A lawsuit filed in the federal district court for the Southern District of West Virginia alleged that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ issuance of a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit for a surface coal mine (the Turkeyfoot Surface Mine) violated the Clean Water Act and that the Corps failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act. The Corps issued the permit in August 2023. The plaintiffs’ claims included that the Corps conclusion, as part of its public interest review under the Clean Water Act, that greenhouse gas emissions would be minimal because the project’s coal would be used in the coking process to manufacture steel and not to generate electricity was arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, and not in accordance with law. The plaintiffs also cited this conclusion as a basis for their claims that the Corps failed to take a hard look at the project’s impacts and that the Corps’ conclusion that the project would not have a significant impact was not supported.

Challenge to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' issuance of a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit for a surface coal mine.

Coal River Mountain Watch v. Putnam

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Environmental Groups Challenged Corps of Engineers Permit for Surface Coal Mine

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

Codes and standards are regulatory instruments that specify minimum standards to protect health and safety. This ranges from performance standards, which prescribe outcomes while allowing flexibility to achieve compliance, to the more prescriptive approach of technology-specific standards.

A ban is a legal action that prevents the sale or supply of a product or service, or that recalls a product from the market. Examples are bans on SF6, greenwashing, fossil fuel advertisement or single-use plastics.

Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock formed from carbonised plant matter, rich in carbon and hydrocarbons, and occurring in several main types including hard coal and brown coal.

Activities of industries that extract natural resources, such as mining, oil, and gas, for commercial use.

The activities of industries that transforms raw materials into finished goods through industrial processes.

The activities of industries involved in the production, distribution, and sale of energy, including electricity, gas, and renewables.

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

This sector provides communication services, software development, and IT solutions.

Activities of government agencies and institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and manage public resources.

Climate change impacts our society by disrupting the natural, economic and social systems we depend on. Physical hazards and underlying vulnerabilities can lead to increased resource competition for food and water, which can heighten the risk of conflict.

Environmental Groups Challenged Corps of Engineers Permit for Surface Coal Mine

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector