USAgNet

The Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, John Mica (R-FL.) and Ranking Member Nick Rahall (D-WV) have introduced the "Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011", H.R. 2018.

The bipartisan bill is an effort to amend the Clean Water Act (CWA) and to return responsibility of water pollution control to the states. The legislation would restrict EPA's ability to override or delay a state's
permitting and water quality certification decisions under the CWA once EPA has already approved a state's program, unless the state concurs that a new standard is necessary.

The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives passed out of Committee by a recorded vote of 35-20 the “Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011” (H.R. 2018) late Thursday. HR 2018 is a bipartisan bill that would rein in the Obama EPA. It would bring an end to the agency’s destructive abuse of authority and restore the balance needed to get America working again. The bill has major implications for the Friends of Coal and 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 mines in Appalachia, but coal mining isn’t the only industry threatened by EPA’s arrogance. Quarries, farmers, commercial, residential and infrastructure construction projects also receive CWA scrutiny and are potentially affected by EPA’s abuse of its authority. Five Democrats voted in favor of the legislation. Among them was Rep. Nick Rahall (3rd District, WV).

Congressman David McKinley is attempting to get a bill through Congress that will prohibit EPA from classifying coal combustion residuals as hazardous waste under the Solid Waste Disposal Act and allows states to promulgate regulatory programs to address coal combustion residual placement, management and reuse.  His Morgantown office was the subject of a protest by the Sierra Club earlier this week for this effort.  Send Congressman McKinley a thank you and, if you have contacts in other States, encourage their support of Congressmen McKinley’s efforts.

On Wednesday, June 29^th, MSHA will hold a public briefing on its investigation into the explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County, W.Va. The briefing, to begin at 10 a.m. EDT, will coincide with the one-year anniversary of the start of the agency's underground investigation at the Upper Big Branch Mine and will be held at the National Mine Health and Safety Academy in Beaver, W.Va. A Q-and-A session for the public will take place at the conclusion of the briefing and end by 12:45 p.m.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration announced that the final rule on Rock Dust was published June 21 in the Federal Register on the maintenance of the incombustible content of rock dust.

The rulemaking can be viewed at

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/pubs/pubreference/outputid2825.htm.

http://www.msha.gov/MEDIA/PRESS/2011/NR110620.asp