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Sierra Club Lawsuits

Kentucky “Thunder Ridge” Mountaintop Removal Coal Mine Suspended

Case Updates:

January 2, 2008

The Sierra Club’s first Kentucky MTR challenge produced immediate results. Shortly after we filed suit, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers suspended the permit for ICG Hazard’s Thunder Ridge mine in order to reconsider its approval in light of the claims we raised. Sierra Club and co-plaintiff Kentucky Waterways Alliance identified several legal deficiencies with the permit, including the Corps’ failure to explain its conclusion that burying several miles of streams would not degrade the waterways because the company would create replacement streams (even though attempts to recreate headwater streams have never been successful). The Corps also failed to demonstrate that the mining would not have any adverse effect on the environment. This victory will help protect drinking water quality for Kentuckians around the state and it represents the first time that the Army Corps has suspended one of its coal mining permits in Kentucky.

December 2, 2007

Mountaintop removal (MTR) mining blows up ancient, forested mountains to get at the underlying coal, and then dumps the excess mining waste into adjacent valleys – turning wild mountains into polluted wastelands and obliterating watersheds. The Sierra Club’s legal team is working alongside community organizers in the Appalachian region to end this destructive and wasteful mining practice.  

The Sierra Club challenged plans to expand ICG Hazard’s already massive Thunder Ridge MTR mine in Eastern Kentucky.  The plans would expand the mine substantially, destroy 4,400 acres of pristine wilderness and bury and pollute several miles of streams and creeks which lead into the Kentucky River – a water source for more than 1 million people.

(Thunder Ridge Mine; photo courtsey of Teri Blanton)

Details and Documents:

News Articles:

Mine expansion in the middle of fight
February 11, 2008, by James Bruggers, The Courier Journal

Feds pull permit for mountaintop removal
January 3, 2008, by Samira Jafari (AP), The Daily Independent

Groups challenge permit for mountaintop removal
December 7, 2007, by Samira Jafari (AP), The Messenger Inquirer

Press Releases:

Under Pressure, Army Corps of Engineers Suspends Kentucky Coal Mining Permit- Sierra Club, Kentucky Waterways Alliance Celebrate Victory for Clean Water
January 2, 2008

Links:

• Sierra Club Environmental Justice Program- Central Appalachia
• Sierra Club Mountaintop Removal Campaign