EPA announced a set of actions to "clarify and strengthen environmental permitting requirements" for mountaintop removal coal mining [1]. The actions include releasing two scientific [2] studies [3]analyzing the ecological destruction caused by mining. EPA also plans to create a permit-tracking website [4] for the public to monitor the status of mining permits.
Links:
[1] http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/guidance/mining.html
[2] http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=215267
[3] http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=220171
[4] http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/guidance/mining-projects.html