The Sierra Club, Earthjustice, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth and other groups filed a lawsuit last October against the US Army Corps of Engineers, hoping to block a permit the Corps issued to coal company Leeco.

Lawsuits from the groups have historically focused on the health and environmental effects of mining but this lawsuit argued that the Corps hadn’t taken the human health effects of strip mining into account when it issued the permit.

But US District Court Judge Thomas Russell ruled against the groups late last month, stating that “under the highly deferential standard of review afforded to the Corps, the court finds it did not act unreasonably”

The Sierra Club and its attorneys blasted the decision, saying it gave the Corps a free pass to ignore health risks when issuing permits for mountaintop removal coal mines.

“It’s outrageous that our own government would claim it doesn’t have to consider its people’s health,” Earthjustice attorney Neil Gormley, representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement.

“The policy that was upheld today lets the Obama administration close its eyes to evidence of increased risk of cancer, heart disease and other serious health problems from mountaintop removal coal mines.”

The groups have appealed the decision and also asked for an injunction to “ensure that the environment and public health are not harmed while they are arguing their appeal”

“Leeco has represented to plaintiffs that it intends to begin dredge and fill activities (specifically, construction of a foundation for the lower part of the planned valley fill) as soon as possible upon completion of timber clearing,” the appeal says.

“To maintain the status quo ante and prevent irreparable harm, plaintiffs request an injunction directing the US Army Corps of Engineers to suspend Leeco’s 404 permit and prohibiting Leeco from dredging or filling waters of the United States during the pendency of plaintiffs’ appeal.”

The court has agreed to issue a temporary injunction while it considers the groups’ request for a longer pause.

The case is Kentuckians for the Commonwealth et al versus US Army Corps of Engineers, case number 3:12-cv-00682, in the US District Court for the Western District of Kentucky.