Word: waterings
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Even if Dodd had agreed to water down reform enough to cut a deal with Corker, that wouldn't have guaranteed success; it was not clear if any other Republicans would have supported it, if Democrats on his committee would have agreed to pass it, if it could have survived the full Senate, if the Senate would have been able to work out its differences with the House in a conference, if the Senate and House would have been able to pass the resulting conference bill, or if Obama - whose aides have suggested they'd much prefer no bill...
...mining destroys the natural habitats of many local species, whether endangered ones such as flying squirrels or flourishing ones like salamanders. Further, mountaintop debris that is dug up or displaced by explosions is dumped in the valleys below, burying headwater streams, killing the aquatic species that live in the waters and impacting downstream water supplies. About 1,200 miles of streams have been buried in this manner in central Appalachia, according to a 2003 federal study. "It's higher by now," says Bonds, given that mining activity has not slowed...
What can be measured are chemicals like arsenic, lead, mercury, magnesium and selenium that leach into water sources from mining waste. Toxins have been found in high concentrations downstream of mountaintop mining sites, killing fish and threatening human health, according to biologist Dennis Lemly of Wake Forest University. Some residents of the Lindytown area rely only on bottled spring water for drinking. "No, ma'am, we do not dare drink the tap water here," Bonds says adamantly...
...anti-mining activists cannot stop coal extraction altogether, they are hoping to appeal to the EPA to at least regulate it through the Clean Water Protection Act, which is currently sitting in the House. The bill would close a loophole in the Clean Water Act of 1972 and halt the burying of streams with coal debris, which would block further contamination. The EPA does not have the authority to regulate mountaintop mining, but it is responsible for preventing the practice from affecting water quality, said EPA administrator Lisa Jackson at the National Press Club in Washington. The EPA will...
Although other types of surface or underground mining are less environmentally destructive than mountaintop mining, they're also more expensive, so companies like Massey are reluctant to alter current practices. Going forward, however, Massey has pledged to monitor water quality; periodically it assembles a 30-member environmental review arm to do so. The EPA is also keeping tabs on mining's impact, while Obama has pledged to support the development of clean energy. Activists like Bonds say attention from the top levels of the current administration helps them continue fighting at this crucial time. But for the former residents...