To the delight of all of us who oppose mountaintop removal coal mining -- and to the chagrin of Arch Coal company -- the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today issued its "proposed determination" to block the Clean Water Act permit for the Spruce No. 1 Mine, the largest mountaintop removal permit in West Virginia history. EPA made its initial move to reject this project back in October by taking the unprecedented step of invoking its regulatory authority to veto a previously issued CWA permit. The agency did so due to concerns about massive water quality impacts expected to result from a series of mega-valley fills. Based on today's action, the agency's concerns persist.
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