A new poll finds 56 percent of West Virginians oppose mountaintop removal coal mining.

Democratic pollster Celinda Lake conducted the poll of 500 likely voters for the Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment, based in Lewisburg.

The poll, which had a 4.4 percent margin of error, found 39 percent "strongly oppose" and 17 percent "somewhat oppose" the mountaintop removal.

Seventeen percent said they "somewhat favor" and 12 percent said they "strongly favor" the practice. Fifteen percent were unsure.

Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association, declined detailed comment on the results of the poll, saying he has not seen the wording of the questions asked.

A federal court ruling last week barred the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from using a streamlined process to approve mountaintop removal mining permits in West Virginia's southern coalfields.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)