War on coal finally getting a closer look

posted at 10:01 am on July 13, 2012 by Jazz Shaw

This week, the Natural Resources Committee has “invited” Ken Salazar and Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Director Joseph Pizarchik to come down for a little chat with Congress to talk about the Stream Buffer Zone Rule.

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 10, 2012 – Today, as part of a more than yearlong investigation into the Obama Administration’s rewrite of a 2008 coal regulation, the Stream Buffer Zone Rule, that could cost thousands of jobs, negatively impact the economies of 22 states and significantly harm American energy production, Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) sent a letter to Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Director Joseph Pizarchik inviting them to testify at a July 19th oversight hearing.

The hearing will examine 1) the current status of the proposed rewrite and the status of the court settlement agreement providing for the rewrite, and 2) the failure of the Department to comply to date with two subpoenas for documents on the rewrite.

What’s that you say? You haven’t heard about the Stream Buffer Zone Rule? A little background:

Almost immediately after taking office, the Obama Administration began rewriting a recently completed coal regulation, the 2008 Stream Buffer Zone Rule (Rule). This unnecessary action, carried out through the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) at the Department of the Interior, proposed to dramatically alter a regulation that that took over five years of environmental analysis and careful scientific consideration to complete.

Despite the fact that a thorough Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was conducted for the 2008 Rule, OSM hired another contractor to write an entirely new EIS for the Obama Administration’s efforts to rewrite the Rule. An Associated Press story revealed that this draft EIS concluded that the Obama Administration’s regulation could cost over 7,000 mining jobs and cause economic harm in 22 states. Shortly after this information was made public, the Obama Administration criticized and dismissed the contractor it had selected to conduct this analysis.

So what can be done about this? Well, for one thing, Congressman Bill Johnson (OH-06) already has some legislation on the table which can help. And you can help by supporting this effort. It’s HR. 3409 – The Coal Miner Employment and Domestic Energy Infrastructure Protection Act. Here’s the details:

Coal Miner Employment and Domestic Energy Infrastructure Protection Act – Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior, before December 31, 2013, from issuing or approving any proposed or final regulation under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 that would: (1) adversely impact employment in coal mines in the United States; (2) cause a reduction in revenue received by the federal government or any state, tribal, or local government, by reducing through regulation the amount of coal in the United States that is available for mining; (3) reduce the amount of coal available for domestic consumption or for export; (4) designate any area as unsuitable for surface coal mining and reclamation operations; or (5) expose the United States to liability for taking the value of privately owned coal through regulation.

Co-sponsors

Rep Bartlett, Roscoe G. [R-MD-6] – 12/1/2011
Rep Berg, Rick [R-ND] – 1/18/2012
Rep Bucshon, Larry [R-IN-8] – 11/17/2011
Rep Capito, Shelley Moore [R-WV-2] – 1/25/2012
Rep Flores, Bill [R-TX-17] – 11/22/2011
Rep Gosar, Paul A. [R-AZ-1] – 3/5/2012
Rep Harper, Gregg [R-MS-3] – 11/22/2011
Rep Harris, Andy [R-MD-1] – 11/16/2011
Rep Kelly, Mike [R-PA-3] – 11/17/2011
Rep LaTourette, Steven C. [R-OH-14] – 12/1/2011
Rep McKinley, David B. [R-WV-1] – 11/22/2011
Rep Roe, David P. [R-TN-1] – 11/17/2011
Rep Rogers, Harold [R-KY-5] – 11/17/2011
Rep Rokita, Todd [R-IN-4] – 11/22/2011
Rep Shuster, Bill [R-PA-9] – 11/29/2011
Rep Stivers, Steve [R-OH-15] – 11/16/2011
Rep Tiberi, Patrick J. [R-OH-12] – 11/22/2011
Rep Young, Don [R-AK] – 11/22/2011

I had the opportunity to interview Congressman Johnson by phone this past week. He remains completely civil and focused, very well informed and ready to tackle the issue. His concerns over the impact of these warped regulations don’t come across as political, but a sincere effort to stave off yet another “kick in the gut” for this economy. For him, it’s all about the jobs and the strained budgets of struggling Americans who will have to pay the tab on all this.

