EPA Region 3 Recommends Withdrawing Permit for West Virginia Mountaintop Mine

摘要

The Environmental Protection Agency on Oct. 15 released a recommendation by its Region 3 administrator to withdraw a permit issued for the Spruce No. 1 mountaintop coal mine in West Virginia.rnThe recommendation declared that disposal of an estimated 110 million cubic yards of debris into headwater stream ecosystems is likely to have "unacceptable adverse effects on wildlife."rnThe 84-page document, signed by Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin Sept. 24, said the disposal of the mining waste also would be likely to impair downstream waters and contribute to algae blooms that could kill fish and other aquatic life.