WASHINGTON - The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday approved a last-minute rule change by the Bush administration that will allow coal companies to bury streams under the rocks leftover from mining.

Mountaintop coal mines, such as this one near Mud River, W.Va., generate large amounts of waste. "With less than two months left in power, the Bush administration is determined to cement its legacy as having the worst environmental record in history," Earthjustice said in a statement. "This is a sad day for all people who are thankful for the clear mountain streams and stately summits of the Appalachians."(By Michael Williamson -- Post). The 1983 rule prohibited dumping the fill from mountaintop removal mining within 100 feet of streams. In practice, the government hadn't been enforcing the rule. Government figures show that . . . read more

Published on Wednesday, December 3, 2008 by McClatchy Newspapers; article by Renee Schoof and Bill Estep.