This news is a
wonderful surprise. Patriot Coal announced today that they are ending their
practice of mountaintop removal. The coal mining company said that its
decision came as part of their agreement over a water pollution lawsuit with the Ohio Valley Environmental
Coalition, the Sierra Club, and the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy.
Patriot
Coal is to be applauded. Credit is due as well to the West Virginia Highlands
Conservancy and other organizations that have been working with legislators,
state agencies, and the courts to ensure that the remaining mountains of
Appalachia continue to stand; the waters of those mountains run clean and clear;
and the residents of the eastern coalfields can live lives unharmed by the
ailments associated with mountaintop removal.
Mountaintop
removal by Patriot Coal is not ending today. The company will be phasing out
mountaintop mining production over the next three to four years. But all things considered, the news is still
good.
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