Associated Press - October 16, 2009 6:34 PM ET

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it plans to veto the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' approval of a permit issued for a West Virginia surface mine.

In a letter Friday to the corps' Huntington district, Acting EPA Regional Administrator William Early said the agency is prepared to use its veto power for the first time because of concerns the permit may violate the Clean Water Act.

U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller called it "wrong and unfair" to change the rules for a permit that already was approved.

The permit issued in 2007 for Mingo Logan Coal's Spruce No. 1 mine would allow the company to fill valleys at the site with material removed to expose coal, a practice widely opposed by environmentalists.

The mine is owned by St. Louis-based Arch Coal.

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