The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has suspended the valley fill permit for a
controversial surface mine proposed for Ison Rock Ridge in Wise County.
The permit authorized A&G Coal, the company seeking to mine the
1,300-acre site, to dump mining waste into the adjacent valley and streams,
which the company said is necessary to make the operation cost-effective.
When the permit was issued in 2007, the Corps expected A&G to quickly get
a permit from the state to mine the site, according to a May 6 letter from the
Corps to A&G Coal Co., but significant time has passed and that has not
happened.
“Suspension will also afford us an opportunity to fully evaluate concerns
raised by the Environmental Protection Agency,” the Corps’ letter states.
The EPA, in an April 3 letter, laid out a list of concerns about the damage
the project could do to the environment and asked the Corps to revoke the
permit.
“I am happy that the Corps has suspended the permit,” said Kathy Selvage,
vice president of Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, based in Big Stone
Gap, Va. “I
think that this will mean so much to the quality of life for the people in the
surrounding communities.”
Over the past two years, Selvage is among many near the permit area, just
outside the town limits of Appalachia, who
have raised their voices in legal challenges and petitions to prevent the ridge
from being mined. She said their work has raised awareness in Washington, D.C.,
of the need to review the scope of environmental damage taking place in the
Appalachian region. She also said Thursday’s action will make it much more
difficult for A&G to get approval for mining Ison Rock Ridge.
“It would be wonderful if this could set the precedent for other cases where
streams are being destroyed and buried and drinking water’s being polluted and
entire communities are disappearing,” Selvage said.
A woman who answered the phone at A&G Thursday said no one was available
to comment.
Meanwhile, the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy has until
today to decide whether to issue a separate mining permit for the project;
spokesman Mike Abbott said a decision had not yet been made Thursday.
“If we were to issue the permit … we could issue our permit with what we
call terms of issuance, which would essentially state that they could not
conduct any mining activity in any areas covered by the [Corps] permit,” Abbott
said. “The company will still be required to obtain their [valley fill] permit from
the Corps.”
