In response to a motion filed by Public Justice on behalf of a West Virginia residents group, a federal judge on Oct. 11 granted a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against a coal company’s plans to permanently bury Appalachian streams and threaten homes and neighborhoods in Boone County, WV.  

The Callisto Mine would have permanently destroyed 5,750 feet of streams and tributaries that flow into the Little Coal River. The mining company was planning to begin new valley fill activities at the site

Under its Environmental Enforcement Project, Public Justice has been at the fore of court fights to stop mountaintop removal mining, which has already buried more than 1,200 miles of streams and destroyed more than 387,000 acres of West Virginia forests and mountains. That method of mining is also responsible for increased severe flooding in communities near mining sites.

Public Justice is joined in the Boone County effort by the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Coal River Mountain Watch, the West Virginia highlands Conservancy, and the Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment.

To read the judge’s order, click here.