Coal Operators Bound By Ruling, According to Appeals Court

Coal operators in the state have to comply with water quality standards that limit the legal pollution allowed in streams. An appeals court ruled this week that West Virginia rules incorporated standards into the Department of Environmental Protection permit for Fola Coal Company, and because of that all coal operators have to comply. The Gazette-Mail reports the appeals court decision upholds a January 2015 decision by U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers over mining conductivity pollution that scientists, environmental groups and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have found to have seriously harmed streams across the Appalachian coalfields.