Appeals court upholds EPA ruling on W.Va. mine
US appeals court upholds EPA's power to revoke W.Va. mountaintop mining permit
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -- A federal appeals court says the Environmental Protection Agency had the legal authority to veto permits for one of West Virginia's largest mountaintop removal coal mines.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Tuesday reversed a lower court's ruling and sent the case back for further proceedings.
In 2011, the EPA revoked a water-pollution permit the Army Corps of Engineers had issued four years earlier to St. Louis-based Arch Coal for its 2,300-acre Spruce No. 1 mine.
The EPA said destructive, unsustainable mining practices would cause irreparable environmental damage and threaten the health of people nearby.
Industry, politicians and state regulators wanted the appeals court to uphold a federal judge's ruling that EPA overstepped its authority.
