Statement on federal rule for disposing mining waste in Appalachia streams

The Office of Surface Mining today proposed a rule that relaxes the standards that coal-mine operators must apply when disposing of the millions of tons of waste resulting from all types of coal mining, including mountaintop removal.  Rather than providing protection for streams, however, the modified “stream buffer zone” rule weakens existing standards and makes it easier for operators to continue dumping waste in headwater streams.  

Statement by SELC’s Mary Cromer:

“What the Office of Surface Mining is proposing is a giant step backwards – like about 25 years.  We’ve lost too many streams already, hundreds, in fact. This would virtually give the industry a free pass to wipe out hundreds more.  That’s especially troubling for Southwest Virginia and Eastern Tennessee, where water quality still suffers from decades of coal mining.

“This proposal applies to waste from all types of coal mining in Appalachia, not just mountaintop removal, so a lot of communities would be affected.

“The rule pays lip service to protecting the environment, when in fact it contains a laundry list of exemptions and exceptions, stripping pretty much any water quality safeguards from the books."

The stream buffer zone rule went into effect in 1983, but has been weakened over time. A 2005 EPA study found that between 1992 and 2002, 724 miles of headwater streams in Appalachia were completely buried.  The proposed rule updates this figure with newer data: 342 miles of Appalachian headwaters are slated to be buried from permits issued from October 2001 to June 2005  Exemptions for mining through waters of the U.S., mine waste sediment ponds, and valley fills as proposed by OSM would leave nothing left of the rule.

The OSM has set a 60-day public comment period on the proposed rule.