The EPA announced on Tuesday that they were putting a hold on dozens of mountantop mining projects until the “projects’ impacts on streams and wetlands can be reviewed.”
Announced by EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, the move targets a controversial practice by coal mining companies that blasts away whole peaks and sends mining waste into streams and wetlands. It does not apply to existing mines, but to requests for new permits, a number estimated to be as high as 200.
Jackson said in a statement, “EPA will use the best science and follow the letter of the law in ensuring we are protecting our environment.”
The dscision of the EPA to put a hold on these projects pending further review is seen as a victory for environmentalists who are against the practice of mountaintop mining.
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