( WV ) Congressman’s STREAM Act Seeks to Reign in Anti-Coal Mining Agency

Townhall ^ | Mar 30, 2015 | Cortney O'Brien

[george76]

Coal is pretty important to West Virginia. Coal-fired electric power plants accounted for 95 percent of West Virginia's net electricity generation in 2013 and the state produces about 15 percent of all fossil fuel energy in the US. What’s more, the Mountain State leads the nation in underground coal mine production. One government agency seems poised to slow these miners down, but not if Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV) can help it.

“West Virginia is blessed to be abundant in natural resources," Mooney said. "Unfortunately, the President is intent on destroying coal as a domestic energy source.”

Rep. Mooney introduced the Supporting Transparent Regulatory and Environmental Actions in Mining (STREAM) Act on Thursday in an attempt to protect a coal industry that is under threat from overbearing environmental regulations demanded by the Interior Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM).

...

In April of this year the administration is expected to issue Stream Buffer Regulations aimed directly at shutting down surface coal mining operations. The proposed regulations would essentially ban mining operations within 100 feet of anything the Department of the Interior Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) defines as a “stream.” Even worse, the proposed new regulations are expected to prohibit mining underneath a stream, making underground coal mining very challenging.

[rightwingcrazy]

“Seeks to Reign in Anti-Coal Mining Agency”

I’d rather he seek to rein in the Agency. I don’t think it will help much for someone else to be reigning in it.

[1010RD]

You can begin to set the screws on the EPA two ways:
1. Cut staffing. Too many bureaucrats who are true believers.

2. Greatly limit their ability to act by including State legislatures and Congress in their actions. Lower the threshold for Congressional oversight and force the input of state legislatures on to EPA regs.

#1 helps balance the budget while #2 is as democratic as you can get. It will kill the libs.