Mining limits

The Environmental Protection Agency has moved to prevent further devastation of the Appalachian environment by a mining technique that has destroyed hundreds of miles of streams and wetlands, as well as mountain peaks.

The agency has put a moratorium on hundreds of requests for "mountaintop" mining permits. The technique involves blasting away the tops of mountains to gain access to the coal and then dumping tons of debris into rivers and valleys.

The Bush administration sought to make it easier for the companies to use the practice by easing 1983 regulations against such techniques. A federal court last month rejected a challenge to the new rule, which would have allowed the Army Corps of Engineers to issue permits until the EPA acted Tuesday.

One government study has found that more than 700 miles of streams and rivers were destroyed between 1985 and 2001. Additional environmental damage could also result from mudslides after mountains are stripped of trees and vegetation.

Pending permits could result in the loss of more than 200 miles of streams in the region. Those requests will be further delayed to allow the EPA to evaluate the impact of mountaintop removal and curb the environmental harm it does.

What gives any company the right to rip mountains apart?