Environmentalists Sue Over Mining Rule Change

December 23, 2008 6:45 a.m. EST

Washington, DC (AHN) - A group of 11 environmental organizations sued the Bush administration for its last minute rule change regarding mountaintop mining.

The rule change, the groups say, makes it easier for mining companies to dump rock and dirt from mining operations near rivers and streams. The changes allow companies to dump the debris within 100 miles of water systems.

But a mining industry group said the rule changes only clarify existing regulations and that the 100-mile buffer zone was never intended to include so-called "dry patches," the Courier-Journal reported.

The Environmental Protection Agency had said the rule change was intended to reduce the environmental impacts of surface mining by providing "mining operators clear standards for mining near bodies of water." Surface mining is the practice of blasting the tops and sides of mountains to access the underlying coal.

The environmental groups who filed the suit in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. said the EPA and the U.S. Department of Interior violated environmental regulations under the Clean Water Act and that the EPA failed to fulfill its duties when it signed off on the change, which was proposed by the Interior Department's Office of Surface Mining.

"The notion that coal mining companies can dump their wastes in streams without degrading them is a fantasy that the Bush administration is now trying to write into law," said Judith Petersen of Kentucky Waterways Alliance in a statement. "What part of the goal of the Clean Water Act: To restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters, did EPA not understand when it approved this rule?"

The rule change was published in the Federal Register on Dec. 12 and will go into effect on Jan. 12.