In West Virginia, mining companies are literally moving mountains to uncover valuable, low sulfur coal reserves.
Mountaintop removal has become the dominant form of surface mining in the state. Coal operators are blasting off hilltops, and dumping leftover rock and dirt into nearby valleys.
An untold amount of the state has been flattened, and hundreds of miles of streams have been buried. Find out more in this Special Report.
May 14, 2013
Coal production in Southern West Virginia and the rest of central Appalachia will continue ...
May 7, 2013
Seventeen national, regional and local environmental groups this week urged the Obama administratio ...
April 29, 2013
ST. LOUIS -- A long-awaited bankruptcy hearing began Monday in which a St. Louis-based co ...
April 25, 2013
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Two years ago, federal mining engineers found potentially serious safety concer ...
April 23, 2013
Law gives agency power over permits, 3-0 ruling says
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was clearly within its legal authority when it rejected a ...
April 22, 2013
A federal appeals court has criticized a streamlined permit process used by the U.S. Army Corps of ...
April 20, 2013
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Scientists backed by a $15 million industry-funded research project are picking ...
April 19, 2013
The Obama administration said Friday it plans to "align" a long-awaited rule on the disp ...
April 17, 2013
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Coal operators can and should take more aggressive steps to reduce dust emissio ...
April 15, 2013
Researchers from universities around the region gathered at the Charleston Marriott this week to l ...
April 11, 2013
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Obama administration is not out to destroy the coal industry, the president ...
April 9, 2013
Coal-fired power plants around the country may face much greater financial risks than previously pr ...
April 1, 2013
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Linda Robinette doesn't rely on Patriot Coal for her health benefits. B ...
April 1, 2013
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- An estimated 6,000 to 10,000 union members and supporters rallied a ...
March 30, 2013
W.Va. teachers balance energy, environment in new science standards
March 30, 2013
West Virginians would foot the bill with higher rates, opponents say
March 25, 2013
State DEP left thousands of miles off list
Federal regulators stepped in this week to revise a biennial report on impaired rivers and streams ...
March 21, 2013
MSHA approves height taller than Hoover Dam
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Federal regulators have approved Alpha Natural Resources ...
March 14, 2013
Patriot Coal Corp. on Thursday asked a U.S. bankruptcy judge to throw out the terms of the compa ...
March 8, 2013
The House of Delegates on Friday approved legislation that mining lobbyists hope will l ...
March 7, 2013
Coal industry lobbyists said Thursday that mining still has a bright future in West Virg ...
March 4, 2013
Coal wants relief from pollution limits; citizen groups want industry to 'play by the rules'
Coal industry supporters on Monday depicted a water quality bill making its way through the Legisl ...
February 19, 2013
A West Virginia judge has overturned a state board ruling that promised to force the sta ...
February 15, 2013
MSHA: Pond is a 'high hazard' because failure could cause fatalities
The U.S. Department of Labor wants a federal judge to order the immediate shutdown of a potent ...
February 13, 2013
Bankrupt Patriot Coal this week sought court approval to distribute more than $6 million in bonu ...
February 6, 2013
New federal data shows that coal-mining employment in West Virginia dropped by more than 1,200 jobs ...
February 2, 2013
A plan proposed by bankrupt Patriot Coal would provide only half of the money needed to fund health- ...
January 29, 2013
Citizen group lawyers are again trying to force the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to examine the gr ...
January 26, 2013
National and state citizen groups are threatening to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fo ...
January 19, 2013
No rules have been written for methane-shutoff requirements
January 17, 2013
Coal operators whose mines repeatedly violate safety and health standards could more easily be ...
January 17, 2013
A former Upper Big Branch Mine superintendent will spend 21 months in jail for his ...
January 15, 2013
At least 93 record-breaking extreme weather records were set in West Virginia last year, and ...
January 10, 2013
West Virginia regulators have not adequately examined the risks that coal-slurry impoundmen ...
December 22, 2012
Four years ago Saturday, a coal-ash dike ruptured at a TVA plant west of Knoxville, Tenn. More tha ...
December 11, 2012
Erosion along ditch was not in area where miner died
December 7, 2012
Company gets approval to resume pumping slurry into impoundment
November 30, 2012
Another missing after 'massive failure' in Harrison incident
...
November 17, 2012
On Thursday, Patriot Coal CEO Ben Hatfield stood up in federal court and announced what once might ...
November 15, 2012
Patriot Coal has agreed to phase out mountaintop removal and other forms of strip mining, in a move ...
November 13, 2012
Putnam County's John Amos plant is on list
November 6, 2012
Numbers still higher than before new environmental rules
November 1, 2012
Only Nick Rahall responds, and he supports coal
October 20, 2012
Energy markets leaving coal, miners behind
October 20, 2012
Democrats counter with candidates' endorsements from business, labor
September 18, 2012
Touting a plan to "reshape its portfolio of operations," Alpha Natural Resources on Tuesd ...
August 25, 2012
The bankruptcy case of Patriot Coal is starting to heat up, as the United Mine Workers union be ...
August 5, 2012
The relentless, weather-gone-crazy type of heat that has blistered the United States and othe ...
August 5, 2012
The impact of an estimated 2,000 mining layoffs this year is hitting home across the mountainou ...
July 26, 2012
Mountaintop removal is harming water quality far downstream from where active mining buries cre ...
July 16, 2012
Three scientific reports have begun to answer questions about how mountaintop removal mining co ...
June 21, 2012
Arch Coal Inc. on Thursday announced more production cuts and layoffs in West Virginia, Kentuck ...
June 12, 2012
Trial was to start Tuesday over Boone water-contamination claims
May 22, 2012
Industry and political leaders on Tuesday launched a three-city tour they hope will generate mo ...
May 17, 2012
As West Virginia political leaders prepare for another round of attacks on the Obama ad ...
April 25, 2012
Judge makes no ruling on Logan site
March 27, 2012
The Obama administration on Tuesday proposed what it called a "common-sense" requirem ...
March 23, 2012
Judge: Agency's interpretation of Clean Water Act 'unreasonable'
February 25, 2012
Survivors remember 125 killed in 1972 coal dam collapse
February 21, 2012
Forty years ago Sunday morning, a trio of coal-waste dams at a Pittston Coal operation on B ...
January 26, 2012
The Obama administration has again questioned a huge mountaintop removal mine associated with t ...
January 24, 2012
Investigators 'did not identify evidence' of widespread mine pollution
January 12, 2012
Workers and environmental activists need to get together for serious discussions about the futu ...
December 18, 2011
WASHINGTON -- More than 32 mostly coal-fired power plants in a dozen states will be forced t ...
November 18, 2011
MSHA data show 23,353 jobs in W.Va.
October 7, 2011
Coal industry has criticized school over MTR studies
October 6, 2011
A federal judge dealt a blow Thursday to the Obama administration's crackdown on mountaint ...
September 27, 2011
When business screeched to a halt at Jerry Howard's eastern Kentucky mine engineering compa ...
September 21, 2011
A series of air pollution rules from the Obama administration provide major public health benef ...
September 2, 2011
Tighter standards wrong 'at this time,' president says
August 10, 2011
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia regulators should examine whether hundreds of additional aba ...
August 5, 2011
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia lawmakers should consider action to "beef up" the s ...
July 29, 2011
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin, acting as governor, has ordered ...
July 23, 2011
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Poverty in Appalachia is concentrated in the communities around mountainto ...
July 21, 2011
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Thursday he was donating $5 ...
July 21, 2011
Despite strong pressure from the coal industry and its political allies, the Obama administrati ...
July 16, 2011
Federal environmental regulators are looking closely at a new scientific study that found Appal ...
July 14, 2011
American Electric Power announced Thursday it was halting plans for one of the nation's ...
July 7, 2011
Activists' lawsuit to block mines called 'frivolous'
July 5, 2011
Coalfield residents and activists on Tuesday pressured federal regulators to take tough act ...
June 21, 2011
Researchers found "significantly higher" rates of birth de ...
June 17, 2011
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Proposed new federal limits on hazardous air pollution from coal-fired power pl ...
June 11, 2011
Protesters rally at Labor's 'Gettysburg,' vow mountaintop-removal fight
June 10, 2011
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Dozens of coal-fired power plants across the country lack the most modern pollu ...
June 9, 2011
American Electric Power said Thursday it may move up the closings of three aging coal-fired ...
