Black Warrior Riverkeeper suffers setback in attempt to stop coal mine
By Weekly Staff
Local environmental group Black Warrior Riverkeeper has suffered a legal setback in its attempt to stop a coal mine from being opened near the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River, according to a report today by Kent Faulk on al.com.
BWR's Nelson Brooke
BWR is appealing a decision by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management to grant a water discharge permit to Shepherd Bend LLC for the proposed strip mine, which would occupy more than 1700 acres.
According to Faulk, a judge ruled Friday that BWR’s appeal was premature, and that the environmental concerns the groups raised must be addressed in the second phase of the permitting process, when the mining company goes before the Alabama Surface Mining Commission.
As Birmingham Weekly reported a few day ago, BWR is also attempting to stop the opening of a coal mine in Blount County, on the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior.
