Is The Diamond Darter West Virginia's Next Endangered Species?

On July 26, 2012  the Department of the Interior proposed listing the Diamond Darter as an endangered species and to designate portions of the lower  Elk River as critical habitat:  Here is the start of the  Federal Register notice

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, propose to list the diamond darter (Crystallaria cincotta) as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act); and propose to designate critical habitat for the species. In total, approximately 197.1 river kilometers (122.5 river miles) are being proposed for designation as critical habitat. The proposed critical habitat is located in Kanawha and Clay Counties, West Virginia, and Edmonson, Hart, and Green Counties, Kentucky.

The Notice includes the following findings, for which the Department of the Interior was seeking comment

We have made the following finding related to these criteria:
• Diamond darter is endangered by water quality degradation; habitat loss; inadequate existing regulatory mechanisms; a small population size that makes the species vulnerable to the effects of the spread of an invasive alga (Didymosphenia geminate); loss of genetic fitness; and catastrophic events, such as oil and other toxic spills. This rule proposes to designate critical habitat for the diamond darter.
• Critical habitat designation would not be expected to increase threats to the species, and we have sufficient scientific information on the diamond darter to determine the areas essential to, and essential for, its conservation. Accordingly, we have determined the designation of critical habitat is both prudent and determinable.
• In total, we propose to designate approximately 197.1 river kilometers (122.5 miles) as critical habitat. The proposed critical habitat is located in Kanawha and Clay Counties, West Virginia, and Edmonson, Hart, and Green Counties, Kentucky.

The West Virginia Coal Association and the Department of Environmental Protection filed comments  opposing the listing.  The DEP noted that coal mining was identified as a threat to the diamond darter's existence, but little of the Elk River watershed has been mined. The DEP also said that the diamond darter's survival to the present means that it has come through worse water  quality conditions than presently exist, and that the demise of the diamond darter has largely occurred in streams with impoundments, which allow silt to settle and cover the substrate, while the Elk is largely undammed. The Coal Association contends that there is no evidence that the current environmental regulations are failing to protect the darter, that the determinations of the water quality necessary to support the darter are  based on studies of related species, not the diamond darter, and there is no evidence that conductivity levels in the Elk pose a problem to the darter.