June 4, 2011
50-mile re-creation of 1921 union event to begin Monday
May 12, 2011
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Massey Energy has agreed to donate $400,000 to a West Virginia University C ...
April 2, 2011
Environmental problems, prior accidents preceded disaster at Massey Energy
March 23, 2011
Three environmental groups sued coal operator ICG Eastern in federal court Wednesday over a Web ...
March 10, 2011
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia regulators were ordered Thursday to add new limits to a strip-min ...
March 9, 2011
A group that wants to preserve Blair Mountain will re-create a historic march by thousands of coal ...
February 22, 2011
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Obama administration's crackdown on mountaintop removal took a hit in t ...
February 16, 2011
Fully accounting for coal's costs in environmental and public health damage would triple the co ...
February 2, 2011
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Department of Interior study of potential new restrictions on surface coal mi ...
January 29, 2011
$8.5B deal must be OK'd by federal regulators
Alpha Natural Resources has agreed to buy Massey Energy for about $7.1 billion in ...
January 20, 2011
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin said today his first piece of federal legislation ...
January 19, 2011
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- West Virginia University scientists are getting more than $600,000 to s ...
December 3, 2010
Decision comes amid rumors that coal giant will be sold
November 13, 2010
Hundreds of people will arrive Monday morning at the Charleston Civic Center for a court-ordere ...
November 10, 2010
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- When Bo Webb returned to his native Raleigh County in February 2001, he had hop ...
November 8, 2010
Emboldened by ruling, activists set sights on more abandoned land
October 22, 2010
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The coal industry has so far shown an "utter lack" of harm to mine op ...
October 15, 2010
Regional chief urges rejection of Arch Coal's Clean Water Act permit
October 10, 2010
10 years later, toxic muck still taints Ky. town
October 6, 2010
West Virginia regulators have sued the federal government, alleging the Obama administration skirted ...
October 1, 2010
WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) -- Second-term Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin won re-election with ease a little m ...
September 30, 2010
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- An independent science advisory team has issued a draft report that support ...
August 12, 2010
A bellwether over selenium water pollution from the coal industry appears headed for an early close ...
August 5, 2010
Legislators have waited 31/2 years and spent more than $220,000 to learn whether coal slurry pumped ...
June 29, 2010
The Obama administration has given its tentative approval to a new mountaintop removal permit, prov ...
June 28, 2010
A decade ago, Sen. Robert C. Byrd took to the floor of the Senate to defend his effort to legislate ...
June 17, 2010
The Obama administration said Thursday it is doing away with -- at least for now -- a streamlin ...
June 7, 2010
A West Virginia University study on whether the underground injection of coal slurry is harmful to h ...
June 2, 2010
Threats from continued mountaintop removal and expanded oil and gas drilling have landed two West V ...
April 29, 2010
Federal regulators have scheduled a public hearing for next month on their proposal to veto the lar ...
April 22, 2010
A federal judge has given the Obama administration another six months to complete the formal process ...
April 17, 2010
In wake of Montcoal disaster, fatal '06 fire gets judicial revisit
April 3, 2010
Federal government scientists say a "growing body of evidence" shows that mountaintop re ...
March 25, 2010
More work needed on mine communications, Joe Main says
December 19, 2009
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - It was the slap heard 'round the coalfields: Cordelia Ruth Tucker, wea ...
November 10, 2009
BARENDRECHT, Netherlands -- The people of this small Dutch town are not against pumping tons of carb ...
October 25, 2009
Will greenhouse controls come before it's too late
Nobody knows if coal or climate is going to win this important race, but the world is watching, a ...
March 21, 2009
Regulators in a handful of Appalachian states that let coal companies inject slurry into abandoned m ...
March 18, 2009
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- West Virginians eager to know what's in the slurry that coal compan ...
March 9, 2009
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Walter Young can't find his great-grandmother's grave. The coal company ...
February 7, 2009
Agency to ignore deadline for study
MORGANTOWN -- Two years after it was charged to do so, and 13 months after its original deadline ...
January 14, 2009
Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Chu pledged Tuesday that, if confirmed as energy secretary ...
December 17, 2008
CHU WORRIES CARBON CAPTURE WON'T WORK
President-elect Barack Obama's pick for U.S. energy secretary isn't sold on the idea th ...
December 4, 2008
Angry environmentalists launched an online campaign Wednesday urging President-elect Barack Obama to ...
November 19, 2008
FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Gov. Steve Beshear sent a letter this week to the U.S. Environmental Protecti ...
November 4, 2008
Obama's statement taken out of context, supporters say
The McCain campaign is trying to sway coal state voters by selectively quoting from a 10-month-old i ...
October 10, 2008
For the second time in a year, a state appeals board has thrown out Department of Environmental Prot ...
September 25, 2008
RICHMOND, Va. - A lawyer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers told a federal appeals court Tuesd ...
September 23, 2008
RICHMOND, Va. -- A West Virginia judge who previously joined in criticism of lax federal regulat ...
June 13, 2008
The Manchin administration must revisit two dozen orders that gave coal operators three addition ...
June 1, 2008
A federal judge has for the first time ordered a West Virginia coal operator to stop discharging ...
July 1, 2008
Arguments in the latest mountaintop removal court appeal have been scheduled for late September. ...
April 29, 2008
The Bush administration and the coal industry will have to wait another four months to argue their a ...
April 27, 2008
Selenium pollution from one of West Virginia's largest mountaintop removal mines is dangerou ...
January 5, 2010
Union won't oppose a ban, official says
HUNTINGTON - The United Mine Workers union would not oppose a ban on mountaintop removal ...
January 18, 2008
$20 million penalty against Massey in settlement
Federal environmental regulators believe a record $20 million fine, new pollution monitoring require ...
December 7, 2007
Gov. Joe Manchin has joined with Massey Energy and the rest of the coal industry to fight two federa ...
November 15, 2007
The state Department of Environmental Protection was wrong to grant International Coal Group a permi ...
November 14, 2007
Beth Baldwin and her husband had just about finished the foundation on their new Taylor County home ...
October 12, 2007
Ruling might cost 39 miners their jobs at Castillo
A federal judge on Thursday blocked a coal operator from starting a new valley fill at a mountaintop ...
October 5, 2007
Coalfield residents on Wednesday night blasted a Bush administration plan to remove a key rule that ...
September 27, 2007
HUNTINGTON — Maria Gunnoe has lived most of her life at her family homeplace, at the mouth of Big Br ...
August 22, 2007
Coal operators continue to bury hundreds of miles of Appalachian streams, according to a new federal ...
July 29, 2007
Rep. Nick J. Rahall, D-W.Va., plans to review in more detail citizen complaints about lax enforcemen ...
July 26, 2007
Hearing held ahead of 30th anniversary of surface mine act on Aug. 3
A 30-year-old federal strip mine law has not stopped coal operators from blowing up mountains, displ ...
July 22, 2007
As the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act turns 30 next week, major questions remain ...
July 19, 2007
Author lists mountaintop removal among 'crimes against nature'
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. flew over the West Virginia coalfields this week to get a better view of mount ...
June 14, 2007
Judge deals second blow to coal industry
Coal operators cannot evade the Clean Water Act by building sediment-treatment ponds just downstream ...
May 27, 2007
Two weeks ago, environmental activists Cindy Rank and Vivian Stockman took a drive through the Logan ...
May 18, 2007
Federal regulators cut a deal four years ago that saved Massey Energy from potentially losing at ...
April 6, 2007
HUNTINGTON — More mining permits will probably land in front of a federal judge, as lawyers for the ...
March 27, 2007
Federal regulators and coal industry officials began Monday to try to sort out the latest federal co ...
March 24, 2007
U.S. judge cites ‘alarming cumulative stream loss’ in decision
A federal judge blocked permits for four mountaintop removal mines late Friday, in a major ruling th ...
March 7, 2007
A fund meant to clean up abandoned coal mines could face a financial crisis within five years, accor ...
February 19, 2007
State regulators have not kept track of whether coal operators complied with permit requirements tha ...
January 30, 2007
Federal regulators have given final approval to the largest mountaintop removal-mining permit in Wes ...
October 17, 2006
A federal judge won't rule in the latest mountaintop removal case until lawyers for both sides have ...
October 5, 2006
GEORGIA ECOLOGIST TESTIFIES IN 2ND DAY OF TRIAL OVER RESTRICTING
HUNTINGTON - Coal operators are destroying a vital piece of Appalachia's ecology when they bury smal ...
