07.16.15

After Six Years of Flagrant Republican Obstruction and Delays, Democrats Hail Release of Proposed OSMRE Stream Protection Rule

Washington, D.C. – Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva today hailed the long-awaited release of the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement’s (OSMRE) proposed stream protection rule, a standard to prevent mountaintop removal mining damage to public health and the environment. Republicans have fought the rule’s release for more than six years, claiming without evidence that it will harm the economy – the same debunked argument they have made about many environmental standards the Obama administration has proposed.

The proposed rule comes after a 2014 federal court ruling threw out the Bush administration’s weak 2008 Stream Buffer Zone Rule. Congressional Republicans have fought the preparation of the stream protection rule since the Obama Administration took office. A history of their efforts to block today’s proposed standard is available below.

“Republicans threw everything but the kitchen sink at this rule, and then they threw the sink,” Grijalva said. “If my colleagues across the aisle have no appetite for environmental protection, they could at least get out of the way and let the agencies do their jobs. Instead they’ve cut Interior Department funding at every turn, railed against federal employees as though they’re some kind of criminal enterprise, and treated everyone but the mining companies as hostile actors. Simply releasing this rule is a significant accomplishment, and I look forward to reviewing its contents more fully. I congratulate everyone at OSMRE who jumped uncountable hurdles on the way to today’s announcement.”

The Washington Post recently highlighted the scientific illiteracy and indifference to public health of Committee Republicans’ attacks on the push for stronger mountaintop removal mining standards. Rep. John Fleming (R-LA) in a May 14 hearing accused Indiana University School of Public Health Prof. Michael Hendryx of producing “nonsense science” in the midst of criticizing Hendryx’s epidemiological study of Appalachian communities impacted by mountaintop removal mining. The Post called Fleming’s rhetoric “not a good way to assess the validity of scientific information.” You can read more about that exchange at http://wapo.st/1Hi6ZcL.

The House Natural Resources Committee Minority staff previously released two reports on mountaintop removal mining and the need for stronger stream protection standards in 2012. Titled “Our Pain, Their Gain” and “Mole Hills out of Mountains,” the reports highlighted the increasing pace of domestic coal production and the appropriate steps OSMRE had taken to develop a stream protection rule. The reports conclusively refuted repetitive, unsubstantiated Republican accusations of agency wrongdoing.

Current federal agency rules for coal mining near streams are based on ideas and technology from the late 1970s. They do not prevent damage to water or protect people or fish and wildlife from destructive practices such as mountaintop removal mining.

Republican Legislative Efforts to Block the Stream Protection Rule

H.R. 2822 amendment (114th Congress) – Interior FY16 appropriations bill rider to block any stream protection rule from being issued (underlying bill pulled because of divided Republican support for the Confederate flag)

H.R. 2 (113th Congress) – provision to forcibly enact the Bush-era rule and block the Interior Department from issuing any new regulation (passed the House 9/18/2014)

H.R. 2824 (113th Congress) – same effect as H.R. 2 (passed the House 3/25/2014)

H.R. 5171 (113th Congress) – Interior FY15 appropriations bill rider to block any stream protection rule from being issued (never voted on in House)

H.R. 1 amendment (112th Congress) – floor amendment to the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 to block the stream buffer zone rule (passed House 2/19/11; not in final enacted bill)

H.R. 2584 amendment (112th Congress) – Interior appropriations bill rider to block any stream protection rule from being issued (never voted on in House)

H.R. 6091 (112th Congress) – Interior FY13 appropriations bill rider to block any stream protection rule from being issued (never voted on in House)

Unproductive Republican “Investigative” Efforts to Block the Stream Protection Rule

The Republican majority of the House Natural Resources Committee has been “investigating” the Stream Protection Rule for nearly four years, resulting in two subpoenas, the federal production of more than 13,500 pages of documents, 25 hours of audio recordings, a majority staff report, four oversight hearings, a GAO report request, and multiple hearings on bills to weaken protections for communities coping with mountaintop mining. May 20 marked the fourth oversight hearing on the issue, in that instance under the auspices of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee chaired by Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-Texas).

The majority has not uncovered any federal agency wrongdoing.