Senator Carte P. Goodwin issued the following statement upon learning of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region III's recommendation to EPA to veto a permit for Logan County's Spruce Number 1 Mine:
"This veto recommendation by EPA Region III is unacceptable. Four years ago, federal officials approved operations at this site. Since then, Arch Coal invested significant time and resources, armed with the security of federal regulatory approval, only now to face a potential arbitrary permit revocation by another agency -- the EPA. These are West Virginia jobs at stake--the coal industry must be able to take government agencies at their word."