October 4, 2006
LAWSUIT TARGETS CORPS OF ENGINEERS' MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL PERMIT PROCESS
HUNTINGTON - Mountaintop removal mining is burying large parts of coalfield streams and increasing t ...
October 3, 2006
A federal judge this week will hear legal arguments and scientific testimony in the latest legal att ...
June 15, 2006
HUNTINGTON — A federal judge on Wednesday canceled a trial scheduled for next week in the latest leg ...
June 9, 2006
Federal regulators have suspended four mountaintop removal mining permits, saying they need to furth ...
April 3, 2006
From the headwaters of Cabin Creek to the town of Decota, coal operators have already stripped or ar ...
March 26, 2006
The latest courtroom battle to curb mountaintop removal coal mining is starting to heat up.
March 19, 2006
A lawsuit over mountaintop removal coal mining is headed back to U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodw ...
February 16, 2006
A federal appeals court on Wednesday declined to reconsider its decision to overturn a ruling that w ...
February 2, 2006
West Virginia environmentalists on Wednesday sought a new federal court order to block three mountai ...
November 24, 2005
Federal appeals court reinstates removal process
RICHMOND, Va. - A federal appeals court on Wednesday reinstated streamlined permitting for mountaint ...
October 30, 2005
Federal regulators abandoned plans for more detailed studies of ways to limit mountaintop removal be ...
October 29, 2005
Bush administration issues final environmental study
Federal regulators Friday released the final version of a landmark study of mountaintop removal, pav ...
September 25, 2005
RICHMOND, Va. - Early last Monday morning, a clerk at the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals posted t ...
September 23, 2005
Aracoma Coal Co. wants to mine 12.5 million tons of coal from the hills around historic Blair Mounta ...
September 20, 2005
RICHMOND, Va. - Federal appeals judges on Monday offered mixed reviews of the latest court decision ...
September 18, 2005
Does mountaintop removal coal mining cause only minimal damage to West Virginia’s hills, forests and ...
September 10, 2005
The state Surface Mine Board on Friday postponed next week’s scheduled hearing in a case over a cont ...
August 27, 2005
State never tested school for coal dust, chemicals
More than 200 students returned Friday for their first day of classes at Marsh Fork Elementary Schoo ...
August 9, 2005
State regulators may have taken the wrong enforcement action to stop construction of one of two Mass ...
July 31, 2005
West Virginia’s rule to block new strip mining operations near schools, churches and homes is weaker ...
July 29, 2005
Massey Energy will appeal an order that blocked construction of one of two coal storage silos near a ...
July 27, 2005
DEP says silo is out of permit area, orders removal
State regulators on Tuesday revoked a permit for one of two Massey Energy coal storage silos next to ...
July 25, 2005
Federal officials plan to investigate how West Virginia regulators review coal company proposals for ...
July 21, 2005
President Bush’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court helped the coal industry overturn a 1999 federal ...
July 21, 2005
Gov. Joe Manchin on Wednesday defended his administration’s handling of the controversy over two new ...
July 20, 2005
Location of silo near elementary school is at center of controversy
SUNDIAL — About 50 protesters marched past a Massey Energy operation Tuesday, demanding that the com ...
July 19, 2005
‘Tear it down’ is battle cry on Marsh Fork coal silo, residents say
Environmental activists and coalfield residents on Monday announced three days of marches to protest ...
July 17, 2005
Complaints of proximity to school ignored, boundary advances overlooked, Raleigh residents say
Permit files for Massey Energy's Goals Coal preparation plant contain dozens of detailed top ...
July 16, 2005
Maps show facility outside site's original permit area
State regulators on Friday suspended a permit for a new Massey Energy coal silo near a Raleigh C ...
July 13, 2005
Massey began construction on coal silo before approval
State regulators allowed Massey Energy to start building a new coal silo more than two months before ...
July 8, 2005
Gov. Joe Manchin's chief of staff and the governor's in-house lawyer got an earful Thursday from Ral ...
July 6, 2005
Governor will explore moving of Marsh Fork school
A Raleigh County man ended his sit-in at the Capitol on Tuesday after Gov. Joe Manchin agreed to try ...
July 1, 2005
Manchin had promised to hear complaints
Last week, Judy Bonds, Bo Webb and other Coal River residents met privately with Gov. Joe Manchin. T ...
June 17, 2005
Bush administration officials announced Thursday that they will conduct a detailed environmental stu ...
March 28, 2005
Environmental activists from around the country are being urged to descend on Appalachia this summer ...
March 22, 2005
A federal judge overstepped his authority when he blocked the streamlined permitting of new mountain ...
March 15, 2005
Environmental group lawyers are wasting no time in seeking a ruling in a lawsuit aimed at curbing mo ...
February 11, 2005
The Bush administration on Thursday announced a plan to allow states to streamline the way coal oper ...
January 28, 2005
Three environmental groups filed suit Thursday to expand new restrictions on mountaintop removal per ...
December 17, 2004
A Charleston man is trying to alert his neighbors about the problems he believes will be caused by a ...
December 10, 2004
A federal judge has declined to hold the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in contempt of a ruling meant ...
December 5, 2004
A federal judge has been asked to step in and order proper enforcement of his own ruling to block th ...
December 3, 2004
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is allowing coal operators to begin new valley fills under a stream ...
September 14, 2004
The state Surface Mine Board has dealt environmentalists a setback in one of their legal efforts to ...
September 3, 2004
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS — The Bush administration moved Thursday to appeal the latest in a series of f ...
September 1, 2004
U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin on Tuesday declined to clarify his July ruling on mountaintop ...
August 28, 2004
Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., and United Mine Workers President Cecil Roberts rushed Friday to defen ...
August 26, 2004
An operator of a Virginia strip mine did not have a permit for the road construction that caused a b ...
August 25, 2004
A federal judge should clarify his mountaintop removal ruling to stop coal operators from illegally ...
August 24, 2004
Federal strip mine regulators have no immediate plans to investigate the death last week of a Virgin ...
August 14, 2004
A federal judge on Friday expanded his July 8 ruling that blocked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers f ...
August 9, 2004
Permit suspension was aimed at mine sites not yet started
A battle is brewing among environmental groups, the coal industry and regulators over enforcement of ...
July 18, 2004
Environmentalists are praising a new federal court ruling that could greatly reform the permitting o ...
July 15, 2004
Presidential challenger John Kerry should campaign against the Bush administration’s efforts to weak ...
July 14, 2004
West Virginians oppose mountaintop removal mining and Bush administration efforts to weaken restrict ...
July 9, 2004
Environmentalists see big win in fight against mountaintop removal
Coal companies must undergo a more rigorous government review of the effects of mountaintop removal ...
June 4, 2004
White House monitoring valley fill lawsuit, official says
President Bush’s top environmental adviser on Thursday toured a Boone County mountaintop removal min ...
May 30, 2004
Virginia scientist helped write tough W.Va. strip mining rules
In late 1999, state regulators, environmentalists and coal operators sat down to write new rules the ...
May 8, 2004
The state Supreme Court ruled Friday that a Lincoln County family was wrongly forced to sell its hom ...
April 11, 2004
Enviro-lawyers seek scrutiny of permits
Wayne Sears has lived on his 115 acres along Hominy Creek for more than 18 years. He and his neighbo ...
April 6, 2004
Full hearing scheduled for stream fill
A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked a permit for a new Massey Energy Inc. preparation plan ...
March 31, 2004
Janet Fout thought strip mine regulators should hear the sounds of frogs and birds whose homes could ...
January 21, 2004
‘No wiggle room’ in mining limits
Lawyers for the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy on Tuesday renewed their fight to use a stream b ...
January 20, 2004
Federal government biologists have found troubling amounts of the toxic chemical selenium in fish do ...
January 8, 2004
Appalachian streams would lose the protections of a mining buffer zone rule under a regulatory chang ...
November 4, 2003
West Virginia coal operators continue to strip mine more acres than they reclaim, according to a fed ...
October 24, 2003
Lawyers for three environmental groups on Thursday kicked off a major new legal effort to try to lim ...
October 19, 2003
Lawmakers try to put cleanup in energy bill
Coalfield lawmakers were negotiating this weekend to try to insert language to extend the federal ab ...
