Spruce Mine update: EPA gives Arch Coal more time

The last we checked in on the largest mountaintop removal mining permit in West Virginia history, U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers had suspended court proceedings on the permit until this past Tuesday.

Chambers was giving Arch Coal Inc. more time to talk with U.S. EPA and the Corps of Engineers about its Spruce No. 1 Mine in Logan County, W.Va. Three weeks ago, EPA had begun proceedings to veto the Corps’ effort to approve this nearly 2,300-acre mine that would bury more than 7 miles of streams.

In an order issued yesterday, Judge Chambers extended his stay of proceedings concerning the Spruce Mine for another month, until Dec. 4.

Department of Justice lawyers had sought the extension, saying EPA wanted more time for “consultations” with the Corps and the company before deciding whether to move forward in blocking the permit.

This whole process is governed by Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act, which gives EPA fairly broad authority to veto Corps “dredge and fill” permits if the discharges involved “will have unacceptable adverse effects on municipal water supplies, shellfish beds and fishery areas, wildlife, or recreational areas.”

And under EPA’s implementing regulations for that part of the law,  EPA was supposed to decide whether to move forward within 15 days of its Oct. 16 letter threatening to veto the Spruce Mine. That 15 days is intended to give the permit applicant involved “an initial and expeditious opportunity to provide a response, including additional information regaridng the project that may not already be contained in the record.”

But according to court filings, EPA gave Arch Coal an additional 15 days. In a letter to Arch Coal, EPA explained:

In balancing EPA’s regulatory responsibility to respect the timeframes set out in the regulations with the need for the company to provide a considered response and for EPA to evaluate that response, we have determined that extending the timeframe for your response for an additional 15 days is appropriate.

This extension will allow EPA and the Corps and opportunity to consider any additional information the company may provide.

According to a court filing, EPA and the Corps met with officials from Arch Coal’s Mingo Logan  subsidiary on Oct. 30 “to discuss options for further reducing adverse environmental impacts associated with the Spruce No. 1 permit.” As a result of that meeting, EPA and Mingo Logan “agreed to continue their discussions regarding EPA’s concerns.”

Unless this timetable is further extended, EPA will at the end of that second 15-day period have to decide whether it is satisfied with any changes in the mine plan or whether it wants to move forward with a public notice, possibly hearings, and a formal veto of the Spruce Mine permit.