HUNTINGTON — Conservation agencies are suing the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement in federal court alleging it failed to make a determination to a surface mining program.
Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, West Virginia Conservancy and the Sierra Club filed the federal lawsuit against Glenda Owens, the acting director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) for failure to comply with the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA), according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
The plaintiffs claim OSMRE failed to make the required determination of whether an amendment to West Virginia’s SMCRA Program is necessary within the 30-day period following receipt of notice from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.
The plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that the defendant has violated her non-discretionary duty, an injunction requiring her to conform her future conduct to the federal law, and costs and expenses including attorneys’ and expert witness fees. They are represented by J. Michael Becher of Appalachian Mountain Advocates in Lewisburg.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia at Huntington case number: 3:21-cv-00301
