Federal Judge Says EPA Exceeded Authority Revoking Spruce Mine Permit
Reported by: Associated Press
Web Producer: Mamie Buoy
Reported: Mar. 23, 2012 4:49 PM EDT
Eyewitness News Photo
Morgantown
, West Virginia
A federal judge has ruled the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency exceeded its authority in revoking permits for what could now become West Virginia's largest mountaintop removal mine.
In a ruling Friday, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington D.C., ruled in favor of St. Louis based Arch Coal. She said that a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers water pollution permit for the Spruce No. 1 Mine in Logan County was valid.
The EPA vetoed the corps' permit for the mine in January 2011, saying it would cause irreparable damage to the environment.
The move enraged both the coal industry and West Virginia politicians, several of whom have since introduced bills to try rein in the EPA.
Arch spokeswomen Kim Link says the company is pleased with the decision.
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Associated Press
