"CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Appalachian residents support strengthening Clean Water Act restrictions on mountaintop removal and would punish at the ballot box public officials who work to weaken strip-mining regulations, according to a new poll released Tuesday."

"Three-quarters of those surveyed in a four-state poll voiced support for 'fully enforcing' or even increasing federal safeguards for streams, according to the poll, commissioned by a coalition of environmental groups.

Residents in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia have favorable views toward coal companies and toward mining in general, but they oppose mountaintop removal by wide margins, the poll found. Opposition to mountaintop removal -- and politicians who support the practice -- is strong across party lines."

Ken Ward Jr. reports for the Charleston Gazette August 16, 2011. [2]