Mountaintop Mining May Change with Obama

New appointments for agency heads in the EPA, Office of Surface Mining and the Army Corps of Engineers may mean changes in how mountaintop mining is practiced across Appalachia.

In October, the Bush Administration endorsed a change to the "100 foot buffer" rule that would make it easier to dump mining waste into valley fills. At present coal operators are required to establish a 100 foot buffer around streams to protect them from mining operations. The new rule change would extend the 100 foot buffer to other water bodies in exchange for allowing companies to dump excess spoil and coal waste into neighboring valleys.

It is currently unclear whether the proposed rule change will go into effect before Bush leaves office. If it does go into effect, the Obama Administration may reverse it. During the campaign, the Obama camp was supportive of clean coal technology but less so of conventional coal sources.