Kentucky streams get temporary reprieve from further destruction

The water quality impacts of uncontrolled valley fills need to be thoroughly examined before more permits to bury streams are issued, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today.

The agency said it has concerns about 79 pending valley fills permits and is sending those back permits to regional offices for further review. You can find EPA's press release here.

"This is fantastic,â€ said Hueysville resident Rick Handshoe who has battled numerous problems from mining operations in his community, including the loss of water wells and flooding. "Holler fills are just wrong. Holler fills should never be permitted. This is a step in the right direction.â€

Almost two-thirds of the pending permits addressed by EPA are in Kentucky.  You can find the list here and a list with more detailed information here. A great interactive map developed by Appalachian Voices showing all the permits is here.

"Hopefully this will protect coalfield residents from future flash flooding and be more protective of our drinking water and require coal companies to operate in a more responsible way," said KFTC Fellow Teri Blanton. "They can no longer blow up mountains and dump it over the side; it might even lead to more employees if they operate as the law intended.

In the press release, EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said: "The administration pledged earlier this year to improve review of mining projects that risked harming water quality. Release of this preliminary list is the first step in a process to assure that the environmental concerns raised by the 79 permit applications are addressed and that permits issued are protective of water quality and affected ecosystems.â€

The EPA review raised these concerns:

• The majority of the proposals recommended for further evaluation may not have adequately demonstrated avoidance and minimization of impacts in accordance with the Guidelines.


• Over 80% of the proposals recommended for further evaluation exhibited the potential for excursions from state narrative water quality standards, based on the scientific literature.


• Over 50% of the proposals recommended for further evaluation raise concerns regarding the potential for significant degradation of the aquatic ecosystem, either individually or cumulatively.


• The scientific literature, EPA field experience, and available project information suggest that the mitigation proposed may not be adequate to offset proposed impacts.

The EPA's action does not mean that the permits will not eventually be issued. It does mean that officials want the potential damage to water quality to be addressed.

As stated in the press release, the majority of the pending permits do not adequately attempt to minimize or avoid damage. That was perfectly okay under the Bush administration, when most valley fill permits were routinely rubber-stamped. The Obama administration has moved to stop this practice and look at the impacts of each individual permit.

"That has been a big problem from the start," pointed out Handshoe. "The impact that a holler fill is going to have on water, the community, on flooding needs to be individually studied. Every permit should be looked at on an individual basis; every situation is different."

"More than 1,400 miles of Kentucky streams already are directly impacted from valley fills," said Blanton. "It's really good we are looking at this before moving forward."

 Where the Kentucky permits are located