The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or USEPA) on Tuesday stated that it will aggressively scan more than hundred permits for mountaintop coal mining, over the concerns about the waste being thrown into rivers and streams, which is potential threat to the quality of water.

Lisa P. Jackson, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, stated that the agency mailed two letters to the Army Corps of Engineers on Monday to notify them about two mining operations in West Virginia and Kentucky. She reported that the mining operations, involving mountaintop removal, which is a kind of strip mining that blasts the mountain tops, are dumping the leftover rock in valleys, which is consequently burying streams. She said that in the two letters, the agency has urged the Army Corps of Engineers to deny the West Virginia permit application and to review the Kentucky application to ensure the safety of streams.

In a statement, Ms. Jackson said, “The two letters reflect E.P.A.’s considerable concern regarding the environmental impact these projects would have on fragile habitats and streams. I have directed the agency to review other mining permit requests. E.P.A. will use the best science and follow the letter of the law in ensuring we are protecting the environment.”

It is the first time in at least eight years, the EPA has come forward to stop a mountaintop coal-mining project to protect rivers and streams. The coal industry, on the contrary, is criticizing the EPA’s move. The coal industry is complaining that the EPA’s move will cost thousands of high-paying jobs. The National Mining Association, an industry group, said the EPA’s action has jeopardized thousands of mining jobs. According to the group, the mountaintop mining in the region produces about 10 percent of all coal mined in the United States.

In a statement, Hal Quinn, president and chief executive of the group, said, “E.P.A.’s announcement is especially troublesome from an administration that with one hand proposes enormous fiscal stimulus to put Americans back to work and with the other hand takes their jobs away.”