## EPA Issues Comprehensive Guidance to Protect Appalachian Communities From Harmful Environmental Impacts of Mountain Top Mining

Release date: 04/01/2010

Contact Information: EPA Press Office, press@epa.gov

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protecti on Agency (EPA) today announced a set of actions to further clarify and str engthen environmental permitting requirements for Appalachian mountaintop remo val and other surface coal mining projects, in coordination with federal and state regulatory agencies. Using the best available science and following the law, the compr ehensive guidance sets clear benchmarks for preventing significant and irreversible dama ge to Appalachian watersheds at risk from mining activity.

Mountaintop removal is a form of surface c oal mining in which explosives are used to access coal seams, generating large volumes of waste that bury adj acent streams. The resulting waste that then f ills valleys and streams can significantly compromise water quality, often causing permanent damage to ecosystems and rendering streams unfit for swimming, fishing and drinking. It is estimat ed that almost 2,000 miles of Appalachian

headwater streams have been buried by mountaintop coal mining.

"The people of Appalachia shouldn't hav e to choose between a clean, healthy

environment in which to raise their fam ilies and the jobs they need to support them. That’s why EPA is providing even greater cl arity on the direction the agency is taking to confront pollution from mountain top remova l,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson.

“We will continue to work with all stakeholders to find a way forwar d that follows the science and the law. Getting this right is impo rtant to Americans who rely on affordable coal to power homes and businesses, as well as coal communities that count on jobs and a livable environment, both during mining and after coal companies move to other

sites.”

EPA’s Actions:

• Improved Guidance and Clarity : EPA is communicating comprehensive guidance to its regional offices with permitting responsibility in Appalachian states. The guidance clarifies existing r equirements of the Section 402 and 404 Clean Water Act permitting programs that apply to pollution from surface coal mining operations in streams and we tlands. The guidance details EPA’s responsibilities and how the agency uses its Clean Water Act (CWA) authorities to ensure that future mining will not caus e significant environmental, water quality and human health impacts. EPA also expects this information will provide improved consistency and predictability in the CWA permitting process and help to strengthen coordination with other f ederal and state regul atory agencies andmining companies.

• Strong Science : EPA is making publicly ava ilable two scientific reports prepared by its Office of Research and Development (ORD). One summarizes the aquatic impacts of mountaintop mini ng and valley fills. The second report establishes a scientific benchmark for unacceptable levels of conductivity (a measure of water pollution from mining pr actices) that thr eaten stream life in surface waters. These reports are being published for public comment and submitted for peer review to the EPA Science Advisory Board.

• Increased transparency : EPA is creating a permit tr acking Web site so that the public can determine the status of mining permits subjec t to the EPA-U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Enhanced Coordination Procedure (ECP).

A growing body of scientific literature, including previous and new studies performed by EPA, show significant damage to local stream s that are polluted with the mining runoff from mountaintop removal. To protect wate r quality, EPA has identified a range of conductivity (a measure of the level of salt in the water) of 300 to 500 microSiemens per

centimeter. The maximum benchmark conductivi ty of 500 microSiemens per centimeter is a measure of salinity that is roughly five times above normal levels. The conductivity levels identified in the clarifying guidance are intended to protect 95 percent of aquatic life and fresh water streams in central Appalachia.

EPA will solicit public comments on the new guidance. The guidance will be effective immediately on an interim basis. EPA will deci de whether to modify the guidance after consideration of public comm ents and the results of the SAB technical review of the EPA scientific reports.

The EPA guidance identifies improvements in mining practices and operations that will reduce adverse impacts on water quality. EPA will continue to work with coal companies that are interested in modifying their projec ts to reduce their environmental footprint and prevent harm to water quality and human healt h. Earlier this year, EPA approved the Hobet 45 permit in West Virginia. Working with the mining company, EPA was able to reduce stream impacts by almost 50 perc ent and minimize mine runoff into surface waters. Those changes helped permanently pr otect local waters, maximize coal recovery and reduce costs for the operators.

