Alabama Environmental Management Commission Punts.

As reported in the Birmingham News:

The Alabama Environmental Management Commission this morning told an administrative law judge to conduct further hearings on a water discharge permit for the proposed 1,773-acre Shepherd Bend coal strip mine.

The mine is near a major Birmingham Water Works intake on the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River.

Black Warrior Riverkeeper Inc. had appealed the Alabama Department of Environmental Management's decision to grant the permit, arguing the operation would harm water quality.

The commission oversees ADEM.