Orano warns of financial problems at Niger uranium plant
The West African nation increasingly seeks new partners, such as Russia, in its mining sector.
The US coal industry scored a victory in court Thursday after a federal judge ruled that the Obama administration did not have authority to tighten oversight of permits used by coal mining companies that do “mountaintop mining.”
The ruling by the U.S. District Court says the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “exceeded its authority under the Clean Water Act when it issued tougher environmental guidelines related to fill material dumped into streams after the tops of mountains are blasted off to extract underlying coal seams,” reported The Wall Street Journal.
The National Mining Association sued the EPA last year over the issue.
The mining industry argues that more stringent environmental regulations are making it more difficult for coal companies to operate mines and maintain jobs.
MINING.com reported in August on two women who staged a “tree sit-in” to protest operations at the Bee Tree surface mine owned by Alpha Natural Resources, the company that bought Massey Energy following a deadly blast at one of its coal mines. The tree-sitters were associated with a group calling for an end to strip mining in the Coal River watershed because of the cumulative effects of mining on drinking water, residents’ health, cultural resources, and air quality.
2 Comments
Karen
Awesome! Mining is SO important, and I’m sick of the Obama Administration regulating every single thing. Not one of them has any idea what mining (especially coal) means to our country and economy. My son works in a monlybdenum mine–keep up the great work!!!
Stephen
Was the point of the EPA? Obviously not to protect the environment…