Jerry Moran: “This is the second of three amendments designed to kill regulation of mountaintop mining. The amendment would prevent…”

“This is the second of three amendments designed to kill regulation of mountaintop mining. The amendment would prevent EPA from working with other Federal agencies and mining companies to ensure that mountaintop mining is carried out in a manner that protects public health, the environment, and the economy using the best available science. Mountaintop surface mining removes entire mountaintops to access the coal underneath but then deposits toxic mining waste in nearby streams. Practices not carried out carefully and responsibly can be devastating to the environment and to local economies. There's been longtime uncertainty regarding what laws applied, uncertainty about which Federal agencies to work with, and uncertainty about potential liability. This uncertainty was eliminated when Interior, EPA, and the Corps of Engineers agreed to work with mining companies and implement a common procedure for reviewing permits. And it was with the goal of--and I quote--to strengthen the Appalachian regional economy and to lay out common procedures on mountaintop mining. This memorandum of understanding brought clarity for all the parties--States, mining companies, environmentalists, and Federal agencies--so that mining could move forward. But what we have here is an effort at good government punished by legislators with an ax to grind. Agencies are punished for not working together. Then when they do, we punish them for working together.”