The Stream Buffer Zone rule had been in effect since 1983 to protect the nation’s headwater streams from being buried by valley fills from mountaintop removal coal mining, however, this rule was not stringently enforced, resulting in the loss of over 2,000 miles of headwater streams in the Appalachian region.
In October of 2007, the Office of Surface Mining-Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) conducted public hearings on the then-proposed rule change. Kentucky, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Tennessee were granted these hearings. Virginia was not allowed a hearing even after numerous requests from local coalfield residents for a hearing.
