W.Va. met coal mine closed in 1985 to reopen* - News - Charleston Daily Mail - West Virginia News and Sports -
Another Virginia mine to reopen will add more jobs.
United Coal President and Chief Executive Michael Zervos said the reopening of the Affinity mine near Sophia in Raleigh County would create 254 mining jobs, and as many as 1,300 spinoff jobs. The company plans to spend $115 million to rehabilitate the former Eastern Associated Coal mine.
It's one of two projects United Coal plans for West Virginia. The Register-Herald reports that United Coal plans to open a similar sized mine in Randolph County in 2013. That operation is expected to employ up to 300 miners.
Lose some, win some.
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpres...6b9ecfafebce79a5852578170056a179!OpenDocument
EPA’s decision to stop mining waste discharges to high quality streams at the Spruce No. 1 mine was based on several major environmental and water quality concerns. The proposed mine project would have:
· Disposed of 110 million cubic yards of coal mine waste into streams.
· Buried more than six miles of high-quality streams in Logan County, West Virginia with millions of tons of mining waste from the dynamiting of more than 2,200 acres of mountains and forestlands.
· Buried more than 35,000 feet of high-quality streams under mining waste, which will eliminate all fish, small invertebrates, salamanders, and other wildlife that live in them.
· Polluted downstream waters as a result of burying these streams, which will lead to unhealthy levels of salinity and toxic levels of selenium that turn fresh water into salty water. The resulting waste that then fills valleys and streams can significantly compromise water quality, often causing permanent damage to ecosystems and streams.
· Caused downstream watershed degradation that will kill wildlife, impact birdlife, reduce habitat value, and increase susceptibility to toxic algal blooms.
· Inadequately mitigated for the mine’s environmental impacts by not replacing streams being buried, and attempting to use stormwater ditches as compensation for natural stream losses.
Great job EPA.