In contrast, EPA recently proposed to signifi cantly restrict or prohibit mountaintop mining at the Spruce No. 1 surface mine in Logan County, W. Va. Attempts at dialogue with the company failed to ensure a signifi cant decrease of environmental and water quality impacts from t he project. The Spruce No. 1 mi ne, as proposed, would bury more than seven miles of headwater streams, dire ctly impact 2,278 acres of forestland, and degrade water quality in streams adjacent to the mine. The project was permitted in 2007 and subsequently delayed by litigation.

EPA’s guidance offers recommendations to it s regions on the application of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to surface c oal mining projects permitted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps is separately announcing plans for rulemaking toexpand the scope of NEPA review. EPA is supportive of this effort and will work closely with the Corps.

All the documents: http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/guidance/mining.html

Fact Sheet on EPA Guidance and Scientific Reports

Additional Comprehensive Guidance

EPA is issuing comprehensive guidance clarifyi ng the standards that its regional offices should apply in permitting reviews of Appalachian surface coal mining projects under the Clean Water Act (CWA). This guidance di rects EPA field staff to coordinate with their federal and state regulat ory partners to strengthen t he environmental review of new Appalachian surface coal mining proj ects and to improve protection of the

communities’ local water and environmen t. More specifically, the guidance:

• Incorporates the latest scientific information in clarifying how CWA permits should assure compliance with existing wa ter quality standards to protect the use of streams by communities and to ensure healthy aquatic life.

• Clarifies how CWA requirements apply to t he disposal of mining overburden in

streams to reduce the size and number of valley fills, to limit water quality contamination of streams near mining operations, and to prevent significant environmental degradation of streams and wetlands.

• Improves opportunities fo r the voices of adversely affected Appalachian communities to be heard in the proce ss of reviewing proposed new mining operations.

EPA Releases Two Draft Scientific Reports for Public Comment

• Field-Based Aquatic Life Benchmark for Conductivity

This draft report adapts EPA’s traditional approac h for developing water quality criteria to field data in central Appalachia in order to develop a conductivity benchmark protective of stream life in Appalachian surf ace waters. Conductivity is a measure of the level of salinity (salt) in the water. There are mining mate rials that are dumped or runoff into water that can raise the salinity level t hat turns fresh water into salty water. When this happens, living organisms have difficulty surviving because they cannot tolerate the high salinity level.

The draft report makes the following conclusions:

• The salinity of water has been shown to negatively affect aquatic organisms (stream life).

• By plotting the conductivity levels at which organisms are no longer observed in streams, we can determine a level of conductivity that results

in their loss. EPA identified a benchm ark of 300 microSiemens per cm (units of conductivity) that protects 95 percent of aquatic organisms living in streams in central Appalachia.

• EPA derived this benchmark using more than 2,000 field samplescollected in West Virginia. These resu lts were validated using data from Kentucky.

• Although the method is applicable to any region, the value 300 is only applicable to Central Appalachian stream s containing the types of salts

found in those streams.

• Additional analyses demonstrate that the observed effects on the aquatic community are due types of salts that are consistent with minerals leached from mountaintop mining oper ations and not to other variables that were

evaluated.

• Mountaintop Mining / Valley Fill Impacts Report

EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) conducted a literature review of peer-reviewed studies focusing on aquatic env ironmental and water quality impacts of mountaintop mining and valley fills. The dr aft report among other conclusions, found:

• Burial of headwater streams by valley fills causes permanent loss of ecosystems.

• Concentrations of salts as measured by conductivity are, on average, 10 times higher downstr eam of mountaintop mines and valley fills than in un-mined watersheds.

• The increased levels of salts di srupt the life cycle of freshwater aquatic organisms and some cannot live in these waters.

• Water with high salt concentrati ons downstream of mountaintop mines and valley fills is toxic to st ream organisms. To date, there is

no evidence that streams that under go a restoration process have returned to their normal ecological functions after the mining is completed.