If you've been following the news for the last few days, you know that the Department of the Interior's Office of Surface Mining (OSM) is poised to finalize a rule that would allow hundreds of miles of streams and valleys in Appalachia to be permanently buried by waste from mountaintop removal coal mining. OSM's plan directly conflicts with the decades-old Stream Buffer Zone Rule, a Reagan-era rule that prohibits surface coal mining activities from disturbing areas within 100 feet of permanent and seasonal streams.

Just last week, the New York Times published an editorial opposing the move, calling it "one more sad chapter in the long, tortured history of Appalachia's coal-rich hills."

The Bush administration must know from us that this is simply unacceptable.

Please take action now. When it passed the surface mining laws years ago, Congress gave EPA the responsibility to ensure that coal mining regulations do not harm water quality – and this one definitely does!  Call EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson and tell him to protect these valuable resources by keeping the Stream Buffer Zone Rule in place.

 EPA Main Headquarters:  (202)  564-4700 

You can also download our new Advocate's Toolkit. This kit will help you organize house parties and other events in your community. With step-by-step instructions and useful printable handouts, this kit includes everything you need to educate your friends and family about the danger of mountaintop removal mining – and what you and they can do to help stop it.

Please plan an event at your apartment or house.  If you are a student, consider an event on campus. Download the toolkit today and get started in your community today.

Help us get out the message that we will not stand for coal companies polluting our water any longer!

Sincerely,

Your friends at Stop Mountaintop Removal
www.stopmountaintopremoval.org