More than 400 streams in West Virginia have been found to be contaminated by coal-mining pollutants - and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and EPA are deliberately doing nothing about it.

For years the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has bowed down to the pressure of coal companies - curbing mining regulations and failing to write and implement plans to clean up hundreds of Virginian streams damaged by coal mining pollution.

The EPA has a duty to take action when states fail to comply by environmental standards -  but they’ve stood by and done absolutely nothing.

Consequently, pollutants such chlorides, sulfides and dissolved solids and toxins like selenium, iron and aluminium - all linked to coal-mining operations - have seeped into streams and waterways, causing significant harm to aquatic life.

It’s time the DEP and EPA does what it’s supposed to: protect our precious water systems by ensuring coal-mining companies clean up after themselves.