西弗吉尼亚州煤炭业遇困局

MICHELE NORRIS, host: And also in West Virginia, reaction continues to filter in. That's after a decision yesterday by the Environmental Protection Agency to revoke a permit for what would have been the largest mountain top removal mine in the state.

West Virginia's political leaders are condemning the agency’s veto saying this will have a chilling effect on the state's coal industry.

Emily Corio of West Virginia Public Broadcasting reports.

EMILY CORIO: Mountain top removal is a controversial mining method. To get at the coal underground, the tops of mountains are blown off, and the rock and dirt are dumped into valleys and streams.

The EPA revoked a permit that would have allowed Arch Coal Company(阿奇煤炭公司) to bury tons of rubble in streams. West Virginia's Environmental Protection secretary, Randy Huffman, says the Army Corps of Engineers issued the permit in 2007 and he disagrees with EPA's veto.

Mr. RANDY HUFFMAN (Environmental Protection Secretary, West Virginia): The issue about the veto is the fact that the federal government has gone back on its word and changed its mind after four years, and that's just unacceptable.

CORIO: Huffman says it's unacceptable because it creates an uncertain business climate in a state that relies heavily on coal. Arch Coal was expected to employ 250 people and invest hundreds of millions of dollars.

The Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition is one of several groups trying to stop the mine since it was first proposed in the 1990s. Project coordinator, Vivian Stockman, is pleased with the EPA's veto, and not surprised by the reactions of politicians and the coal industry.

Ms. VIVIAN STOCKMAN (Project Coordinator, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition): They're really failing to look at the big picture here, which is there can be no economic development in areas where there is no clean water.

CORIO: This EPA decision is part of an Obama administration effort to minimize the environmental impact of mountain top removal mining. The EPA continues to review dozens of mine permits across Appalachia(阿帕拉契亚), saying in a statement: People shouldn't have to make the false choice between healthy waters and a healthy economy. They can have both.

For NPR News, I'm Emily Corio in Morgantown, West Virginia.