More Legal Victories Against Mountaintop Mining

	Rocks and boulders left lying around after Hobet Mining got done rearranging the Mud River.

Hobet Mining Co. is being forced to pay fines for violating its Clean Water Act Pollution Discharge Permit at its massive mountaintop removal mine in Lincoln County.

But, top Division of Environmental Protection officials say that the coal company can pay off part of its fines in boulders.

       While DEP continues to have over 100 staff vacancies, it is happy to accept rocks as partial payment for Hobets contamination of the Mud River area.  Scientists say that pollution there is so severe its causing fish to grow two eyes on one side of their heads, spine deformities and the potential ecological collapse of the fish habitat in a large recreational reservoir downstream from the mines.  

       The fines are in response to one of our selenium lawsuits, both of which are serving to expose the WV DEPs cozy relationship with an industry its supposed to regulate.

       The following news articles detail these latest legal developments and also, we hope, will move you to help us demand a better DEP.  Take action by visiting www.ohvec.org and clicking on "Safe Water and a Strong DEP."            

        Hobets 20 square miles of lopped off mountains and buried streams, with serious water problems downstream, seem to contradict the claim made by some Friends of Coal that mountaintop removal (MTR) actually makes the land better.