Arch Coal Permit Under Consideration

{Charleston, West Virginia}...Legal wrangling continues over whether new federal water-quality rules should apply to a planned Arch Coal mountaintop removal mine. The Environmental Quality Board has lifted a stay on the permit for the New Hill West Mine in Monongalia County, but mining can’t proceed. The board says Arch still needs a new permit from the Department of Environmental Protection. Environmental groups want to force DEP to apply new guidance from the Environmental Protection Agency to the permit. EPA says electrical conductivity, a key indicator of stream health, should be incorporated in mountaintop mining permits. The board had ruled that DEP should change the permit, but Arch appealed. A judge sent the case back, ordering the board to provide more detailed written findings.