Posted on July 25, 2011 by David Wagner

USEPA Finalizes Guidance on Mountain-top Mining

This post was written by Mark Mustian.

Last year we discussed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) interim guidance for permitting of mountain-top mining and surface mining projects and the likelihood of revisions based on comments USEPA would receive. More than 60,000 comments later, USEPA revised and issued the Final Appalachian Mining guidance. While not legally binding, the guidance document published yesterday is intended to provide guidance to states in the Appalachian region on permitting issues related to mountain-top mining and surface mining projects. The guidance addresses the current best available science, identifies permitting strategies that comply with the requirements of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and provides assistance to USEPA staff in reviewing and approving permits issued by both the states and by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).

Mining and the NPDES Program

In particular, the guidance document seeks to ensure that mining projects are properly permitted under the requirements of the CWA's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). (A quick aside: all of the states in the Appalachian coal mining region are currently authorized by USEPA to administer the NPDES program.) The CWA and USEPA’s implementing regulations require that NPDES permits contain (1) technology-based effluent limitations, which represent the degree of control that can be achieved by point sources using various specified levels of pollution control technology; and (2) more stringent limitations, commonly known as water quality-based effluent limits, when necessary to ensure that the receiving waters meet applicable water quality standards. During reviews of the NPDES permits issued over the last few years for surface-mining projects in the Appalachian region, USEPA identified concerns about how effectively states were achieving the necessary protection of the receiving streams, and concluded that states could be more effective in gathering water quality data and documenting their permitting processes. As a result, the new guidance identifies key elements which should be evaluated by states to ensure compliance with CWA requirements. USEPA identified the following elements that should be evaluated and documented as part of the permitting process:

  • Effluent and Receiving Water Characterization - USEPA recommends that states utilize their broad authority granted under the CWA to require permittees to provide sufficient data to fully characterize their proposed discharges, and to utilize all available ambient water quality and biological data on receiving streams in permit development.
  • Reasonable Potential Evaluation - The CWA and USEPA regulations require regulation of all pollutants which have the reasonable potential to cause or contribute to an excursion above any applicable water quality standard. USEPA notes that permitting authorities should use all available guidance and resources to develop appropriate limitations to protect water quality standards.
  • Develop Appropriate Permit Limitations - Appropriate limitations may include chemical specific limitations, limitations based upon whole effluent toxicity, limitations based upon bioassessment procedures, and/or best management practices.

Future Mining Activities and Total Dissolved Solids

The issue which could potentially have the largest impact on future mining activities is the issue of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS). TDS consists of dissolved minerals such as chlorides and sulfates, and at high concentrations, TDS constitutants are toxic to aquatic organisms. In the guidance document, USEPA notes that of the Appalachian states, only Pennsylvania and Ohio have numeric criteria which specifically regulate the discharge of dissolved solids. USEPA identifies a TDS level (as measured by conductivity) of 300 μS/cm as an appropriate protective level for instream concentrations. If states properly implement regulations limiting the discharge of dissolved solids, it will likely have a dramatic impact on the ability of mining companies to obtain a discharge permit. Removal of dissolved solids from water entails significant investment, both in capital and operating costs.

Strategies for Reviewing Section 404 Permits

Surface mining activities are also regulated under Section 404 of the CWA for the discharge of dredge or fill material into the waters of the United States. Permits are issued by the USACE, with review and approval by USEPA. The guidance document provides detailed strategies for regulators in USEPA Regions 3, 4 and 5 to use in reviewing Section 404 permits and ensuring that proposed permits are in compliance with the requirements of the CWA and state requirements on water quality. Of particular interest is the discussion regarding control of dissolved solids under a Section 404 permit, where the NPDES permit issued by the State may not be sufficiently protective. This creates the possibility that future control of dissolved solids could incorporated at the federal level, as opposed to the state level.
 
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Posted on April 2, 2010 by David Wagner

USEPA Increases Permitting Requirements for Surface Coal Mining Projects

This post was written by Mark Mustian.

On April 1, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) published on their website a new guidance document on improving USEPA reviews of Appalachian surface coal mining operations. As we noted in our blog over a year ago, changes were likely coming to the practice of mountain-top mining. The guidance documents sets forth the standards which will be followed when evaluating the issuance of permits under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act for the discharge of dredged or fill material during surface mining operations. USEPA has identified the following standards which must be met for any future mining activities.

