CHARLESTON -- "This afternoon, the U.S. House of Representatives passed HR 2018, the "“Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011." HR 2018 is a bipartisan bill that would rein in the Obama EPA and end the agency’s destructive abuse of authority and restore the balance needed to get America working again.
West Virginia Congressman Nick Rahall sponsored the bill with Rep. John Mica of Florida. West Virginia Congresswoman Shelley Capito and Congressman David McKinley lent their support the legislation. The bill passed the House by a vote of 239 to 184. It now moves to the Senate for consideration.
"The West Virginia Coal Association and the Friends of Coal would like to thank everyone for their support of HR 2018. This bill has major implications for the 63,000 West Virginia families whose livelihoods depend on mining coal. In recent years, the Obama EPA has used the CWA permitting process to block coal mining in Appalachia, however coal mining isn’t the only industry threatened by EPA’s arrogance. Quarries, farmers, and commercial, residential, and infrastructure construction projects also receive CWA scrutiny and are affected by EPA’s abuse of its authority.
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