October 12, 2003
Most damage claims paid by insurance
When West Virginia regulators sued Massey Energy for a huge slurry spill in Martin County, Ky., thei ...
September 5, 2003
Nearly 275 mining operations may have buried streams without the proper Clean Water Act permits, gov ...
September 5, 2003
The Bush administration plans to offer greatly reduced penalties for coal operators who buried strea ...
August 16, 2003
The Bush administration on Friday rejected recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences for ...
August 15, 2003
Feds extend study comment period
Coal industry critics and supporters will have another four months to review a federal government st ...
August 3, 2003
Federal regulators have determined, in their new study on mountaintop removal, that mine blasting is ...
July 25, 2003
Environmentalists outnumber coal supporters at 2nd hearing
Coalfield residents and environmental activists Thursday blasted the recommendations of a 4 1/2-year ...
July 24, 2003
HAZARD, Ky. - Coal industry supporters turned out in force Tuesday to oppose any tougher restriction ...
June 1, 2003
Two years ago, federal regulators studying mountaintop removal mining considered limiting valley fil ...
May 29, 2003
Report will push to 'streamline' permits
More than 700 miles of Appalachian streams were buried by coal-mining valley fills between 1985 and ...
January 30, 2003
A federal appeals court on Wednesday threw out U.S. District Judge Charles H. Haden II's second ...
December 1, 2002
Appeal to focus on Clean Water Act's meaning
When Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972, lawmakers made their goals pretty clear.
November 10, 2002
DEP success story in McDowell County offers warning about reclamation fund
GARY - Charlie Miller smiled as he drove his clean, white Jeep across a broad, green plateau atop a ...
November 10, 2002
DEP success story in McDowell County offers warning about reclamation fund
GARY — Charlie Miller smiled as he drove his clean, white Jeep across a broad, green plateau atop a ...
August 15, 2002
A federal judge was wrong when he concluded that the Clean Water Act generally doesn’t allow coal op ...
June 8, 2002
A federal judge has agreed to suspend a ruling that promised to protect coalfield residents from und ...
June 7, 2002
New mountaintop removal rule ‘violates the Clean Water Act’
Senate Democrats vowed on Thursday to introduce legislation that would affirm a federal court ruling ...
May 23, 2002
Sen. Robert C. Byrd said Wednesday that he has no immediate plans to seek legislation to overturn a ...
May 20, 2002
Suspension of permitting risks jobs, coal lawyers say
Coal industry lawyers want Chief U.S. District Judge Charles H. Haden II to clarify his May 8 mounta ...
May 19, 2002
In 1972, the U.S. Senate passed major amendments to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
May 15, 2002
Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., said Tuesday that he agreed with much of a new federal court ruling that ...
May 14, 2002
The Bush administration said Monday that a federal court ruling to limit mountaintop removal “casts ...
May 12, 2002
Fewer coal operations might actually be helpful, study finds
As part of a broad study of mountaintop removal, federal regulators have found that limits on valley ...
May 10, 2002
Haden ruling could alter state's face
CHARLES Haden is a very brave man. The federal judge has been in this same place before. In 1999, he ...
May 10, 2002
Key players react cautiously to mountaintop removal decision
West Virginia political leaders reacted calmly and cautiously Thursday to a new federal court ruling ...
May 10, 2002
The federal Office of Surface Mining wants to halt proposed reforms that would have ensured that coa ...
May 9, 2002
Corps of Engineers' practice illegal, violates Clean Water Act, Haden rules
Coal operators can no longer bury Appalachian streams to dispose of mountaintop removal waste rock a ...
May 6, 2002
Department of the Interior is manipulating impact study, environmentalists allege
THE U.S. Department of the Interior wants to provide coal operators with "one-stop permitting" for m ...
May 5, 2002
Federal study paints ugly picture for much of state
Future mountaintop removal coal mining may eventually destroy an area of Appalachian forest the size ...
April 27, 2002
Toilets, junk cars could go into fills
A U.S. Senate committee plans to hold hearings on the Bush administration's plan to rewrite federal ...
April 26, 2002
Cars, toilets could be dumped into streams
Bush administration officials have broadened the changes to an important stream-filling rule in resp ...
April 7, 2002
In June 2000, federal regulators proposed to rewrite a key water pollution rule to legalize mountain ...
March 20, 2002
Chief U.S. District Judge Charles H. Haden II on Tuesday again gave federal regulators more time to ...
February 26, 2002
The Bush administration plans to finish rewriting federal regulations governing mountaintop removal ...
February 17, 2002
In 1977, the Army Corps of Engineers wrote rules to define the "fill material" that could be dumped ...
February 8, 2002
Environmental group lawyers on Thursday moved forward with their request to have a judge block the A ...
January 23, 2002
Justices won’t hear mountaintop removal case
The U.S. Supreme Court declined Tuesday to weigh in on the legal battle over mountaintop removal coa ...
October 19, 2001
During a visit to Charleston on Thursday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. harshly criticized mountaintop remov ...
October 12, 2001
Coalfield residents and environmentalists on Thursday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revive a lawsu ...
October 3, 2001
Federal government lawyers on Tuesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court for more time to consider filing ...
September 1, 2001
The U.S. Office of Surface Mining waited far too long to force West Virginia officials to fix a bank ...
August 15, 2001
Mountaintop removal coal mining may damage stream habitat, harming insects and the fish that feed on ...
August 12, 2001
Inadequate mine bonds leave abandoned lands, polluted water
ANJEAN - Roger Green walked to the edge of a bright orange pond and pointed at a small rubber hose. ...
July 22, 2001
Earlier this year, West Virginia regulators resisted efforts to require coal operators to study stre ...
July 11, 2001
Early Sunday, rainwater, mud and debris poured down the hollows on both sides of Kayford Mountain. R ...
July 8, 2001
In September 2000, federal regulators gave West Virginia officials one last chance to fix the state& ...
April 29, 2001
Proposed Logan operation would be W.Va. record
April 26, 2001
Both pleased that mountaintop mine ruling overturned
April 25, 2001
State's sovereign immunity barred Haden from hearing lawsuit, appeals panel says
December 8, 2000
Mountaintop removal isn't feds' concern, DEP says
December 5, 2000
Case could be sent back for Haden to decide
December 3, 2000
Iimpact of decision on coal is still unlcear
On Oct. 20, 1999, Chief U.S. District Judge Charles H. Haden II signed a 49-page court order to limi ...
April 18, 2000
Feds defend Haden's order
In a blow to the coal industry and the Underwood administration, federal regulators filed a brief Mo ...
October 21, 1999
Landmark ruling prohibits mountaintop coal operators from burying state streams
Mountaintop removal coal operators cannot bury streams under millions of tons of waste rock and eart ...
August 17, 1999
A federal court lawsuit settlement won't make the mountaintop removal issue go away, lawyers for ...
August 8, 1999
Lawyers for citizens groups, state regulators and the coal industry on Friday asked a federal judge ...
July 31, 1999
Reports of settlement in mountaintop suit exaggerated, he says
Reports of a settlement in the mountaintop removal mining case have been greatly exaggerated, a fed ...
July 28, 1999
Leaders of the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy declared victory Tuesday with the partial settlem ...
July 28, 1999
On Friday, a federal judge will quiz lawyers for the coal industry, the state and citizens groups ab ...
July 27, 1999
An hour after the federal courthouse closed Monday evening, lawyers for state regulators and coalfie ...
July 24, 1999
Another week has passed without a settlement being reached in a federal court case over mountaintop ...
July 23, 1999
A ban on mountaintop removal mining with large valley fills would reduce West Virginia's annual ...
July 22, 1999
Shutdown to put 210 out of work
More than 200 Arch Coal Inc. employees who hoped to work at the largest mountaintop removal mine in ...
July 17, 1999
A week after a federal judge delayed trial in a case over mountaintop removal mining, a settlement o ...
July 13, 1999
In settlement, special panel would conduct a periodic review
A special committee will be appointed to periodically review mining permits under the proposed settl ...
July 11, 1999
Buffer-zone rule will go to judge, lawyers say
A year ago Friday, a group of environmentalists and coalfield residents went to court to try to curb ...
July 10, 1999
Arch Coal won't pursue blanket permit for Blair mountaintop removal site
A federal judge said Friday he will delay a trial in a case over mountaintop removal mining to give ...
July 9, 1999
The United Mine Workers made a last-ditch effort Thursday to save the jobs of 400 union miners who w ...
