Posted on 07/18/2011 12:11:14 PM PDT by EBH
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Fueled by coal industry complaints about the Obama administration's crackdown on mountaintop removal, legislation passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday that would strip federal regulators of their authority to make state agencies properly police water pollution.
House members approved the legislation by a vote of 239 to 184.
The legislation faces an uncertain future in the Senate, and a veto threat from the White House, but its approval by the House provides a symbolic victory for critics of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
"The reality is that the agency is strong-arming the states," said Rep. Nick J. Rahall, D-W.Va. "Rather than bringing the sides together and bringing balance, they have widened the divide..."
...Mica and Rahall found common ground in their anger with EPA: Rahall over the mountaintop removal crackdown and Mica over federal efforts to force greater cuts in nitrogen and phosphorous pollution from Florida farms and other businesses. West Virginia Reps. Shelley Moore Capito and David McKinley, both Republicans, were co-sponsors.
The legislation would stop EPA from rejecting Clean Water Act "dredge-and-fill" permits approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as EPA did earlier this year with the largest mountaintop removal permit in West Virginia history.
But the bill goes much farther than that. It would block EPA from stepping in if states write water quality standards federal scientists believe are too weak. EPA would no longer be able to withdraw federal approval of state water pollution regulatory programs, and would be stripped of authority to object to water pollution discharge permits issued by state agencies.
In a report issued Tuesday, ..., "it is highly unusual for Congress to advance legislation that would broadly alter the federal-state partnership in order to address dissatisfaction with specific actions by EPA or another agency."
(Excerpt) Read more at wvgazette.com ...
The article says weaker standards, but often state agencies are more in touch with the business owners and new cutting edge technology that improves control and efficiency.
Wow. The first line of that story isn’t even a LITTLE bit biased.
/s
apparently the publishers of the Charleston Gazette don’t like having a local economy
Now end their ability to regulate “carbon”....
” Now end their ability to regulate “carbon”.... “
Now end their ability to regulate....
That's really wonderful.
“it is highly unusual for Congress to advance legislation that would broadly alter the federal-state partnership in order to address dissatisfaction with specific actions by EPA or another agency.”
Perhaps it is highly unusual, but it shouldn’t be. The EPA should be defunded. I wonder what their budget is (if they have one).
I am finding it interesting that the new catch phrase for all these House bills ....passing is....
symbolically....
I’ll enjoy those symbolic victories in 2012.
From the comments at the link;
“No power industry has been feasable without government help. Remember the REP’s of the 1920 & 1930 which brought power to the farms & towns? Second we have at this time several countries which are on their way to have 50% renewable energy. Energy which cost $0 for a fuel source. What happens in 20 or 30 years when we are getting low on coal and these contries get their energy for almost free? What happens when we need to start reclaiming some of these mine? Who is going to pay for the new water treatment plants cities need to build now to remove the contamination from the water caused by the mining industry? Why are we opening mines up to supply coal to foreign countries with out charging a premium on our coal? How many people is this going to put out of work in our manufaturing industry? How much is it going to increase our energy cost if AEP has to bid against China for it’s coal? “
“IT shocks me that these earth vampires still do NOT care about their own children’s future planet? They sure don’t care about ours! They don’t even do anything to make this world a better place with ALL of the billions MOTHER EARTH GIVES them!”
Who did W.Va. vote for in the election of ‘08?
Article 1 Section 1 "All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States . . . "
Environmental regulation is not an enumerated power. If it was, it must be done by statute via the Congress to which we did not grant the option of assigning the powers we gave them.
Now that makes me proud to be a Repub. Bulldoze it and salt the ground.
Pray for America
McNut. In fact, the McCain/Palin team was the ONLY statewide win for the Republican party in WV in 2008.
If the bills are able to be taken up at a later date, this may not just be a "symbolic" victory.
If the GOP knows what is good for them...they will turn symbolic in real success for the good of America.
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