New Proposal to Aid Mountaintop Mining
AP 30apr02
| Mindfully.org note: Q: Where does a mountain top go when it's blown off with an enormous amount of explosives? A: It goes down onto whatever is below, whether it be trees, animals, a river, stream, or houses. It creates a significant amount of dust as well as polluting the water. One industry representative was callous enough to state that mountaintop removal would have a positive impact on the economies of local communities because it would be creating large flat areas for economic development in regions with mountainous terrain. BIG boxes like Mall-Wart could move right in and provide those much-needed jobs. |
WASHINGTON, April 29 — The Bush administration is considering a second rule change that environmentalists say will further encourage mountaintop mining, an efficient but destructive way to get coal.
The proposal by the Interior Department's Office of Surface Mining would exempt mountaintop mining from a rule banning coal mining within 100 feet of streams.
Mountaintop mining, most prevalent in Kentucky and West Virginia, involves shearing off the tops of ridges to expose coal seams. Dirt and rocks are pushed into nearby stream beds, a practice known as valley fill.
The Office of Surface Mining proposed in an April 11 memorandum to modify the stream rule "to preclude any possibility that it might be interpreted as a prohibition on placement of excess spoil fills in streams."
The agency released the memorandum after environmentalists circulated an earlier version today.
Last week, environmentalists released a separate Environmental Protection Agency memorandum showing that the administration was also considering eliminating an Army Corps of Engineers rule banning the dumping of mining and other industrial waste into waterways.
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