MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Arch Coal Corp. says Congress never intended to give the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency “unbridled power” over water-pollution permits for coal mines, and an appellate court should uphold a judge’s ruling that EPA overstepped its authority in vetoing them for one of West Virginia’s largest mountaintop removal operations.

Final authority to issue, oversee and enforce permits issued under section 404 of the Clean Water Act lies solely with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, not the EPA, St. Louis-based Arch argues in a 175-page response to EPA’s appeal. The document was filed with the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Tuesday.