Appalachia

The Charleston Gazette
Friday, May 2, 2014
DEP slammed for approval of strip mine near Kanawha forest
By Ken Ward Jr., Staff writer

Local citizen groups are criticizing the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection for approving a new strip-mining permit located near Kanawha State Forest.

“We don’t go to KSF to hear explosions, breath blasting dust and see our mountains torn apart,” said Chad Cordell, a leader of the Kanawha Forest Coalition, a group that opposes the permit sought by Keystone Industries. “To the people of the Kanawha Valley who are still recovering from the contamination of our drinking water by coal-cleaning chemicals, this mine will have further negative impact on our quality of life and well-being.”

Late Thursday afternoon, DEP officials issued a news release announcing that they had given final approval to Keystone’s request for a 414-acre permit to strip mine opposite Middlelick Branch from Kanawha State Forest’s northeastern boundary.

Over the years, it’s been rare for the DEP to issue a news release to announced approval of a mining permit, even a controversial one. - See more at: http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20140502/GZ01/140509821/1419#sthash.Tpxec0T3.dpuf