A federal judge on Friday ruled that federal mining regulators’ oversight of coal mining in Appalachia failed to ensure the protection of endangered species.
The ruling against the Fish and Wildlife Service’s review of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement’s regulations — conducted during the first Trump administration in 2020 — means future mining permits will have to do more to comply with the Endangered Species Act.
The Center for Biological Diversity and Appalachian Voices sued in 2023, challenging a 2020 “biological opinion” from FWS over OSMRE’s implementation of the Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Act. The groups argued West Virginia, Virginia and Kentucky — all of which have “primacy” over mine permitting — had issued permits that failed to protect endangered species, especially two types of crayfish found only in Appalachian streams.
Judge Sparkle Sooknanan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Friday sided with the environmentalists and ruled that the FWS biological opinion violated the Endangered Species Act.
