Stop New Mountaintop Removal on Coal River Mountain

I urge you to deny this permit. Multiple peer-reviewed scientific health studies show that this process is deadly to neighboring communities, with highly elevated rates of cancer, heart disease, birth defects, blood inflammation, and more. The National Academy of Sciences will be reviewing the existing body of research, but in the meantime, I urge you to apply the precautionary principle. In short, I'm asking you to withhold permit approval unless and until this process is proven safe for nearby residents. To approve this permit is to gamble with the lives of the children, the unborn, the elderly, and everyone in between, but especially those who are most vulnerable. You have the clear legal authority to withhold this permit based on consideration of health impacts, as ruled by federal courts in multiple cases.