[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 48 (Thursday, March 25, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S2107]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     COAL MINING PERMITTING PROCESS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I rise to sound an alarm about a 
threat to coal-mining businesses in Kentucky. Coal is a vital part of 
my State's economy, and a vital part of America's energy portfolio. The 
coal industry creates over 60,000 jobs in Kentucky, including 
approximately 15,000 coal miners. More than half the country's 
electricity is generated by coal, electricity those workers help 
generate.
  But this important sector of the economy now faces a back-door 
attempt to restrict coal mining, one that was implemented without a 
hearing or a vote by this administration's Environmental Protection 
Agency. The EPA is overstepping its authority by using an approval 
process meant to assess the environmental impact of mining operations 
as a means to halt those mining operations altogether.
  According to one study by the Senate Environment and Public Works 
Committee, it could be estimated that roughly 3,500 mining jobs in 
Kentucky are in jeopardy if the EPA does not let go its stranglehold on 
the growth of that industry. And mining industry jobs are not the only 
jobs lost thanks to this wrongheaded, bureaucratic overregulation. For 
every coal-mining job, 11 other jobs are dependent on it. That means up 
to 38,500 jobs in my State alone could be affected.
  Let me give a concrete example of how what the EPA is doing directly 
affects jobs. Out of 49 Kentucky applicants for permits under section 
404 of the Clean Water Act, only one application--that is right, one--
is actually under review. 1 out of 49. Actually, that should be 1 out 
of 42 because seven applicants were kept waiting so long by the EPA's 
foot-dragging tactic that they had no choice but to withdraw their 
applications.
  After all, during this whole length of time that the EPA unfairly 
prolongs the process, mine operators must still spend resources to keep 
their mines ready to operate. Eventually paying these costs while 
earning no profit in return forces many of these businesses to just 
give up.
  While the rest of the permits are technically pending a review, in 
reality they are in limbo and essentially dead as long as the EPA 
refuses to even begin its official review process. This ``run out the 
clock'' tactic is bad news for Kentucky's economy.
  I know I don't have to tell my colleagues we are in a recession. 
Unemployment is higher than any of us would like it to be. In Kentucky 
it is 10.5 percent, higher than the national average. My highest 
priority as the Senator from Kentucky is to help everyone from my State 
who wants a job to find one.
  That is why I must speak out against what the EPA is doing. Their 
attack on an important Kentucky industry hampers the growth of jobs, 
and it especially hampers the growth of small businesses--the greatest 
engines of job creation.
  The EPA has turned the section 404 permitting process, already a 
cumbersome process to begin with, into an illegitimate, backdoor means 
of shutting down Kentucky coal mines. This is outside the scope of 
their authority and the law. It represents a fundamental departure from 
the permitting process as originally envisioned by Congress.
  This Senate needs to make it clear to the EPA that they must complete 
the permit review process in a timely manner, and provide complete 
transparency along the way to all sides. They cannot continue to impose 
a backdoor ban on mining operations in Kentucky through an illegitimate 
process.
  Let me add one more thing. The section 404 permit review process is 
only one aspect of the EPA's war on coal. They are also seeking to 
impose a backdoor national energy tax by regulating carbon dioxide 
emissions from coal plants under the Clean Air Act, which will hurt our 
economy and endanger millions of jobs across the country. The Senate 
will have an opportunity to vote on the EPA's actions in that regard in 
the near future.

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