WVVA TV Bluefield Beckley WV News, Weather and SportsJudge sides with environmental groups in coal case
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Associated Press - November 24, 2009 5:35 PM ET
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - A judge ruled today that the Army Corps of Engineers violated federal environmental laws by failing to give the public enough of a say before issuing permits for mountaintop removal coal mines in the state.
Sierra Club spokesman Oliver Bernstein says the decision issued by US District Judge Chuck Chambers affects most pending surface mine permits in West Virginia.
The corps had no immediate comment. Neither did Consol Energy nor Penn Virginia Resources, the companies that own the operations.
Appalachian coal companies already are dealing with a series of regulatory setbacks, including a decision by the Environmental Protection Agency to subject 79 mountaintop permits to additional scrutiny.
That has cheered environmental groups that argue the surface mining method should be banned.
In the case at hand, Chambers ordered the corps to correct the problem, though he allowed both companies to continue mining.
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