Coal industry lawyers are hoping to combine the results of several
recent court cases to significantly narrow the ability of citizen groups
to block new mountaintop-removal mining permits in federal court.
Lawyers for Alpha Natural Resources outlined their strategy last week during a hearing before U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers, who is considering citizen group challenges to at least two permits issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Shane Harvey, a former Massey Energy Co. general counsel now representing Alpha, argued that a trio of federal court cases leaves Chambers with very little ability to overrule a permit approval from the corps.
The rulings -- a district court ruling, an appeals court decision and a U.S. Supreme Court opinion -- show federal judges should "defer to the corps' review" of applications for Clean Water Act "dredge-and-fill" permits, Harvey said in a legal brief.
Chambers did not immediately agree, and questioned Harvey in detail about parts of the industry's analysis. Obama administration lawyers, representing the corps at the hearing, also argued a similarly narrow view, saying Chambers should not hear detailed evidence from academic experts working with citizen groups in the case.
Read more: http://wvgazette.com/News/201204280106
Lawyers for Alpha Natural Resources outlined their strategy last week during a hearing before U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers, who is considering citizen group challenges to at least two permits issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Shane Harvey, a former Massey Energy Co. general counsel now representing Alpha, argued that a trio of federal court cases leaves Chambers with very little ability to overrule a permit approval from the corps.
The rulings -- a district court ruling, an appeals court decision and a U.S. Supreme Court opinion -- show federal judges should "defer to the corps' review" of applications for Clean Water Act "dredge-and-fill" permits, Harvey said in a legal brief.
Chambers did not immediately agree, and questioned Harvey in detail about parts of the industry's analysis. Obama administration lawyers, representing the corps at the hearing, also argued a similarly narrow view, saying Chambers should not hear detailed evidence from academic experts working with citizen groups in the case.
Read more: http://wvgazette.com/News/201204280106
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