"EPA’s claim that the statute contemplates that a permit is never really final is not easily squared with Congress’s clear desire to limit duplication and delay so that commerce would not be disrupted more than necessary. What would be the point of insisting upon expedition in granting permits if a permit isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on and commerce could be interrupted at any time?" U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson
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"I applaud our courts for stating clearly and unequivocally that a bureaucratic agency like the EPA cannot run the lives of hardworking Americans. I always knew that the EPA's decision to retroactively veto a coal mining permit for the Spruce No. 1 Mine in Logan County was fundamentally wrong and an unprecedented act by the federal government,” Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.
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"Today the court clearly ruled that the EPA overstepped its authority," Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.
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"This decision underscores what I've been saying for the past three years: this Administration has been abusing their regulatory authority in order to advance an anti-coal agenda. The fact that the decision states the EPA's veto of the Spruce Mine permit was 'unprecedented' and it acted in a manner that was 'arbitrary, capricious, and not in accordance with law...' could not be a clearer sign that West Virginians have been unnecessarily subjected to an overreach of federal power,” Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.
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"Remember, this was the very first time in the EPA's 40-year history that they had revoked a water permit that had already been approved. That's how radical a move this was by the Obama Administration's EPA. Clearly, Judge Jackson's decision gives everyone involved in the West Virginia coal industry hope," Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va.
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“Some time ago, it had long been my belief that the EPA could be a positive force in the permitting process for surface coal mining in West Virginia. After years of battles in courtrooms that left coal miners and coal communities in a long, tenuous limbo, this EPA had an opportunity to help achieve a center point that would provide for both energy development and environmental preservation. But it has utterly failed.
“It is not just politicians and not just coal miners and coal executives, now it is the courts who are saying that in its treatment of coal mining in the Appalachian States, the EPA has twisted the law, circumvented the Congress, and trampled on the right of the people to know what their government is doing,” Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va.
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“This is a huge victory for West Virginia and our coal miners. I want to thank Judge Jackson for recognizing that the EPA and the federal government were completely wrong in revoking this permit. I now call upon Lisa Jackson and the EPA to admit that they have gone too far -- enough is enough. Issue our permits so that we can put our people back to work and provide the resources that will power America,” Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin.