WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The Obama administration moved to block a mountaintop coal-mining project from going forward and said Tuesday it would scrutinize more than a hundred mining permits amid concern about the waste that is dumped into rivers and streams.

It was viewed as the first time in at least eight years the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has flexed its muscle to block a mountaintop coal-mining project. Environmentalists said the move would protect rivers and streams. The coal industry complained the decision would cost thousands of high-paying jobs.

via UPDATE: EPA To Scrutinize Mountaintop Coal-Mining.

After eight years of backpedaling by the previous administration on the requirements that it protect the environment, there is a new group in charge. They seem to feel that the laws passed by congress prior to the Bush Administration really are laws…Go figure.

Thanks EPA and President Obama. We needed some reality here in America.