The White House would tell President Obama to veto a bill that would delay a new regulation opponents say would ban coal mining near anything the Department of Interior deems a stream.
The House this week is considering the Supporting Transparent Regulatory and Environmental Action Act, or STREAM Act. The bill would require the Office of Surface Mining in the Department of Interior to further study a stream protection rule expected to be handed down by the administration soon.
The bill would also prohibit new regulations or rules in the year after publication of the study.
In a statement released Monday night, the White House said the act was a “needless delay.”
“(The bill) would prevent the restoration of hundreds of streams, result in deterioration of water quality for thousands of stream miles, and create sustained regulatory uncertainty, as well as public health impacts for downstream communities,” the statement read.
“In addition, the bill would impose arbitrary requirements and unnecessary processes that would seriously impede OSMRE’s ability to use the best available science to protect public health and the environment,” it added.
Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., told the Washington Examiner last month that the regulation could eliminate coal mining all together.
Mooney said the federal government would have too much power to label any body of water near a coal mine as a stream. That would then lead to mines being shut down and potentially hurt Appalachian coal miners.
“It’s Congress’ duty to provide an important check and balance against an out-of-control executive,” Mooney said.
He added that the Office of Surface Mining, under the auspices of the Interior Department, duplicates the efforts of the Environmental Protection Agency in regulating coal mines.
The STREAM Act isn’t the only action Congress is considering to limit the administration’s ability to regulate streams and other water sources.
The House will also vote on a resolution to repeal EPA’s Waters of the United States rule that designates ditches as waterways, making ranchers and farmers subject to agency enforcement action. The GOP argues the rule is an example of federal overreach. Federal court judges have raised serious questions about the rule, staying the regulation until they have time to review states’ arguments against it.
