[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 115 (Wednesday, July 22, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H5341]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      CLOSURE OF COLOWYO COAL MINE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Colorado (Mr. Tipton) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, mines in Colorado's Third Congressional 
District provide not only critical jobs, they also provide the 
reliable, affordable electricity on which countless Americans rely.
  The future of one such mine, operated by Colowyo in Moffat County, is 
now in jeopardy after a Federal judge sided with a radical 
environmental group notorious for filing lawsuits, at the expense of 
taxpayers who often end up footing their litigation bill.
  I am urging the Department of the Interior to take swift action to 
prevent the impending closure of the Colowyo mine, and I want to thank 
Senator Cory Gardner for his partnership in this effort.
  On May 8, 2015, the Federal district court for the district of 
Colorado issued an order determining that the Office of Surface Mining 
failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act in 2007, 
when it issued a mine plan for approval of the Colowyo coal mine.
  The court gave OSM 120 days to be able to prepare a new analysis and 
issue a new decision. If OSM does not complete the process in 120 days, 
the court stated that it would vacate the mine plan, effectively 
shutting down the mine on September 6.
  Unfortunately, despite repeated insistence from myself, Senator 
Gardner, county officials, and the surrounding local communities, this 
administration decided against appealing the court's ruling.
  We have to ask the question: Does not the executive branch have a 
duty to defend its permitting actions? Of course, it does. The Federal 
Government must vigorously defend the legality of its permitting 
actions and leave policy debates over the role of coal in the 
legislative and rulemaking proceedings where those debates belong.
  Here is where we stand as the September 6 deadline approaches. The 
livelihoods of thousands of northwest Coloradans are in peril, as they 
rely on an administration with a track record of attacks on the mining 
industry and affordable electricity to do the right thing. 
Unfortunately, this administration hasn't done much to allay our 
concerns.
  A mine closure would jeopardize 220 direct jobs and millions in 
economic activity. While 220 jobs may not sound like much, to the town 
of Craig, population 9,400, that has a significant economic impact on 
this community.
  To properly be able to understand the scale of this potential 
catastrophe, this is equivalent to the President's hometown of Chicago 
shedding 63,000 well-paying jobs.
  The adverse effects of shutting down this mine go beyond the jobs at 
the mine that would be lost. Coal produced by this mine, located in 
Moffat and Rio Blanco Counties, is used to generate power at Craig 
Station. The mine is a critical supplier of western Colorado's energy. 
It provides reliable, affordable electricity in much of the western 
half of the State.
  Last week, I attended a meeting to discuss the future of the Colowyo 
mine in Glenwood Springs with Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell; 
Bureau of Land Management Director Neil Kornze; and a number of western 
Colorado community leaders, including Moffat County Commissioner John 
Kinkaid and Craig Mayor Ray Beck.
  While it would have been preferable for the Secretary to make time to 
be able to meet with the miners in Moffat County who are facing the 
loss of their livelihood, look them in the eye, and hear their stories, 
she did meet with this group; and I hope that she received a better 
understanding of the important impact of the Colowyo mine on the impact 
of the economy in northwest Colorado.
  I was pleased to be able to hear Secretary Jewell assure us before 
the meeting that the Department of the Interior is on schedule to be 
able to complete a new environmental assessment by the court's deadline 
of September 6; and, if for some reason they fail to meet that 
schedule, they will request an extension.
  I hope the Secretary realizes that the decisions made in Washington 
have lasting impacts on everyday working Americans. Unfortunately, we 
have seen repeated attempts by this administration to impose drastic 
and, in some cases, outright unattainable mandates on the existing 
electricity sources.
  Communities such as Craig have expressed concerns that these proposed 
regulations will work to the detriment of the local economies by 
shutting down local power plants, negatively affecting Colorado's 
mining industry, and needlessly burdening Coloradan families and 
businesses with higher energy costs; yet here we are on the cusp of 
leaving over 220 honest, hard-working people without a paycheck.
  This battle offers a vivid and all too familiar lesson in how 
environmental special interests, if not balanced against the practical 
need for a healthy and growing economy, can wreak havoc in the everyday 
lives of Coloradans. The careful balance between environmental 
protection and economic prosperity is regrettably missing from this 
administration's policies.
  The most troubling part of all of this is that the effects of these 
misguided regulations won't actually result in cleaner air overall, but 
will jeopardize the reliability of the electrical grid and have a 
severe economic impact.
  The people of Moffat County are the people who are feeling these 
impacts. The people of Moffat County need to know that they are not 
alone in this effort. I am committed to doing everything within my 
power to be able to fight for affordable, reliable, and responsible 
energy production.

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