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Protect Streams from Mountaintop Removal Mining Mining waste from mountaintop removal is dumped in a nearby valley and creek. Photo courtesy Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition. In Appalachia, streams are more than a part of the natural landscape. They provide clean drinking water, give safe haven to wildlife, and serve as a place where families fish and swim. Whole communities have been built around these streams. Our nation's environmental laws are supposed to protect streams like these and guarantee that communities have a safe and reliable source of clean drinking water. But now, instead of protecting them, the federal government is proposing to change the rules and allow Big Coal companies to pollute or even completely bury them. This rule change would give these big companies free reign to conduct mountaintop removal mining. Mountaintop removal mining is the most destructive type of coal mining. Coal companies literally blow up entire mountaintops and dump millions of tons of waste and rocks into nearby valley streams, polluting or burying them forever. The existing stream "buffer zone rule" prohibits coal mining activities from disturbing areas within 100 feet of streams. Mining companies continue to fill entire streams with mining waste during mountaintop removal mining in violation of this rule, but the federal government has turned a blind eye to this practice for years. The failure to enforce the stream buffer zone rule allowed companies to damage more than 500 miles of streams between 2001 and 2005. On August 24, 2007, the Office of Surface Mining proposed to repeal the stream "buffer zone rule" rather than enforce its protections. The proposed rule would allow mining companies to mine next to or through streams, and would expressly allow the most dangerous and destructive mountaintop mining removal activities—dumping wastes directly into "permanent excess spoil fills" and creating sludge-filled lagoons called "coal waste disposal facilities." Already, nearly 2,000 miles of streams in Appalachia have been buried or impaired by mountaintop removal mining, rendering parts of Appalachia into a desolate moonscape. This new proposal is an affront to all who value Appalachia's rich cultural heritage, environmental beauty, wildlife, and right to clean and safe water. The government must retract its proposal and instead move to enforce the law. Take action: Urge the Environmental Protection Agency to stop the elimination of the stream buffer zone rule. Knowledge is power. Learn more about Sierra Club's work on mountaintop removal mining and find out the dirty truth about coal. Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | © 2008 Sierra Club