"Coal Companies Sue EPA Over Mine Permit Delays"

"The National Mining Association, which represents most major U.S. coal mining companies, on Tuesday filed suit against the Environmental Protection Agency, saying it was unlawfully obstructing permits for coal mining operations in Central Appalachia.

EPA's delaying of mountaintop mining permits has jeopardized thousands of jobs and supply of a fuel vital to meeting national electric power needs, said the lawsuit, filed in the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia.

The NMA suit against EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contends they have circumvented requirements for public notice and comment on federal statutes and ignored calls for 'peer-reviewed science' as part of 'a deliberate policy to substitute agency 'guidance' for formal rulemaking.'

A spokeswoman said EPA is reviewing the suit, and added: 'EPA's mining guidance is fully consistent with the law and the best available science and will help ensure that Americans living in coal country don't have to choose between a healthy environment for their families and the jobs they need to support them.'"

Steve James reports for Reuters July 10, 2010.