print
Email
CloseJune 1, 2009
Backlog of coal mining permits assailed by Congress and coal producers
House members representing the Ohio River Valley and national and state coal mining associations express frustration and concern with impact on jobs and local economies of continuing de facto moratorium on permit issuance resulting from government reviews.
Representative Zack Space (D-Ohio) and eight additional members of the U.S. House of Representatives representing coal mining operations throughout the Ohio River Valley today wrote the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Brigadier General John W. Peabody expressing their "deep concern with the growing backlog of coal mining permits currently pending" and the "grave consequences for our constituents and local economies" posed by the delays.
The delegation pointedly asks the Corps if it has "developed a plan that will clear the backlog of coal mining permits and assure processing of future applications within the timeframes provided for in the agency’s regulations?" The letter also seeks an accounting of the permits pending in each District Engineers Office, how many permits had "been deemed complete" and what criteria, if any, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has furnished the Corps regarding which permits will be subject to further review. Read the entire letter here: Letter to Brigadier General John W. Peabody.
The National Mining Association (NMA) and coal associations in Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia on May 28, in a related action, asked their congressional delegations to assist them in "fixing a regulatory system that is frustrating rather than promoting job creation, economic development and energy independence" by EPA’s institution of a re-review of more than 200 permits that are "caught in a regulatory black hole" between the agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The associations noted that while EPA has made assurances over the last several weeks that 42 permits would be issued, "we have seen no evidence of any change." In effect, the de facto moratorium on permits that commenced on March 4 continues without any meaningful progress.
The associations asked for congressional "assistance in fixing a regulatory system that will only continue to crush the investments, jobs and opportunities for the coal community." Read the entire letter here: Associations’ Letter.
