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Markey Questions Adequacy of Enviro Safeguards Used in Mountaintop Removal Mining

Press Release

By: Ed Markey
By: Ed Markey
Date: Sept. 26, 2011
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Natural Resources

Representative Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, today asked the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) in the Department of Interior for more information about the practice of mountaintop removal mining and OSM's failure to update its environmental safeguards, many of which have been unchanged since the early 1980s. Rep. Markey also highlights the increasing practice of filling mine-shafts and other open pits with waste created from burning coal in power plants, which could have serious consequences for drinking water safety.

"In the past, canaries were used in coal mines as a barometer for the health and safety of the coal miners. Today our streams serve as the modern day canary for the health of our environment," said Rep. Markey. "These streams and the life they support are continuing to be harmed by mountaintop removal mining, yet our mining agency appears unwilling to take action to prevent a potential environmental disaster.

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