MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had the legal authority to retroactively veto a water pollution permit for one of West Virginia’s largest mountaintop removal coal mines years after it was issued, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia reversed a lower court’s ruling in a case that has economic implications across coal country and potentially the nation. The case goes back to U.S. District Court for further proceedings.

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