Mountaintop coal removal

From the Sierra Club:

Right now coal companies can receive 'fast tracked' permits for mountaintop removal coal mining through a process called Nationwide Permit 21 (NWP 21). This process denies local communities adequate input, putting them at risk from toxic coal mining pollution.

There are two days left to stop the fast track permit process for mountaintop removal coal mining - submit a public comment today!

Let the Army Corps of Engineers know that you support ending streamlined permits, ask them to stop issuing permits while the proposal is being finalized, and tell them you want the Obama Administration to permanently end mountaintop removal mining.

You can submit a comment directly to the Army Corps of Engineers through Regulations.gov. It's easy!

1. Copy the sample message in the box below.
2. Go to this page on the government website Regulations.gov and paste the message into the comment box. Please personalize it with your own words.
3. Fill in your personal information and submit.

Sample Message

re: COE-2009-0032-0001 - End Nationwide Permit 21

I applaud the Army Corps of Engineers' July 16th proposal to end Nationwide Permit 21 (NWP 21), the streamlined process for approving mountaintop removal coal mining permits. Our communities deserve greater input on mountaintop removal coal mining projects, and an individual permitting process will take us in this direction.

The Army Corps of Engineers acknowledges the blowing up mountains and releasing the toxic by-products in our streams is damaging the Appalachian region, and they should not continue issuing NWP 21 permits while this decision is being finalized. Mountaintop removal coal mining is, by its nature, a danger to the health and welfare of nearby residents. I believe it is critical that the Obama Administration not just regulate this type of mining, but end it completely to protect our mountains, streams and communities for generations to come.

I did not know about the government website that allows for easy public comments. Its called Regulations.gov and the tag line is "Your Voice in Federal Decision-Making." Also,

Regulations.gov is your online source for U.S. government regulations from nearly

300 federal agencies.

We are committed to improving your access to and participation in the federal regulatory process. On this site you can:

• Search for a regulation such as a proposed rule, final rule or Federal Register (FR) notice
• Submit a comment on a regulation or on another comment
• Submit an application, petition or adjudication document
• Sign up for e-mail alerts about a specific regulation
• Quickly access regulations that are popular, newly posted or closing soon-directly from the homepage
• Subscribe to RSS feeds by agency of newly posted FR notices

That's pretty cool. Thanks, Sierra Club!