July 8, 1999
Arch Coal Inc. has quietly come up with a plan that might reduce the amount of streams buried by the ...
July 7, 1999
Lawyers for Arch Coal Inc. won't get to quiz federal regulators about their decision to withdraw ...
July 4, 1999
On June 24, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers withdrew its blanket approval of Arch Coal Inc.'s p ...
July 3, 1999
Sen. Robert C. Byrd and other members of West Virginia's congressional delegation said Friday th ...
July 2, 1999
They need more time, all parties say
State regulators, environmentalists and coal operators have made a "breakthrough" in negot ...
June 29, 1999
Lawyers for coalfield residents asked a federal judge on Monday to delay a July 13 trial in a landma ...
June 26, 1999
Arch challenges agency's authority to withdraw blanket permit approval
Lawyers for environmentalists and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers asked a federal judge on Friday t ...
June 25, 1999
'New material facts' send federal agency in opposite direction
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Thursday withdrew its proposed approval of the largest mountaint ...
June 24, 1999
DEP neglecting fines
The State Division of Environmental Protection is collecting just a little more than a fifth of the ...
June 24, 1999
A state Division of Environmental Protection lawyer on Wednesday demanded that federal regulators ex ...
June 23, 1999
Citing new information that could affect the case's outcome, lawyers for the U.S. Army Corps of ...
June 20, 1999
Every year, the state Division of Environmental Protection fines coal operators an average of $5.2 m ...
June 19, 1999
Coal operators back out of some key parts
As a federal judge moved a mountaintop removal lawsuit closer to trial, negotiations toward a possib ...
June 18, 1999
A federal judge on Thursday approved a partial settlement of a lawsuit over mountaintop removal, pav ...
June 17, 1999
Taxpayers shell out
State taxpayers are giving two Charleston lawyers $195 and $150 an hour to defend the state's du ...
June 15, 1999
Private lawyers hired to defend the state's regulation of mountaintop removal have billed taxpay ...
June 14, 1999
Mountaintop removal critics have sued the U.S. Office of Surface Mining, arguing that the agency has ...
June 14, 1999
Federal mining engineers have reviewed six more pending state mountaintop removal permits and found ...
June 13, 1999
A committee of industry lobbyists and citizens will help write regulations to implement West Virgini ...
June 13, 1999
Former Division of Environmental Protection Director Eli McCoy has been hired as an expert witness t ...
June 6, 1999
Since late 1997, when mountaintop removal first made headlines, Arch Coal Inc. officials have argued ...
May 30, 1999
By now, Arch Coal Inc. hoped an expansion of its Dal-Tex mountaintop removal mine in Logan County w ...
May 30, 1999
State doesn't have reclamation money
A month ago, Royal Scot Minerals Inc. abandoned its coal mine near Anjean in Greenbrier County. The ...
May 27, 1999
The state Division of Environmental Protection on Wednesday released a copy of its bill from the pri ...
May 23, 1999
Lawyers for coal companies, environmental groups, regulators and miners are waiting for a federal ju ...
May 21, 1999
Phony land use rejected
It's about time. West Virginia's Division of Environmental Protection and its predecessors a ...
May 21, 1999
A leading critic of mountaintop removal has turned down United Mine Workers President Cecil Roberts& ...
May 20, 1999
Private lawyers have charged the state $42,630 for a month's work defending the state Division o ...
May 19, 1999
Federal strip mine regulators will no longer write reports when they review mountaintop removal perm ...
May 14, 1999
United Mine Workers President Cecil Roberts on Thursday challenged one of the state's leading mo ...
May 14, 1999
State proposal doesn't comply with '77 law, feds say
Coal operators cannot leave mountaintop removal mines as flattened, undeveloped fish and wildlife ha ...
May 6, 1999
Six new strip mining permits were issued last month by the state Division of Environmental Protectio ...
May 5, 1999
Federal regulators on Tuesday issued a long list of things they plan to do to better police mountai ...
April 28, 1999
Mountaintop removal permits at issue
State regulators have been permitting mountaintop removal mines for more than 20 years, lawyers for ...
April 25, 1999
Federal reviewers have found numerous problems with an A.T. Massey Coal Co. mountaintop removal perm ...
April 25, 1999
Ralliers undercut mountaintop removal mining
Even if coal companies were allowed to remove all the coal they wanted by blasting off the tops of m ...
April 24, 1999
Like lawyers representing environmentalists, attorneys for Arch Coal Inc. want a federal judge to is ...
April 22, 1999
In a move that could decide the case, environmentalists have asked a federal judge to quickly rule o ...
April 18, 1999
State DEP won't be asked to correct it
A new Clay County mining permit approved last week by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is ri ...
April 16, 1999
Federal regulators on Thursday issued the first of a series of strip mining permits that have been t ...
April 16, 1999
Mountaintop removal damaged Boone homes
A group of Boone County families has been awarded more than $500,000 to compensate them for property ...
April 15, 1999
Blair resident faces illegal dumping charge in Logan County
A hearing has been delayed on an illegal dumping charge filed by Logan County officials against one ...
April 15, 1999
The right to freedom of speech could get a workout this weekend, when two sides of the mountaintop r ...
April 14, 1999
Company seeking 'individual permit' for Logan operation
Arch Coal Inc. President Steven Leer said Tuesday his company hasn't dropped plans to expand its ...
April 14, 1999
The Underwood administration has hired an outside law firm to defend the agency against a federal co ...
April 9, 1999
With last month's court order suspending permits for its Logan County mountaintop removal mine, ...
April 8, 1999
Sen. Robert C. Byrd and Rep. Nick J. Rahall on Wednesday urged regulators to work faster to fix prob ...
April 6, 1999
MORGANTOWN - About 250 miners were expected to be out of work after Consolidation Coal Co. idled a n ...
April 3, 1999
We've been kicked in teeth again by environmentalists, he says at Statehouse rally
United Mine Workers President Cecil Roberts on Friday told a crowd of coal miners that he's tire ...
April 1, 1999
Underwood on warpath
We can't guess how the controversial federal lawsuit over mountaintop removal mining will end - ...
April 1, 1999
The United Mine Workers has hired its own mining engineer to try to come up with a better permit for ...
March 31, 1999
A federal judge agreed Tuesday to an earlier trial date in a landmark case over mountaintop remova ...
March 27, 1999
Strict enforcement of federal surface mining laws would create more coalfield jobs than unregulated ...
March 26, 1999
United Mine Workers President Cecil Roberts turned up the heat Thursday in the union's campaign ...
March 25, 1999
Mountaintop removal ban too costly to area, Madison couple fear
Two more of the Southern West Virginia citizens who sued to try to curb mountaintop removal mining h ...
March 23, 1999
Environmentalists told a federal judge on Tuesday that they oppose scheduling an earlier trial date ...
March 23, 1999
State mine regulators on Monday touted a proposal they say will make coal operators do more to rebui ...
March 19, 1999
'Complex issue' will be closely monitored
If a new law on mountaintop removal doesn't solve problems caused by the mining, the Legislature ...
March 19, 1999
United Mine Workers lawyers hope to work out a resolution that will give Arch Coal Inc. its permit, ...
March 18, 1999
State regulators have scheduled a meeting for Monday to discuss a new "approximate original con ...
March 17, 1999
Coal operators would be forced to restore most rock and earth to hilltops
Coal operators may soon have to rebuild more of the hilltops that mountaintop removal mining tears ...
March 14, 1999
An area the size of Logan County now being stripped
An area of West Virginia the size of Logan County is currently disturbed by strip mining, according ...
March 13, 1999
Compromise benefits state, Kiss says; critics say questions remain
The Workers' Compensation Fund Performance Council voted Friday to drop 25 big coal companies fr ...
March 13, 1999
Union wants to be defendant in suit targeting mountaintop removal
The United Mine Workers union wants to join the lawsuit which prompted last week's federal court ...
March 11, 1999
In a study of sharp contrasts, the Senate Wednesday called the mountaintop removal bill on passage s ...
March 11, 1999
Art Kirkendoll doesn't understand how a federal judge could call the layoff of more than 300 Log ...
March 10, 1999
Company doesn't want to wait until September
Arch Coal Inc. will ask a judge to move up the trial date in what promises to be a landmark federal ...
March 9, 1999
Arch Coal Inc. announced plans Monday night to shut down its huge Dal-Tex mountaintop removal mining ...
March 8, 1999
In blocking the largest mountaintop removal mine in West Virginia history, a federal judge last week ...
March 7, 1999
Settlement requires additional scrutiny
Federal regulators have started the process of putting new mountaintop removal mining permits throug ...
March 7, 1999
Miners at Arch Coal's Dal-Tex mine in Logan County began receiving layoff notices Saturday, thre ...
March 6, 1999
Coal industry arguments that new rules on mountaintop removal mining will cost West Virginia 2,800 j ...
March 6, 1999
United Mine Workers President Cecil Roberts said Friday he was disappointed by a federal judge's ...
June 27, 2008
Frankie Stover has worked at Arch Coal Inc.'s Dal-Tex mountaintop removal complex for 14 yea ...
March 5, 1999
A mountaintop removal bill passed by the Senate 34-0 on Thursday is an effort to reach a compromise ...
March 5, 1999
Mountaintop removal foes feel vindicated
Coal operators and environmentalists agreed Thursday that a judge's ruling to block the largest ...
March 5, 1999
Mountaintop removal foes feel vindicated
Coal operators and environmentalists agreed Thursday that a judge's ruling to block the largest ...
March 4, 2008
Injunction prohibits mining at Logan site for six more months
A federal judge on Wednesday granted a preliminary injunction that could block the largest mount ...
March 4, 1999
Injunction prohibits mining at Logan site for six more months
A federal judge on Wednesday granted a preliminary injunction that could block the largest mountaint ...
March 2, 1999
Coalfield residents have reason to be concerned about the long- term effects of mountaintop removal ...
February 28, 1999
Agency must improve mountaintop removal efforts, Rahall says
The U.S. Office of Surface Mining should beef up its regulation of mountaintop removal mining, U.S. ...
February 27, 1999
Arch Coal Inc. lawyer Roger Wolfe warned a federal judge Friday that a ruling against the largest mo ...
February 26, 1999
Chief U.S. District Judge Charles Haden II rode up muddy roads and through snow-covered trees in Log ...
February 26, 1999
Arch Coal Inc.'s Dal-Tex mining complex has been cited by state regulators for improper disposal ...
February 25, 1999
Coal industry supporters packed a public hearing Wednesday to complain about mountaintop removal per ...
February 25, 1999
A mountaintop removal bill being pushed by legislative leaders won't fix widespread problems ass ...
February 24, 1999
Court hearings on the largest mountaintop removal mine in West Virginia history will end Friday, a ...
February 23, 1999
A mountaintop removal bill moving through the state Senate helps people who live near mining operati ...
February 22, 1999
Coalfield residents, environmental activists, miners and industry officials will get a chance this w ...
February 22, 1999
Workers' Comp measure would create 'amnesty period' for delinquent firms
On Friday, the state Senate unanimously approved a Workers' Compensation Fund bill recommended b ...
February 20, 1999
A.T. Massey Coal Co. announced Friday that market conditions have forced the company to idle, or cut ...
February 20, 1999
Judge blocks Arch's Blair operation an additional 3 weeks
A federal judge late Friday blocked the largest mountaintop removal mine in West Virginia history f ...
February 19, 1999
A second state Division of Environmental Protection official was scolded Thursday by a federal judge ...
February 19, 1999
New regulations on mountaintop removal mining could cost the West Virginia coal industry 2,800 jobs, ...
February 18, 1999
The largest mountaintop removal mining permit in West Virginia history is also one of the best ever ...
February 17, 1999
Federal strip mine regulators have again delayed a decision on whether mountaintop removal coal mine ...
February 16, 1999
A.T. Massey Coal Co. continues to strengthen its position as one of the nation's top five coal p ...
February 11, 1999
Arch Coal's request to strip Logan County mountaintop on hold
A federal judge on Wednesday extended a temporary restraining order against the largest mountaintop ...
February 10, 1999
A coal industry study that concluded valley fills don't damage water quality is so full of flaws ...
February 9, 1999
The Senate will consider bills this week to legalize casino gambling at The Greenbrier and to repeal ...
February 8, 1999
Miano sees no damage
Of the three "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" monkeys, state Environmental Prote ...
February 7, 1999
Won't work to ban mountaintop mining, congressman says
Rep. Bob Wise, D-W.Va., has urged federal regulators to help coal companies avoid lengthy environmen ...
February 6, 1999
A revised mountaintop removal permit that federal regulators touted as less damaging actually leaves ...
February 5, 1999
The largest mountaintop removal permit in West Virginia history does not include required water syst ...
February 4, 1999
Haden wants to hear more before ruling on Arch Coal permit
A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily halted permits for the largest mountaintop removal mine in ...
February 3, 1999
In his new budget request submitted to Congress Monday, President Clinton proposed an additional $25 ...
February 3, 1999
Arch Coal Inc. argued Tuesday that the largest mountaintop removal mine in state history has receive ...
February 2, 1999
The state Division of Environmental Protection will oppose a key portion of a court settlement that ...
February 1, 1999
Arch Coal awaiting final permit for Blair mountaintop operation
A Logan County hollow targeted for the largest mountaintop removal coal mine in state history is ...
January 31, 1999
West Virginia author Denise Giardina on Saturday urged state residents to take back their state from ...
January 30, 1999
A lawsuit settlement that could delay mountaintop removal permits for more than two years is good fo ...
January 29, 1999
Violates democracy
A task force appointed to rewrite state laws on mountaintop removal mining was disbanded, rather tha ...
January 29, 1999
Environmentalists file part of permit official's legal deposition in court
State regulators ignore a rule that requires 100-foot buffer zones between strip mines and streams, ...
January 29, 1999
Staton wants feds' input on methods of removing coal
House Judiciary Chairman Rick Staton has invited the regional administrator of the federal Environme ...
January 28, 1999
Gov. Cecil Underwood on Tuesday rejected a request from a coalfield residents' group that he for ...
January 24, 1999
Federal law requires state regulators to figure out how mountaintop removal coal mines will affect s ...
January 23, 1999
Federal regulators set stage for court fight
The largest mountaintop removal coal mine in state history will receive final approval from federal ...
January 23, 1999
Facing criticism that he left environmentalists out of the loop and allowed an improper closed-door ...
January 22, 1999
Yet another study group?
He has got to be kidding. Gov. Cecil Underwood apparently wants yet another group to waste time talk ...
January 22, 1999
Gov. Cecil Underwood is expected today to announce the members of a panel to write the administratio ...
January 17, 1999
Compensating state not a good trade-off, environmentalists say
In December, a task force appointed by Gov. Cecil Underwood urged the governor and Legislature to de ...
January 14, 1999
Gov. Cecil Underwood stuck by the old saying that "Coal is West Virginia," Wednesday night ...
January 14, 1999
The public won't get another chance to comment on the largest mountaintop removal mine in state ...
January 9, 1999
Environmentalists have turned their legal fight toward stopping the largest mountaintop removal mine ...
January 8, 1999
Taxpayer investment
The good news is that some developments finally are being planned for flattened sites left by mounta ...
January 8, 1999
Mountaintop removal plan blasted by lawyers
Coal industry lawyers plan to vigorously fight a federal government plan to more closely scrutinize ...
January 3, 1999
Arch Coal will get Logan permit, but other mines face environmental studies for 2 years
A landmark court settlement will allow coal operators to continue blasting the tops off West Virgini ...
December 31, 1998
Despite a landmark agreement over mountaintop removal mine permitting, at least 13 Arch Coal Inc. wo ...
December 24, 1998
New limits placed on strip operations
West Virginia environmental officials can no longer hand out mountaintop removal mining permits as f ...
December 23, 1998
Arch and blasting rules
Arch Coal officials said the largest mountaintop removal permit in state history should be issued be ...
December 16, 1998
The regional administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is pushing environmentalists ...
December 16, 1998
Gov. Cecil Underwood said Tuesday he does not want to follow his own task force's recommendation ...
December 15, 1998
Report doesn't clear DEP
What alternate universe is state Environmental Protection Director Michael Miano living in?
December 15, 1998
OSM report doesn't clarify
We doubted that anything good would come of the months-long delay of a report by the U.S. Office of ...
December 14, 1998
A long-awaited federal study of mountaintop removal coal mining has left unanswered what many expert ...
December 12, 1998
Opponents of mountaintop removal said Friday that recommendations from a governor's task force o ...
