02.23.17

Grijalva Pushes for Answers as Trump Interior Officials Contradict Previous Jobs Impact Estimate of Canceling Stream Protection Rule

Washington, D.C. – In a new letter to Acting Secretary of the Interior Jack Haugrud, Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) asks why a recent Department of the Interior (DOI) blog post falsely claims the cancellation of the Stream Protection Rule – which regulated the dumping of waste from mountaintop removal mining until Republicans repealed it earlier this month –  would prevent the loss of 7,000 “clean coal” jobs, when previous DOI estimates had shown the rule would actually add 156 jobs to the workforce. While the blog post does not cite its sources, it seems to rely on a 2011 analysis conducted by a contractor called Polu Kai Services that the DOI inspector general described as shoddy and unreliable.

Grijalva’s letter points out that the 2011 figure “contradicts the job impacts published by the Department and [the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE)] less than two months ago” – the assessment that concluded the Stream Protection Rule would add 156 jobs. The full letter is available at http://bit.ly/2mhXsNW.

In addition to asking for an explanation of why DOI would prefer a discredited 2011 analysis to more reliable and up-to-date information, Grijalva asks for an explanation of how the Department defines the term “clean coal” to better assess the claim that canceling the Stream Protection Rule saves thousands of “clean coal” jobs.

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