Under Pressure, Army Corps Suspends Fill Permit for
Virginia Mountaintop Removal Coal Mine
Community members praise decision to protect streams, residents
Big Stone Gap, Virginia – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has informed A&G Coal company of Wise County, Virginia that it will be suspending its previously granted “Nationwide 21” permit for dumping waste into streams at the proposed Ison Rock Ridge surface coal mine in Southwest Virginia. In a letter released today, the Army Corps informed A&G that the suspension is due to the “significant lapse of time” between federal approval and state review and because of concerns raised by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as to the cumulative impacts of the mine.
The Army Corps’ action this week follows a letter from the EPA asking the Army Corps to revoke the permit – which had been approved by the Army Corps in August 2007 – because of concerns of inadequate mitigation and the overall cumulative impacts of surface mining in the Powell River Watershed.
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