Nick Rahall: “Let me just say that the bottom line is that the coal industry, as do all industries, needs regulatory stability. As the…”

“Let me just say that the bottom line is that the coal industry, as do all industries, needs regulatory stability. As the only sitting Member of this body who was a conferee on the bill which became SMCRA--the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act--I well recall that our goal back in 1977, when that legislation passed, was to create a dovetailing between coal production and environmental protection. My own State of West Virginia at that time was--and still is--a leader in surface mine reclamation. Our industry was doing the job. Indeed, under SMCRA, we almost achieved that goal until recent years, when an activist EPA sought to usurp all authorities of other agencies--be it the Corps of Engineers or the Office of Surface Mining under the Department of the Interior. SMCRA should run the permitting process. Water quality permits should then follow, not vice versa. So, again, I urge support of this bill. And I point to how we have been able to do it in West Virginia--effectively reclaim our land, provide jobs for our people, and have an environmentally sound environment in which our people are proud and in which jobs are provided--and good-paying jobs, I might add--for the people of West Virginia and all of our Appalachian States. So I would urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.”