  • Water quality and environmental integrity must be protected
  • Mining projects must avoid and minimize environmental impacts
  • Mining impacts must be effectively mitigated
  • Water quality and biological parameters must be monitored

The standard which will likely have the most significant impact is the protection of water quality. USEPA is proposing to evaluate the impact of a project based upon an increase in conductivity in the stream. They are setting general standards which must be met for any future projects. USEPA has found that mountain-top mining causes significant and persistent increases in dissolved chemical ion levels downstream from the mining, and these increases reach levels which are acutely toxic to aquatic organisms. In conjunction with the release of the guidance document, USEPA has released a report which assesses the state of the science on the environmental impacts of mountain-top mines and valley fills on streams in the Central Appalachian Coalfields.

The guidance is intended to become effective immediately on an interim basis. However, USEPA will be publishing the guidance in the Federal Register for comment. Based upon the comments its receives, USEPA will decide whether to modify the guidance document.

The guidance document, the report on environmental impacts of mountain-top mining, and other associated documents are available here.

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Posted on March 27, 2009 by David Wagner

In the US, the End of Mountaintop Mining?

This post was written by Mark Mustian. 

Mountain-top mining has probably generated more controversy in the United States than any other current resource extraction process, and recent USEPA activities have significantly increased attention to the process. Before discussing the regulatory developments, some background information may be helpful. Mountain-top mining is utilized to remove low-sulfur coal from the tops of mountains in the Appalachian region. The mining company timbers the mountain-top and removes the topsoil. The company then uses explosives to remove the overburden rock to expose the coal seams. The overburden is typically pushed into a nearby valley, creating a valley fill. The coal is excavated and washed (creating a significant amount of coal slurry waste), and the top of the mountain is reclaimed and revegetated. The process results in permanent changes to the topography and permanent impacts to the regions streams and water quality.

Mountain-top mining is allowed under section 515(c)(1) of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA). However, in order to deposit the overburden into the valley, and the valley watershed, the mining company must obtain a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). A permit is required under section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) in order to discharge dredged or fill material into the waters of the United States. The permit is issued by the USACE using the guidelines developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Under Section 404(c) of the CWA, the EPA has the authority to deny a permit for the discharge of dredged or fill material if it determines that "that the discharge of such materials into such area will have an unacceptable adverse effect on municipal water supplies, shellfish beds and fishery areas (including spawning and breeding areas), wildlife, or recreational areas."

Until recently, EPA has not invoked its authority under section 404(c) to limit or stop mountain-top mining. However, two recent decisions on proposed mining projects indicates that this situation may change. EPA issued letters to the USACE regarding two proposed mining projects, one in Kentucky, and one in West Virginia. For the Kentucky project, the EPA indicated that it believed the proposed project did not adequately avoid and minimize the impacts on the watershed, and that the proposed mitigation will not adequately offset the persistent and permanent impacts to the aquatic ecosystems' communities and functions. EPA was even more direct in the letter regarding the project in West Virginia. EPA stated that it believed the project required an environmental impact statement pursuant to section 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Under NEPA, any project which requires federal agency action must be evaluated by the agency to determine if the environmental impacts of the project are significant. If the agency determines that there is no impact, it issues a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). If there is an impact, it becomes necessary to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS).

Even more significant, the letter indicates that because of the cumulative and other impacts of the proposed projects, there is a high potential that EPA would use its authority under section 404(c) of the CWA to prohibit the issuance of a 404 permit for the discharge of fill from the project. If followed through, it would effectively end the project, as the mining company would be unable to dispose of the overburden created during mining.

The letters created such a controversy that EPA had to issue a press release stating that it were not "halting, holding or placing a moratorium" on mining permit applications. While this may be true, the effect of requiring the preparation of a full EIS in the case of mountain-top mining may have the same effect as a moratorium. The preparation of an EIS can be complex, time consuming and subjects the project to public review and scrutiny. Furthermore, an objective evaluation may show that the environmental costs do not outweigh the project benefits, and the decision may be to not issue a permit.
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