CHARLESTON, WV – “During her appearance this afternoon at the National Press Club in Washington, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson got a question about what her agency plans to do about mountaintop removal. Her comments didn’t make especially big news, especially given EPA’s statement in my Sunday story, but I thought I would pass them along anyway.”
[Excerpt from U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson's statement:]
The EPA is currently in the process of reviewing those mountaintop mining permits that have been held through years and years, almost decades would be a fairer way to say it, of litigation…
What we’re finding at EPA is that the process of filling the streams has a detrimental impact on water quality and as you might expect the more you fill, the more likely you’re going to see problems with water quality.
I’m really proud of the fact that EPA has stepped forward and said we’re going to review each and every one of these outstanding permits to try to minimize, if not end, any environmental degradation to the water. Because, after all, for EPA … EPA doesn’t regulate mining. We fight for clean water under the Clean Water Act. So our role is limited to ensuring that these projects if they’re approved do not have a detrimental impact on clean water. We’ll continue to do that.
- Ken Ward Jr., Coal Tattoo, Charleston Gazette
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