Lawmakers Maneuver In Attempt To Halt Mountaintop Mining
Lawmakers have begun hearings on a proposal that could effectively halt mountaintop removal coal mining.
State Rep. Don Pasley of Winchester maneuvered the proposal into a bill that would exempt camel food from the state sales tax.
The move allowed the bill to be considered in the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee on Tuesday.
It would forbid coal companies from filling streams and valleys with soil and rock loosened in surface mining operations.
Appropriations and Revenue Chairman Harry Moberly is sponsor of the camel-tax bill.
Moberly said the proposal had been denied a fair hearing in the House Natural Resources and Environmental Committee for the past four years.
