The Obama administration finalized a long rulemaking process Monday to tighten regulation of coal mining near streams, drawing pushback from Capitol Hill who questioned the move’s necessity and had hoped the government would leave the issue alone before the president departs office next month.
The Stream Protection Rule, which officials inside an Interior Department branch dedicated to surface mining spent most of the Obama presidency crafting, sets tougher standards for mining activity excepted inside a 100-foot “buffer zone.” Previously, regulators argued, there was no specificity as to what constituted “material damage” to streams inside such areas, akin “to posting ‘do not speed’ signs on highways without listing a speed limit,” an Interior official said earlier this year.
The regulation stems from a 1983 rule applying to streams, the dated nature of which necessitated federal action, the administration said.
“Regulations need to keep pace with modern mining practices, so we worked closely with many stakeholders to craft a plan that protects water quality, supports economic opportunities, safeguards our environment and makes coalfield communities more resilient for a diversified economic future,” Interior Department secretary Sally Jewell stated.
Both of West Virginia’s senators responded negatively to the Stream Protection Rule’s issuance. Shelly Moore Capito, a Republican, highlighted a request she made to the Obama administration to “not move forward with any more rules and regulations as you are going out the door.” Joe Manchin, the state’s senior senator and a Democrat, questioned whether or not the regulation was needed. “I remain unconvinced that this jobs-killing regulation is necessary or substantiated, particularly when you consider state and federal regulations already in place,” Manchin said in a statement.
House Natural Resources committee chairman Rob Bishop also criticized the White House for releasing “a job-killing rule through under the wire.”
An Interior official says the rule will cost only 300 jobs, the Associated Press reports, while it will protect more than 6,000 miles of streams. A study prepared for the National Mining Association released last year projected that the administration’s proposed rule would threaten at least 40,000 direct mining jobs.
