It’s well past time to look and act forward for the well-being of God’s earth, and for the future of our children’s children.

There will be cries that EPA is stopping MTR and killing jobs. No doubt there would be significant economic impacts if MTR is curtailed. (In my view, likely overcome in the medium or long term by economic benefits.) But it’s important to remember that MTR/VF is practiced because it is a cheaper way to surface mine for the coal companies–not the only way to mine.

A case in point in Alaska: A controversial open pit gold mine in the Tongas got permits for the placement of mining spoil on wetlands. After the Bush changed regulations that allowed mining spoil to be declared “fill” (regulations changed, of course, with Appalachian valley fills in mind), the gold mine pursued new permits to dump their overburden in a lake below the mine. They did this because it was cheaper–even as the price of gold has skyrocketed–not because it was necessary. They got their new permits, but then the 9th Circuit said no–it’s a violation of the Clean Water Act. Now it’s going to be decided by the Supreme Court this spring. It seems like it’s a case with lot of consequences for MTR in Appalachia. I’m surprised to never see it mentioned here.