CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A federal judge has declined to step down from hearing more litigation over mountaintop removal coal mining.

U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers ruled that his previous membership in the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy is not a valid reason to force him to recuse himself from the case.

In a Monday order, Chambers cited a previous decision by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that membership in an organization "is not a reasonable reason to question a judge's impartiality."

"I am well within my discretion to continue presiding over this matter," Chambers wrote. "I am certain that I will be able to maintain impartiality and resolve the matter as fairly as any judge within this district."

Lawyers for Fola Coal Co. had asked Chambers to step down from considering a motion by the Highlands Conservancy to block permits for the company's Ike Fork No. 1 and Ike Fork No. 2 surface mines along the Clay-Nicholas County border. A hearing on the conservancy's preliminary injunction request is scheduled to start this morning in Huntington.

The Conservancy action is part of a broader lawsuit that challenges what environmentalists say are lax permit reviews by the Army Corps of Engineers. Chambers previously ruled against the industry and the corps, and two major decisions in that case are being appealed by the Bush administration and coal companies. Chambers is also presiding over two federal court actions in which the Highlands Conservancy seeks to force the coal industry to stop violating water pollution limits for selenium.

Chambers said that, while a member of the state House of Delegates, he made the minimum financial contribution necessary to receive the conservancy's newsletter. He said he may have appeared at public conservancy events, but did not take part in meetings or other activities.

"Although I do not remember precisely when I terminated my membership with the WVHC, I am certain it ended by the time I finished my legislative service and before I was nominated to be a judge," he said.

Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kw...@wvgazette.com or at 348-1702.

U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers ruled that his previous membership in the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy is not a valid reason to force him to recuse himself from the case.

In a Monday order, Chambers cited a previous decision by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that membership in an organization "is not a reasonable reason to question a judge's impartiality."

"I am well within my discretion to continue presiding over this matter," Chambers wrote. "I am certain that I will be able to maintain impartiality and resolve the matter as fairly as any judge within this district."

Lawyers for Fola Coal Co. had asked Chambers to step down from considering a motion by the Highlands Conservancy to block permits for the company's Ike Fork No. 1 and Ike Fork No. 2 surface mines along the Clay-Nicholas County border. A hearing on the conservancy's preliminary injunction request is scheduled to start this morning in Huntington.

The Conservancy action is part of a broader lawsuit that challenges what environmentalists say are lax permit reviews by the Army Corps of Engineers. Chambers previously ruled against the industry and the corps, and two major decisions in that case are being appealed by the Bush administration and coal companies. Chambers is also presiding over two federal court actions in which the Highlands Conservancy seeks to force the coal industry to stop violating water pollution limits for selenium.

Chambers said that, while a member of the state House of Delegates, he made the minimum financial contribution necessary to receive the conservancy's newsletter. He said he may have appeared at public conservancy events, but did not take part in meetings or other activities.

"Although I do not remember precisely when I terminated my membership with the WVHC, I am certain it ended by the time I finished my legislative service and before I was nominated to be a judge," he said.

Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kw...@wvgazette.com or at 348-1702.