Given the bleak picture in teacherken's diary today -- God was wrong. Support mountaintop removal. -- people here might be heartened by the ruling of a Federal Judge in Charleston, WV. The AP story can be read here.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Chuck Chambers, which was issued Wednesday, says that
. . . using settling ponds to remove sediment from streams at mountaintop removal coal mines violates the Clean Water Act.
Judge Chambers also ruled that
. . . the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers doesn't have the authority to allow mines to discharge sediment into settling ponds.
This is a fragile victory for environmental sanity, as it can certainly be overturned. But it's also an important one, inasmuch as it
. . . jeopardizes an industrywide practice that's been used for decades.
If it brings even one mountaintop mutilation to a halt, we can call it a victory.
For more information beyond the AP story, here is a google search using the terms "Judge Chambers mountaintop".
It is a positive sign that even under the Bush maladministration there are still some honest judges willing to enforce laws passed to protect our environment. Don't give up hope! And remember to support the coalition working to end mountaintop removal. That's where more hope lives.
Hat tip -- in fact, a full bow -- to teacherken for unearthing the information about this hopeful development and sharing it with me.