The New Face of King Coal: Federal Policy and Environmental Harm in the Mechanization of Appalachian Coal Mining

Over the past half-century, the strip mining technique of mountaintop removal mining (MTR) has done enormous damage to Appalachian coal mining communities and their local environments. Current federal regulation of surface coal mining—currently exemplified by the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA)—has been staggeringly inadequate. Regulatory failure is widespread in the coal-producing areas of Appalachia, in large part because the autonomy granted to state regulators through the SMCRA’s model of cooperative federalism has resulted in skirted regulations, lacking enforcement, and an incredibly lax permitting process. Community activism has been and should continue to be a local mechanism against MTR encroachment, but executive agencies should also be tasked with interpreting the statute in a stricter manner more in line with Congress’ regulatory intentions.