A federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia has overturned a decision that restricted the controversial coal mining practice known as mountaintop removal. Friday’s decision reverses a 2007 ruling that the US Army Corp of Engineers had violated the Clean Water Act in issuing permits for four coal mines. Friday’s ruling is seen as a major victory for the coal industry. Environmentalists say Appalachia could now face up to ninety new mountaintop removal coal mining operations, which would destroy huge swaths of the Appalachian Mountains. A coalition of environmental groups including Earthjustice, Sierra Club and Coal River Mountain Watch are now urging President Obama to ban mountaintop coal removal.