December 10, 1998
A federal judge on Wednesday canceled a hearing on a mountaintop removal lawsuit, after a regulatory ...
December 9, 1998
Mountaintop-removal mining report fails to address environment concerns Dec. 9, 1998
U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd and Rep. Nick J. Rahall, both D-W.Va., on Tuesday blasted the federal Offic ...
December 8, 1998
For years, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers handed out permits that allowed coal companies to put mi ...
December 8, 1998
But OSM paper still cites problems with mountaintop removal
In a new report to be released today, federal regulators tone down their criticism of mountaintop-re ...
December 7, 1998
Federal regulators are preparing to back off their harsh criticism of mountaintop removal coal mini ...
December 3, 1998
Members of a gubernatorial task force have come up with a long list of ways the state could protect ...
December 3, 1998
Large landholding companies can have their say in a suit over mountaintop removal coal mining after ...
December 1, 1998
Gov. Cecil Underwood will wait at least a week before commenting on a mountaintop removal study on w ...
November 27, 1998
Arch removes community
Arch Coal has been running warm and fuzzy ads telling West Virginia how much the giant coal company ...
November 27, 1998
Mountaintop removal focuses attention on coal, its future
Winding up a four-month review of the drawbacks and advantages of mountaintop removal strip mining, ...
November 23, 1998
BLAIR - In 1996, Ashland Coal officials added a 20-story-tall, earth-moving machine to the army of g ...
November 23, 1998
Congressman also urges continued study of mountaintop removal's effects on the environment
Coal operators can resolve one issue related to mountaintop-removal mining by planning ways to devel ...
November 22, 1998
BLAIR - In 1992, when Arch Coal Inc. bought a huge Logan County mountaintop removal mine, company of ...
November 17, 1998
Final mountaintop removal hearing tonight
A gubernatorial task force is split on one of the major issues concerning mountaintop removal mining ...
November 13, 1998
Task force reports promising
Initial reports from the task force appointed by Gov. Cecil Underwood to study mountaintop removal ...
November 13, 1998
West Virginia's two U.S. senators and three congressmen have all urged federal regulators to hur ...
November 11, 2008
Mountaintop removal must reduce damage, reports say
Coal operators must greatly reduce the damage mountaintop removal strip mining does to West Virg ...
November 10, 1998
Judge refuses to revoke mountaintop removal permit in prelude to long legal fight
A federal judge on Monday refused to revoke the largest mountaintop removal strip mine permit in We ...
November 9, 1998
DEP wrong to issue permit
A federal judge seemed less than pleased by state Environmental Protection Director Michael Miano ...
November 9, 1998
In Tennessee, bowing to EPA objections, it halts mine permit; in West Virginia, it yields to DEP
In Tennessee, federal mining regulators won't issue a strip-mine permit if the U.S. Environmenta ...
November 4, 1998
Mountaintop project to face challenges on several fronts
State environmental protection Director Michael Miano on Wednesday issued the largest mountaintop re ...
November 1, 1998
Division of Forestry Director Bill Maxey says he is retiring because the Underwood administration tr ...
October 31, 1998
If coal companies must stop using such mining methods as mountaintop removal and valley fills, a Nic ...
October 31, 1998
Party over Dec. 31 if permit not approved, company says
Arch Coal Inc. may put about 400 Logan County coal miners out of work on New Year's Eve if regul ...
October 30, 1998
More West Virginians are aware of the mountaintop removal technique of surface mining than five mont ...
October 27, 1998
Future development needs unpredictable, spokesman says
A spokesman for large land-holding companies called Monday for more flexibility in reclamation and d ...
October 25, 1998
Supporters of practice outnumber opponents at hearing in Logan
LOGAN - Hundreds of Logan County residents and other coal industry supports told federal regulators ...
October 24, 1998
Arch Coal Inc. and the Logan County Commission on Friday announced plans to form a new business deve ...
October 24, 1998
Coal operators await state approval to bury more than 50 miles of West Virginia streams with strip m ...
October 23, 1998
House's Kiss behind mitigation bill
House Speaker Bob Kiss has finally come to the realization that the mitigation bill passed by the Le ...
October 22, 1998
Coal won't accept blame
The Legislature's interim committee studying complaints about blasting is getting precious littl ...
October 21, 1998
The state's largest coal producer has made nearly $30 million in profits so far in 1998, compan ...
October 20, 1998
Mountaintop mining makes jobs in W.Va.
It looks like mountaintop removal mining has more friends than foes, despite a crackdown by regulato ...
October 20, 1998
Large land-holding companies cannot intervene in a lawsuit filed by environmentalists who want to cu ...
October 16, 1998
Mountaintop removal requests will be approved, DEP boss says
State environmental protection Director Michael Miano on Thursday accused federal regulators of &quo ...
October 15, 1998
Lawyers argue they have no claim
Large land-holding companies should not be allowed to fight a lawsuit which seeks to curb mountainto ...
October 14, 1998
UMW's reasonable stance
Cecil Roberts knows the economic stakes in the current controversy over mountaintop-removal mining. ...
October 12, 1998
Responsible mining: UMWA wants communities, environment protected
Since several reports have appeared in the media over the last several weeks that incompletely or in ...
October 10, 1998
Coalfield residents and environmental groups may proceed with their lawsuit targeting mountaintop-re ...
October 9, 1998
Mining advocates' arguments laughable
Ben Greene, president of the West Virginia Mining & Reclamation Association, thinks West Virgini ...
October 8, 1998
Nearly 900 miles gone
The more federal regulators examine mountaintop removal mining, the worse it looks.
October 7, 1998
UMW president calls for its strict regulation
United Mine Workers President Cecil Roberts said Tuesday that coalfield residents need more protecti ...
October 4, 1998
Strip-mine valley fills in central Appalachia have filled in nearly enough streams to stretch the le ...
October 3, 1998
Regulatory scrutiny could hurt profits, company says
Arch Coal Inc. has warned investors that increased regulatory scrutiny of mountaintop removal mining ...
October 3, 1998
Environmentalists and coalfield residents won their first victory Friday in a lawsuit which aims to ...
September 30, 1998
EPA needs more facts
The good news is that state and federal regulators are finally agreeing on the need for a comprehens ...
September 27, 1998
A.T. Massey Coal Co. is fighting back against increased federal government oversight of mountaintop ...
September 26, 1998
Big land holding companies want their say in a federal court lawsuit that seeks to curb mountaintop ...
September 24, 1998
Kentucky under scrutiny
Coal companies and their lobbyists just keep burying their feet deeper into their mouths.
September 24, 1998
Federal regulators have scheduled what promises to be a heated public hearing on two mountaintop rem ...
September 23, 1998
Coal companies want a federal judge to tour a mountaintop removal strip mine before he rules on a la ...
September 18, 1998
Operations permitted without proper plans, Courier-Journal says
West Virginia isn't the only state where huge mountaintop-removal coal mines have been improperl ...
September 14, 1998
Sixfold whammy: Mountaintop removal's effects are far-reaching
I came to vacation in the beautiful mountains of West Virginia. Because of the ugly and environmenta ...
September 13, 1998
Federal strip mine regulators have again delayed the release of what is expected to be a landmark re ...
September 11, 1998
If the state Division of Environmental Protection is being hauled into federal court over mountainto ...
September 10, 1998
Methodists, mountaintops and Miano
Those poor Methodists. First Gov. Underwood scolded them for daring to demonstrate their care for Go ...
September 7, 1998
Residents of Boone and Logan counties will get another chance to speak their minds about two huge mo ...
September 6, 1998
Mountaintop removal cause of controversy
A high-ranking federal Office of Surface Mining official who has suggested the agency stay out of mo ...
September 5, 1998
When Gov. Cecil Underwood blamed a Statehouse bomb threat on the Methodist church, no one was more s ...
September 4, 1998
Underwood shot absurd
Gov. Cecil Underwood's actions in the ongoing debate over mountaintop removal mining are growin ...
September 4, 1998
Gov. Cecil Underwood made it clear Thursday afternoon that he believes his own church shares the bla ...
September 1, 1998
Last Thursday, we said a federal law requires a "higher and better" post-mining land use f ...
September 1, 1998
The state's largest coal producer has launched an advertising campaign to defend its use of mo ...
August 29, 1998
Two coal industry lobbying groups want their say in a federal court lawsuit that aims to curb mounta ...
