The Obama administration has for the second time sought to clarify what its policy with respect to mountaintop removal mining will be - and again produced only confusion.

That lack of clarity could have profound effects not only for West Virginians but for the nation as a whole.

Officials said they would no longer follow a streamlined permitting process administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Instead, federal agencies - plural - will conduct tougher reviews of backlogged permit applications, and will in the long term pursue policy changes.

The ‘‘enhanced coordination process’’ for reviewing pending permits - many have been pending for over a year - apparently will involve the U.S. Environmental protection Agency, the Department of the Interior, the Corps, and the Council on Environmental Quality.

So much for quickly resolving the policy questions that can affect West Virginia so dramatically.

Industry officials responded by saying the administration had added to the uncertainty facing the coal industry, not reduced it.

The economic stakes for West Virginia are high.

The Marshall University Center for Business and Economic Research said in 2004 that barring mountaintop removal mining would have ‘‘precipitous’’ effects on local and state tax revenue.

No kidding. The state produces 161 million tons of coal a year - almost 93 million tons from underground mines and 68 million tons from surface mines, which are far more efficient and far more safe.

Refusing to set clear rules for mountaintop mining will discourage investment and production, disrupt individuals’ lives, and choke the flow of revenues to state and local governments.

It will also have far-reaching effects on energy bills and manufacturing decisions.

There is one certain thing about micromanagement of complex issues by Washington bureaucrats, though.

If they’re solely in charge, they’re solely to blame for unintended consequences for unintended consequences.