October 20th, 2010

An Environmental Protection Agency regional office in West Virginia has recommended that the Spruce No. 1 mine be denied a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers.

If upheld by the national office, the decision to veto that permit would prohibit Spruce No. 1 from disposing of mining waste in the state’s streams. If the project is scrapped, it will cost Logan County, W.V., an estimated 250 jobs and $250 million in revenue, based on earlier commitments made by mine owner Arch Coal.

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July 8th, 2010

Activists with the Rainforest Action Network staged a sit-in today at EPA headquarters in Washington to protest the passage of a permit that will allow mountaintop removal coal mining in Logan County, West Virginia.

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January 12th, 2010

Green Right Now Reports

A coalition of groups that includes the Sierra Club, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Coal River Mountain Watch and the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, has accused coal mining giant Massey Energy of more than 12,000 violations of the Clean Water Act and mining laws related to its mining operations in West Virginia.

The groups have served the company legal notice that they intend to file a citizens lawsuit against Massey if the company does not clean up the violations in 60 days.

Massey continues to illegally dump pollution into Appalachian waterways, despite a $20 million federal fine imposed for separate, previous environmental violations, the groups reported in a news release on Monday.

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