(Mining pollution in WV stream. Photo by J. Henry Fair)

Finally, an environmental victory we can all celebrate, because it’s a real victory. Yesterday,  the EPA said it would no longer issue permits as before for valley fills. Valley fill refers to the rubble and rocks blown up with the detonations that blow off the tops of mountains. The debris falls into the valleys, (these are mostly in Appalachia) and into streams and rivers, destroying the ecosystems and polluting the environment. This ruling was far overdue, but the EPA was very methodical about it, making sure their legal standing was air-tight before the announcement.   This is great news,  but now we need legislation ending mountaintop removal once and for all.  (See what Appalachia Voices has to say about that below).  From SolveClimate, discussing the EPA’s conference call about it yesterday:

“. . . . in a conference call with journalists, just an hour after the administration for the first time finalized regulations setting limits on greenhouse gas emissions from cars, officials spelled out guidelines that they acknowledged would make it virtually impossible for mining companies in Appalachia to carry on with business as usual.”

The Obama administration effectively stopped one of the most destructive industries in America, proposing new environmental guidelines for mountaintop mining removal that will make it nearly impossible for business as usual to continue. And if business as usual can’t continue with coal mining, the price of using coal for energy will skyrocket, and it will open the door wide open for renewables to fill the gap. Renewable energy is already getting less expensive and this ruling could lead to a new solar panel and wind turbine installation boom this summer.  More from SolveClimate:

In recent years, opposition to the practice has spread from local activists to celebrities, with Robert Kennedy Jr. and Darryl Hannah [and James Hansen]  demanding an end to the method.

Lisa Jackson, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, said(yesterday) that  it is unlikely that valley fills would meet the new standards.

“You are talking about either no or very few valley fills that are going to be able to meet standards like this,” she said. “What the science is telling us is that it would be untrue to say you can have any more than minimal valley fill and not see irreversible damage to stream health.”

Jackson said the new guidelines were not intended to end coal mining.  But she admitted it would be hard work for mining companies to meet the new standard.

“They are going to require folks to roll up their sleeves to protect water quality,” she said. “We believe that they are often going to need adjustment to projects proposed because of these new guidelines.”

The guidelines laid out by Jackson . . . would set limits on conductivity in streams near mining sites. The electrical conductivity [...]