| By Clem Guttata
 Ken Ward, Jr. broke some big news last night, WVDEP fill policy: Game changer or more of the same?.
WVDEP is going to stop processing permits for surface coal mines that propose valley fills, until either U.S. EPA comes up with a firm policy on how those permits should be reviewed, or until WVDEP comes up with its own such policy.
Randy explained two reasons for this: First, since U.S. EPA is re-examining all of the permits, mining plans are changing dramatically. So, his theory goes, it's a waste of time for WVDEP staff to review permits that are going to change so radically after EPA gets its hands on them; and second, Randy says he's come to the conclusion that some sort of changes need to be put in place to reduce water quality impacts downstream of valley fills.
One of the more interesting things Randy told me was:
Our opposition [to EPA's permit reviews] has been more about the process than it has been about the science. There is a lot of validity to the concerns about the downstream impacts.
And, yet, it begs even more questions. Sec. Huffman still hasn't filled in the details-what are the negative consequences of MTR that the WV DEP has identified? After his staff clarified his Congressional testimony for him, he never did address that question.
(It's also worth nothing, there were multiple inaccuracies in his Congressional testimony, in addition to what his own staff pointed out.)
Now, the more I think about this, the more I think it is just political posturing. I've heard that Gov. Manchin has his long-asked for meeting with President Obama at least tentatively set for next Tuesday, Jan. 12. I'm really not sure what Manchin thinks this move will accomplish for an eventual meeting, but I have to think the two things are related. |
