Law Commons^™

Writing A Check That The State Can't Cash: Water Pollution From Coal Mining And The Imminent And Inevitable Failure Of The West Virginia Special Reclamation Fund, Sarah J. Surber

Applied Safety & Technology Faculty Research

After decades of financial decadence and total dominance over political processes, coal companies have hit desperate times. Cheap, abundant natural gas recently emerged, driving demand for coal for energy production and coal prices down. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finally moved to more stringent emissions limitations for coal-fired power plants under the Clean Air Act. Concurrently, the public demanded improvements in safety technology after several tragic mining accidents resulted from lax safety measures and a corporate culture of recklessness. During this time, environmental citizen groups worked to ensure that mining companies no longer violated the Clean Water Act …