While much of this week's attention has focused on the tragic underground explosion in a West Virginia coal mine, the EPA was focusing on explosions high above ground.

The agency announced strict new guidelines that would make it harder for coal companies to obtain permits for mountaintop coal mining. The measure is meant to preserve Appalachian resources and mitigate environmental damage stretching from Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee.

Mountaintop mining is the coal industry's equivalent to Zabriskie Point...

The process involves packing the summit of a mountain with explosives and blowing it skyward, uncovering the valuable coal seams underneath. As you can imagine, when you blow 400 feet of mountaintop into smithereens, there is a palpable amount of debris to deal with.

That debris is pushed down the mountainside and dumped into the valleys below in a process called a valley fill or a hollow fill. These fills have already choked off 2,000 miles of Appalachian headway streams with soot and coal, effectively destroying the surrounding ecosystems — not to mention the local fishing and swimming holes.

When that mine waste seeps into the water, salt levels are increased and aquatic life is put at risk. The new EPA guidelines expect to protect about 95% of the wildlife that inhabit the affected areas.

When the toxic materials reach the water supply, it not only destroys the wildlife, but also puts all of the surrounding communities at risk for pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and a myriad of other health ailments.

"The people of Appalachia shouldn't have to choose between a clean, healthy environment in which to raise their families and the jobs they need to support them," EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in a press release.

"Getting this right is important to Americans who rely on affordable coal to power homes and businesses, as well as coal communities that count on jobs and a livable environment, both during mining and after coal companies move to other sites."

The EPA's website trumpeted three main accomplishments in the bill:

Improved guidance and clarity: EPA is communicating comprehensive guidance to its regional offices with permitting responsibility in Appalachian states. The guidance details EPA's responsibilities and how the agency uses its Clean Water Act (CWA) authorities to ensure that future mining will not cause significant environmental, water quality and human health impacts. Strong science: EPA is making publicly available two scientific reports prepared by its Office of Research and Development. One summarizes the aquatic impacts of mountaintop mining and valley fills. The second report establishes a scientific benchmark for unacceptable levels of conductivity (a measure of water pollution from mining practices) that threaten stream life in surface waters. These reports are being published for public comment and submitted for peer review to the EPA Science Advisory Board. Increased transparency: EPA is creating a permit tracking Web site so that the public can determine the status of mining permits subject to the EPA-U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Enhanced Coordination Procedure (ECP).

The Obama administration hopes that these measures will reduce low-sulfur coal produced in the U.S. by 50 to 70 million tons within the next two years. Measures like these — while unpopular with coal companies — will pay off in the long term by forcing the country to prioritize cleaner and more sustainable energy sources.

Coal is neither clean nor sustainable, despite what those "clean-coal" corporate responsibility ads would have you believe.

And one obvious benefit is that West Virginia will be able to preserve those famous Rocky Mountain highs...

Be Well,

Jimmy