August 28, 1998
Fresh air: Wise sharp contrast to Underwood on mountaintop removal
Finally, we have someone in public life with the courage to question mountaintop-removal mining and ...
August 27, 1998
Variances meaningless
When coal companies don't return strip-mined mountains to something resembling their original sh ...
August 25, 1998
Environmentalists want federal regulators to stop the state from issuing permits that allow mountain ...
August 23, 1998
Mining task force working toward balanced study
The Governor's Task Force on Mountaintop Removal and Related Mining Practices had its first publ ...
August 19, 1998
OSM details abuses
Welcome to the action, OSM. After years of sitting on the sidelines and allowing West Virginia regul ...
August 17, 1998
Secretary of State Ken Hechler, a longtime opponent of strip mining, is marshaling his troops once a ...
August 17, 1998
Hobet Mining Inc. wants to fill more than a mile of the creek with millions of tons of rock and eart ...
August 15, 1998
Draft report suggests tougher state law, wholesale changes in permit process
Federal regulators have decided there are widespread problems with the way huge mountaintop removal ...
August 14, 1998
More than economics: Mountaintop removal is a human problem
In an attempt to quiet the outrage against mountaintop removal mining, on June 10 Gov. Underwood ann ...
August 13, 1998
After-mining uses vanish
First, reporter Ken Ward Jr. found that three-fourths of mountaintop removal mines approved in West ...
August 12, 1998
Too late to undo bill
Gov. Underwood has finally figured out that mountaintop removal mining is a serious issue, and that ...
August 12, 1998
Moratorium requires judge's approval
At least one federal regulatory agency has agreed to halt the permitting of new strip mine valley ...
August 11, 1998
Rep. Nick J. Rahall, D-W.Va., on Monday blasted the U.S. Office of Surface Mining for being "ou ...
August 10, 1998
Do timber companies need flat land in order to make money cutting down trees? Should West Virginia ...
August 9, 1998
Most mountaintop mines left as pasture land in state
CANNELTON - Bullpush Mountain isn't a mountain anymore. It's a flat, grassy meadow that st ...
August 9, 1998
State regulators don't know how many mountaintop removal mines there are in West Virginia. T ...
August 7, 1998
Mountaintop malarkey
Absurdly, state Environmental Protection Director Michael Miano contends that changing the elevation ...
August 6, 1998
Lawyers for environmentalists and coalfield residents want a speedy hearing on a lawsuit which seeks ...
August 5, 1998
Federal regulators demanded Tuesday that Arch Coal Inc. consider alternatives to filling in more tha ...
August 4, 1998
Mountaintop removal concerns ignored, some say
Union coal miners agreed with environmental activists Monday evening that more needs to be done to a ...
August 2, 1998
Let's set the record straight on mountaintop removal
During the past few months, mountaintop mining in West Virginia has attracted much attention from na ...
July 31, 1998
Love of mountains
There's something almost spiritual about the feeling most West Virginians have for the mountains ...
July 21, 1998
Former top West Virginia regulator David C. Callaghan said Monday that the Legislature and Gov. Ceci ...
July 19, 1998
Stance could help suit over mountaintop removal
One of several federal agencies that were sued last week for their role in permitting mountaintop re ...
July 18, 1998
A task force to examine mountaintop removal coal mining will hold its first meeting Monday afternoon ...
July 17, 1998
A coalition of environmentalists and coalfield residents filed a federal court lawsuit on Thursday t ...
July 14, 1998
Blair resident wants to save homeplace from company
SPRUCE VALLEY - Arch Coal Inc. lawyer Blair Gardner sipped ice water on James Weekley's front po ...
July 9, 1998
Environmentalists and a federal agency on Tuesday asked a judge to cancel a hearing on efforts to ha ...
July 5, 1998
Arch Coal Inc. has appealed several provisions of a 3,100-acre mountaintop removal coal mining permi ...
July 5, 1998
Investigation focuses more on whether state officials abused mine reclamation rule
Federal regulators have expanded their study into the permitting of huge mountaintop removal strip m ...
July 1, 1998
Reclaiming rights: Concerned citizens can change mining practices
I have been faithfully following Ken Ward's investigative series on strip mining. As a social sc ...
July 1, 1998
Cursing a friend: Extremists do disservice to a beneficial industry
Dan Radmacher's opinion piece "Coal hurts those it pretends to help," in the June 19 ...
June 25, 1998
Coalfield residents take umbrage with strip mine methods
HUNTINGTON - Federal mine regulators planned a day of bureaucratic discussions about stuff like cumu ...
June 24, 1998
Logical choices: Mountaintop mining task force represents expertise, experience
This newspaper has already written off the forthcoming efforts of Gov. Cecil Underwood's recentl ...
June 21, 1998
A week ago, state strip mine regulators asked environmentalists to sit down and help resolve complai ...
June 19, 1998
Coal hurts those it pretends to help
After three days of touring mountaintop removal mines, we were in the bus driving down Cannelton Hol ...
June 18, 1998
If strip mine valley fills are illegal under state water quality rules, then the rules should be cha ...
June 16, 1998
Mountaintop stance amazing
Gov. Underwood is shedding any pretense of neutrality on the mountaintop removal issue.
June 14, 1998
One federal regulatory agency has blocked new mining permits in West Virginia. But another may try t ...
June 11, 1998
EPA studies welcome
Despite protests from nature-lovers, passage of the strip mine "mitigation" bill by the 19 ...
June 26, 2008
CLOTHIER - On one end of the Dal-Tex complex, huge shovels and dozers rip apart mountains and bu ...
June 8, 1998
Impact studies could be required for all new strip mines, EPA says
If the state doesn't toughen its permit requirements, all new strip- mine proposals might be sub ...
June 6, 1998
Three former top state regulators, four legislators, a handful of business people and industry lobby ...
June 5, 1998
EPA backs up threats
They can't say they weren't warned. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency urged Gov. Ceci ...
June 4, 1998
State stopped from approving project
Federal regulators on Wednesday stopped the state from issuing a permit for a new A.T. Massey Coal C ...
May 22, 1998
Marshall University President Wade Gilley will chair a task force to examine mountaintop removal min ...
May 21, 1998
Where are the regulators?
Federal regulators told West Virginians that just because a mountaintop is removed to get at coal, i ...
May 21, 1998
Gov. Cecil Underwood announced Wednesday he will form a task force to examine the effects of mountai ...
May 17, 1998
A.T. Massey Coal Co. says 1,600 acres of Boone County forest will be improved if the company strip m ...
May 11, 1998
Environmental groups and coalfield residents are demanding that federal regulators review a new sta ...
May 10, 1998
All mines that remove the tops of mountains aren't mountaintop removal mines, according to the h ...
June 26, 2008
All mines that remove the tops of mountains aren't mountaintop removal mines, according to t ...
May 8, 1998
Regulators falling down
None of the government watchdogs who are supposed to be protecting West Virginia and its people from ...
May 7, 1998
Rep. Bob Wise on Wednesday asked three federal agencies to investigate complaints about mountaintop ...
May 6, 1998
Area needs the jobs, UMW member says
SHARPLES - Coal miners and their families packed a public hearing Tuesday evening to show they suppo ...
May 5, 1998
Many mines illegal
Incredibly, three-fourths of the controversial mountaintop removal strip mines currently decapitatin ...
May 5, 1998
On Monday two West Virginia congressmen criticized the way state regulators have issued dozens of pe ...
May 4, 1998
Gazette probe, pending suit bring mine review
State regulators have put the brakes on a new A.T. Massey strip mine while they review complaints ab ...
May 3, 1998
Law to rebuild mountains falls by wayside
LOGAN - Ken Stollings points to the maps and charts on his office wall to show how Hobet Mining wi ...
April 24, 1998
Mountain moonscape
Decades ago, West Virginia drew attention as a symbol of poverty. Now it's becoming a symbol of ...
April 19, 1998
State strip mine regulators are allowing coal operators to illegally shave off the tops of mountains ...
April 14, 1998
EPA takeover needed
GOV. Underwood had a perfect opportunity to demonstrate his independence from the coal industry when ...
March 31, 1998
Federal regulators may rein in strip mines if state doesn't
West Virginia coal operators want the state to permit bigger and bigger strip mines. The state see ...
March 23, 1998
This is the first in an occasional series of Sunday Gazette-Mail and Charleston Gazette articles t ...
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