An Environmental Protection Agency official said Thursday the agency must do a better job measuring the effect of multiple surface coal mines on the health of Appalachian watersheds.

Speaking during a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing on the effect of mountaintop mining on Appalachian water quality, regional EPA official Randy Pomponio said the agency also may be unable to tell whether watersheds can be resilient enough and have sufficient capacity to withstand the addition of individual mines.

West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Randy Huffman said the country should rely on science to determine whether new mitigation techniques such reforesting mine sites after the coal is removed are better protecting water quality.

Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition organizer Maria Gunnoe, however, asked that mountaintop mining be banned.

Gunnoe said mountaintop mines not only pollute water, but they cause catastrophic flooding. While West Virginia can live without energy, she said, the state can't live without clean water.