By JACK LATTA
Staff Writer, Floyd County Times
PIKEVILLE, Ky. — Their was no place to hide and few friendly faces for Environmental Protection Agency representatives Thursday, as hundreds of pro-coal supporters showed up at the Pikeville Expo Center Thursday to challenge the agency’s objections to mining permits.
The hearings were held over 36 objections applied by the EPA, related to water quality standards of coal mining permits.
In an excerpt pulled from one of the 36 objections to be cited during the hearings, relating to Matt/Co, the EPA objected “to the methods and practices of Kentucky Division of Water’s handling of water quality studies, with regard to the National Pollutant Discharge Standards (NPDS) that KDOW sent to the EPA for mining permits.” In particular, the EPA suggests that KDOW is not meeting Kentucky’s standards for assessing the amount of pollution entering waterways as effuse from coal mining operations.
Over 30 people addressed the panel, most pro-coal supporters with harsh words for the EPA. When the few voices of representatives from groups like the Sierra Club spoke, they were greeted with boos or, in one instance, empty seats, as most of the audience got up and left during one environmental advocate’s address.
According to EPA officials, the event was not designed to be a question-and-answer session, but to offer people of the region an opportunity to share their thoughts on the controversial mining permits.
Jim Giattina, director of the Water Protection Division, USEPA Region 4, provided opening remarks for the EPA members on hand.
Giattina highlighted recent mining innovations which have been making coal mining environmentally friendly.
“The EPA and the Kentucky environmental cabinet, have been working for the last two years to apply common-sense practices,” Giattina said.
According to Giattina, the permits in question, NPDS water discharge permits, are a “basic control for determining water pollution.”
Giattina tried to reassure attendees that the EPA is not anti-coal when he said the division has issued 87 surface mining projects and 28 underground mining projects, but stated that new environmental concerns are being discovered in the last several years in water quality. Sediments, salt and metal runoff from mines can destroy waterways, Giattina told the audience.
Leonard K. Peters, Kentucky Energy and Environment Secretary said the hearings were unprecedented. He said his office has had concerns with EPA practices for two years.
“Environmental permitting is not designed to stop legitimate business activities,” said Peters. “Regulations need to be fair and reasonable.”
U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell and Sen. Rand Paul were not present, but issued statements read during the hearings. McConnell called the policies of the Obama administration “especially irritating,” and said the administration’s continued “regulatory assault on Eastern Kentucky” is an attempt to “crucify me.”
Jim Milliman, with Sen. Paul’s office, gave a heated oratory, questioning how the people of Eastern Kentucky can expect fair hearings when the Obama administration says it wants to “bankrupt the coal industry.”
Gwen Keyes Fleming, a regional administrator with the EPA, said in a statement released earlier this week that the people in Kentucky should not have to choose between a clean healthy environment to raise their families, and jobs they have traditionally worked to support them.
“In the past three years, Kentucky has issued permits for 115 mining projects. An estimated 2,500 additional coal mining projects in Kentucky proceed under a general permit,” said Fleming. “EPA’s objections are limited to 36 water discharge permits for coal mines in Kentucky, because of a concern that they do not contain limits to prevent pollutants, including toxic heavy metals, salts and sediment, from contaminating Kentucky’s waterways.”
Giattina said that the public comment period to express concerns with the EPA’s objections will end on June 21. The EPA regional administration will review the objections, and if they choose to withdraw any of the objections, KDOW will be able to move forward and issue the mining permits.
And coal supporters were huge with coal's bussing in most with their owners and industry reps being a big part off the early speakers.
You were wrong as there were over 70 speaking and would have been more but the hour drew long and the 100 or more signed up to speak reduced to the smaller number.
And coal was smarter in having their rally near the door, lining up to make many get into the building late and not hearing the early 30.
As the industry got repetitive just like their corrupt politicians - and I speak with experience knowing most of them - and the bosses/owners from coal finished with employees following them out the door, the intelligence level (not emotional jargon) got higher as those speaking from the Sierra Club, clean water group spokespersons and Kentuckians for the Commonwealth share their thoughts and powerful facts on water.
The BEST speeches were two men, very emotional and sincere comparatively, from the mountains talking of the damages of mining to their own lives and health.
(I add that miners did talk honestly about the threat to their economic welfare.)
The best speaker that your staff member failed to mention, maybe never heard, was a 10 to 12 year old boy talking about his and his friends future.
Maybe your writer should review the EPA tapes and videos.
There is a lot to learn!