How a humble insect may derail $3 billion a year industry

THE APPALACHIANS, the United States: Mayflies may seal the fate of mountaintop mining in the Appalachian hills of the eastern US.

Companies such as Massey Energy Co that mine coal there by stripping mountain peaks and dumping debris in streams are being asked by the Environmental Protection Agency for the first time to safeguard the mayfly, one of the oldest winged insects and a bait favored by fly-fisherman.

Applicants for new mines will have to show they wouldn't cause pollution deadly to the aquatic bug. That puts at risk about $3 billion a year in coal that operators led by Massey and International Coal Group Inc extract in Appalachia, said Kevin Book, an analyst at ClearView Energy Partners LLC.