The Sierra Club announced on Friday that it had reached an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to address pollution in West Virginia streams that originates from coal mining in the state.
The agreement specifically focuses on what's called ionic toxicity pollution, which is created in the mining process. The pollution that enters the freshwater streams increases their salinity, which kills the aquatic life in them. The Sierra Club is joined by the West Virginia Rivers Coalition and the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy in the agreement.
The EPA will now be creating limits—called total maximum daily loads (TMDLs)—for how much of this pollution can enter "11 high-priority West Virginia streams."
"This is a monumental step forward in our ongoing fight to protect West Virginia's precious wildlife and natural resources," said Sierra Club West Virginia chapter director Honey May. "By holding the coal industry accountable and ensuring the development of TMDLs, we are safeguarding the habitat of countless aquatic species and preserving the ecological integrity of our streams."
The Sierra Club says this deal—which has been years in the making—will help restore important West Virginia streams and means the EPA will finally be fulfilling its obligations under the Clean Water Act.
West Virginia is one of the top coal producing states in the country, and it has faced serious problems with pollution from the state's many coal mines for decades. The coal mining industry has also long been able to avoid having to pay to clean up the pollution it causes.
"For far too long, West Virginia has failed to meet its obligations to protect our waters from coal mining pollution, willfully allowing the health of thousands of stream miles to continue to decline," said West Virginia Rivers Coalition interim executive director Autumn Crowe. "We are encouraged that this agreement will finally begin to get our damaged streams the help they deserve."
