Section contents Federal government releases 4 1/2-year study of mountaintop removal's environmental effects. Click here to read the study. Stories and information about latest ruling and appeal are here. Read Judge Haden's latest ruling here. Stories and information about the appeal of the Bragg decision are here. Gazette publishes EPA draft environmental study Follow-up stories: August 1999 to present April 1998 to August 1999 Search this series Click here for more information on the appeal to the 4th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals. Special Features Today's front page Century Snapshots Bulletin Board Readers' forum Recipes Other Features Horoscopes U.S./World Weather Movie Listings Television W.Va. Lottery About the Gazette Contacting us E-mail addresses Getting in print History FAQ Subscription info Classified rates		In West Virginia, mining companies are literally moving mountains to uncover valuable, low sulfur coal reserves. Mountaintop removal has become the dominant form of surface mining in the state. Coal operators are blasting off hilltops, and dumping leftover rock and dirt into nearby valleys. An untold amount of the state has been flattened, and hundreds of miles of streams have been buried. In October 1999, a federal judge ruled that the practice had to be limited. On April 24, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Haden's decision. Click here for more information on the appeal, including court rulings and briefs. Since early 1998, The Charleston Gazette and Sunday Gazette-Mail have provided comprehensive coverage of the controversy. A series of investigative articles by reporter Ken Ward Jr. revealed that state regulators routinely ignore the law when they issue mountaintop removal permits. Editorials and columns by editorial page editor Dan Radmacher have called for much-needed reforms. In January 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the 4th Circuit's ruling. But Haden just ruled in a similar case, once more finding that valley fills must be limited. As these developments continue, the Gazette will keep up its coverage. Ward's original series of articles, numerous follow-up stories, and opinion pieces from various sides are all collected on this web site. Winner of the 1999 Livingston Award Winner of the 1998 Roy W. Howard Award Winner of the 1998 Thomas L. Stokes Award Winner of the 1998 Southern Journalism Award for Investigative Reporting March 22, 1998: Strip-mining battle resurfaces in state SHARPLES - On a cold, rainy night last December, more than 125 people gathered to talk about a strip mine. They came from Blair, Clothier and Sharples to pack the bleachers of an elementary school gym. March 31: Getting tough on valley fills Federal regulators may rein in strip mines if state doesn't West Virginia coal operators want the state to permit bigger and bigger strip mines. The state seems willing. But federal regulators may stop them. May 3: 'As high as God did' Law to rebuild mountains falls by wayside LOGAN - Ken Stollings points to the maps and charts on his office wall to show how Hobet Mining will turn the rugged peaks and valleys around Blair Mountain into flat plains and a few rolling hills. Aug. 9: FLATTENED Most mountaintop mines left as pasture land in state CANNELTON - Bullpush Mountain isn't a mountain anymore. It's a flat, grassy meadow that stands out among the wooded hills along the Fayette-Kanawha County line. Number of mountaintop mines in state is unknown State regulators don't know how many mountaintop removal mines there are in West Virginia. Aug. 10: 'Woodlands' reclamation questioned Do timber companies need flat land in order to make money cutting down trees? Should West Virginia coal operators be able to leave mountaintop removal mine sites leveled for the loggers? Nov. 22: Buying Blair BLAIR - In 1992, when Arch Coal Inc. bought a huge Logan County mountaintop removal mine, company officials decided upon a plan to buy out nearby residents so there would be no one left to complain about blasting, dust and flyrock. Nov. 23: State, firms slow to correct dust, blasting problems, records show BLAIR - In 1996, Ashland Coal officials added a 20-story-tall, earth-moving machine to the army of giant shovels and trucks at the Dal-Tex mountaintop removal mine. June 6, 1999: Mining the mountains: Industry, critics look for mountaintop removal alternative Is there another way? Since late 1997, when mountaintop removal first made headlines, Arch Coal Inc. officials have argued that they can't make money mining in steep mountain terrain unless their draglines operate full tilt, and unless they are allowed to bury miles of streams. Coal industry competition made mines bigger In July 1997, Arch Mineral Corp. acquired Ashland Coal Inc. The merged companies formed St. Louis-based Arch Coal Inc., the largest coal producer in West Virginia. Aug. 12, 2001: A toxic legacy Inadequate mine bonds leave abandoned lands, polluted water ANJEAN - Roger Green walked to the edge of a bright orange pond and pointed at a small rubber hose. May 5, 2002: Mountaintop removal could devastate region Federal study paints ugly picture for much of state Future mountaintop removal coal mining may eventually destroy an area of Appalachian forest the size of Putnam County, according to a draft environmental study obtained by the Sunday Gazette-Mail. May 6, 2002: Easy permits proposed for mountaintop removal mining Department of the Interior is manipulating impact study, environmentalists allege The U.S. Department of the Interior wants to provide coal operators with "one-stop permitting" for mountaintop removal mining, new government records reveal. Nov. 10, 2002: Cleaning up after coal DEP success story in McDowell County offers warning about reclamation fund GARY - Charlie Miller smiled as he drove his clean, white Jeep across a broad, green plateau atop a McDowell County hill. GARY - Charlie Miller smiled as he drove his clean, white Jeep across a broad, green plateau atop a McDowell County hill. Questions, comments? Send e-mail to reporter Ken Ward Jr. Or, write a letter to the editor.