Arch Coal Defends Its Permit

The Gazette reports that Arch Coal has gone to federal district court to ask for a ruling that the EPA does not have the authority to withdraw the NPDES permit for its Spruce No. 1 Mine. As has been widely reported, the Spruce No. 1 is one of the largest mountaintop mines ever permitted, but EPA recently announced that it intended to veto the permit because of the expected effects on the State's water quality. This case is likely to bring to a head much of the controversy surrounding EPA's attack on mountaintop mining. It will certainly require close scrutiny of the new guidance that EPA has issued with regard to mining discharges, which I blogged about yesterday.

Bob McLusky will be the attorney defending Arch. They are in good hands.