In
Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards v. Red River
Coal Co., ___ F.3d ___, No. 19-2194, 2021 WL 1182464 (4th Cir.
2021), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit held that Red
River Coal Company's (Red River) compliance with its Clean
Water Act permit shielded Red River from liability under the
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act.
Several citizens' groups brought suit against Red River
for discharges of pollutants from the inactive North Fox Gap
Surface Mine in Virginia. Those discharges were permitted by Red
River's Clean Water Act permit. The citizens' groups
alleged that the discharges violated the Surface Mining Act's