U.S. appeals WV federal court ruling on mountaintop mining

The Charleston Gazette has this report on the government's appeal from the July 8 ruling by Judge Goodwin in the mountaintop mining litigation. Goodwin ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers "could no longer approve mining valley fills through a streamlined permit process meant only for activities that cause minor environmental damage. Rather than these “general” or “nationwide” permits, Goodwin said, coal companies must go through individual permit reviews when they propose to bury streams with waste dirt and rock."