EPA Eyes Mountaintop Removal Mining

The EPA is taking a closer look at water quality and environmental issues associated with mining coal by blasting off mountain tops.

The Environmental Protection Agency has expressed concern that mining practices routinely approved by the Bush administration may seriously damage water quality. Environmentalists hoped this would lead to a moratorium on mountaintop removal but the EPA says it is merely examining permit applications more closely. Host Bruce Gellerman talks with Ken Ward, a reporter for the Charleston Gazette in West Virginia.