Obama's EPA, MTR and W.Va.

The Obama administration made big news in Appalachia when its "Environmental Protection Agency put hundreds of mountaintop coal-mining permits on hold Tuesday to evaluate the projects' impact on streams and wetlands," The Associated Press reports.

While "the agency does not expect problems with the overwhelming majority of permits,"
AP explains, "under the Clean Water Act, companies cannot discharge rock, dirt and other debris into streams unless they can show that it will not cause permanent damage to waterways or the fish and other wildlife that live in them."

The move focuses on permits issued by the Army Corps of Engineers. "The EPA has the authority to review and veto any permit issued by the Corps under the Clean Water Act, but under the Bush administration it did that rarely," the article said.

Separately, EPA has recommended that the corps reject two particular permits, including one sought by a subsidiary of Massey Energy Co. that "would fill in approximately 13,174 feet of stream in Logan County," AP reports.

Those reacting to EPA's decisions include Gov. Joe Manchin, who tells AP he "will be meeting with the chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality in hopes of finding a potential compromise that would save state coal-mining jobs."

Others with coverage include The Charleston Gazette, The Register-Herald of Beckley, MetroNews, Public Broadcasting (with audio), and The State Journal.