The EPA has arbitrarily decided to subject 79 pending coal mining permits in Appalachia to a so-called “enhanced review” process.

These officials in Washington don’t seem to understand that coal powers our economy, creating good jobs in many different sectors, fro mining and manufacturing to retail and restaurants. These officials in Washington clearly don’t care about our families, our communities and our future.

These mining permits mean jobs and food and commerce to the people of Appalachia. The fact that a gaggle of bureaucrats in Washington is toying with tens of thousands of lives in an outrage.

I hope our leaders here and in Congress will choose economic prosperity and energy security and help lift these arbitrary roadblocks.

The reality is that we need coal — for jobs and for affordable energy.

Norma Lee Clise

Romney, W.Va.