Sunday, September 16, 2007

Stop the Assault on Appalachia!!

Stop the Assault on Appalachia!!

I've been looking for a better (easier, less red tape) way to get to the public commenting on the recently proposed reduction of the stream buffer zone in surface mining.... and Earthjustice to the rescue!
If you commented on the government's official site before, I would still encourage you to do it throught Earthjustice once more.... that way we KNOW it has been documented and recorded and not "lost."Via EarthJustice: The Bush administration has already relaxed Clean Water Act safeguards that protected Appalachian mountain streams from mountaintop removal mining and "King Coal." Now, the administration is trying to weaken the "buffer zone rule," a Reagan-era protection that prohibits coal mining activities from disturbing areas within 100 feet of streams.If this new rule goes forward, coal companies will be allowed to dump massive amounts of waste directly into streams, destroying them completely. Already, nearly 2,000 miles of mountain streams in Appalachia have been permanently buried by mountaintop removal waste. Destroying thousands of miles of mountain streams is more than irresponsible; it is immoral. Now is your chance to say "No" to this latest attempt to weaken or eliminate the buffer zone rule that has protected streams from coal mining activities for decades! Tell the administration to stop trying to diminish the buffer zone rule and start enforcing it!
Send the Bush Administration a letter or go to this web site.

http://action.earthjustice.org/campaign/Buffer_Zone_Alert_Sept_2007