There’s the facts. You should know what to do from here on out. Ohio will feel a tremendous negative impact from this back door maneuver, but they are hardly the only state which currently relies on coal for tens of thousands of jobs and a large percentage of its energy. A sudden upswing in utility prices and more people on the unemployment lines are precisely what we don’t need right now. Let’s get on this one.

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If government is going to be arbiter of fair and lawful competition, long as RICO, monopoly, and other LARGE laws aren’t being violated, then government is WAY too large.

Liam on May 21, 2013 at 8:44 PM

The real question, of course, is why DC — and other cities like it — even have so much innovation- and freedom-crushing red tape

How else are the bureaucrats going to keep the bribe money coming?

malclave on May 21, 2013 at 8:48 PM

How else are the bureaucrats going to keep the bribe money coming?

malclave on May 21, 2013 at 8:48 PM

That pretty much covers the topic.

Liam on May 21, 2013 at 8:53 PM

How do you pronounce this: womp

Whoomp (as in Whoomp, there it is)? Wahmp (rhymes with pomp)? something else?

cptacek on May 21, 2013 at 8:59 PM

Uber is a FANTASTIC company… naturally, it and the innovation it represents would be antithetical to the current oppressive environment this crony-based government has spawned…

dpduq on May 21, 2013 at 9:03 PM

simply provide customers with the option of hailing a taxi with a smartphone app is being put through the ringer in the nation’s capitol, too.

I hate to throw the grammar Nazi flag, but the word I bolded above should be wringer.

Gator Country on May 21, 2013 at 9:13 PM

How do you pronounce this: womp

Whoomp (as in Whoomp, there it is)? Wahmp (rhymes with pomp)? something else?

cptacek on May 21, 2013 at 8:59 PM

Woah! Erika’s quite the womp rat!

KS Rex on May 21, 2013 at 9:44 PM

Wringer is a ringer for “ringer”

Now if you’ll excuse, I have clothes to dry.

wolly4321 on May 21, 2013 at 9:45 PM

The real question, of course, is why DC — and other cities like it — even have so much innovation- and freedom-crushing red tape

And then those cities wonder out loud why they continually suffer ‘brain drains’ when the best and brightest flee for greener pastures.

It’s not rocket surgery.

Myron Falwell on May 21, 2013 at 9:56 PM

The real question, of course, is why DC — and other cities like it — even have so much innovation- and freedom-crushing red tape that diverts so much of what could otherwise be everybody’s profitable time and resources into fighting for permission to operate and completely legitimate and highly efficient business that creates real jobs and improves people’s lives. You’d think that small businesses daring to threaten the established order were doing something illicit, what with all the hoops they have to jump through these days — and that is no way to grow any kind of economy, be it on a micro- or macro-level.

Just like the medieval guilds, the purpose is to protect the existing businesses from aggressive competition.

And yes, this undermines the whole free enterprise system. Fortunately, the startups just view it as one more obstacle to get past, and manage anyway. But it’s still a waste of time and money.

There Goes the Neighborhood on May 22, 2013 at 10:26 AM

Had the opportunity to use Uber’s sedan service in L.A. a few weeks ago.

As soon as the service was ordered I knew that my car was 4 minutes away. I watched on the screen as it got closer and closer. When it hit 1 minute, I saw a black sedan on the opposite side of the street signaling to make a u-turn.

Contrast this with a year earlier when I called for a taxi in order to make the exact same trip. I was told that they were busy but they’d have someone there in 10 minutes. 15 minutes later I called and was told that someone would be there in 10 minutes. Another 15 minutes later I called and was told dispatch had sent someone and if they weren’t there in 5 minutes I should give them another call. 10 minutes after that I flagged down a passing cab and they got my business instead.

The Uber sedan service was $90 with tip. The taxi was $110 with tip.

If Uber wants to extend their business into the taxi realm (and they plan to keep the same level of service), it’s nothing but a boon to the residents of the cities they are operating in.

JadeNYU on May 22, 2013 at 11:02 AM

But Uber argues that the the taxi regulations issued last week, which go into effect June 1, would require it to link its payment system to the payment providers integrated into the new meters that taxis will begin installing this summer.

Wonder how much the preferred payment providers are paying DC?

unclesmrgol on May 22, 2013 at 11:43 AM