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December 3, 2008

EPA Guts Mountaintop Mining Rule Protecting Streams
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The Washington Post reports the Bush administration has finalized rules
that will make it easier for mountaintop mining companies to dump their
waste near rivers and streams. The new rules overhaul a
twenty-five-year-old prohibition that has sparked legal and regulatory
battles for years. Vernon Haltom of Coal River Mountain Watch said the
new rules are a “slap in the face of Appalachian communities.” He said,
“My home and thousands of others are now in greater jeopardy.”



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