Fate of W.Va. mine could be same for Wise Co.

In a notice released Friday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed to veto the valley fill permit for a large West Virginia surface mine at the center of the controversy over mountaintop mining.

The Spruce No. 1 Mine, which is in Logan County and owned by a subsidiary of Arch Coal, is the largest ever permitted in Appalachia, according to the EPA, and it affects 2,278 acres and more than seven miles of stream.

It contains six valley fills, which are sites where excess dirt and rock from a surface mine are deposited.

To environmentalists, the mine is a prime example of the size and scale of destructive mining in the region; to the industry it’s an example of how the permitting process has reached a point of absurdity.

“EPA Region III is taking this action because it believes, despite all the regulatory processes intended to protect the environment, that construction of Spruce No. 1 Mine as authorized would destroy streams and habitat, cause significant degradation of on-site and downstream water quality, and could therefore result in unacceptable adverse impacts to wildlife and fishery resources,” according to the EPA document.

The notice commences a 60-day public comment period in a process that could result in an EPA veto of the valley fill permit or a more restrictive permit.

In a statement released Friday, Arch promised to defend its permit “by all legal means.”

“After various efforts over the past few months to address EPA’s concerns with the Spruce permit, Arch Coal is disappointed that EPA has chosen to take the unprecedented action to initiate the veto process … against a validly issued and existing permit,” according to the statement.

“The spruce permit is the most scrutinized and fully considered permit in West Virginia’s history. The 13-year permitting process included the preparation of a full environmental impact statement, the only permit in the eastern coal fields to ever undergo such review,” it continues.

The permit was issued in 2007.

Ted Pile, spokesman for Abingdon, Va.-based coal company Alpha Natural Resources, said the decision has no direct impact on other companies and permits, but everyone is watching to see what happens.

“All it does is add further uncertainty to coal mining and, through that, the whole [positive] impact we have on coalfield economies,” he said.

Pile said that in the 37-year history of the Clean Water Act, this veto process has never been used on an issued permit.

In Wise County, Va., Kathy Selvage, vice president of Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, which opposes surface mining, said the EPA’s proposed determination makes her feel “hopeful.”

“I am ecstatic for the bold, historic move that the EPA has made today,” she said. “I think it is worth noting that we have surface mines in Wise County and Southwest Virginia that are just as important.”

At the center of the controversy in Virginia is a proposed surface mine on Ison Rock Ridge that comprises roughly 1,300 acres.

“It bodes well for Ison Rock Ridge and how they’re treating surface mining permits in general,” said Adam Wells, also speaking for Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards.

The EPA, in the document detailing its proposed determination, also discusses the cumulative effect of various mining operations in the area – a point that’s been made over and over in recent months by environmentalists seeking to put a stop to surface mining – in particular mountaintop mining, or the lowering of mountain ridges to remove the coal inside.

It also devoted several pages to another topic that’s been a favorite of environmentalists: “environmental justice,” pointing to a need for more information about the negative effects on the lives and culture of people in the area around mining operations.

Oliver Bernstein, spokesman for the Sierra Club, said the logical next step will be for the federal government to ban valley fills – effectively putting an end to large-scale surface mining.

“I think they’re taking the science very seriously and they’re taking the impact very seriously,” Bernstein said of the EPA. “The next step is just to end the practice altogether.”

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