No broad permit for Ky. coal mining; Review of individual permits adds scrutiny

Kentucky is seeking to renew its general permit for the coal industry — including mountaintop surface mines that disturb hundreds of acres, pollute streams already impaired by earlier mining and threaten aquatic life and human health.

The state is proposing to tighten some permitting rules to protect water and hoping to appease the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, while loosening other rules.

A more fundamental question is whether there even should be a general permit for surface mining