The Washington Independent

Posts Tagged appalachia

Cardin Also Urges a Full Ban on Mountaintop Mining

By | 04.02.10 | 1:06 pm

First it was Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) urging an outright ban on mountaintop mining in lieu of new EPA restrictions. And now Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) is echoing that message, issuing a statement that calls on Congress to take up legislation that More…

Tennessee Republican Calls for Eliminating, Not Just Restricting, Mountaintop Mining

By | 04.02.10 | 11:56 am

Environmentalists might be applauding the Obama administration’s new restrictions on mountaintop coal mining as the most significant step the government has ever taken to rein in the practice. But don’t tell that to Sen. Lamar Alexander. The Tennessee Republican is calling for a full ban (not More…

EPA Sharply Limits Mountaintop Mining

By | 04.01.10 | 6:32 pm

The White House on Thursday took a giant leap toward eliminating new mountaintop coal mining projects in the Appalachian states, issuing strict new guidelines designed to protect headwater streams by curbing the practice of dumping waste in neighboring valleys.

Announcing the changes, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa More…

EPA Proposes Veto of the Largest Mountaintop Mine in West Virginia

By | 03.26.10 | 3:32 pm

In a show that the Obama administration is serious about putting the teeth back into the Clean Water Act, the Environmental Protection Agency today jump-started a process that could kill one of the largest mountaintop coal mining operations ever allowed in Appalachia. The decision — which is already being attacked More…

Prosperity by Destroying the Earth

By | 02.18.10 | 2:21 pm

Here’s Bill Johnson, the longshot Republican vying to replace retiring Sen. Jim Bunning (R) in Kentucky, arguing for the elimination of the EPA:

The Federal Government is standing between the American people and their use of their natural resources. It is time to abolish the Environmental Protection Agency [and] return

More…

The Story of Coal’s Dirty, Deadly Legacy

By | 02.10.10 | 6:00 am

Most of us take it for granted that when we flip the switch, the lights will go on. Sure, we write the electric company a monthly check, but otherwise lend no thought to the source of the power — like urban kids clueless that chicken originates someplace other than the More…

Scientists: Mountaintop Coal Mining Is Decimating Appalachia

By | 01.07.10 | 4:06 pm

Some of the nation’s top environmental scientists are calling on the Obama administration to end the destructive practice of mountaintop coal mining, saying that the environmental holocaust it creates is irreversible.

In an article appearing in the journal Science tomorrow, the scientists will present new evidence they say “unequivocally documents More…

Coal Country Dems to White House: Get Your Act Together

By | 11.11.09 | 5:35 pm

The collision between environmental protection and coal extraction is nothing new to the Appalachian states, which are home to some of the largest coal deposits in the world. But in the middle of an unemployment crisis — and with a new administration showing signs of cracking down harshly More…

EPA to Conduct Full Reviews of Stalled Mountaintop Mining Permits

By | 09.30.09 | 12:30 pm

As Kate pointed out a few weeks back, the Environmental Protection Agency earlier this month stalled 79 applications for new surface mines in the Appalachian Mountains, citing concerns that those operations would harm local water quality. Today, the agency went a step further, announcing in a More…

EPA Puts Brakes on Surface Mining in Appalachia

By | 09.11.09 | 12:49 pm

The EPA just issued a statement announcing that they have extended the review period for 79 surface mining permit applications in Appalachia. This means that the permits will not be streamlined for approval, and is in accordance with the Obama administration’s memorandum issued in June to subject coal-mining permits More…