Study: [PA] DEP Failed to Enforce Regulations .
Washington PA Observer
Reporter
28 July 2010
By Bob Niedbala, Staff writer
niedbala@observer-reporter.com
A study by the Citizens Coal Council, released Monday, claims the state
[PA] Department of Environmental Protection has failed to enforce
regulations to protect streams and watersheds from the harmful effects
of underground coal mining.
The nine-month study commissioned by the council investigated
regulatory files of three longwall mines in Washington and Greene
counties and documents the lax oversight of the coal industry by DEP,
the organization said.
"This report is long overdue," said Aimee Erickson, executive director
of the council, an environmental organization that works on
coal-related issues. "I think it points out the problems with the Pa.
DEP and the way permits are being reviewed."
The study, prepared by Schmid and Co. Inc., an ecology consulting firm
based in Media, looks at the regulatory files of Consol Energy's Bailey
and Enlow Fork mines and Emerald Coal Resources' Emerald Mine.
The study maintains that despite improved reporting requirements and
strong state constitutional and regulatory safeguards, DEP has failed
to adequately evaluate and protect against threats to streams and
watersheds by longwall mining.
"Water resource protection is not happening because the regulations are
not being applied and the laws are not being enforced," said Stephen P.
Kunz, co-author of the report with Dr. James A. Schmid of Schmid &
Co. Inc.
Part of the problem, Erickson said, is that DEP is understaffed and the
amount of funding the states receive from the federal government for
regulation enforcement has declined.
The study maintains:
n DEP has failed to enforce coal mining laws which protect hydrologic
balance, resulting in stream dewatering and damaged aquatic systems.
n DEP has failed to enforce state water quality standards, for example,
the anti-degradation requirements which can protect high quality water
resources. Permit discharge limits are routinely exceeded, the study
said.
In addition, longwall mining permits are routinely issued based on
inadequate assessments of likely impacts to streams, wetlands and
hydrologic balance; and DEP's enforcement of pre-mining mitigation and
post-mining restoration are piecemeal and inadequate.
The council's report, which included a review of more than 75,000 pages
of DEP files, concludes with recommendations to improve DEP's
procedures and permit review process to protect water resources.
DEP spokesman Tom Rathbun said Tuesday that the department has not yet
seen the council's report. He noted that the University of Pittsburgh
is expected to complete its Act 54 review in September.
The five-year review will look at the impact of underground mining as
well as the DEP's response to mining-related issues. "It will be
interesting to see how their (the council's) results compare," he said.
The council's 195-page study can be viewed under staff publications on
the Schmid & Co. website at http://www.schmidco.com