KRC protests Kentucky plan to drop coal permits for roads

摘要

The Kentucky Resources Council environmental group sent a Dec. 8 letter to the Office of Surface Mining protesting the state's plan to let coal operators stop permitting public roads used by coal trucks as part of their mining operations. This fall, the state submitted a program amendment to OSM that revises its definition of "affected area" so that all state and local roads are eliminated from mining rules in relation to their use by coal-hauling trucks. KRC head Tom FitzGerald said this change should be rejected because it is not allowed under federal regulations.