Register Herald - Capito Comments In Register-Herald Story On EPA Move To Delay Mining Permits

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The Obama administration put the brakes on 79 applications for surface coal mining permits in four states Wednesday, saying they would violate the Clean Water Act.

Twenty-three of the pending permits are in West Virginia, all in the southern coalfields...

The applications now go to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which will coordinate changes to reduce potential damage. The aim is to avoid environmental damage and meet the country's energy and economic needs, Peter Silva, EPA's assistant administrator for water, wrote in a letter to the corps.

The coal industry estimates mountaintop mines in Appalachia produce 130 million tons of coal a year, most of which goes to generate electricity for 24.7 million customers in the East and South.

"Coal mining throughout Appalachia cannot reassure thousands of anxious workers and their families, and we cannot plan for the economic future of our operations absent a workable, transparent process that provides certainty," National Mining Association President Hal Quinn said in a statement.

"EPA's answer of more delay and study is at cross-purposes with our nation's need for affordable energy, investments and secure jobs."

The United Mine Workers also criticized the delay...

All 79 permits were on a preliminary list released by the EPA on Sept. 11. They cover applications for surface coal mines in West Virginia, Kentucky (49 applications), Ohio (six) and Tennessee (one). West Virginia and Kentucky rank second and third in U.S. coal production behind Wyoming.

"People all over West Virginia can't believe this is happening," West Virginia Coal Association President Bill Raney said in a statement. "They don't understand why Washington is willing to kill off good-paying jobs when our economy is still on the ropes and the unemployment rate is still unacceptably high."

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., termed the action "another blow" to the coal industry.

"We've seen a slow bleed of coal jobs throughout the state and announcements like this certainly don't offer much hope for turning around that trend," the 2nd District representative said.

"We will continue to see a backlog of permits that threatens to choke off investment and jeopardize jobs throughout the region."

The EPA's announcement failed to mention any binding deadline for resolving the pending permits, Capito emphasized.

"Miners can't meet a standard that has yet to be clearly identified," she said.

"There has to be an end game. Yet, right now, all we have is 'further review.'"

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