[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 28 (Thursday, February 16, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H1282-H1283]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   COAL REFUSE-TO-ENERGY LEGISLATION

  (Mr. ROTHFUS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ROTHFUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the progress 
hardworking western Pennsylvanians have made in restoring our hillsides 
and streams in historic mining communities polluted by waste coal.
  Through the use of innovative technology, workers in the coal refuse-
to-

[[Page H1283]]

energy industry have brought about an incredible transformation of 
formerly polluted areas, restoring landscapes to their original natural 
beauty.
  It is a success story all around, both environmentally and 
economically. Unfortunately, one-size-fits-all Washington regulations 
threaten to stop this success story in its tracks and to destroy the 
family-sustaining jobs the coal refuse-to-energy industry supports.
  That is why, for the third time, I am reintroducing the Satisfying 
Energy Needs and Saving the Environment, or SENSE Act, in the 115th 
Congress as H.R. 1119.
  My legislation ensures that regulations are tailored to allow a very 
specific and small subset of power plants to continue their remediation 
efforts and restore western Pennsylvania's natural beauty, as well as 
landscapes in historic mining communities across the country.
  This legislation passed the House with bipartisan support last year, 
and I urge my colleagues to support it once again so that the vital and 
successful work of providing electricity while cleaning up the 
environment can continue.

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