednesday in federal court, lawyers for the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and several other groups allege that the permits “suffer from the same defects” that U.S. District Judge Chuck Chambers cited in March 2007 when he rescinded permits issued to four Massey Energy Co. mines.

Chambers had ruled that the corps violated federal law by issuing valley fill permits for mountaintop removal mines without conducting extensive environmental reviews. The corps had maintained that more extensive reviews weren’t necessary for the permits and that mitigation techniques such as restoring streams would offset losses.

The ruling has been appealed to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va.

Permits targeted in Wednesday’s filing were issued for Tyler Morgan LLC’s Fourmile 2 and 3 mines near Standard in Kanawha County, Independence Coal Co.’s Twilight mine near Lindytown in Raleigh County, and Fola Coal Co.’s Ike Fork No. 1 and Ike Fork No. 2 mines in Nicholas and Clay counties.

The petition seeks a temporary restraining order to block the permits for 10 days. It also asks Chambers to order the corps to provide the groups with copies of the permits for Tyler Morgan’s and Independence Coal’s operations. The petition alleges that the corps has refused to provide the copies, preventing the groups from reviewing the permits.

        

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