Judge Blocks Clean Water Act Permit for Mountaintop Removal Mine on Coal River MountainNAOMA, W.Va. – Today, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia ruled in favor of Coal River Mountain Watch, the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, Appalachian Voices, and Sierra Club, blocking the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to grant a Clean Water Act permit for valley fills associated with the Turkeyfoot Surface Mine.

Coal River Mountain Watch is opposing renewal of Alpha Metallurgical Resources' Turkeyfoot surface mine, permit number S301419, covering 1,085 acres and 11.2 million tons of coal on Coal River Mountain. Please sign on to our objections here. Here's what we said:

In 2025, Coal River Mountain Watch's work again made news. Here are links to some of the news articles and broadcast stories: DEP tells feds to back off enforcement oversight of troubled Lexington, Justice mines, Charleson Gazette-Mail, Dec. 17, 2025. "The OSMRE had issued a notice in October to the DEP threatening to take over enforcement of the mine permit after the federal agency found the DEP may have failed to enforce its own regulations in its oersight of the permit. That OSMRE notice followed a July complaint from Raleigh County-based environmentalist group Coal River Mountain Watch."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Lexington Coal's delinquent DEP fines rise past $4M as feds eye inspection takeover, Charleston Gazette-Mail, Nov. 5, 2025.

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has issued cessation orders for the two "Active, moving coal" mountaintop removal permits operated by chronic violator Lexington Coal Company. WVDEP has issued at least 18 cessation orders for Lexington's permits Nov. 21. Of the 18, 12 were issued to permits that weren't mining coal anyway, including 9 issued to 3 of the mountaintop removal permits that we monitor on Cherry Pond Mountain. However, 5 of the cessation orders were for the Crescent #2 permit, also on Cherry Pond Mountain, which is "Active, moving coal." Another is for Lexington's Surface Mine No. 9, also "Active, moving coal." These were Lexington's only surface mines still moving coal. Coal River Mountain Watch has been monitoring the activities and violations on the Crescent #2 permit and complaining about the WVDEP's practice of granting excessive extensions. On July 22, 2025, we submitted a complaint to the federal Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement, including the Crescent #2 permit as an example of WVDEP failing to halt operations of permits with long-running violations and delinquent civil penalties. The cessation orders were for unabated violations, as far back as February 2025, for problems including failure to maintain sediment ditches and cutting all the trees in the Matt’s Creek buffer zone (visible in this video from an 8/8/2025 flyover with our friends at Southwings). Also, Lexington owes over $190,000 in delinquent fines on the Crescent #2 permit. This is part of the $4 million in delinquent fines Lexington now owes overall, most of which was included in a payment plan Lexington agreed to in May 2024, making only one payment in June 2024. On Oct. 3, OSMRE sent the Ten Day Notice to WVDEP, agreeing with our allegations. But, rather than requiring their response within 10 days, OSMRE gave WVDEP two 30-day extensions. Today, Dec. 11, 2025, WVDEP posted their response. The response mentioned the cessation orders but did not explain what, if anything, WVDEP is doing to collect the delinquent millions owed to West Virginia.

Dear Friends, It's Giving Tuesday, the day after Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday, promoted as a day to donate to good causes such as ours. Coal River Mountain Watch relies on the generosity of our supporters to fund our work to hold coal companies and their enabling agencies accountable. Our mission is to stop the destruction of our communities and environment by mountaintop removal mining, to improve the quality of life in our area and to help rebuild sustainable communities. Mountaintop removal is a deadly public health threat and the cradle of the climate crisis.  Our proudest achievement is securing a new school for the students of Marsh Fork Elementary.  The previous school was within 300 feet of a coal preparation plant, 400 yards from a 2.8-billion-gallon sludge dam, & downwind of a nearby mountaintop removal mine. Most of our work involves monitoring area coal operations, reporting violations, and bird-dogging state and federal regulators for effective enforcement. So far in 2025, results have included: