EPA Issues Final Guidance to Protect Water Quality in Appalachian Communities from Impacts of Mountaintop Mining / Agency to provide flexibility while protecting environment a...
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
today released final guidance on Appalachian surface coal mining,
designed to ensure more consistent, effective, and timely review of
surface coal mining permits under the Clean Water Act and other
statutes. The guidance, which replaces the interim-final guidance
issued by EPA on April 1, 2010, is based on the best-available
science and incorporates input and feedback from over 60,000
comments received from the public and key stakeholders. By
providing EPA’s regional offices with the latest information
on existing legal requirements, the guidance enables them to work
together with states, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, mining
companies, and the public towards a balanced approach that protects
communities from harmful pollution associated with coal mining. EPA
will apply the guidance flexibly, taking into account site-specific
information and additional science to arrive at the best decisions
on a case-by-case basis.
The science forming the basis for the interim-final guidance was
also successfully applied in a number of mining decisions,
including the Hobet 45 permit in West Virginia where EPA worked
closely with a company to eliminate nearly 50 percent of their
stream impacts, reduce contamination and lower mining costs.
Successful outcomes resulting from the Corps' Coal Mac-Pine Creek
permit decision also provide evidence that the practices in the
interim guidance are both feasible and effective.
“Under this guidance, EPA will continue to work with other
federal agencies, states, local communities, and companies to
design mining operations that adequately protect our nation’s
waters and people's health,” said Nancy Stoner, acting
assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Water. “We
have a responsibility under the law to protect water quality and
this guidance allows EPA to work with companies to meet that goal,
based on the best science.”
EPA’s final guidance reflects
significantly enhanced science, extensive public comment and
experience working with federal and state agencies and mining
companies. It is based on improved, peer-reviewed science on
impacts of mountaintop mining; extensive public and stakeholder
input; and, lessons learned from the implementation of the interim
guidance. The final guidance, like the interim guidance, is not a
rule and is not binding legally or in practice.
EPA is committed to working with coal companies and stakeholders to
reduce and prevent harm to water quality and human health and over
the past two and a half years, EPA has built a strong foundation,
working with federal and state agencies and mining companies to
significantly reduce impacts to the environment.
• In January 2010, EPA worked with the Corps on the Hobet 45
permit in West Virginia to reduce stream impacts by almost 50
percent and minimize mine runoff into surface waters.
• In June 2010, EPA worked to ensure that the permit issued
for the Pine Creek mine included an enforceable trigger for
protecting downstream water quality and ensuring that the overall
mining operation could protect water quality.
• In July 2011, EPA worked with Mid-Vol, Inc. and the West
Virginia Department of Environmental Protection to develop a Clean
Water Act Section 402 permit that includes limits on ionic
pollution to protect water quality.
Mountaintop mining is a form of surface coal mining in which
explosives are used to access coal seams, generating large volumes
of waste that bury adjacent streams. The resulting waste that then
fills valleys and streams can significantly compromise water
quality, often causing permanent damage to ecosystems and rendering
streams unfit for drinking, fishing, and swimming. It is estimated
that almost 2,000 miles of Appalachian headwater streams have been
buried by mountaintop coal mining.
To view the final guidance: http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/guidance/mining.html
To view a copy of EPA’s Final Conductivity Benchmark Report
as well as the Science Advisory Board’s final review:
http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=233809