Mountaintop Mining

In the Bush Administration's final days, many executive orders and other items are in the works to alter various policies. Among these is an effort within the Department of Interior to repeal one of the largest regulatory protections against mountaintop mining.

The stream buffer zone rule seeks to protect water quality by prohibiting any mining activity within 100 feet of a flowing stream. Last month, the federal Office of Surface Mining sent in a proposal to the EPA to gut the rule.

Both John McCain and Barack Obama oppose mountaintop mining, which may explain the frenzy to get this changed at this time. The ball is now in the hands of Stephen Johnson, the EPA's administrator.