On the recordFebruary 18, 2011
This particular action in regard to the Spruce permit is an insult to the integrity of the mine-permitting process. The particular mine in question is located in my congressional district. The permit was negotiated with the EPA in good faith by the coal company over a space of 10 years. The permit was then granted 3 years ago and just recently was revoked by the EPA. It goes against the grain of what I think should be good-faith efforts by coal companies to negotiate with the EPA, recognizing that they can't get all they want in a permit application and therefore some withdrawal, some compromise is necessary. That was done in this particular case in a painstaking process over 10 years, and the permit was granted. Now to have it revoked is indeed an insult to the integrity of the mine permitting process. The EPA was given authority in the Clean Water Act to weigh in on permitting decisions of the Corps of Engineers to help ensure a balance between environmental protection and activities like energy development.
