Posts Tagged ‘Congress’
Close Calls as Congress Defeats Rollbacks to EPA Boiler Rule and Speed-up of Keystone XL Pipeline
Get ready, because a hostile hive of lobbyists echoing industry cries that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is no more than big government, job-killing, mean, green machine may have just been shaken up again. On Thurs., March 8, Congress narrowly defeated an amendment to a transportation funding bill authored by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) that…
Read MoreSenator Manchin Should Listen to Himself
It’s rare to get this upset over someone making a valid statement, but the other day Sen. Manchin (D-WV) said something that I completely agree with, and it’s driving me nuts. When discussing the future of coal in a hearing with Department ofEnergy Secretary Steven Chu, he stated the following: “It doesn’t make any sense…
Read MoreSubcommittee Hearing A “Dog and Pony Show” With Your Ringmaster, Rep. Bill Johnson
I’ll admit, this morning’s Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources hearing had my head spinning. Similar to the committee’s previous hearings on the stream buffer zone rule, statements made by the Republican majority committee members could cause concerns as to who exactly they’re representing. The hearing seemed staged to give committee members yet another opportunity…
Read MoreEPA Buffaloed Over Surface Mine
A letter sent by the EPA to WVDEP in January expresses the agency’s concerns about CONSOL Energy’s 2,308-acre Buffalo Mountain surface mine. The EPA has suggested ways to reduce the negative impacts on the environment and water quality that the surface mine, one of Appalachia’s largest, will inevitably have. Stretching from Belo to Williamson in…
Read MoreBad Bill of the Week
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has just introduced a bill that has the sole purpose of making it easier for coal companies to pollute water. S.2122, the “Defense of Environment and Property Act” neither defends the environment nor private property. While the Senator makes the argument that the legislation protects the right of “landowners to do…
Read MoreThe Scoop on Coal Ash at Asheville Plant in North Carolina
Big Thanks to Hartwell Carson, French Broad Riverkeeper for his help with this post. Bird’s Eye View of Coal Ash Coal contains heavy metals by its very nature. Heavy metals are toxic and oftentimes, a little dab will do ya. For example, just one teaspoon’s worth of mercury can contaminate a 20 acre lake to…
Read MoreLisa Jackson has had enough!
In this editorial, published by the Los Angeles Times, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson makes her case for protecting our clean air and water from an unprecedented congressional attack on basic environmental and health safeguards. Join the movement to save our clean water here. ‘Too dirty to fail’? House Republicans’ assault on our environmental…
Read MoreHeath Shuler and Others Who Stood Up Against Dangerous Coal Ash Legislation
Today, Congressmen Heath Shuler (NC), David Price (NC), Mel Watt (NC), Brad Miller (NC), John Yarmuth (KY), Gerry Connolly (VA) and Frank Wolf (VA) voted against H.R. 2273 , the Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act, a bill that does nothing to protect our communities from the dangers of toxic coal ash. Though we are…
Read MoreTell Congress We Can’t Afford The Status Quo on Coal Ash!
This Friday, the House of Representatives will vote on H.R. 2273, the Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act, a bill that puts the profits of coal ash polluters above public health. H.R. 2273 subverts public support of the EPA’s proposed federal coal ash rules by leaving coal ash pollution in the hands of states with…
Read MoreDirty Politics: The Biggest Threat to America’s Waterways
It Took a Movement to Create the Clean Water Act- We Need Another to Save It Update: The House passed the polluter-friendly TRAIN Act, H.R. 2041 by a vote of 249 to 169. At this moment, the U.S. House is debating HR 2041, the TRAIN Act. The Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the…
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