KGUN 9 On Your Side, Tucson News, Weather & SportsEPA withdraws discharge permit for Ariz. coal mine
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Associated Press - December 3, 2009 1:54 PM ET
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has withdrawn a water discharge permit for a controversial coal mining operation in northern Arizona pending public hearings.
The EPA's decision on the permit for Peabody Energy's Black Mesa mine complex comes after an appeal by a group of environmentalists. The group contends the discharge of heavy metal and pollutants threatens washes, tributaries, groundwater and drinking water for nearby Navajo and Hopi communities.
Dave Smith of the EPA's Pacific Southwest region in San Francisco says the agency believes the permit is solid but wanted to provide an opportunity for further public comment.
The mining complex includes nearly 65,000 acres of land that Peabody leases from the Navajo and Hopi tribes.
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