EVEN as public opinion in the US turns against coal, judges have overturned a ban on blasting away mountaintops to get at seams.
In the central Appalachians, including West Virginia, mining companies have lopped up to 300 metres off hundreds of mountains, destroying biologically diverse hardwood forest. The debris is often dumped into valleys, sometimes burying streams in the process.
A lawsuit filed by the (OVEC) based in Huntington, West Virginia, argued that such valley fills violate the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, and a US district court ruled in their favour in March 2007. But on 13 February, a .
Advertisement
OVEC is now deciding whether to go to the US Supreme Court. 鈥淢eanwhile, we will redouble our efforts to educate the public on this national disgrace,鈥� says Vivian Stockman, OVEC project coordinator.
