Victory for Appalachian communities & mountains stops destructive mountaintop removal coal mining!!!

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.earthjustice.org/

To: Earthjustice Supporters
From: Buck Parker, Executive Director
Re: Victory for Appalachian communities & mountains

I am delighted to brighten your day with news of an important victory in our fight to stop hugely destructive mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia.

Today, a federal judge in West Virginia ruled that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers illegally issued permits allowing mining companies to bury streams under millions of tons of waste.

Mountaintop removal scars the landscape and causes environmental and economic tragedy in its wake. This destructive mining practice permanently buries streams, dislocates local residents, decreases the value of homes, and obliterates the forests and natural beauty that have been a cornerstone of Appalachian culture for generations. It is one of the most environmentally destructive practices occurring anywhere in this country today.



In September 2005, Earthjustice and the Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment went to court challenging five mountaintop removal coal mining permits in West Virginia. We believed that the Corps approved these permits without proper evaluation of environmental impacts - which is in violation of the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. Today, the court agreed.

Today's ruling sets a strong precedent and is a first and important step in stopping this shameful destruction. Thank you for helping to make this possible through your support of Earthjustice.

To learn more about this ongoing struggle and meet the people most affected by mountaintop removal , please visit www.StopMountaintopRemoval.org.

Sincerely,



Vawter "Buck" Parker
Executive Director
Earthjustice

[silverweb]

1. Wonderful news!

Now perhaps, some of the damage can be cleaned up.

[Redstone]

2. Good deal. Good deal, indeed. That part of the Appalachians has been raped for far too long,

and the people there have not been able to stop it because they're poor.

This is a significant victory, and I salute all those whose hard work brought it about.

Redstone

[Liberal Jesus Freak]

3. That is great news!

I live in Eastern Kentucky and it is shameful what is happening here. It is a difficult thing to get locals involved since so many are employed by the coal companies, even though no one is happy with mountain-top removal. This is a terrific step!

[MasonJar]

4. Hallelujah! I hope that it applies to Kentucky strip mining also.

[Lasher]

5. Great news!

Unfortunately I don't think this is going to stop the mountaintop removal just across the river from my house here in southern WV. They already have their permit and it's supposed to start any time now. This one is not listed as any of the ones to which the temporary restraining orders apply, and it looks like this will have an impact on new permits only, other than these.

At least there is a chance some others will be spared this grief.

[Duppers]

6. I'm so sorry to hear this.

Wish we could stop them all.

[winga222]

7. Fantastic news for Eastern Kentucky

I have tons of relatives in Eastern Kentucky, who unfortunately are Repugs. However, they can't defend what's happened to their beautiful mountains.

[JohnnyLib2]

8. One for the people -- and the earth!

[DeepBlueC]

9. I was hoping I would live long enough

to see this happen. Halle LOO-LOO-LOO jah. Do you think there will be an appeal?

[GliderGuider]

10. Fantastic news!

That practice is a blight on the soul of the United States. I hope the ruling acts as a precedent for other states.

Congratulations!

[YankeyMCC]

11. Nice to get a win now and then nt

[MLFerrell]

12. I have a friend who is doing his doctoral research on Mountain Top Removal.

And from what he's told me, the practice is far, far more damaging than is currently accepted. I can't wait to read his dissertation.

This is a step in the right direction with respect to stopping the rape of my state.

[petunia.here]

13. Wonderful news!

Those mountains hold all my childhood camping memories. I didn't even know this was going on until a couple of years ago. ...and when I did, all I could do was cry. How any living being can look at a mountaintop removal site and see a good thing is beyond my comprehension. Just the name alone made the hairs on the back of my neck stand. I thought surely they don't really mean to take off the whole mountain top. Then I saw the pictures. Just disgusting. I don't really have the words to adequately describe the feeling I had viewing those pics. I could feel it in the pit of my stomach. Geez, how sad that I could say that about several other series of pics we've all seen of the last several years.

Environmental issues are what got me first interested in politics but boy have I been sidetracked with this administration. Just trying to keep up to date with all the corruption is a full time job.
Thanks so much for posting this. It's been a while since I checked in to see how this was progressing.
Great news!