[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11772]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1210
                           PERMITTING ISSUES

  (Mrs. CAPITO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. CAPITO. I rise today to support the jobs of hundreds of 
hardworking coal miners in West Virginia and to highlight the misguided 
actions of the EPA in objecting to permits for coal mining activity.
  On April 1, 2010, the EPA issued guidance under the Clean Water Act 
that bypasses the normal process for promulgating water quality 
standards. It nullifies the water quality standards put into place by 
our State regulators and our State legislatures. In other words, the 
EPA has taken over the States' prerogative on water quality.
  Despite a 2011 Federal court decision that rejected the EPA's 
interpretation of its authority, the regulatory permitting process for 
surface mining has essentially been halted in the Appalachian region. 
Hundreds of permits will expire within the next 18 months in West 
Virginia alone. Failure to act on these permits will lead to the loss 
of thousands of jobs in West Virginia, and just recently we have 
experienced a loss of 1,000 coal mining jobs.
  The EPA should exercise its permitting and regulatory authority under 
the Clean Water Act in a manner that considers the impacts on jobs and 
the economy in West Virginia and other coal mining States.

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